Lawyer 2 Lawyer - Law News And Legal Topics

President Obama recently signed into law the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010, better known as the Financial Reform Bill. This new legislation is aimed to crack down on the excesses of Wall Street and corporate America by overhauling banking and Wall Street regulations. Attorneys and co-hosts, J. Craig Williams and Bob Ambrogi welcome Attorney Martin E. Lybecker, a partner in Wilmer Hale’s Regulatory and Government Affairs and Securities Departments, to discuss the latest on this legislation. They look at the new financial reform law, the role of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and how this new legislation impacts the banking industry, businesses, law firms’ workload and consumers.

2010 marks the first year for the University of Massachusetts School of Law – Dartmouth, the state’s first public law school. Attorneys and co-hosts, J. Craig Williams and Bob Ambrogi welcome Dean Robert V. Ward, Jr., to talk about the new UMass Law school. They discuss the rise in applications in a down economy, the incoming class and faculty, accreditation and the opportunities available for students after they leave law school.

The allure of social media has attracted businesses, law firms and the general public, but with the popularity of social media in and out of the workplace, comes potential legal issues. Attorney and co-host, J. Craig Williams welcomes Attorney Daliah Saper, Principal at Saper Law Offices and Attorney Bradley S. Shear, Founder and Managing Partner of the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC, to take a look at legal issues such as defamation, privacy issues, employee use of social media and how firms and businesses can protect themselves from a potential lawsuit.

With the end of the U.S. Supreme Court term came some stand-out rulings including handgun case, McDonald v. City of Chicago and patent law case, Bilski v. Kappos. Attorneys and co-hosts, J. Craig Williams and Bob Ambrogi welcome Adam Winkler, a constitutional law specialist from UCLA School of Law and Attorney Amy Howe, the editor of SCOTUSblog, to discuss the Supreme Court round-up. In addition, they discuss recent rulings, a liberal vs. conservative Supreme Court, the Elena Kagan confirmation hearings and take a look back at some landmark decisions.

Preserving the professional rules with regard to original content reporting and attribution to original sources is the topic on this Lawyer2Lawyer. Attorneys and co-hosts, J. Craig Williams and Bob Ambrogi welcome Alan Schwarz, a prolific sports writer from The New York Times, to discuss the legal and ethical issues pertaining to digital media. They discuss copyright law, the extent to which bloggers should give credit to original reportorial sources and the ethical guidelines bloggers and journalists should be following when it comes to content.

Senate resolution 519 opposes U.S. signing of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, a human rights treaty protecting the rights of children. Attorney and co-host, J. Craig Williams welcomes Michael P. Farris, President of ParentalRights.org and Sara A. Dillon, Professor of Law at Suffolk University Law School. They take a look at the treaty, Senate Resolution 519, the key issues of debate on the signing of this treaty and the potential legal conflicts.

With the wave of technology dominating the legal world, reporting from the courtroom has gone from scribbling notes on a pad of paper to live coverage through blogs, video and even tweets. Attorney and co-host, Bob Ambrogi welcomes Ron Sylvester, Staff Writer for Interactive News for The Wichita Eagle/Kansas.com and Attorney Eric P. Robinson, an attorney in New York who specializes in media and Internet law, to talk about the latest in live reporting from the courtroom. They discuss procedure for getting permission from a Judge, cameras in the courtroom and how live reporting has affected traditional journalism in the courtroom.

The "Law.Gov" movement is a campaign to put all primary legal materials in the public domain. Some call it "democratizing" law. Attorney and co-host, Bob Ambrogi welcomes Carl Malamud, founder of Public.Resource.org and Tom Bruce, the Director of the Legal Information Institute at Cornell University Law School, to share with us the latest on Law.Gov. Carl and Tom explore the Law.Gov movement, the benefit of public access to legal materials and who opposes the idea as well as the various workshops across the states.

The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill is considered one of the worst environmental disasters in recent years, with gallons of oil seeping into the Gulf of Mexico and beyond. Attorney and co-host, Bob Ambrogi welcomes Attorney Rhon E. Jones, Environmental Section Head at Beasley Allen, Crow, Methvin, Ports & Miles, and P.C. and Professor Robert Force, Director of the Maritime Law Center at Tulane University Law School, to discuss the latest on this devastating spill. They look at the environmental legal issues and concerns surrounding the spill, maritime law and touch upon the launching of a criminal investigation.

With a unanimous vote, the Surpreme Court ruled 9-0 against the NFL in the American Needle v. NFL case—one of the most important legal cases in sports. Attorneys and co-hosts, J. Craig Williams and Bob Ambrogi welcome Attorney Marc Edelman from Barry University's Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law and Professor Michael McCann, Associate Law Professor at Vermont Law School and Legal Analyst for Sports Illustrated, to discuss this latest ruling. They talk about anti-trust law, intellectual property issues and how this decision could affect the NFL and other sports franchises.

The North Carolina State Bar has just finished drafting a proposed Formal Ethics Opinion that allows the use of cloud computing in a law office. Attorneys and co-hosts, J. Craig Williams and Bob Ambrogi welcome Attorney Alice N. Mine, Senior Ethics Counsel and Assistant Executive Director for the North Carolina State Bar and Jack Newton, Co-founder and President of Clio, to look at the legal ethical issues surrounding cloud computing. They explore the proposed Formal Ethics Opinion, what it mean for lawyers and the future of cloud computing.

Joe Salvati of Boston spent nearly 30 years in prison as an innocent man, along with three other men, convicted for a murder they did not commit. After years of legal twists and some unbelievable turns, the Justice Department declined an appeal of a $101.7 million settlement for all four men. Attorney and co-host Bob Ambrogi welcomes Attorney Victor J. Garo, Joe Salvati’s lawyer for more than 30 years and Attorney and Journalist Dan Rea, to discuss one of the worst cases of injustice and wrongful imprisonment. They talk about Federal Judge Nancy Gertner’s ruling and her criticism of the FBI, the power of the press, reaction to this bittersweet victory and fighting to the end for your client.

The technology and legal world was abuzz over an incident involving a prototype of the iPhone 4G. An Apple engineer allegedly left behind the iPhone, which eventually ended up in the hands of Gizmodo.com, a technology weblog. After pictures surfaced on the Gizmodo site, a search of a Gizmodo editor’s home and computer was issued. Attorneys and co-hosts, J. Craig Williams and Bob Ambrogi welcome Sam Bayard, the Assistant Director of the Citizen Media Law Project and Eric Goldman, Director of the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University School of Law, to discuss the legal issues behind this complex debacle. They look at the shield law, the validity of the search warrant and the legal battle that could possibly lie ahead.

Governor of Arizona, Jan Brewer, recently signed into law a strict immigration bill, the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act (SB1070 Act), igniting a nationwide discussion. Attorneys and co-hosts, J. Craig Williams and Bob Ambrogi welcome Attorney Marielena Hincapié, Executive Director of the National Immigration Law Center and Professor Paul Bender, at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, to look at both sides of this controversial debate . They discuss the legality and constitutionality of this new law and what this means for the state of Arizona and immigration reform.

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently filed civil fraud charges against investment bank, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Attorneys and co-hosts, J. Craig Williams and Bob Ambrogi welcome Attorney Jacob S. Frenkel, from Shulman Rogers Gandal Pordy & Ecker, P.A and Attorney Palmer C. Hamilton, a member of the Government Relations Practice Group at Jones Walker, to discuss the details of this lawsuit. They take a look at the SEC’s current role, the impact of the lawsuit, financial regulation legislation and what this means for Wall Street.

As first reported in a series of New York Times articles by reporter Alan Schwartz, researchers have linked pro football careers and concussions with climbing rates of depression, dementia and even Alzheimer’s disease. Attorneys and co-hosts, J. Craig Williams and Robert Ambrogi welcome Christopher Nowinski, President and CEO of the Sports Legacy Institute and Attorney Alan S. Pierce from the Law offices of Alan S. Pierce & Associates and host of Workers’ Comp Matters, to discuss the latest in workers’ comp claims against the NFL. They focus on the long-term effects of concussions from football, the NFL’s role in helping these players, the workers’ comp issues involved and creating public awareness about this serious issue in the NFL and in other sports. For more information on this important issue, including over 100 New York Times articles by Alan Schwarz, click here.

Recently, President Obama appointed two union lawyers, Craig Becker and Mark Pearce to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) creating a labor law controversy. Some say that the addition of Becker and Pearce will restore balance, while others, like business groups, fear their influence on the board will cater to unions on big issues. Co-host and Attorney Bob Ambrogi welcomes Nancy Schiffer, Associate General Counsel with the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, (AFL-CIO) and Attorney Charles I. Cohen, senior counsel in Morgan Lewis & Bockius’ Labor and Employment Practice, to get their reaction to the recess appointments of Becker and Pearce to the NLRB.

Under a storm of controversy and additional “fixes” to healthcare reform, President Obama finally signed the highly contested health care bill into law. At least 14 States have filed suits challenging the constitutionality of the new Health Care Law. Lawyer2Lawyer host, J. Craig Williams, and guest co-host, David E. Frank welcome Lanny J. Davis, partner in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP and David B. Rivkin, Jr., partner in the Washington office of Baker Hostetler LLP, to talk about these legal challenges to the new law.

A three and a half year government investigation in Ireland, called the Murphy report, revealed a cover-up of three decades of clergy sexual abuse in the Catholic church. And, in an official pastoral letter to Irish sexual abuse victims, Pope Benedict XVI apologized to Ireland’s Catholics. Co-Host and attorney J. Craig Williams welcomes guests Attorney Helen L. McGonigle, a victim of clergy abuse and victim’s advocate and Vincent Shannon, Senior Partner of Shannons Solicitors in Dublin, Ireland. They discuss the investigations into allegations of sexual abuse at the hands of priests, the Vatican’s tepid response, legal jurisdictions versus canon law and what victims of clergy sexual abuse can do legally here and abroad.

In every city and town in America, there has been an overwhelming reaction to the political gridlock in Washington D.C. over healthcare, economic recovery, taxes, Afghanistan (almost everything). So why can’t the lawyers in Congress who specialize in negotiating solutions to problems fix Washington? Co-hosts and attorneys J. Craig Williams and Bob Ambrogi welcome Attorney Philip K. Howard, a well-known leader of legal reform in America and founder of Common Good, to examine the problem.