The National Law Journal

January 28, 2008 | National Law Journal

Last year marked the 25th year on the bench for Judge Bruce M. Selya of the 1st Circuit. One of the nation's most productive jurists, Selya has authored more than 1,250 opinions. Among practitioners, however, he is best known for his erudite and arcane vocabulary, which has provoked frequent head scratching by counsel. To assist the lawyers who appear before Selya, or who are required to interpret his opinions, here's a compendium of some memorable Selyaisms, selected with input from his former clerks.

By Frederick A. Brodie / Special to The National Law Journal

4 minute read

October 18, 2004 | National Law Journal

Recently, the bar examiners of Florida announced that in an effort to the protect the public of that state, they will make it harder to pass the Florida bar exam. But would making an outdated test even harder to pass really protect anyone? Or is it actually a form of disguised protectionism? It�s time to rethink how we test our bright young law school graduates.

By Terence L. Blackburn Special to The National Law Journal

5 minute read

June 06, 2005 | National Law Journal

Employers are now facing the emergence of a new public forum in cyberspace-the Web log or "blog." What they are learning is that bloggers are even less discreet than e-mailers and are even more inclined to vent their frustrations with work.

By William A. Clineburg Jr. and Peter N. HallSpecial to The National Law Journal

10 minute read

November 03, 2003 | National Law Journal

In response to participant demand, companies have considered providing investment advice to retirement plan participants. Many companies, though, have refrained, due to the cost of advice and concern over fiduciary liability.

By Debra A. DavisSpecial to The National Law Journal

10 minute read

September 08, 2003 | National Law Journal

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is well under way with promulgating rules to implement provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and several rules have received much attention due to the perceived additional burdens placed on management. However, one proposed rule has received comparatively little attention, and may have a large impact on how a company operates: the Disclosure in Management's Discussion and Analysis about the Application of Critical Accounting Policies rule.

By Charles R. Lundelius Jr.Special to The National Law Journal

4 minute read

May 12, 2008 | National Law Journal

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences is an internal agency tribunal that has long played a central role in interference actions when priority of inventions is in dispute. It's had less of a role on issues of patentability. But recent changes in patent case law and PTO policies are likely to raise the profile of this ex parte appeal process — giving it a larger and more dispositive role in granting patents than in the past.

By Edward Kelly, Jeffrey Ingerman and Jed Gordon / Special to The National Law Journal

10 minute read

July 21, 2008 | National Law Journal

The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that the mandatory nature of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines violated the right to a jury trial under the Sixth Amendment, was expected to usher significant change in the sentencing landscape. But the only thing that the 2005 decision has changed are the arguments that district courts may entertain.

By Steven R. Glaser and Jonathan L. Shih / Special to The National Law Journal

10 minute read

July 21, 2008 | National Law Journal

It's an election year, and the campaign's silly season has begun: big money, independent expenditures by special interests, endless TV advertising, nasty attack ads, false and misleading charges and raging partisan campaigns. Unfortunately, all this is happening in the election of state court judges. Partisan politics in judicial elections threaten the integrity of our state judiciaries. Each state should seek a balance of independence and accountability in its methods for selection and retention of judges.

By George W. Soule / Special to The National Law Journal

5 minute read

February 28, 2005 | National Law Journal

About every four years, what inevitably becomes a highly emotional debate over capital punishment erupts in America. The last time, not coincidentally, was when then-Governor George W. Bush first ran for president.

By Joshua Marquis Special to The National Law Journal

5 minute read

August 23, 2006 | National Law Journal

When personal injury lawyers and certain interest group executives talk about the next big thing these days it's quite possible they're referring to vague and broadly worded state consumer protection acts (CPAs) ripe for exploitation.

By James Copland & Sherman Joyce/Special to The National Law Journal

4 minute read