The National Law Journal

August 30, 2004 | National Law Journal

Calculation discrepancies with the Medicare payment supplement for reimbursements that hospitals receive for in-patient services has forced a flurry of litigation with no end in sight.

By John R. JacobSpecial to The National Law Journal

11 minute read

January 14, 2008 | National Law Journal

If someone sends an e-mail from work to their lawyer or spouse, does an employer have a right to access to it, overriding marital and attorney-client privileges? The key factor is whether the employee had a reasonable expectation of privacy in the e-mails in question.

By Elise M. Bloom / Special to The National Law Journal

11 minute read

December 03, 2007 | National Law Journal

The adult entertainment industry has brought many of the seminal cases that shaped intellectual property law on the Internet. Now comes a Florida lawsuit against players in a virtual world who copied and resold a company's computer code that aids characters having virtual sex. In the "real" world, this would be an uneventful case of software piracy and reverse passing off. But policing the world of Second Life means determining whether virtual goods constitute "goods" as articulated in the Lanham Act.

By Benjamin R. Mulcahy / Special to The National Law Journal

11 minute read

March 09, 2009 | National Law Journal

Significant recent developments regarding cooperation with the government during internal investigations have affected the preservation of the attorney-client privilege and work-product protection.

By Steven M. Witzel and Brenda E. Cooke / Special to The National Law Journal

11 minute read

February 04, 2008 | National Law Journal

For attorneys representing a large corporate defendant, jury selection isn't just about eliminating jurors who won't give their client a fair shake. This is their first shot at starting to put a human face on the company, thereby neutralizing jurors' instinct to view the battle as David versus Goliath. To start, substitute politeness for pretense in appearance and speech.

By Diane P. Sullivan and Hope S. Freiwald / Special to The National Law Journal

9 minute read

October 18, 2004 | National Law Journal

The defense bar loves DNA when it exonerates people who were wrongly convicted or can be used to clear a client charged with a crime, but all other uses are suspect. And civil libertarians react with outright alarm at the thought of any kind of retention of DNA data. But DNA is so much more reliable than other traditional forms of forensic science, that we should be shouting out for more�not less�DNA testing in this country.

By Amitai Etzioni Special to The National Law Journal

4 minute read

October 09, 2006 | National Law Journal

It is fair to ask whether this bare-knuckled, political slugfest over federal judge selection has now overtaken the interdependence historically intended by presidential appointment and Senate confirmation.

By Brad Risinger/Special to The National Law Journal

5 minute read

January 12, 2009 | National Law Journal

When I came to teach at former Attorney General Griffin Bell's alma mater in 1990, I knew something about the school, but little about the man. As I learned more about Bell's career over the years, I realize that Bell offered some powerful lessons on being a lawyer, principles that guided his conduct through many thickets. His peculiarly arch qualities of independent thinking will be sorely missed in a world where the practice of law is too often buffeted by political whimsy and craven manipulation.

By David G. Oedel / Special to The National Law Journal

4 minute read

July 09, 2007 | National Law Journal

Law firm research and technology staff often are treated as unrelated. Organized under distinct departments, they might collaborate on discrete projects only occasionally. An innovative approach integrates the two to create a diverse, comprehensive research group.

By Joanna Hudson-Therway / Special to The National Law Journal

9 minute read

April 16, 2007 | National Law Journal

To apply American law to tribes is to start down the path (again) of eliminating the legal, political and cultural distinctiveness of Indian communities. Tribes have been fighting a political battle since treaty times to avoid the loss of their cultures.

By Matthew L.M. Fletcher / Special to The National Law Journal

5 minute read