http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/index.jsp Updated daily en-us 07/04/2009 Copyright 2009. Incisive Media US Properties, LLC. All rights reserved. http://www.law.com/service/terms_conditions.shtml http://www.law.com/img/newswire/nlj_rss.gif http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/index.jsp Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. led a Court this term that often served up half-loaves for liberals and conservatives, businesses and consumers alike. The justices faced momentous shifts in Court doctrine on issues ranging from the Voting Rights Act to the exclusionary rule, campaign finance to the constitutionality of workplace affirmative action, and then stepped back from the precipice. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202431973734&rss=nlj Twenty years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court rewrote the textbook on employment discrimination law through an aggressive series of rulings limiting the rights of employees with job bias claims. Congress retaliated with the Civil Rights Act of 1991. Could the just-ended high court term trigger a Civil Rights Act of 2009? http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202431973694&rss=nlj Lawyers in Los Angeles involved in representing immigrants seeking permanent residency in the United States are increasingly frustrated with multiple governmental agencies that often don't coordinate with one another. The problem, they said, is particularly acute in Los Angeles, which has more immigration judges than any other region and a noticeably crowded docket. But, as the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reasoned in a recent decision, a busy calendar alone isn't necessarily enough reason to deny a continuance. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202431973776&rss=nlj Most of the story lines are already set for Sotomayor's hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and just about all of them end with her winning confirmation as the next justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. That doesn't mean, though, that she'll have an easy time. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202431979181&rss=nlj State attorneys general won a major turf war in the U.S. Supreme Court on June 29 as the justices held that states may enforce their anti-discrimination and consumer protection laws against national banks. The high court, in a 5-4 ruling, struck down a regulation issued by the chief federal regulator of national banks that pre-empted the states' power to enforce those laws. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202431861851&rss=nlj The economic doldrums may be slowing patent filing work for intellectual property specialists, but the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's increasingly stingy patent allowance rate is boosting back-end work for lawyers at the agency's appeals board. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202431935710&rss=nlj After eight months of electoral dispute, former comedian Al Franken may be sworn in as Minnesota's second senator and take his seat on the Senate Judiciary Committee as early as this week. We spoke with Perkins Coie partner Marc Elias, who argued for Franken in front of the state supreme court, about the recount. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202431979064&rss=nlj At issue in the legal fight between the Chabad-Lubavitch sect and the Russian Federation is an irreplaceable library of rare books, manuscripts and thousands of pages of handwritten rabbinical teachings that were once held by the Chabad-Lubavitch head rabbis but were left behind when the rabbis fled for safety during the world wars. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202431979102&rss=nlj The Illinois Supreme Court announced this week that it has adopted new and revised rules of professional conduct for lawyers licensed to practice in the state, adding guidelines on Web advertising, the sale of a firm, and even sex with clients. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202431978375&rss=nlj In a what's believed to be a first of its kind swearing-in ceremony for a lawyer, a Michigan soldier in Iraq became an attorney on Thursday via a live video conference, taking his oath before a judge who was more than 6,300 miles away. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202431978010&rss=nlj A Massachusetts federal judge ruled that former state court judge Ernest B. Murphy can't collect $6.8 million from the Boston Herald's insurance company. Murphy demanded the payment from the insurance company after winning a libel lawsuit against the Herald and collecting $3.4 million. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202431976321&rss=nlj Software companies that help computer users halt Internet ads and viruses have a broad immunity from lawsuits brought by companies whose Web pages are blocked, the 9th Circuit ruled last week in Zango v. Kaspersky Lab. But the federal appellate court sounded a cautionary note about the breadth of immunity the software companies enjoy. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202431952995&rss=nlj The Michigan Supreme Court has laid the hammer down on gadget-happy jurors in banning all electronic communications by jurors during trial, including tweets on Twitter, text messages and Google searches. The ruling, which takes effect Sept. 1, will require Michigan judges for the first time to instruct jurors not to use any handheld device, such as iPhones or Blackberrys, while in the jury box or during deliberations. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202431952628&rss=nlj The unstable economy created a tricky situation for law school admissions offices this year. The University of Miami School of Law underestimated the percentage of accepted students who enroll — and is offering incentives for students to sit out a year. Those who opt to delay until the fall of 2010 will receive a $5,000 scholarship when they complete 120 hours of public service and will have a better chance at receiving a $75,000 scholarship, among other incentives. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202431937055&rss=nlj Former clients of a Cleveland-based law firm have convinced an Ohio appeals court to revive their claim that the 45-attorney shop duped them into a low-ball settlement in a legal malpractice case. Reversing a lower court, the three-judge panel threw out summary judgment in favor of Javitch, Block & Rathbone, a collections and bankruptcy firm with four offices in Ohio and Indiana. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202431935839&rss=nlj As wrangling over a state budget continues, lawsuits against the State of Illinois have piled up in the past week as social service organizations push back against state funding cuts affecting children and the disabled. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202431934257&rss=nlj Sue or settle? Today, budgets are what drives the answer to the question. A provisional strategy that some general counsel are following right now is placing some lawsuits on hold. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202431926208&rss=nlj Any unfortunate comment by an attorney can be caught in the blizzard of new media devices and can spell disaster for a case. Here is a primer of what attorneys should watch for and how to overcome instincts that could make an attorney into a victim. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202431925926&rss=nlj Remembering a few rules can greatly help in getting the greatest benefit from experts or, conversely, effectively cross-examining an opposing expert. There are three general areas of expert evidence: pure opinion expert evidence, scientific expert evidence and nonscientific expert evidence. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202431925740&rss=nlj Angie Zapata's killer claims that he simply "snapped" when he learned the woman he had begun to date was transgender. This legal strategy, often referred to as "gay panic" or, in the case of Angie Zapata, "trans panic," is still depressingly common in American courtrooms. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202431964634&rss=nlj Despite some negative case law, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act is an effective tool for employers to protect corporate data from departing employees. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202431933936&rss=nlj Profile of Joseph W. Anthony, general counsel of the U.S. Golf Association. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202431935641&rss=nlj Katheryne L. Zelenock joins Dickinson Wright's real estate practice group in the Bloomfield, Michigan, office. Plus more law firm movers in this week's column. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202431962267&rss=nlj Our inaugural Midsize Hot List includes 20 law firms — selected from a flood of nominations — that demonstrate exemplary innovation in practice management, fee arrangements, attorney recruitment and retention, and business development, especially in the face of current economic challenges. These firms have shown particular agility in adapting their practices to the recent changes in the legal services market. They range in size from 50 to 300 attorneys and are located across the country. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202431769172&rss=nlj Profiles of successful attorneys and their strategies. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202431598121&rss=nlj As the legal profession continues to weather this down economy, clients are scrutinizing legal fees more closely than ever. Law firms critically need their fees paid in order to stay profitable and should avoid these common billing problems. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202431396772&rss=nlj