You can sue someone who broke into your email, but you’d better find proof fast

In August 2011, New York City teacher Chantay Sewell tried to log in to her AOL account and couldn't. Shortly afterward, a message making defamatory claims about her sex life went out from her email address. Seven months later, the same thing happened with her Facebook account.

Jan 1, 2016 3:30 AM CST

10 Questions: From lesbian moms to Airbnb, Roberta Kaplan makes sure laws keep pace with change

Jan 1, 2016 3:20 AM CST

Anti-puppy mill legislation across the country is dogging pet stores

How much is that doggy in the window? Thanks to a growing number of laws passed by municipalities across the United States banning pet stores from selling animals from commercial breeders, the more appropriate question for consumers hoping to add to their families might be "What's the adoption fee for…

Dec 1, 2015 4:10 AM CST

Can marijuana ads be shown on TV in states where it’s legal? Broadcasters aren’t so sure

If the recent spate of states repealing marijuana prohibitions could be likened to a revolution, it's one that won't be televised—at least not as a commercial. That's the transmission received recently in Colorado, where a 15-second advertisement for a cannabis-oil vape pen that was set to air during a Denver…

Dec 1, 2015 4:00 AM CST

New business collects debts for independent workers

Even litigators can have trouble getting paid, as New York City lawyer Jesse Strauss learned. Strauss, an employment litigator, has had to write off debt too small to be worth a lawsuit. And he saw the same problem among many of his clients. Like him, they had debts too small…

Dec 1, 2015 3:50 AM CST

This lawyer is using her love for ‘Star Wars’ to expand the galaxy of geeks

For some people, Star Wars isn't just a movie, it's also a way of life. Jennifer LaFortune is one of those people. Since 2006, the Gilbert, Arizona, lawyer has been dressing up, or "cosplaying," as a Stormtrooper—Imperial Officer TK 7047, to be exact—to attend sci-fi conventions, march in parades and…

Dec 1, 2015 3:40 AM CST

These judges are partners in life and on the bench

Like many two-lawyer couples, Jane Wipf Pfeifle and Craig Pfeifle have pondered the law since they shared law school assignments and late-night pizza while attending the University of South Dakota School of Law.

Nov 1, 2015 3:50 AM CST

Doctors, lawyers and others are collaborating to ensure pregnant women get workplace accommodations

The majority of American pregnant women work, but some don't get requested accommodations, like extra bathroom breaks. And the reason may surprise you: Their medical teams don't know how to write requests properly.

Nov 1, 2015 3:40 AM CST

This lawyer is fighting to extend basic human rights to complex animals

Natalie Prosin doesn't favor guerrilla tactics in the courtroom—more like gorilla tactics. As executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Nonhuman Rights Project, she manages the day-to-day operations of a mostly volunteer group of lawyers and scientists striving to extend the common-law classification of personhood to cognitively complex nonhuman animals to…

Nov 1, 2015 3:30 AM CST

‘Iconathon’ held by the PTO to create symbols for IP concepts

Nov 1, 2015 3:20 AM CST

Kentucky’s attempt to keep teens from dropping out of school meets with resistance

After some legislative fits and starts, it's gotten a lot harder to drop out of high school in Kentucky. Starting in July of this year, the required attendance age went from 16 to 18. But the seeming victory for education advocates may be short-lived, with opponents prepared to challenge the…

Nov 1, 2015 3:10 AM CST

Ralph Nader opens his American Museum of Tort Law

Scalding-hot coffee, exploding cars and dangerous toys are catnip to plaintiffs lawyers, but do they appeal to regular people, too? Ralph Nader thinks so, and he's out to prove it with the American Museum of Tort Law. Housed in an old bank building in Nader's hometown of Winsted, Connecticut, the…

Oct 1, 2015 8:40 AM CDT

Is video visitation helpful or harmful for prisoners and their families?

Prison can be a lonely place. Few of the estimated 2.2 million Americans behind bars get regular visitors due to cost, distance and the stress of prison visits. But that may soon change thanks to new video visitation technology akin to Skype or FaceTime that has already been introduced into…

Oct 1, 2015 8:35 AM CDT

Pole dances are exempt from sales tax, says New York administrative law judge

Oct 1, 2015 8:30 AM CDT

This Houston lawyer is now representing a death row inmate he reported on as a TV newsman

Earlier this year, Quinncy N. McNeal was surfing the Internet when he discovered that an execution date had been set for Rodney Reed, a Texas death row inmate convicted of the 1996 abduction, rape and murder of 19-year-old Stacey Stites. McNeal was shocked. Before becoming a lawyer, he had worked…

Oct 1, 2015 8:28 AM CDT