Moritz Legal Information Blog

In the recent article Marijuana Is Changing the Workplace. Here’s How Employers Should Deal With It.,  Slate .com's headline is curious---how should employers respond to employees' use of legal medical marijuana?---as though there are a myriad of options. The source of the article, Inc.com, takes more of a proactive approach with its headline: Why You Need a Workplace Marijuana Policy . In any case, not knowing or understanding the law doesn't mean an employer can choose whether to follow it. Thank heavens for lawyers who get paid to explain to client the state of the law and recommend sound policies and courses of action. The article begins with "be familiar with the laws that have been passed in their states...." You could try to find your state's laws on the subject; that might be sufficient to create a policy for any of your clients that employ people. Why not do that and track trends for your clients? Consider figuring out how every state handles t

It might be tempting after you've finished your seminar paper or journal note to just file it away and move on to the next thing.  Why not enter it into a writing competition?  Moritz students have been successful in recent competitions, even winning a trip to the Grammys . There is no single list of all law student writing competitions.  So check out several of the links below to find the right competition for your paper. The American Bar Association has compiled all of its student writing competitions into a handy guide. Richmond School of Law's Legal Essay Contest Catalog is a robust collection of contests. Try out the filter feature to see just the competitions on a particular subject. George Washington Law School maintains an excel file with over 200 competitions over the world.

"Every airport has a unique three-letter IATA ( International Air Travel Association ) code. Some make sense if you know the city or the name of the airport and others, well, what the heck?" Check out the beautiful, engaging website, Airport Codes , that shows you why each airport has the code it has; each explainer is accompanied by an often striking photo of the airport. A $5 Panera gift card to the first person who emails me why on earth Columbus, Ohio, has the airport code CMH. And for more on aviation law, check out one of the dozens of books we have on the subject or this Aviation Law Research Guide .

Slate.com offers a Better Call Saul podcast that recaps and explores each week's episode. This week , a professional ethics attorney, Nicole Hyland , joins the podcast to discuss the ethics of the lead character's actions. Ms. Hyland joins the podcast around minute 14:40. One of the questions Ms. Hyland addresses include whether it's an ethical violation to rummage through someone's garbage can in the alley to find out more about them. Says Saul Goodman, "You can't say it's private if a hobo can use it as a wigwam." Here are another couple questions the attorney addresses: Can you spill coffee on a police officer to distract him or her from noticing your client is stealing? What's the scope of permissible advertising by attorneys? How do you advertise ethically on Twitter? Can you impersonate another attorney? (The answer may surprise you.) Ms. Hyland assesses violations according to New York law, so if you'd like to compare her analysis

The Lawyerist has a great list of 10 Lessons You Weren't Taught in Law School . Reading through the list, it's clear they lessons would be useful for practicing attorneys---or perhaps any new business person---but it's also clear there are some things a person has to teach themselves when the timing is right. Here's the list of ten with some resources you might find useful to cultivate these skills: 1. How to Handle Conflict The Professional Woman's Guide to Conflict Management Conflict Management: A Communication Skills Approach You Raised Us - Now Work With Us: Millennials, Career Success, and Building Strong Workplace Teams 2. How to Forgive (yourself included) Forgiveness is a Choice: A Step-by-step Process for Resolving Anger and Restoring Hope Resolving Personal and Organizational Conflict: Stories of Transformation and Forgiveness 3. How to Have Difficult and Uncomfortable Conversations Lawyers as Counselors: A Client-centered Approach

We don't know Google's exact algorithm , but boy they do everything they can to take thinking out of the equation for you. Like that's doing you a favor. " Our work on interpreting user intent is aimed at returning results people really want , not just what they said in their query. " The problem is, "the user" is a really nebulous identity. It's so generalized, you, the actual user, must learn how to override Google's algorithm a bit to get valuable search results . . . especially if you are using Google for legal research. After all, to be a "competent" attorney per the comments to  Model Rule of Professional Conduct 1.1 , "a lawyer should keep abreast of changes in the law and its practice, including the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology . . . ." What's a lawyer to do? Read all you can about how Google works . That's all. And it's fun . Reading up on Google searching gives you the skills

The world of administrative law offers many specializations, including, as one Ohio community is discovering, civil works law. Hundreds of homes in Buckeye Lake were built on the backside of an earthen dam, as the Columbus Dispatch reports , leading the US Army Corps of Engineers to conclude the dam is at risk of “catastrophic damage.”  Civil works law includes both federal and state matters, further complicating the legal framework.    Situations like this potential dam failure, involve many issues, from fiscal law and government contracting to environmental law.   Both the Corps and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), the dam’s owner, offer dam safety programs.   To explore dam safety in particular, you might examine both the Corps and ODNR websites.   If you’re thinking of tackling similarly urgent issues in the administrative law context, check out our career services shelves, which include titles like Landing a Federal Legal Job .

We've written here lately about copyright infringement litigation and pointed you to a number of entertainment news sources for background. Did you, like me, get overeager perusing online newspapers for more information and run into a pay wall telling you you'd reached your reading limit for the month? Good news! Those affiliated with OSU or using a computer terminal here on campus can often access many of these newspapers online for free. Many of these are available for free through the Columbus Metropolitan Library as well (under their site tabs for Research or Services). All you need is a library card . Should you not go the free route, however, don't forget that if you're a practicing entertainment lawyer, you may be able to deduct certain business expenses , including subscriptions to entertainment news sources such as the L.A. Times and Variety .

Just last Tuesday we posted about the Blurred Lines copyright infringement trial , and the jury reached a verdict yesterday. At issue was whether the authors of Blurred Lines infringed on Marvin Gaye's copyright in the song Got to Give It Up . (Actually, his estate owns the copyright.) The verdict? ‘Blurred Lines’ Jury Orders Pharrell, Robin Thicke to Pay $7.3 Million to Marvin Gaye Family. Are there ramifications for artists attorneys should know about so they can counsel clients accordingly? The L.A. Times thinks so with four articles on the subject in just five days: 'Blurred Lines' ruling stuns the music industry Ruling that 'Blurred Lines' copied Marvin Gaye song rocks music world 'Blurred Lines' verdict a blow to creative expression How the 'Blurred Lines' case could have chilling effect on creativity Is the analysis accurate? How can an attorney truly assess the impact of this verdict, and what obligation of sound counsel does th

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Our previous coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing covered civil liability for defamation, the right to privacy, and criminal procedure. The trial finally started (after several motions to change venue over concerns about the ability to secure an "impartial" jury in Boston), and opening statements were made. Jury selection took 22 days in court. Twenty-two days! Consider CLEs have been offered advising on a meaningful and effective 30-minute voir dire ! What's more, though jury selection has been said to "make or break" a trial verdict, often judges are in the driver's seat when it comes to the actual questioning and selection of jurors, depending on your court. We of course have numerous resources you could consult on how to conduct effective voir dire. And if you're looking for a respite from trial practice, consider checking out Runaway Jury .

Copyright infringement litigation is ubiquitous, perhaps because infringement is a relatively easy claim to allege, and there are big stakes so damages can be significant. From an economics perspective, the statutory damages rate theoretically has to be high enough to discourage infringement rather than negotiating a license, but actual damages may be relatively easy to prove and might be higher. At any rate, plaintiffs have at least two possibly lucrative avenues should they prove infringement. A quick search of Google news produces dozens of recent copyright infringement suits filed, and here are just a few that might pique your interest: Heavy-Weight Plaintiffs Left Shark journeys from Super Bowl to Internet meme to lawsuit threat : Katy Perry's legal team has sued a figurine maker who is trying to capitalize on Left Shark's 15 minutes of fame. An Equal-Stakes Bout Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams Deny 'Blurred Lines' Copyright Infringement Claim: " Ro