Legal Current » Voices

Thomson Reuters Strengthens Bio Diversity near its Swiss Office

Laura Folland — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 19:31:53 +0000

Walk into any Thomson Reuters office, world-wide, and you will see concerted efforts and initiatives to thoughtfully incorporate environmental sustainability in the way we operate and conduct our business. Last week, employees from the Thomson Reuters Global Resources office in Baar, Switzerland, spent a day creating a new habitat for wildlife in their community by planting more than 1200 native trees and shrubs.

The project echoes Thomson Reuters commitment to corporate sustainability, and was initiated by longtime employee, Tim Nixon, director of Legal Content in Switzerland. Part of Tim’s role at Thomson Reuters is to help make transparent corporate sustainability efforts to determine what that data says about a business and how the information can be useful to investors. Prior to moving to Switzerland, Tim led the Green Team at the company’s Eagan, Minn., campus and was responsible for a number of initiatives to strengthen biodiversity there, including re-introducing native prairie to a large parcel on the campus and installing bluebird, wood duck and chimney swift houses.

To learn more about the project in Baar, click on the video clip below:

Super Lawyers Advisory Board Member Arguing Before the Supreme Court – Again

Megan Gustafson — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 18:03:32 +0000

Carter Phillips, managing partner of Sidley Austin in Washington, D.C., and a member of the Super Lawyers Advisory Board, has argued more cases before the U.S. Supreme Court than any other attorney currently in private practice.

And just this week, he was at it again, this time representing Fox Television in a case involving the limitations of the Federal Communications Commission to censor broadcast television networks.

Super Lawyers Editor-in-Chief Adam Wahlberg and Publisher Cindy Larson recently chatted with Phillips about the case. Read the interview here.

October podcast featuring potential trademark issues with the new .xxx domain

Jessica Leibrock — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 13:00:40 +0000

We’ve got an entertaining episode this month, starting out with our “Chaos in the Courts” story about a 22-year-old self-proclaimed vampire, just in time for Halloween.

In our “On the Blawgs” segment we feature a post with some great tips for Twitter users, including information about the new enhancement to the Promoted Tweets program.

In this month’s interview segment, we speak with Sally Abel from Fenwick and West, LLP about some potential trademark issues that are being created with the new .xxx domain for the adult entertainment industry.

Then, in our “In the News,” segment we feature a recent news story from Thomson Reuters News & Insight about the new policy adopted by the Federal Judicial Conference about the wholesale sealing of civil cases in the courts.

You can listen to the episode now by clicking the Play button on the built-in player below, or listen to the October Legal Current podcast later.

We’re also on iTunes (just enter “Legal Current” in the search box).

If you have a suggestion for a future interview or episode theme, just leave a comment on this blog post or send an email to contact@legalcurrent.com. You can also follow us on Twitter at @legalcurrent.

Show notes for October 2011:

0:00-0:50 Open
0:55-2:00 “Chaos in the Courts”
2:10-3:35 “On the Blawgs”
3:40-20:40 Interview/Sally Abel: .xxx domain
20:45-22:05 “In the News” with Thomson Reuters News & Insight
22:15-22:40 Closing comments

Podcast: September 2011

Jessica Leibrock — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 12:00:47 +0000

We’ve got a great “back to school” episode this month – featuring two segments about employment opportunities for law school graduates.

In our “On the Blawgs” segment we feature a post from the Above the Law blog about a promising new idea that may result in real-world experience for the newly graduated law school student.

In our “In the News,” segment we feature a recent news headline from Thomson Reuters News & Insight about the forecast for law firm associate positions to open up in 2012.

We also have our interview segment, with Bernie Codd, Intellectual Property Partner at McDermott, Will & Emery. We spoke with Bernie about the newly proposed patent reform bill and the impact it may have.

And in our “Chaos in the Courts” segment we have a strange story about a teen in Texas whose belief that he is a 500 year-old vampire landed him under a mental health hold with charges of burglary and assault.

You can listen to the episode now by clicking the Play button on the built-in player below, or listen later.

We’re also on iTunes (just enter “Legal Current” in the search box).

Show notes for September 2011:

0:00-0:50 Open
00:55-2:05 “Chaos in the Courts”
2:05-3:45 “On the Blawgs” featuring a blog post from Above the Law
3:45-19:25 Interview/Bernie Codd: Patent Reform bill
19:30-21:20 “In the News” with Thomson Reuters News & Insight
21:20-21:50 Closing comments

Podcast: August 2011

Morgan Smith — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 14:46:19 +0000

We’ve got a great episode this month! Our interview segment features Owen Nee, the first person to open a Western law firm in China. Owen describes the legal landscape in China and how it compares to that in the US. He also tells us about his career, which is made up of many “firsts.”

In our “In the News,” segment we feature a recent news headline from Thomson Reuters News & Insight about a controversial trend that has US law enforcement agencies searching Facebook accounts without the users’ consent.

We also have our regular features, including “On the Blawgs” which features a post from Above the Law blog on how corporations can pave career paths for their in-house lawyers. And in “Chaos in the Courts” we have a story about a man trying to split California, making the 51^st state.

You can listen to the episode now by clicking the Play button on the built-in player below, or listen later.

We’re also on iTunes (just enter “Legal Current” in the search box).

Show notes for August 2011:

0:00-0:55 Open
1:00-2:25 “Chaos in the Courts”
2:35-4:17 “On the Blawgs” featuring a blog post from Above the Law
4:18-15:35 Interview/Owen Nee
15:40-17:00 “In the News” with Thomson Reuters News & Insight
17:05-17:50 Closing comments

AALL Keynote Address: Technology’s impact on free speech

Megan Gustafson — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 12:07:02 +0000

As she delivered the keynote speech at this year’s AALL conference, legal journalist Dahlia Lithwick urged attendees to ponder how rapid developments in technology have changed the way Americans view the concept of free speech, and where, and how stringently, limits on it should be applied.

“Technology is changing the lines” of free speech, asserted Lithwick, a senior editor at Slate who also writes for Newsweek.

An oft-cited example of a currently accepted limitation on free speech is the proverbial person yelling “Fire!” in a crowded theater. But with the advent of the Internet and the ubiquity of social media, Lithwick said that some now question if “the crowded theater is the world.”

The law has not yet caught up with technology, she said.

It’ll no doubt be an interesting story to follow as these legal issues are debated and sorted out in the coming years.

If you missed Lithwick’s speech, view it here.

Podcast: July 2011

Morgan Smith — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 17:11:10 +0000

We have a very lively episode this month – the highlight being an interview with Dana Kravetz, an employment law expert, looking at the recent Supreme Court decision on what is being called the biggest class-action sex-discrimination case in over 50 years. Dana adds to this discussion with his prediction of the implications this case will have on similar employment and potential class-action lawsuits against big employers in the future.

In our “In the News,” segment we feature a recent news headline from Thomson Reuters News & Insight about a growing trend that has some of the biggest U.S. law firms taking their practice abroad.

We also have our regular features, including “On the Blawgs” which features a post from 3 Geeks and a Law Blog on why adults feel entitled to acquire the newest technology and how to use it both efficiently and effectively. And in “Chaos in the Courts” we have an amusing story about a woman who claims she was a victim of peanut butter assault.

You can listen to the episode now by clicking the Play button on the built-in player below, or listen later.

We’re also on iTunes (just enter “Legal Current” in the search box).

Show notes for July 2011:

0:00-0:55 Open
1:00-2:25 “Chaos in the Courts”
2:30-4:00 “On the Blawgs” featuring a blog post from 3 Geeks and a Law Blog
4:00-15:10 Interview/Dana Kravetz: Supreme Court decision in favor of Wal-Mart
15:15-16:25 “In the News” with Thomson Reuters News & Insight
16:30-16:55 Closing comments

We’re Listening @ the 2011 Elite User Conference

Jessica Leibrock — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 11:00:45 +0000

Today kicks off the 2011 Elite User Conference and this year we hope that you will Be Inspired by some new ways to communicate.

As always, we have an exciting agenda which will allow you to connect with others in the industry, learn more about the ways our Elite products and services are evolving to support you, and provide valuable insights about trends in the legal industry.

This year we are also kicking off a brand new campaign designed to get you talking more about our products and services. It’s called We’re Listening @ Elite, and we’ve given conference attendees four easy ways to share their feedback:

Tweet it.
Use the hashtag #EliteUC throughout the conference and let us know what you think of the sessions, speakers and, of course, our products.

Post it.
Visit our listening booth and post your feedback in one of four categories: service, innovation, challenges and inspiration.

Write it.
Stop by our kiosks at the listening booth to answer a few simple questions to help us learn more about you and your firm’s needs.

Say it.
Check out our conversation space by the listening booth to provide feedback live to our leadership team or via Flip camera.

Unable to attend this year’s conference? Have no fear, you can still join in the discussion by using the hashtag #EliteUC or tell us what you think by taking this brief online survey.

And don’t forget to check out Legal Current throughout the week, as we will be reporting on the conference, speakers and the feedback we hear from you.

Hear you there!

It’s a bird … It’s a plane … No, it’s a West Reference Attorney!

West Reference Attorney — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:35:33 +0000

Have you ever reached a research roadblock at 2 a.m.? If you have, you’re not alone.

That’s why we have West Reference Attorneys to the rescue 24/7 to help you with any legal research need. In addition to our 1-800 number (which is 1-800-REF-ATTY for those of you who don’t yet have us on speed-dial), we’ve been blogging at westreferenceattorneys.com for about a year.

The blog is not our typical 1:1 research support, but instead provides guidance on how to tackle trending legal research issues. Blog topics vary widely based on current events and the professional interests of our bloggers. In the past year, Reference Attorneys geeked out on RINs , Fracking Filings and Pre-Trial Social Media Issues, just to name a few.

We hope that the blog serves the larger purpose of demystifying your most challenging research quandaries. And we’d like to hear from you! Let us know what your thorny research issues might be. We hope to compile some of your thorniest for a document we’ll release on JD Supra th this summer.

So, what are they? 50-state surveys? Discovery disputes? Statutes of limitation? Administrative procedure? Send a note to west.referenceattorneys@thomsonreuters.com and include “blog” in the subject line.

Happy researching!

Podcast: June 1, 2011

Jessica Leibrock — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 16:01:20 +0000

We have an especially dynamic episode this month – the highlight being an interview on how social media plays a role in political unrest around the world. We speak with Peter Apps, political risk correspondent for Reuters, about the use of social media in the uprising in Egypt and other parts of the Middle East. We also talk with Peter about his recent article on the superinjunctions in the U.K., and how some people are using Twitter as a loophole to bypass court orders.

In our new segment, “In the News,” we highlight a recent news headline from Thomson Reuters News & Insight about a new program of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that could give whistleblowers a financial reward for information leading to large-scale enforcement actions.

We’ve got those segments, plus our regular features, including “On the Blawgs” which features a post from the Attorney Sync blog on how to keep your personal and professional lives separate on Facebook. Lastly, in “Chaos in the Courts” we bring you a bizarre story about a man who prank-called 911 more than 80 times.

You can listen to the episode now by clicking the Play button on the built-in player below, or by clicking here.

We’re also on iTunes (just enter “Legal Current” in the search box).

Show notes for June 2011:

0:00-0:55 Open
1:00-2:15 “Chaos in the Court” with FindLaw’s Legally Weird Blog
2:25-3:30 “On the Blawgs” featuring a post from Attorney Sync
3:30-17:20 Interview/Peter Apps: Impact of social media in political conflicts
17:25-18:45 “In the News” with Thomson Reuters News & Insight
18:55-19:15 Closing comments