Contracts

In bid to protect online reviews, Congress OKs bill banning gag clauses in consumer contracts

Congress has passed a bipartisan bill that aims to protect negative online reviews by banning nondisparagement clauses in nonnegotiable consumer contracts. The bill is called the Consumer Review Fairness Act, report the Wall Street Journal Law Blog, Ars Technica, the Danbury News Times and a press release. The bill voids…

Dec 2, 2016 10:41 AM CST

These law firms get the most business from large companies in five areas of litigation

The nation’s largest companies spread their work around to a mix of law firms, according to an analysis of court filings and public documents. Corporate Counsel (sub. req.) did the review and created the list of the top go-to law firms used by Fortune 50 companies in five key areas…

Nov 21, 2016 1:39 PM CST

10 Questions: ‘Sledgehammer Shannon’ defends workers in sharing economy

Nicknamed “Sledgehammer Shannon,” this Boston lawyer doesn’t take on cases; she takes on industries. Click here to register for 10 Questions Live with Shannon Liss-Riordan today at 2 p.m. ET.

Nov 1, 2016 3:10 AM CDT

Spurned recruiter sues BigLaw partner who used competitor; was recorded phone call a contract?

A legal recruiting firm in Dallas claims a recorded phone call will show a law firm partner agreed to work with the company exclusively if he pursued an opportunity at Holland & Knight. The partner, Dean Schaner of Haynes and Boone, used another recruiting firm before jumping to Holland &…

Aug 24, 2016 9:35 AM CDT

Judge tosses suit claiming ice in Starbucks beverages shortchanges customers on liquid

A federal judge in Los Angeles has tossed a lawsuit alleging Starbucks is misleading customers about the size of its iced beverages because some of the liquid is displaced by ice. U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson tossed the suit in an Aug. 19 decision (PDF), report the Wall Street Journal…

Aug 24, 2016 8:50 AM CDT

Company can’t ban employees from pursuing workplace claims as a class, 9th Circuit says

Federal labor law bars companies from requiring employees to give up their right to band together to pursue workplace claims, a federal appeals court has ruled. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 for workers on Monday in an overtime-pay case against Ernst & Young, Reuters,…

Aug 23, 2016 11:16 AM CDT

Tech startups shine in competition at Canadian Bar Association annual meeting

During last weekend’s annual meeting of the Canadian Bar Association, the organization held its own version of TV’s Shark Tank. Called “The Pitch” (presumably to avoid copyright infringement, as well as the unfortunate implications of linking sharks and lawyers), the CBA invited five legal startups to pitch themselves to a…

Aug 17, 2016 12:25 PM CDT

Texas AG cites court opinion to deny info releases by local governments

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is citing a Texas Supreme court opinion to advise against release of information—ranging from the number of Uber driver permits issued by the city of Houston to the cost of an Enrique Iglesias appearance sponsored by the city of McAllen. Now Texas lawmakers are considering…

Aug 9, 2016 10:15 AM CDT

Fox News CEO steps down two weeks after he is sued for alleged sexual harassment

Fox News chief Roger Ailes is leaving his job two weeks after former anchor Gretchen Carlson claimed in a lawsuit that he fired her and sabotaged her career because she refused to accept his sexual advances. Rupert Murdoch will become chairman and acting CEO after Ailes’ immediate resignation on Thursday,…

Jul 21, 2016 3:38 PM CDT

Suit targeting Council on American-Islamic Relations over fake lawyer is reinstated by DC Circuit

A federal appeals court has reinstated a lawsuit seeking to hold the Council on American-Islamic Relations Action Network responsible for a contract employee at a regional chapter who falsely claimed to be a lawyer. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled against CAIR’s national office in a…

Jun 21, 2016 1:54 PM CDT

Suit by lawyer for startup claims he received zilch for his work as general counsel

A California lawyer for a startup called QuickLegal claims in a lawsuit that he was never paid for more than three months of work he performed as in-house general counsel for the company and its predecessor. The lawyer, Justin Lowenthal, says in the June 11 suit (PDF) that QuickLegal Inc.…

Jun 20, 2016 7:30 AM CDT

Are your adult kids living at home? ‘Tiger mom’ law prof offers this contract

The Yale law professor who wrote a book about strict “Tiger mom” parenting decided there needed to be some rules when her two daughters informed her they would be staying at her apartment this summer. So she wrote up a contract. Writing in the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.), law…

Jun 14, 2016 6:15 AM CDT

FTC sues 2 law firms over claimed mortgage-rescue scheme that cost clients $15M in 2014

The Federal Trade Commission has sued two Southern California law firms, seeking to freeze their assets and appoint a receiver. It says Brookstone Law and Advantis Law raked in $15 million in 2014 by charging clients upfront fees for work such as “legal analysis” and promises of mass joinder in…

Jun 10, 2016 12:30 PM CDT

Illinois attorney general sues Jimmy John’s over noncompete clauses for low-wage workers

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan claims in a lawsuit that Jimmy John’s sandwich restaurants are violating state law by requiring low-wage workers to sign restrictive noncompete agreements. The suit filed on Wednesday in Cook County says it is intended to prevent the sandwich chain from continuing to require the noncompete…

Jun 10, 2016 8:45 AM CDT

San Francisco mulls fining, prosecuting home-share sites like Airbnb for listing unregistered units

In 2015, a law took effect in San Francisco that requires those who make short-term rentals available on sharing sites such as Airbnb, HomeAway and VRBO to register with local government. But only around 1,400 of an estimated 7,000 or more owners who rent rooms and entire homes to travelers…

Jun 3, 2016 11:53 AM CDT