Anyone who tried to get their free grilled chicken last year can attest that it was just short of a nightmare. Besides long lines, many franchises refused to honor the coupons. The stores also ran out of food as they were busier than normal. However, what really irked consumers were the stores that did not run out of grilled chicken and ignored consumers with a valid coupon in order to sell to paying customers. From this, a class action lawsuit with 5MM people ensued.
Read more…
I am sadened to read today that the legal market for summer associates in New York City is the lowest since 1991 according to a Law.com newswire. Considering, at least for now, that I really want to return to NYC upon graduation, this comes as a blow. I prepare to leave the city I love in 10 days and, now, I may not be able to return to a solid job market.
Actual details in the article highlight that major firms, on average, decreased summer associate programs by 44%. I better bring my ‘A’ game to school come fall.
I have spoken a bit about privacy over the past month and how we are likely to see regulation within the industry. A fellow blogger, Eric Goldman, just published an update about an AOL case related to the public distribution of AOL search data in 2006 that contained sufficient information to be considered personally identifiable. Although the case is just beginning, the court opted to dismiss AOL’s request for judgment on the pleadings, making way for a continued legal battle.
Read more…
Unfortunately, not frequently enough do we see headlines highlighting CAN-SPAM lawsuits that end positively for the consumer. Part of the difficulty is that it is very difficult to identify the party responsible for the message. And once in court, it is then difficult to convince judges that tracer routes, WHOIS lookups, redirects, etc. are sufficient proof that the party is indeed the culpable entity.
However, I very much enjoy reading about suits related to false-advertising or deception that do end positively. In this case, the company used From lines that did not clearly identify the sender of the message. It also made misleading statements in the content of the message. As a result, the plaintiff won, and under the CA law, could be awarded $1,000 per message. (article)
On a similar note, many freebie sites got in trouble for deceptive content a few years back. By freebie, I mean sites that said you would receive a $500 gift card, etc. and then forced you to start signing up for a lot of products. The AGs of a number of states took action on those companies which is why, now, there is prominent text that the user will need to sign up for other offers.
The Wall Street Journal Law Blog published an article by Nathan Koppel detailing the findings of a recent study into employment practices by leading law firms (50+ people) across the United States. High-level bullet points include:
- 50% reduced or discontinued first-year hiring 2009
- 20% to fire non-equity partners
- 40% made fewer partners in 2009
- 50% to be more aggressive in headcount going forward
- Billing rates increased slightly
Read more…