Hearing: Which court should hear coastal lawsuit?

A legal tug-of-war continues in a state levee board's lawsuit against 97 oil, gas and pipeline companies over the erosion of wetlands.

The Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East wants U.S. District Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown to send the case back to Orleans Parish Civil District Court, where the board filed it in July.

Attorneys for Chevron USA Inc. got the lawsuit moved to federal court in August, arguing that federal laws govern many of its claims.

Since then, lawyers have filed hundreds of pages of arguments and exhibits just on the question of which court should hear the case.

Brown scheduled arguments Wednesday.

The lawsuit says oil and gas canal and pipeline work has contributed to the erosion of wetlands that protect New Orleans when hurricanes move ashore. Corrosive saltwater from a network of oil and gas access and pipeline canals has killed plants that anchored the wetlands, letting waves sweep away hundreds of thousands of coastal land, it says.

Gov. Bobby Jindal has blasted the lawsuit as a windfall for trial lawyers and his coastal protection chief, Garret Graves, said the suit would undermine Louisiana's work with the industry to rebuild wetlands. An association of state levee districts voted to oppose the suit.

Since then, however, two coastal parishes heavily dependent on the industry have filed lawsuits of their own raising similar issues.

Earlier this month, the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association sued the state's attorney general, accusing him of illegally approving the Southeast Louisiana board's contract with lawyers who filed its lawsuit.

The association contends that Buddy Caldwell had no authority to approve the contract and that the suit will have "a chilling effect on the exploration, production, development and transportation" of Louisiana's oil and gas.

Anti-whaling activist to testify in US court

A fugitive anti-whaling activist known for confronting Japanese whaling vessels off Antarctica is due to testify about his actions in a U.S. court Wednesday.

Paul Watson, founder of the Oregon-based Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, is expected to take the witness stand in a contempt of court hearing in Seattle.

The Japanese whalers argue that the organization 10 times violated an order barring its vessels from attacking or coming within 500 yards of the whaling ships. They've asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to impose fines of $100,000 for each violation, though they suggested the court waive those fines as long as the protesters stop confronting their ships.

The case is part of a long-running fight between the protesters and Japan's whaling fleet, which kills up to 1,000 whales a year, as allowed by the International Whaling Commission.

Japan is permitted to hunt the animals as long as they are killed for research and not commercial purposes, but whale meat not used for study is sold as food in Japan. Critics say that's the real reason for the hunts.

For several years, Sea Shepherd operated anti-whaling campaigns in the Southern Ocean. Activists aboard its vessels would hurl acid and smoke bombs at the whalers and drag ropes in the water to damage their propellers.

Law Firm Website Templates‎ - Legal Marketing Tips

4 Myths about Template Website Design for Law Firms

Template websites are one of the most affordable and simple solutions for attorneys looking to get their legal business online. They are offered for a very low price and require a limited amount of input to get online. Still, template websites get a bad name. In this article, we’ll dispel several myths and make a case for why a template website is just as capable as any custom designed site.

MYTH: Templates Always Have Unprofessional Design

Firstly, we should establish the difference between a template website and a sitebuilder website. Sitebuilder websites can be incredibly cheap, and usually offer the benefit of do-it-yourself customizability. People who know what they want and have time to invest are drawn to these solutions.

However, these sitebuilders lack the knowledge and experience of a designer or web developer, and users often find their capabilities limited by the interface or a necessity for HTML/ CSS fluency. The most capable attorneys will end up with a website that undersells their professionalism and excellence. The least will have a website that offends the eyes and scares potential clients away.

Our template websites differ because they are based on our most successful custom designs. Unlike other template solutions, each template has been professionally designed by our in-house, highly experienced web designers, and is proven to be successful at impressing visitors and converting prospects into real business. They are also created specifically for lawyers and law firms, so each template is absolutely appropriate for legal professionals.

MYTH: Template Websites Aren’t SEO Optimized

We’ve heard a lot of arguments against template websites because they are not SEO optimized. Law Promo’s template websites are ALWAYS fitted with the very best of onsite optimization. While template websites are made to be static–best for those who have little interest in constant work and updates on their pages–they still are search engine optimized like any of our custom websites, and have the potential for search engine success. Page titles, heading tags, image tags, and keywords are all equally powerful as they would be on a custom website. And if you’re looking to keep your website fresh, you can always add a blog for constant, keyword-rich updated content.

MYTH: My Website Will Look Like Everyone Else’s

This is another concern we hear frequently: “Won’t there be other websites out there, just like mine?” Law Promo offers dozens of different website templates with several customizable options, so its unlikely that there will be many others like yours. Further, you only need to worry about what your potential visitors see. As long as your website isn’t the same as your immediate competitors, a template website is an affordable and easy solution for any law firm.

With the available choices and custom options, your website will be fit to your preferences, and your visitors will not be thinking about whether it’s a template website or not. Instead, they’ll get a great initial impression of your professionalism, then go on to learn more about you through your written content, where most legal professionals really shine.

MYTH: Template Websites Require Technical Knowledge and Web Savvy

We’ve heard horror stories about template design companies that hand their customers a completed template website and expect them to install and maintain it themselves. We understand that attorneys are busy individuals without the time to learn about server configuration or technical coding. That’s why we do all of the technical work for you– you make a few simple choices, send us your written content, and your website will be online and running in a little over a day.

Remember, template websites are not for everyone. If your firm is looking for a deeply personalized, high-functioning website designed to dominate the web space, you’ll be looking for more involved custom design and coding. However, for those who realize that the web is a necessary space for business but don’t have the time to invest in content creation, we highly recommend our template website solution designed specially for legal professionals.

Calif. tax lawyer convicted of taking client money

Federal prosecutors say a 73-year-old Northern California tax attorney has been convicted of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from clients for his own expenses including personal trainers and travel.
A U.S. attorney's statement says Stanford Law School graduate Orion Douglas Memmott of Willows was found guilty Wednesday of tax evasion and subscribing to a false tax document after a five-day bench trial in October.
The statement says Memmott took money from investors and law firm clients including one woman who was left destitute and homeless after he depleted her medical trust.
Prosecutors say Memmott concealed the embezzled money through nominee accounts and false statements to investors, clients, and the Internal Revenue Service.

Texas, Wyoming lose court challenge against EPA

A federal appeals court sided with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday in an ongoing dispute with Texas and Wyoming over reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia amounted to a defense of the federal Clean Air Act that has faced repeated challenges from Texas, which leads the nation in greenhouse gas emissions.

Federal environmental regulators have required states to include greenhouse gases when issuing pollution permits since 2011. The EPA took over Texas' permitting program when the state refused to comply, but Texas fought to retain control.

State environmental regulators in Texas called the decision disappointing. Bryan Shaw, chairman of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, criticized the EPA for imposing what he called restrictive timelines on states to meet new requirements.

"In light of all of this, it is remarkable that the D.C. Circuit has repeatedly found no harm to the states with respect to EPA's greenhouse gas rules," Shaw said.

The EPA released a statement saying the agency was pleased that the permitting structure was left in place.

Court says Disneyland can keep Segway ban

A California appeals court says Disneyland Resort can keep a ban on Segways at its parks.

The Orange County Register says the court ruled last week against a woman with muscular dystrophy who sued for discrimination four years ago because she couldn't use a Segway at Disneyland.

The 4th District Court of Appeal says Disney showed that the stand-up, two-wheeled scooter was unsafe to use inside the crowded Anaheim park.

Disney has since developed its own four-wheel standing scooter for use in the park.

San Diego, California - Personal Injury Truck Accidents Attorney

With the gas prices rising and for health and fitness reasons, more individuals have looked into biking or walking to save money in their means of transportation. With the increased amount of cyclists and pedestrians, we also see an increased amount of bicycle and pedestrian accidents. Most bicyclist and pedestrian accidents involve distracted or reckless drivers. As drivers, we often don't go out of our way to look out for bicyclists or pedestrians unless we are at a big intersection. Therefore, most of the time the visibility of cyclists and pedestrians is limited and for that, accidents happen if drivers are not careful. An accident involving an automobile versus a bicyclist or pedestrian can turn out to be fatal. Due to the massive weight of a vehicle, and depending on speed, a pedestrian can suffer from permanent disfiguration from this type of an accident. This could leave you with a lifetime of hospital visits and medical bills to pay off. In the worst case scenario, death is the end result. If you find yourself in this situation, it is important to contact a San Diego Bicycle Accident Lawyer as soon as possible.

IMF head Lagarde in court in fraud probe

International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde is facing questions at a special Paris court Thursday over her role in the 400 million euro ($520 million) pay-off to a controversial businessman when she was France's finance minister.
The court hearing threatens to sully the reputations of both Lagarde and France. The payment was made to well-connected entrepreneur Bernard Tapie as part of a private arbitration process to settle a dispute with state-owned bank Credit Lyonnais over the botched sale of Adidas in the 1990s. It is seen by many in France as an example of the cozy relationship between big money and big power in France.
Lagarde has earned praise for her negotiating skills as managing director of the IMF through Europe's debt crisis and is seen as a trailblazer for women leaders. Her decision to let the Adidas dispute go to private arbitration rather than be settled in the courts has drawn criticism, and French lawmakers asked magistrates to investigate.
Lagarde, smiling at reporters, left her Paris apartment Thursday morning and appeared at a special court that handles cases involving government ministers. She has denied wrongdoing.
At the time of the payment, Tapie was close to then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who was Lagarde's boss. Critics have said the deal was too generous to Tapie at the expense of the French state, and that the case shouldn't have gone to a private arbitration authority because it involved a state-owned bank.

US appeals court grants Hobby Lobby full hearing

A federal appeals court has granted Hobby Lobby's request for the entire court to hear its challenge of a federal requirement that it provide insurance coverage for the morning-after pill and similar emergency contraceptives.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals announced its decision Friday. Appeals are usually decided by a three-judge panel, but a total of nine judges will hear the appeal from the Oklahoma City-based arts and crafts chain.
Hobby Lobby is challenging a requirement in the new federal health care law that says the company must provide and pay for emergency contraceptives. The company says the requirement violates the beliefs of its Christian owners.
The Denver-based court also said it would hear Hobby Lobby's appeal on an expedited basis, with oral arguments expected this spring.

China Trademark & Patent Law Office - Trademark and Patent

The process of registering a trademark in China might be quite like what it is in your own country. To have a registered trademark, you should file the trademark with the Chinese government. When it has passed the examination and publication, it becomes a registered trademark protected by the China Trademark Law. But before applying the trademark, there is some knowledge on the trademark that you would like to know.

A patent is a right granted to the owner of an invention to prevent others from making, using, importing or selling the invention without his permission. A patentable invention can be a product or a process that gives a new technical solution to a problem. It can also be a new method of doing things, the composition of a new product, or a technical improvement on how certain objects work. Once it is granted, its term of a patent is 20 years from the Date of Filing, subject to the payment of annual renewal fees.

http://www.ctplo.com/patent.html

Judge: Sexual assault suspect insane, not guilty

A Stamford man whose tongue was partially bitten off as he tried to rape a woman has been found not guilty by a Connecticut judge ruling he was insane at the time of the assault.

The Stamford Advocate reports that Superior Court Judge Richard Comerford said prosecutors proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the 48-year-old Gerard Landon sexually assaulted a woman at a church in June 2011.

He says Landon has psychiatric problems dating to 1988 and has been diagnosed with Schizophreniform disorder.

Landon's lawyer, public defender Howard Ehring, said Comerford made the right decision.

A Stamford psychiatrist testified that Landon had not been taking anti-psychotic medications.

Comerford said Landon, who is jailed, must be confined by the state commissioner of mental health for further evaluation.