Legal Research

Selections from National Law Journal Daily Headlines August 8, 2008

By David Badertscher, PLL

Source: NLJ.com, August 8, 2008.

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FROM THE UPCOMING ISSUE  |  Vetting jurors via MySpace
"As personal information becomes more widely available on blogs, MySpace, Facebook and other social networking Web sites, the Internet has become an important tool for jury consultants and trial lawyers. Such sites are a treasure trove of information about potential and seated jurors that can be used in picking the right jurors, bouncing potential jurors and even influencing jurors during trial and in closing arguments. Jury consultants have begun turning to private investigators, some of whom have started niche businesses offering Internet jury research and 'personality profiling' of jurors."

FROM THE UPCOMING ISSUE  |  Calif. high court kicks moribund noncompete clauses closer to the grave
"The moribund noncompete clause in California labor contracts got another step closer to the grave, under a state Supreme Court decision Thursday. The ruling held that employers may not restrain departing workers by imposing terms that forbid that employee working with his old clients after joining a rival employer. California now has the most restrictive controls on employer use of noncompete clauses in contracts of any state, according to Richard Frank, who specializes in employment and business litigation."

WEB-ONLY  |  U.S. law firms in China adjusting to Beijing's Olympic schedule
"Several law firms are adjusting the work schedules of their employees in China to accommodate special travel restrictions put in place in the weeks before and during the Beijing Olympics. Beginning last month, the Beijing Municipal Government, in an effort to reduce congestion and improve air quality, instituted traffic restrictions that require motorists with registered licenses ending in odd numbers to drive on odd numbered dates; those ending in even numbers must drive on even numbered dates. "

WEB-ONLY  |  Homeowners notch win in long-running battle over eminent domain
"A New Jersey appellate court handed a victory to homeowners in a long-running eminent domain dispute with the city of Long Branch, finding no actual blight in an area set for condemnation and redevelopment. The case by a group of long-term residents of the coastal strip drew the attention of land use specialists and landowner rights advocates from around the country in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2005 decision allowing cities to use eminent domain to take 'blighted' land from one private owner to give to another for development."

WEB-ONLY  |  Ontario universities want to open law schools, but the government says 'no'
"Several Ontario universities want to open law schools, but the government has said it will not fund any new ones. Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Laurentian University in Sudbury and Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo recently expressed interest in opening new law schools, but the provincial government has said it will not pay for any of them. The decision is a setback for the three schools and any others with hopes of offering a new legal education curriculum. It has been nearly 40 years since Ontario last opened a law school, leaving the number of the province's accredited law schools at six. "

WEB-ONLY  |  Attorneys fan out to help Holocaust survivors receive new reparations
"Law firms throughout the country are volunteering their services to assist thousands of Holocaust survivors in winning new reparations from Germany. The German Ghetto Work Payment Program fund was established in September to award reparations to survivors who worked in German-controlled ghettos during World War II. The new reparations are considered a goodwill gesture to thousands of aging survivors, some of whom are living below the poverty level."

WEB-ONLY  |  Proposed student loan repayment program for law grads goes to Bush for signature
"A proposed student loan repayment program for law school graduates who commit to service as state or local prosecutors, or state, local or federal public defenders, now awaits President Bush's signature. The program is contained in the Higher Education Opportunity Act (H.R. 4137), which updates existing programs and creates new ways to make higher education accessible and affordable."

Full post as published by New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library on August 08, 2008 (boomark / email).