Would you like some rose-colored glasses?
Despite its benefits and appeal, legal implications and privacy concerns arise from Google Glass. [...]
Topics
Google Glass: An Asset or Hindrance on the Medical Profession?
Google Glass is the new, sophisticated form of modern mobile communication that has major implications for the medical profession. [...]
Google Glass: Is it really worth all the extra baggage?
While Google Glass has many professed benefits, they may be outweighed when compared to the legal and social ramifications Google Glass totes along. [...]
“Don’t Tase Me, Bro!”: Legal implications of new technology devices on individual privacy interests
Hot new gadgets beg the question: is there really a reasonable expectation of privacy in today’s society? [...]
Sharing Fee from Tax Appeal with Nonlawyer [2013 Formal Ethics Opinion 7]
A law firm may not share fees earned in a tax appeal with a nonlawyer tax representative, unless the nonlawyer representative is legally permitted to represent claimants before the applicable authority. [...]
State Prosecutor Seeking Order for Arrest for Failure to Appear When Defendant is Detained by ICE [2013 Formal Ethics Opinion 6]
When a defendant in a criminal case misses court due to being in the custody of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, it is not an ethics violation for the prosecutor in the case to seek an order for arrest even though the defendant’s failure to appear was not willful. [...]
Disclosure of Confidential Information to Lawyer Serving as Foreclosure Trustee [2013 Formal Ethics Opinion 5]
In the absence of disclosure, an attorney may not later represent another party in a “substantially related matter” if the information the attorney received while previously acting as trustee is “material to the matter.” [...]
Representation in Purchase of Foreclosed Property [2013 Formal Ethics Opinion 4]
Ethical duties of a lawyer representing both the buyer and the seller in the purchase of a foreclosure property, and of a lawyer when the representation is limited to the seller. [...]
10.03.13 Consent Order of Suspension [Guilford County]
On March 8, 2013, the Disciplinary Hearing Commission entered an order of discipline suspending Wilbur L. Linton, Jr., for two years. That suspension was stayed for three years, however, contingent on Mr. Linton’s compliance with various conditions imposed by the order. The original matter was before the Commission due to Mr. Linton’s failure to monitor his trust account adequately and his failure to maintain required trust account records. At the October hearing, the Commission [...]
10.03.2013 Consent Order of Disbarment [Mecklenburg County]
On October 2, 2013, Matthew Jeffrey Lester submitted an “Affidavit of Surrender of Law License” in the Superior Court of Wake County, North Carolina. Mr. Lester’s voluntary resignation was preceded by a pending investigation concerning allegations that he misappropriated client funds. These included funds that were necessary to pay off a seller’s mortgage, as well as other money from Mr. Lester’s real estate trust account. Pursuant to Mr. Lester’s voluntary resignation, the [...]
09.30.13 Order of Discipline – Disbarment [Cumberland County]
Phillip Hunter Gilfus, a Fayetteville attorney, served as treasurer of the Cumberland County Democratic Men’s Club (CCDMC) beginning in 2009. As treasurer, the CCDMC entrusted Mr. Gilfus with access to a bank account maintained by CCDMC. Over the course of eight months, Mr. Gilfus wrote ten checks payable to himself from the CCDMC bank account. In total, Mr. Gilfus converted $2,132.00 of CCDMC funds to his own use. The misappropriation was discovered in July of 2012. On January 11, [...]
An undocumented immigrant in California who passed the bar is barred from obtaining a law license
A case before the Supreme Court of California will decide whether an undocumented immigrant can be granted a law license. [...]
Released: Wake County’s scientific approach to prison population reduction and defendant re-entry
Pretrial release services suggest a data-driven alternative to the traditional money bond schedule. [...]
The IRS counts all marriages equally
IRS ruling brings certainty and relief to married, same-sex couples with changes that provide for a more uniform application. [...]
Texting while someone else is driving may lead to liability in New Jersey
On September 21, 2009, eighteen-year-old Kyle Best was texting (pdf) when he crossed the double yellow lines of a New Jersey roadway in his Chevy pick-up truck and struck David and Linda Kubert on their motorcycle. All three survived, but David and Linda each lost their left leg and suffered a number of other injuries. There was no dispute that Best was texting at the time of the accident. Through Best’s cell phone records, obtained through discovery, the Kuberts’ attorney determined [...]
