Adjunct Law Prof Blog

Interesting Blogs I Recently Came Across

Labor Related

Workplace Diva

Arbitration Matters

MInding the Workplace

Work Matters

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

 

 

Becoming A Lawyer Blog

I just came across Becoming A Lawyer, a blog by law school publisher Wolters Kluwer-one of the giants in law school publishing. It provides helpful information to prospective law students. For example, the article I just read is about being a law student and a parent at the same time. If your a college student thinking about law school and even if your a 1 L, you may want to check this blog out.

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

There Is No Privacy Expectation In Facebook or Social Media

Patterson v. Turner Construction Co., ____A.D.3d___(3rd Dept. Oct. 27, 2011), is a short, but interesting case. Indeed, expect more litigation like it. The court holds that an individuals Facebook account is like a diary and not shielded from discovery, if relevant. As the court explained:

The postings on plaintiff's online Facebook account, if relevant, are not shielded from discovery merely because plaintiff used the service's privacy settings to restrict access (Romano v Steelcase Inc., 30 Misc.3d 426, 433-434 [2010]), just as relevant matter from a personal diary is discoverable (see Faragiano v Town of Concord, 294 A.D.2d 893, 894 [2002]).

Hat Tip: Above The Law

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

Bloggers Held Not To Be Journalists

Obisdian Finance Group v. Fox, ____F.Supp.2d____ (D. Or. Nov. 30, 2011), is an important case for us bloggers. Oregon has a statute which limits defamation damages unless a plaintiff first requests a retraction. The court held, however, that a internet blogger, was not protected under that statute and therefore, could not rely on that defense. The court also held that a blogger was not protected under that state's shield law which privileged journalists from revealing their sources. 

It is hard to find fault with the court's decision. It was based purely on statutory interpretation. Though blogging is similar to other journalist type activities, it is different. The medium is different (internet) and you do not have to sell your story; rather you just put it out there. There are no professional organizations, educational degrees or regulations which govern blogging. In short, it is different. Perhaps this case will trigger legislation throughout the several states.

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

Lawyers Beware. Blogging May Be Considered To Be Lawyer Advertising

Virgina State Bar's Crackdown on Lawyer's Blog Raises Questions is an important undated article in the Washington Post.  It discusses a situation where the Virginia State Bar brought a charge of misconduct against a criminal lawyer, in part, because of his postings on his blog. Apparently, they were written in such a way to constitute lawyer advertising triggering the need to include a disclaimer. As the article states:

One purpose of the Web site is to market the firm and attract business, so any discussion of Hunter’s cases is considered advertising and must include a disclaimer “that puts the case results in a context that is not misleading,” the charge said.

Hunter’s case, which is scheduled for a hearing Oct. 18, appears to be the first time the Virginia State Bar has lodged a formal charge against an attorney over blogging and whether it violates advertising rules. State bar counsel Edward Davis would neither confirm nor deny the existence of previous charges against lawyers over blogs and advertising, but there is no record of disciplinary action against Virginia attorneys regarding the matter, according to the bar’s archives of disciplinary actions dating back to 1999. The bar can suspend or disbar attorneys found in violation of legal ethics.

The blog can be found here. 

This raises many interesting legal issues ripe for law review commentary.

Mitchell H. Rubinstein 

Hat Tip: New York Public Personnel Law 

 

How To Cite To A Blog??

This blog (as well as many others) has been cited in several law review articles. However, there has not been any consistency in the way I have been cited. In case you don't realize it, we are talking Bluebook here. Now, there is the whole debate whether cite form matters-I believe it does, but only to a limited degree. It is hard to argue that there should not be consistency. So, how do you cite a blog? Also, how do you cite to a blog comment?

Vodzalegal has listed how they think it should be done. But are they right?  Do any of you Bluebook experts have any thoughts?

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

Hat Tip; Legal Skills Prof Blog

Unemployment Law Blog

There is a new blog in town that focuses on Unemployment Law issues in New York. Its called Unemployment Lawyer Blog. Check it out.

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

Art of Access Blog

I just became aware of a blog called the Art of Access. It focuses on Freedom of Information and access type issues. It appears to be well done and readers may want to check it out.

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

Interesting Blog On Technology Issues

On Technology Law is an interesting blog by Texas Attorney D.C. Toedt who practices intellectual property  and  is Adjunct Law Professor at Univ. Houston Law School. The blog addresses much more than technology issues. It contains notes and "cheat sheets" which summarize different areas of the law such as arbitration and choice of law. It is worth book marking and checking out. 

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

Wage and Hour Blog

There is a new blog in town that focuses on wage and hour issues. Guess what? It is called the Wage and Hour Blog. While this blog contains some useful information, readers should know that it is run by the management law firm, Jackson Lewis.

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

Justia Ranks Adjunct Law Prof Blog 61st Most Popular of All Time

Justia ranks blogs. I am delighted to report that we are ranked number 61 of all time. It ranks 3,000 of them so this is quite an honor. Of course, Justia covers just law and legally related blogs. Who are the top 10 (actually 11)? They are as follows:

Sorted by Popularity | Sort by Name | Sort by Last Post Date

Today | This Week | This Month | All Time

Above the Law [Feed]

A legal tabloid that provides news and gossip about the profession's colorful personalities and powerful institutions, as well as original commentary on breaking legal developments.

Last Updated: May 21, 2010 - Rank All Time: 1

http://abovethelaw.com/

Sex Offender Issues [Feed]

Covers sex offender laws and cases.

Last Updated: May 20, 2010 - Rank All Time: 2

http://sexoffenderissues.blogspot.com/

The Indiana Law Blog [Feed]

Covers Indiana law, as well as interesting developments in law and government. By Marcia Oddi.

Last Updated: May 21, 2010 - Rank All Time: 3

http://indianalawblog.com/

New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library Blog [Feed]

News and information gateway to web based services provided by the New York State Supreme Court Criminal Term Library in New York County.

Last Updated: March 31, 2010 - Rank All Time: 4

http://www.bloglines.com/blog/PLL

Law Blog [Feed]

Covers law and business and the business of law. By the Wall Street Journal.

Last Updated: May 21, 2010 - Rank All Time: 5

http://blogs.wsj.com/law

DealBook [Feed]

Covers mergers and acquisitions, investment banking, IPOs, private equity, hedge funds, venture capital and law. A Financial News Service of The New York Times.

Last Updated: May 21, 2010 - Rank All Time: 6

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/?=rss2

TaxProf Blog [Feed]

By University of Cincinnati Law Professor Paul L. Caron and Ron Jones.

Last Updated: May 21, 2010 - Rank All Time: 7

http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/

Sentencing Law and Policy [Feed]

By Moritz College of Law Professor Douglas A. Berman.

Last Updated: May 21, 2010 - Rank All Time: 8

http://sentencing.typepad.com/sentencing_law_and_policy/

How Appealing [Feed]

Covers appellate litigation. By Howard J. Bashman.

Last Updated: May 21, 2010 - Rank All Time: 9

http://howappealing.law.com/

Class Action Defense Blog [Feed]

Covers CAFA, class certification, employment law, FCRA, FDCPA and multidistrict litigation. Published by Michael Hassen of Jeffer Mangels Butler & Marmaro LLP.

Last Updated: May 15, 2010 - Rank All Time: 10

http://classactiondefense.jmbm.com/

Instapundit.com [Feed]

Online magazine of opinion. By University of Tennessee College of Law professor Glenn Reynolds.

Last Updated: May 21, 2010 - Rank All Time: 11 http://pajamasmedia.com/

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

Bloggers Not Protected Under N.J. Shield Law

Too Much Media v. Hale, A-0964-09, is the first N.J. appellate ruling and only the second in any state to address whether bloggers can invoke the news persons' privilege to protect the identity of their sources. In this decision, the court held that bloggers are not part of the news media and therefore, they cannot invoke this privilege.T he only other state court case to consider whether bloggers are protected as journalists is O'Grady v. Superior Court , 44 Cal. Rptr. 3d 72 (2006), where the California Court of Appeals denied enforcement of a subpoena seeking the names of confidential sources from two Internet-only publications. An April 26, 2010 NJ Law Journal article discussing this case is available here.

It is tought to say whether the decision is correct. Clearly, in some cases, bloggers can be considered part of the media. For example, someone who writes for the NY Times Blog may be considered a journalist.However, even someone who writes for adjunct law prof blog may be considered a journalist if we operated in a manner similar to that of journalists.

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

Supremes Recognize the Importance of Blogs

Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission, 558 U.S. ___, slip op at 49 (Jan. 21, 2010) appears to be the first time the Supreme Court recognized the importance of blogs and in fact used the term "blog." Specifically, the Court stated:

Rapid changes in technology—and the creative dynamic
inherent in the concept of free expression—counsel against
upholding a law that restricts political speech in certain
media or by certain speakers. See Part II–C, supra.
Today, 30-second television ads may be the most effective
way to convey a political message. See McConnell, supra,
at 261 (opinion of SCALIA, J.). Soon, however, it may be
that Internet sources, such as blogs and social networking
Web sites, will provide citizens with significant information
about political candidates and issues. Yet, §441b
would seem to ban a blog post expressly advocating the
election or defeat of a candidate if that blog were created
with corporate funds. See 2 U. S. C. §441b(a); MCFL,
supra, at 249. The First Amendment does not permit
Congress to make these categorical distinctions based on
the corporate identity of the speaker and the content of
the political speech.

Hat Tip The Volokh Conspiracy

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

West Puts Law Books On Kindle

West recently announced that it is releasing e-book editions of 29 of its most popular law books. The releases include the book co-authored by Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia legal wordsmith Bryan Garner, Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges. West is offering the titles for electronic download to be read on Amazon's Kindle e-book reader. Recently, Amazon dropped the price of the U.S. version of the Kindle by $40 to $259.

A sign of the times. Sounds like a good idea to me. Will save everyone money.

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

Interesting Law Firm Employment Blogs

There are several law firm employment law blogs that are worth bookmarking.

 Littler Mendelson is publishes Wage & Hour
Counsel, which tracks wage and hour legal developments, including court
decisions, administrative agency opinions, and new or revised requirements
or regulations. It's authored by six Littler lawyers, including Stacey
James, Andrew Voss, Robert Pritchard, Whitney Ferrer, Christopher Kaczmarek,
and Elizabeth Staggs Wilson.
http://www.wageandhourcounsel.com/

Reed Smith Employment Law Watch provides analysis and
commentary by the firm's attorneys on developments in employment and labor
law.
http://www.employmentlawwatch.com/

 Weintraub, Genshlea Chediak, runs the Labor & Employment Law Blog where you'll find
discussions on disability discrimination, employee privacy rights, FMLA and
other leaves of absence, reductions in force, retaliation and wrongful
termination, and much more.
http://www.thelelawblog.com/

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

Hat Tip: Internet Legal Research Weekly

If you have not seen it yet, Bitter Lawyer is an interesting blog designed for lawyers and intended to be entertaining. For example, Bitter Lawyer is currently running the following story:

Jeff Marx is the co-creator behind the hit Broadway show "Avenue Q.?  He's responsible for muppet-like characters that sing songs called "The Internet is For Porn," which have elated audiences around the world, received the blessing of Jim Henson's family and netted him a Tony Award.  Only thing is that he had to give up his career as a lawyer to do it.

 

Sound like a no-brainer switch of vocation?  Well, it?s never that easy.

 

Marx is hilarious in his description of his road to success, which he attributes to a parody he wrote for Cardozo law school's Bar Revue.

 

Check out "Jeff Marx: JD to Avenue Q" here:

http://www.bitterlawyer.com/index.php/interviews/jeff_marx_jd_to_avenue_q/?entry_id=1218

Oldest Legal Blog

Ever wonder which is the oldest legal blog and how old is it. Well, those honors belong to Overlawyered. According to blogger Robert Ambrogi at Legal Blog Watch Overlawyered just turned 10.
Congrats!
Mitchell H. Rubinstein

Top 100 Employment Law Blogs

Delaware Employment Law complied a list of the top 100 Employment Law Blogs. This list should be very helpful to readers-even though they left one out! Their list is as follows:

1. Affirmative Action Blog Spot
2. Alaska Employment Law
3. Boston Employment Lawyer Blog
4. California Employment Law - Fight Harassment
5. California Labor & Employment Law Blog
6. California Labor and Employment Law
7. California Workforce Resource Blog
8. Canadian Employment Law
9. Charles A. Krugel, Labor & Employment Law, HR Law
10. Colorado Employment Law
11. Compliance Training Blog (California)
12. Connecticut Education Lawyer & Attorney
13. Connecticut Employment Law Blog
14. Daily Developments in EEO Law
15. Delaware Business Litigation Report
16. Delaware Employment Law Blog
17. Discriminations
18. Diversity Insight
19. Doorey's Workplace Law Blog (Canada)
20. Drama, Conflict, Despair & Victory at Work
21. E-Legal Lawyer
22. Employee Free Choice Act
23. Employer Notes
24. Employer's Law Blog
25. Employer's Lawyer
26. Employment & Labor Relations - Porter Wright
27. Employment Advisory
28. Employment Law @ Work Updater
29. Employment Law Bits
30. Employment Law Blog by Jill Pugh
31. Employment Law Colorado
32. Employment Privacy Law (Littler)
33. Employment Rights Blog
34. Fair Labor Standards Act Law
35. Federal Sector FMLA Blog
36. Florida Employment Law Blog
37. Florida Special Needs Lawyer
38. FMLA law
39. George's Employment Blawg
40. Georgia Employment Law Blog
41. Greater Valley Forge HR Law Link
42. Gruntled Employees
43. HR Briefcase: Labor and Employment Law Blog
44. HR Lawyer's Blog
45. HR Legal News
46. Human Rights in the Workplace
47. Immigration Law for Employers
48. Jottings By an Employer's Lawyer
49. Juz the Fax
50. Kentucky Employment Law Notes
51. Labor & Employment Law Blog
52. Labor & Employment Law Blog (Shepphard Mullin)
53. Laconic Law Blog
54. Lancaster Employment Law Blog (Pennsylvania)
55. Lisa Law View
56. Los Angeles Employment Lawyer Blog
57. Manpower Employment Blawg
58. Maryland Employment Law
59. My Disability Blog
60. National Whistleblower Legal Defense and Education Fund
61. New Jersey Employment Lawyer & Attorney - Steinberg Law Offices
62. New Jersey Fox Rothschild HIPPA
63. New Jersey Fox Rothschild Wage and Hour
64. New York Disability Lawyer & Attorney - Turley Redmond & Rosasco
65. New York Employment Lawyer Blog
66. New York Public Personnel Law
67. Nolo's Employment Law Blog
68. Northern Exposure (Canada)
69. Northwest Labor and Employment
70. OFFCP Blog Spot
71. Ohio Employer's Law Blog
72. Oregon Law and Employment Law
73. Pennsylvania Employment Law Blog
74. Pennsylvania Family Medical Leave Act
75. Pennsylvania Labor & Employment
76. Privacy (Proskauer Rose)
77. Quirky Employment Law Questions
78. Quitamhelp
79. RFID Lawyer & Attorney
80. Rush on Business (Iowa)
81. Storm's California Employment Law
82. Strategic HR Lawyer
83. Suits in the Workplace
84. Texas Non-Compete Law Blog
85. Thoughts from a Management Lawyer
86. Trading Secrets
87. Transgender Workplace Diversity
88. Virginia Non-Competes
89. Wage & Hour - Development & Highlights
90. Wage and Hour Lawyer & Attorney - Yezbak Law Offices
91. Wage Law: California Wage & Hour Law Weblog
92. Washington Labor, Employment & Employee Benefits Law Blog
93. What's New in Employment Law?
94. Whistleblower Law Blog
95. Whistleblower Lawyer Blog
96. Word on Employment Law
97. Workplace Privacy Counsel
98. Workplace Prof Blog
99. WorkplaceHorizons
100. Top 20 Employee Benefits Blogs

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

Blogging As A Career??

Legal Blog Watch carried an interesting June 24, 2009 story about blogging lawyers who made a career out of bloging. It cites to a story in the West Virginia Record which is about Mike Florio, a labor lawyer who started a sports blog ProFootballTalk.com. NBC Sports will now partner with Mr. Florio and promote this blog. Congrats.
There was another labor lawyer who made it big as sports commentator. Any one Remember who?? Howard Cosell.

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

New Labor And Employment Law Blog

There is a new labor and employment law blog in town and it is excellent. Its called Workday and its put out by the folks at CCH so you know it has to be good. Check it out here.

Mitchell H. Rubinstein