Connecticut Attorney Who Had Firearm Confiscated Loses Appellate Court Challenge
In a Second Amendment challenge, the state Appellate Court has upheld the confiscation of a West Hartford lawyer's guns after police determined that he was at risk of harming himself or others. Meanwhile, the lawyer, Donald Hope, who is a divorce mediator in West Hartford, contends that a bad reaction to medication precipitated the police incident. According to court documents, West Hartford police responded to a 911 call on May 15, 2014, for a possible burglary at Hope's hom
Courts Shy Away From Treble Damages in Wage, Hour Suits
When a wage and hour suit is filed against an employer, one of the first questions asked by the defendant-employer is: What's my exposure? Generally, in New York state, in wage and hours suits, plaintiffs allege violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and New York Labor Law (NYLL). Both statutes permit prevailing plaintiffs to recover compensatory damages (usually back wages), their reasonable attorney fees and costs and liquidated damages. Whether a success
Explosion of Hackers Focusing on Employee Phishing, App Cyber Attacks: Report
Cyber attackers’ success in tricking employees to willingly give up personal data and access highlights a critical, overlooked vulnerability in company IT defenses. As cybersecurity professionals become more skilled at securing critical core systems and businesses’ IT networks, cyber attackers have started to focus their efforts are on an easier target: human behavior. Last year marked a substantial shift in hackers’ strategy towards exploiting the online behaviors of company
Cyberwarfare Defined and Lawyers’ Role in the Fight
Cyberthreats are a constant in the digital world, but what does change is the nature of the attack. At a panel titled “Emerging Cyber Attack Trends and Technical and Legal Remedies,” held at the New York Harvard Club on Feb. 24, experts from the crossroads of legal and technology converged to discuss the trends in this ongoing evolution of cybercrime, as well as the role of lawyers in the fight against it. The session was divided into discussions on defining the cybersecurity
War of Words Escalates in Apple v. FBI
Litigators are notorious for waiting until the very last minute to file briefs.
But lawyers for Apple Inc. beat a Friday deadline by more than 24 hours this past week with their first push to block a court order forcing the company to help the government access a passcode-protected iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters. The timing was calculated to ensure that the brief wouldn't get lost in a weekend news cycle likely to be dominated by the South Carolina Democra
Mortgage Payments Outside Chapter 13 Plan Don't Affect Discharge
In many Chapter 13 bankruptcy plans, debtors state they will make the regular monthly mortgage payments directly to mortgage holders "outside" of the plan.
Does this plan treatment mean that the debtor's personal liability on the note secured by the mortgage is discharged at the end of the plan? A Florida court recently found such a debt was not discharged.
In In re Park in the MIddle District of Florida, the debtors' confirmed Chapter 13 plan provided for payments "outsi
Colleges That Ask Applicants About Brushes With the Law Draw Scrutiny
The online admissions application for Auburn University appears simple, until you get to this question on Page 7: "Have you ever been charged with or convicted of or pled guilty or nolo contendere to a crime other than a minor traffic offense, or are there any criminal charges now pending against you?" Those who check "yes," even though they have never been convicted of any crime, face extra scrutiny - a call from the admissions office asking for additional information, the u
