We usually hear about the attempted use of social media by the opposite side to discredit a party. But what about the use of social media to bolster a defence in anticipation of litigation?

Andrew Jarvis, a Pennsylvania architect, was concerned the Department of Revenue would audit him and ask him to pay additional taxes once he opened up an office in New York, where he spent a considerable amount of time.

The State changed the domicile requirements in 2012. They conduct residency audits because residents are subject to tax on worldwide income, whereas non-residents are only taxed for the . . . [more]

This week's summaries concern: Public utilities & rates / Expert evidence:

DROITS ET LIBERTÉS : S'adresser au notaire ou à l'avocat en le menaçant par ailleurs d'une poursuite pénale s'il n'obtempère pas à la demande péremptoire de l'Agence du revenu du Canada n'est pas conforme aux exigences énoncées à l'article 8 de la Charte canadienne des droits et libertés de la personne, le conseiller juridique se trouvant placé dans une intenable situation de conflit d'intérêts.

I just couldn’t make a call on which REM song title is best for a post about law school exams…… Let’s knock out “It’s the End of the World as we Know it”, because it isn’t. The ironic part of me likes “Shiny Happy People” but I have to acknowledge “Everybody Hurts” and “Losing my Religion” are pretty good too. Why the song catalogue for a band from Georgia? You know this, the tip I want to give this week on the verge of exam period is to wear sunscreen …. wait that’s not it….get enough REM sleep whilst . . . [more]

There have been discussions on whether information can be ‘property’ for legal purposes (such as here and here), and the limits on that equivalence and the reasons for them. The English (and Welsh) Court of Appeal has recently addressed itself to that question again, in Your Response v Datateam Business Media [2014] EWCA Civ 281.

In that case, Your Response was working on a database of Datateam’s customers. In a dispute about payment, Your Response claimed a lien over the database and refused to return it to Datateam in the absence of payment.

The Court of Appeal held that . . . [more]

Yes, you heardright: stealright.

I haven’t joined the Anarchists Who Nick; I think the kleptocracy we already have is quite powerful enough, thank you; and though I’m old enough to remember Abbie Hoffman and “Please Steal This Book,” the fact that he sold more than a quarter of a million copies of the damn thing kind of took the edge off that razor for me a long time ago.

What I’m on about isn’t even your run of the mill P2P stuff but rather A2A, perhaps: artist to artist. Or, better, artist from artist. Because that’s what artists do, it . . . [more]

A recent cover story in Canadian Lawyer “The Case for Ladies Only” questioned the need in 2014 for women lawyers to form organizations or hold events that are for women only. Ignoring the outdated use of the word “ladies” (which in itself shows the need to educate the profession on how women should be treated) the article raises the question about what is the best way to achieve gender parity.  

Given that women’s participation in the profession (thirty-seven percent) is still decades away from equaling that of men and that women have stalled at around twenty percent of . . . [more]

The Law Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. has published a new comparative report on Biometric Data Retention for Passport Applicants and Holders.

The report compares the regulation of biometric data obtained in connection with passport applications and the preservation of such data in fifteen selected countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Sweden, Ukraine, and the United States.

The Library occasionally publishes reports that compare the laws on a given theme in a number of countries.

Earlier comparative law reports from the Law Library of Congress have covered topics . . . [more]

On March 13, 2014, the Law Society of England and Wales announced that it had released guidelines to help solicitors in the United Kingdom apply Sharia law succession rules. Specifically, the guide deals with drafting wills, trust issues and disputes over estates, and explains in detail how to write wills that respect Islamic traditions while complying with UK law.

The news, reported in late February, that Apple and Samsung had once again failed to resolve their smartphone patent dispute through mediation did not come as a big surprise. At this writing, the technology giants were preparing to go to trial in California in late March, although there was still some prospect that continuing discussions with the mediator could produce a last minute breakthrough.

Published reports citing court filings stated that company executives met with the mediator in a full-day session, followed by a number of phone calls, without success.

The background of this dispute includes significant wins by Apple . . . [more]

Each Thursday we present a significant excerpt, usually from a recently published book or journal article. In every case the proper permissions have been obtained. If you are a publisher who would like to participate in this feature, please let us know via the site’s contact form.

The Trial
Franz Kafka
Orig: Der Process, Berlin: Verlag Die Schmiede, 1925

Translation by David Wyllie

Chapter Seven
Lawyer – Manufacturer – Painter

……

He was no longer able to get the thought of the trial out of his head. He had often wondered whether it might not be a good idea . . . [more]

A US appeals court found – properly, in my view – that clicking ‘Like’ on the Facebook page of a political candidate was political speech protected by freedom of expression law.

Another US court found that clicking on ‘Like’ on the Facebook page of someone who has a restraining order against any contact by the clicker is contempt of the restraining order. That too seems sensible, if severe. (Restraining orders often need to be severely enforced.)

Here is an account of a bit of a confused British situation, where someone is apparently being investigated by police for Liking a Facebook . . . [more]