New York Times

April 15, 2019

When the United States government assigned responsibility for NotPetya to Russia in 2018, insurers were provided with a justification for refusing to cover the damage. Just as they wouldn’t be liable if a bomb blew up a corporate building during an armed conflict, they claim not to be responsible when a state-backed hack strikes a computer network.

The disputes are playing out in court. In a closely watched legal battle, Mondelez sued Zurich Insurance last year for a breach of contract in an Illinois court, and Merck filed a similar suit in New Jersey in August. Merck sued more than 20 insurers that rejected claims related to the NotPetya attack, including several that cited the war exemption. The two cases could take years to resolve.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/15/technology/cyberinsurance-notpetya-attack.html?action=click&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage§ion=Technology

KALW Local Public Radio

April 9, 2019

In 2016, the Department of Justice reported that Mam was one of the top 10 languages used in immigration court.

Over the past three years the Alameda County Superior Court — which deals with civil, criminal, and traffic law — has also been getting increasingly frequent requests for Mam interpreters.

https://www.kalw.org/post/oakland-raised-maya-are-bridging-mam-language-gap-local-courts#stream/0

In Custodia Legis

Law Librarians of Congress

April 2, 2019

"The federal judiciary has the authority to review actions of the legislative and executive branches to verify that they comport with the Constitution see Marbury v. Madison). However, judicial review does not extend to all issues. A case is justiciable if it is the type of dispute that a court can properly adjudicate. Justiciability is determined by examining a variety of factors or requirements. One factor that determines justiciability is the subject or issue at the heart of the dispute. The dispute must be an actual case or controversy between two adverse parties in order to be justiciable.

The “Political Question Doctrine” is another justiciability factor. Political questions are non-justiciable because Congress and the executive branch, or the political branches, are in a better position to resolve question that are political in nature. Historically, the judiciary has deemed disputes that are political and require examination of powers given to the other branches by the Constitution to be outside the realm of judicial review."

https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2019/04/the-power-of-judicial-review/

Radiolab More Perfect

September 18, 2017

When Chief Justice Earl Warren was asked at the end of his career, “What was the most important case of your tenure?”, there were a lot of answers he could have given. After all, he had presided over some of the most important decisions in the court’s history — cases that dealt with segregation in schools, the right to an attorney, the right to remain silent, just to name a few. But his answer was a surprise: he said, “Baker v. Carr,” a 1962 redistricting case.

On this episode of More Perfect, we talk about why this case was so important; important enough, in fact, that it pushed one Supreme Court justice to a nervous breakdown, brought a boiling feud to a head, put one justice in the hospital, and changed the course of the Supreme Court — and the nation — forever. Plus, this term, the court revisits redistricting with a case that could turn voting districts across the country upside down.

https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/political-thicket-radio

Legal Talk Network

The Paralegal Voice

April 10, 2019

EPISODE NOTES

Is artificial intelligence going to replace paralegals in the legal industry? Short answer— no! In this episode of The Paralegal Voice, host Carl Morrison talks to Maddy Martin about the impact of automation in the legal profession and how it affects paralegals. They discuss how speed and accuracy in everyday paralegal tasks can be improved with AI and how this frees up paralegals for higher level tasks. After the break, Maddy talks about her role at Smith.ai and describes how the company provides communications services for law firms. Finally, Maddy gives tips for paralegals on what to look for when seeking new legal tech for their law office.

FEATURED GUEST

Maddy Martin

Maddy Martin is the head of growth and education at Smith.ai, a provider of law firm communication services including:...

https://legaltalknetwork.com/podcasts/paralegal-voice/2019/04/automation-in-the-legal-industry-how-ai-empowers-paralegals/

ABA Journal News

April 9. 2019

“We need to continue to think about how the changes in technology affect the way people access our legal system and also the balance between computer-assisted processes and human-driving processes,” Bales told the ABA Journal. He is also vice-chair of the council of the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, and he intends to stay in that position after he joins the IAALS.

http://www.abajournal.com/web/article/arizona-supreme-court-chief-justice-will-lead-iaals

ABA Journal News

March 27, 2019

“As the American population grays, the need for attorneys who understand the unique aspects of planning for the elderly and people with special needs will grow,” says Michael J. Amoruso, president of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. According to him, the NAELA has seen a significant increase in membership in anticipation of this boom.

Elder law encompasses a variety of specialties, including estate tax, wills, trusts and probate, special needs and disability trusts. Although these categories may be part of an elder law practice, they are also legal issues that affect younger people, as well.

“Some of the areas of practice that have traditionally been considered a part of elder law actually impact people regardless of their age,” says Marvin S.C. Dang, a Honolulu attorney and chair of the ABA’s Senior Lawyers Division. “For example, it’s not just the elderly who need protection from financial exploitation or who need custodial care. And it’s not only senior citizens who require a guardian after they have a stroke, early onset of Alzheimer’s disease or ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis).”

http://www.abajournal.com/web/article/as-americas-population-ages-demand-for-elder-law-attorneys-grows

New York Times

April 13, 2019

"The fight is an existential one for Qualcomm, at least as it has operated for most of its nearly 34 years in business. The company, based in San Diego, pioneered a type of cellular communications in the 1990s that later became a mainstay of mobile devices. That innovation allowed Qualcomm to charge patent royalties on nearly every smartphone sold, which generates the bulk of its profits."

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/13/technology/apple-qualcomm-chips-smartphones.html

PASCCO 

April 17, 2019

6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Karen V. Tomczak, MSN, RN, CEN who is also a certified legal nurse consultant will describe the most important information to extract from the records to assist attorneys in damage analysis for the case and an experienced insurance defense paralegal will cover the formula for calculating the amount of bills that are recoverable under the Howell case.

Join us for these valuable tips and pointers when reviewing patient records and bills. The majority of the presentation will be the medical record review. The end of the presentation will be a demonstration of a short Howell Analysis.

https://paosccqpq.wildapricot.org/event-3319236