ATL Blogger Feels Pain of Breakup in Digital Age

Breaking up can be more difficult than ever in the age of social networking. Just ask Above the Law blogger Kashmir Hill. She told the New York Times about the time she logged into a former boyfriend’s e-mail account, using a password he had shared with her. She read an…

Jan 7, 2010 4:04 PM CST

Ga. Judge Resigns After Questions Raised About Facebook Contacts

A Georgia judge has resigned from the bench after questions surfaced about his Facebook relationship with a defendant. Chief Judge Ernest “Bucky” Woods of Mountain Judicial Circuit Superior Court, 54, told the Fulton County Daily Report that he is retiring from the job. “I just got tired of living under…

Jan 7, 2010 3:44 PM CST

Meet John Doe

Internet defamation plaintiffs are itching for the chance

Jan 2, 2010 3:09 AM CST

Meet John Doe: Internet Defamation Plaintiffs Can’t Wait

Masked by the Web’s anonymity, Internet users feel free to flame celebrities, blast politicians, or blow the whistle on employers for corporate misdeeds.

Burned by the postings, many plaintiffs resort to defamation suits. But in addition to the usual litigation issues, plaintiffs often find another one: plenty of defendants with the same name, John Doe.

Dec 29, 2009 5:07 PM CST

Suit Claims Search Engine’s ‘Bing’ Name Infringes Trademark

A small St. Louis design company claims in a lawsuit that Microsoft infringed its trademark when it called its new search engine Bing. The suit was filed in St. Louis circuit court this week by Bing! Information Design, according to Ars Technica’s One Microsoft Way blog, IDG News Service and…

Dec 18, 2009 1:26 PM CST

EU Drops Microsoft Antitrust Case; Huge Fines Spur Conciliatory Trend

The European Commission has dropped its antitrust case against Microsoft after the company agreed to offer customers a choice of up to 12 browsers. The settlement calls for Microsoft to send a screen of browser choices to Windows consumers who use Internet Explorer as their main browser, according to the…

Dec 16, 2009 12:28 PM CST

Britain Considers Changes to Deter ‘Libel Tourism’

Embarrassed by London’s reputation as a libel mecca that draws litigation from purportedly aggrieved claimants from around the world, British lawmakers appear poised to make changes to the 19th-century libel laws. One member of the House of Lords is drafting a bill that could especially deter forum shopping. It would…

Dec 11, 2009 11:50 AM CST

Mistrial for Blogger Accused of Threat to Kill 3 Federal Appellate Judges

A deadlocked jury forced a mistrial today in the case of a so-called hate blogger accused of threatening three federal appeals court judges in an Internet tirade over an opinion they issued on gun control. Prosecutors contended the blog post by Hal Turner amounted to a death threat against the…

Dec 7, 2009 8:28 PM CST

Law Firm Website Redesign Lesson: Review Photos as Well as Text

Even when a well-known legal consultant is handling a law firm website redesign, it’s important for partners to retain an oversight role, a small Texas law firm has learned the hard way. Stock photo illustrations of seeming crime victims published in connection with descriptions of Lindeman, Alvarado & Frye’s sex…

Dec 7, 2009 7:54 PM CST

Teen Sues Town Over ID on Online Arrest Log

A Rhode Island teenager is suing the town of Madison, Conn., for publishing his arrest at age 17 on an online arrest log. Connecticut law requires that arrest records for those under age 18 “shall be confidential and shall not be open to public inspection,” according to the lawsuit filed…

Dec 4, 2009 7:46 PM CST

UK Hacker Loses Latest Bid to Fight Extradition to US

A computer hacker who is accused of breaking into U.S. military systems in the wake of 9/11 has lost his latest attempt to forestall extradition to the United States. Gary McKinnon has maintained that the extradition would violate British human rights laws because he is suicidal and suffers from Asperger’s…

Dec 1, 2009 6:19 PM CST

Cops Arrest Record Exec, Claim He Refused to Send Crowd-Control Tweet

Authorities arrested a record company executive earlier this month for allegedly refusing to send out a Twitter message to help restore order among an unruly throng of some 3,000 people waiting to see 15-year-old pop singer Justin Bieber at a New York City area shopping mall. James Roppo, 44, who…

Nov 30, 2009 6:17 PM CST

Like a Dress Code, Social Media Policy Can Prevent Excess Exposure

When potential clients Google your law firm, do you want a paralegal’s MySpace page featuring “unprofessional interests and photos” to be the first hit they get? Obviously, the answer to this question is no. But that’s exactly what happened when attorney Greg Ripple looked up a law firm he didn’t…

Nov 24, 2009 6:01 PM CST

Depressed Woman Loses Leave Benefits After Facebook Shows Her Having Fun

A Canadian woman on leave from her job at IBM says she lost her benefits after her insurance agent spotted her in Facebook photos having fun. The woman, Nathalie Blanchard, says her insurer, Manulife, told her the photos are evidence she is no longer depressed, according to the Associated Press…

Nov 23, 2009 8:05 PM CST

Defendant Argues Law Firm’s YouTube Video Amounted to Defamation

A company accused in a class action lawsuit of selling a dietary supplement that doesn’t live up to its memory claims has turned the tables on the plaintiffs’ firm, claiming its lawyers gave interviews and posted a YouTube video with defamatory statements. On Friday, the class action defendant, Brain Research…

Nov 23, 2009 3:34 PM CST