Graving Pizza Leads to Arrest of Dangerous Criminal

Rick Halman is one of Holland’s most dangerous criminals, accused of brutally murdering Sven Westendorp, hardcore Ajax fan, owner of Ticket Unlimited and graffiti artist. He is also suspected of having murdered 24-jarige Bilal el H. in October last year.

After murdering Westendorp, Halman went into hiding. During a raid at one of his hideouts, police found weapons, more than 13,000 XTC pills, almost three kilo of amphetamines, and 30,000 euro. He became one of the most wanted criminals, considered to be armed and extremely dangerous.

The police had a house in Hilversum under surveillance where they expected Halman to hide out. The boys in blue observed delivery of food and dinks, but also noticed that nobody left the house.

In good “The Closer”-style, police saw a man entering the house last Friday at 1am with a pizza. The visitor left shortly after without the pizza box. Police quickly concluded that there must be another individual on the premises and raided the place. They found Halman lying on a mattress in a closed room with covered windows. He did not resist arrest.

No details about the pizza toppings was released.

Verdict of the European Court - Incest Is Prohibited

The European Court decided that the prohibition of filial love (aka incest) is legitimate. A young man from Saxony (in Germany) had filed the complaint. He sired four children by his sister; two are handicapped. He is currently serving three years of his prison sentence.

Siblings have medically speaking a high risk of begetting a handicapped child. That is also one of the reasons for the incest article in the Criminal Code. According to some lawyers, this contradicts the spirit of the law concerning equal treatment. “In such a case, it should also be forbidden for handicapped people to become offspring,” one of them stated. Really?!

For now, prohibiting sibling love is not infringing on anyone's Human Rights. As such, the young German father is correctly serving three years in jail.

The sister (and ex-lover) of the father does not want to have anything to do with her brother. “It’s OK that incest is a felony,” she said. “I don’t have any guilt. I was very young and wanted to be loved. But I would never do it again. I do not want to have to deal with my brother ever again.”

The 28-year old mother denies that she is fighting the 35-year old father for custody of their 6-year old daughter. The girl is the only of the four incest children still living with the mother.

"We only communicate via our lawyers. There are no visiting rights; he is not allowed to visit our daughter. She also does not want to see him," declared the mother. "I do not want another fight about my kids. I do not want Social Services to also take away my youngest." Her three other children are being raised by foster families.

As a lawyer and a human being, I personally applaud the decision of the European Court – not in the least for the well-being of the children....

Justice Department Is Still Going After EBook Price Fixing

The Justice Department is conducting a lengthy investigation of the agency model for ebook pricing. It has now come to a point that it is threatening to sue the "Agency Five" publishers and Apple "for allegedly colluding to raise the price of electronic books, according to people familiar with the matter."

The Justice Department believes that Apple and the publishers acted in concert to raise prices across the industry, and is prepared to sue them for violating federal antitrust laws.

Under the Sherman Act, corporations face a maximum fine of $100 million for violations. In addition, collusion among competitors may constitute violations of the mail or wire fraud statute, the false statements statute, or other federal felony statutes.

One possible solution would be to preserve the agency model but allow some discounts by booksellers. William Lynch, CEO of Barnes and Noble, is said to have that the agency model promoted a marketplace that provides consumers with choices, arguing that without it a single player (the one that can afford to lose money, using what some argue is predatory pricing) would have an even more dominant market share.

The Justice Department maintains that proving illegal price-fixing "does not require us to show that the conspirators entered into a formal written or express agreement. Price fixing, bid rigging, and other collusive agreements can be established either by direct evidence, such as the testimony of a participant, or by circumstantial evidence, such as suspicious bid patterns, travel and expense reports, telephone records, and business diary entries."

There has been tension in the interpretation of the Sherman Act ever since the Supreme Court's 2007 ruling in the Leegin Creative Leather Products case. The Court reversed almost 100 years of judicial precedent that found vertical price restraints were illegal per se, and substituted a "rule of reason" and recognized retail price maintenance can in some cases have a "procompetitive effect that are in the consumer's best interest."

How will it end? We just have to wait and see......

Funny Response from a Lawyer

Mrs Rita Littlewood
26 Underhill
Worsborough Bridge
Barnsley
S70 5DR
5th of March 2004

Dear Mrs Littlewood,

We have recently received intimation of a claim against us from your solicitors Raleys in connection with your slipping on some pigeon shite and doing yourself an injury.

From my knowledge of the area, I would have thought that anybody walking under a
railway bridge in Barnsley would have been a bit more careful (especially a person of your
age and life experience) but that really isn’t relevant.

This company doesn’t have any interest in any property in Barnsley. Although I did once
have a pint with the late Dr Liam Lannigan who you may remember used to hold his
surgeries (if one could call them that) in a local public house with the car parked on a
yellow line outside. Nice chap - shame he took a header down the stairs in one of his rare
moments of sobriety.

I’m afraid that your numpty bunch of ambulance chasing solicitors have been incompetent:
they’ve written to the wrong company.

They have managed to get Railtrack Limited (a Private Limited Company incorporated in Scotland on 8th of May 2003) confused with Railtrack PLC (a Public Limited Company incorporated in England and Wales on 28th of February 1994 and now, following re-registration as a Private Limited Company on 3rd February 2003, known as Network Rail Infrastructure Limited).

It’s a fairly elementary mistake to make and one that the Law Society would probably snigger at.

So, you aren’t going to get a penny from us.

If you really want some free money from the bridge owners, I suggest you get yourself a
decent firm of solicitors (if such a thing exists in Barnsley).

Yours sincerely,

J White
Secretary

(Source: Railtrack Ltd; image courtesy of lawcartoon)

US Government Cracks Down On Megaupload

The US government seized Megaupload’s domain names, grabbing $50 million in assets, and getting New Zealand police to arrest four of the site's key employees, including e founder Kim Dotcom.

The 72-page indictment states that the site earned more than $175 million since its founding in 2005, most of it based on copyright infringement. The indictment goes after six individuals.

The case is a major one, involving international cooperation between the US, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, the UK, Germany, Canada, and the Philippines. In addition to the arrests, 20 search warrants were executed today in multiple countries.

Megaupload controlled 525 servers in Virginia alone and had another 630 in the Netherlands—and many more around the world.) For years, the site has claimed to take down unauthorized content when notified by IP owners. It has registered a DMCA agent with the US government. It has created an “abuse tool” and given rIP owners access. It has negotiated with companies like Universal Music Group about licensing content.

The US government points to numerous internal e-mails and chat logs from employees showing that they were aware of copyrighted material on the site and even shared it with each other. The government says that the site therefore does not qualify for a “safe harbor” of the kind that protected YouTube from Viacom's $1 billion lawsuit.

Megaupload employees apparently knew how the site was being used. They also knew how important copyrighted content was to their business. Employees also had access to analytics. The government therefore concluded that Megaupload knew what was happening and did little to stop it.

The MPAA stated: "By all estimates, Megaupload.com is the largest and most active criminally operated website targeting creative content in the world. This criminal case, more than two years in development, shows that law enforcement can take strong action to protect American intellectual property stolen through sites housed in the United States."

This is for sure a case to watch!

Federal Judge Dismisses Twitter Stalking Case

Federal judge Rodger W. Titus recently dismissed a case against a man accused of stalking a religious leader on Twitter. In his 27-page ruling he stated that his speech, though "uncomfortable," is protected by the Constitution.

Buddhist leader Alyce Zeoli accused William Lawrence Cassidy of harassing her and inflicting "substantial emotional distress". Cassidy was involved with Zeoli and her sect until they had a falling out. In 2010, Cassidy started posting hundreds of harassing messages directed at Zeoli via Twitter and a blog hosted on Blogspot.

The tweets consisted of statements such as: "Do the world a favor and go kill yourself. P.S. Have a nice day." According to Zeoli, the tweets not only inflicted "substantial emotional distress", but also madder her fear for her safety. She claimed that she hadn't left her house for 18 months, except to visit her psychiatrist.

Judge Rodger W. Titus ruled in Cassidy's favor, opining that Twitter is different from other communication mediums like phone calls or emails because a person can ignore items posted on Twitter. In his 27-page ruling, he compared Twitter to the bulletin boards colonial-era citizens used to erect in their front yards. The difference is that Twitter exists online, he said.

"If one colonist wants to see what is on another's bulletin board, he would need to walk over to his neighbor's yard and look at what is posted… Now one can inspect a neighbor's blog by simply turning on a computer," Titus ruled, stating that one colonist can choose to look at a board or ignore it completely.

He continued: "Twitter and blogs are today's equivalent of a bulletin board that one is free to disregard, in contrast, for example, to e-mails or phone calls directed to a victim." Because Zeoli had this option, Cassidy's speech is protected.

The judge also ruled that because some of Cassidy's messages were critical of Zeoli's religious beliefs, his speech is protected by the First Amendment.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation applauded Titus's decision.

"Speech on social networking sites–as with speech anywhere–has the potential to inform and enlighten as well as to outrage," senior staff attorney Matt Zimmerman said. "It is imperative that courts recognize and uphold First Amendment protections in order to give all manner of expression sufficient breathing space to thrive online."

It's unclear whether Zeoli will appeal.

Good news for bloggers

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that simply making an online link to defamatory content created by someone else does not constitute publishing that content. This ruling means that bloggers and Twitter users are not breaking the law by merely linking to another site that contains libelous or defamatory material. It thus upheld the rulings of the B.C. Supreme Court and the B.C. Court of Appeal.

“The Internet, in short, cannot provide access to information without hyperlinks,” wrote Justice Rosalie Abella. “Limiting their usefulness by subjecting them to the traditional publication rule would have the effect of seriously restricting the flow of information and as a result, freedom of expression.”

The decision was unanimous. However, two justices warned that framing or endorsing the link as the truth or accurate could still be illegal.

“Combined text and hyperlink may amount to publication of defamatory material,” wrote Chief Justice Beverly McLachlin and Justice Morris Fish. “If the text communicates agreement with the content linked to, then the hyperlinker should be liable for the defamatory content.”

Civil Liberties organizations, Internet advocates and media lawyers all agree that outlawing linking would stem the pace of information online.

(Image courtesy of www.editorsweblog.org)

EU’s New Data Protection Rules

On January 25, the European Commission proposed new data protection legislation. The rules include the "right to be forgotten," under which individuals will be able to delete uploaded personal data if there are no legitimate grounds for retaining them.

The rules would apply if data are handled abroad by companies that offer their services to EU citizens (e.g., Google Inc., Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Facebook). Breaching the rules would be fined by €1 million or up to 2% of the company’s global annual turnover. According to Viviane Reding, the The EU's justice commissioner, the new rules would save businesses about around €2.3 billion ($3 billion) a year.

"My proposals will help build trust in online services because people will be better informed about their rights and in more control of their information," she said in a statement. "A strong, clear and uniform legal framework at EU level will help to unleash the potential of the Digital Single Market and foster economic growth, innovation and job creation."

Needless to say, many are not happy.

"The latest draft still includes a number of draconian requirements for businesses that will be difficult to implement for many," said Jane Finlayson-Brown, a partner in London-based law firm Allen & Overy's data protection team.

“The real concern is that many of the proposed rules will inhibit the free flow of information globally and make it difficult for global businesses to operate and invest in Europe due to greater legal uncertainty, increased administrative burdens and the risk of fines," said James Lovegrove, managing director of TechAmerica Europe, a not-for-profit association representing U.S.-based technology firms in Europe.

If the changes are adopted, companies will deal with a single national data protection authority in the EU country in which they have their main base. Meanwhile, individuals can refer to the data protection authority in their own country even when their data are processed by a company based outside the EU.

Ronald Zink, Microsoft's Chief Operating Officer with responsibility for EU Affairs and Associate General Counsel commented:"The question [is] how do you future proof this; the European Commission is trying to create a regime that will have some staying power. The goal of [the] new proposal is to reduce the burden while increasing privacy protection; I'm optimistic this can be done."

Google reacted on its official blog, announcing that it will streamline its privacy policy from 70 documents to a single main privacy policy. "Regulators globally have been calling for shorter, simpler privacy policies—and having one policy covering many different products is now fairly standard across the web," Google's blog said. "We believe this new, simpler policy will make it easier for people to understand our privacy practices."

The proposals will now be passed on to the European Parliament and EU member states when they meet at EU councils and will take effect two years after they have been adopted.

Community-Based Gang Reducation

Based on the development of a three-year, nation-wide anti-gang strategy for Jamaica, Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.) and international criminologist Michel Amiot developed a Community-Based Gang Reduction Model.

A Community-Based Gang Reduction Model has five key Components:

Building on Community Based Policing Practices;

Building on Intelligence Driven Policing;

Creating Public Safety Threat Assessment Gang Enforcement;

Incorporating Community Driven Problem Solving; and,

Facilitating Community/Stakeholder Involvement

To learn more, please download the folowing file:

Download the 3 Year Anti-Gang Strategy (PDF)

League Tables as a Marketing Tool for Dutch Lawyers

League tables are ranking lists of law firms involved in mergers and takeovers. When pitching for a job, law firms like to refer to their own ranking. It helps with marketing themselves as a major player. Ranking lists that Dutch lawyers like to use are those of the British Chambers and Legal 500.

To be included in these lists, law firms are being investigated, including interviewing clients about their experiences with the firm. The lists mainly serve as indicators of the “health” of the law office. Especially the number and value of the transactions that the firm was involved are great marketing tools. According to Gaike Dalenoord of the law firm Nauta Dutilh: “If you have a high score on both fronts, you are perceived as a serious and influential firm.”

Other league tables that are popular are those of the Nederlandse Overfusies (purely focusing on The Netherlands) and the British Mergermarket (includes all transactions in de Benelux. Both provide the value as well as the amount of deals. Most large international firms prefer scoring high on the value of the deals. They perceive being involved in really big deals as a way to move ahead of competition.

"We are making fun of them, but we still perceive them as an indicator for success”, said Jan Willem de Boer, partner at the Dutch office of Linklaters. “We all provide data about deals to the compilers of the ranking lists.”

Of course – the league tables and ranking lists are great for marketing!

Apple wants to patent and trademark its Thunderbolt trademark and technology

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) started the year with submitting three new patent applications. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) detailed various aspects of Apple's revolutionary I/O technology called Thunderbolt. Apple already filed a slew of Thunderbolt trademarks in 2011.

But many experts (and lawyers) wonder: does Apple really own the trademark and technology? Many believe that Thunderbolt was developed by Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) and brought to market with technical collaboration from Apple Inc.

However, it seems that savvy Apple goes out of its way to secure Thunderbolt related patents. Already filed Thunderbolt trademarks include multiple and detailed patents. It looks like Apple abandoned its previous (legal) position that its involvement in the development of Thunderbolt was limited to "technical collaboration." Is pulling Apple a fast one on Intel, or is this a classic case of unclear expectations? Intel did not react (yet).

The good news is that Apple seems to be focused on bringing Thunderbolt to iOS devices in the near future. This would mean faster data transfers and faster recharging, which is something users have been looking for.

IT'S FANGA TIME!!!

Thursday 8 December 2011

Yad Lebanim Hall

(147 Ahuza Street, Raanana)

9:30pm

Hillary Sargeant & FANGA Band

(click above to see highlights of last year's show)

will light up the stage like never before!

Meet the Faces of FANGA!

Shai Bachar (USA)- Keyboards/ Musical Director
Tomer Cohen (IL) - Woodwinds
Jamale Hopkins (USA) - Drums
Royn Iwryn(IL) - Percussion
Gabriel Polak (IL) - Guitar
Yogev Glusman (IL) - Bass

BACKGROUND VOCALS:
Naama Cohen (IL)
Talia Kliger (IL)
Jacqueline Fay (IL)

FEATURING:

Eyal Ganor (IL) - Contra Bass

Yankale Segal (IL) - Oud

Nii Adzah Ananag (Ghana) - African Drums

Naama Cohen (IL-Season 9 Kokav Nolad ) - Soloist

Law Firm Marketing Plan

Law firms are a business, so they need a marketing plan. It consists of the following steps:

1) The best way to get business right away is to tell everyone you know what your law firm is doing. This can be done by e-mail, letter and (of course) social media. Make it clear what the firm’s expertise is. Your (potential) clients will get confused if you claim to be a “general practice”. It is important to specify if you the firm does wills and estate planning, or that that it specializes on car accident cases.

2) Offer a package deal. If the firm handles DUIs, offer a “Jailhouse Consultation.” For this kind of promotion, a firm needs to be creative and build its reputation. In certain cases, it might be worth while to take on pro bono cases. Law firms can easily mimic sales offered by the retail industry.

3) Drum up business. Engage friends and family to send clients in order to do business. Tell them what the firms would like them to do.

4) Blog! Start a blog (or blawg) to pull in search engine traffic. Maintaining a blog is a long-term marketing endeavor, so it might be worth while to engage a freelance lawyer-turned-blogger. It will certainly pay off if kept up.

5) Connect to lots of people. Start networking with people that are potential referral sources, as well as entrepreneurs and business owners whom could be turned into clients.

For more information, follow TipTopLawyer on Twitter!

Apple Takes Action Against a German Cafe in Bonn for Infringing on Its Famous Logo

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has sent a “cease-and-desist”letter to “Apfelkind“, a cafe in Bonn, Germany. Apfelkind ("Apple child") uses a logo consisting of a red apple with the silhouette of a child inside.

Owner Christin Römer submitted the design to the Trademark and Patent Bureau in Munich, Germany. She applied for 42 classes (categories), including fashion and service provider. She also stated that she would like to franchise her “Apfelkind” concept.

The legal eagles at Apple noticed that the two logos are very similar. Apple lawyers promptly objected to the submission and issued a “cease-and-desist” letter to Ms. Römer.

She immediately involved the German media, playing the David vs. Goliath card.

But things are not as clear cut as Ms. Römer might think.

The problem is not just having the logo on the building. She also sells merchandize with the logo (such as cups) online. She also writes on her website that she is planning to expand her webshop (there is already a picture of pillows featuring the logo).

Furthermore, her submitting the logo in the category “service provider” and announcing that she wants to build a franchise show that she is a savvy business woman.

Her claim that her logo was inspired “by the apple trees of my neighbors” is weak to say the least. She hired a graphic studio to do the design. Any reputable graphic designer will warn against piggyback-riding on famous logos.

How will it end? Ms. Römer has two choices: to spend a lot of money fighting for her logo, or changing the design and removing it from the “service provider” category.

In the mean time, she got lots of free publicity. But she should realize that multinationals are investing a fortune in their brand and are therefore highly protective of their IP, including logos.

The lesson to be learned here is to make sure that your logo, font type, slogan, product name and color scheme do not even vaguely resemble those of other companies. Be original! It is not only better marketing, but also prevents legal problems.

A painful lesson in copyright and graphic design – inspired by Steve Jobs

Social media has changed the game; in more ways than one. Let’s look at the case of Mr. Mak.

Mr. Mak, a university student in Hong Kong who is an aspiring graphic designer. Upon the passing way of Steve Jobs, he designed a graphic of the Apple logo with a silhouetted profile of Mr. Jobs. It went viral and was even picked up by news media. Even actor Ashton Kutcher posted the design on his Twitter account. So far, so good...

But then, it was noticed that his design has an uncanny resemblance to the design of Chris Thornley, a British graphic artist.

Mak developed his design in late August using a white Apple logo on a black background. He used a black silhouette of Mr. Jobs indented in the apple as a tribute to Mr. Jobs after he stepped down as chief executive of Apple.

Although Mak said he had searched across the Internet both to ensure he was not infringing on another design, he did not come across Mr. Thornley’s design.

But his design turned out to be similar Mr. Thornley’s. Thornely designed a black Apple logo on a white background, with a white silhouette of Mr. Jobs. The angle is slightly different from Mak’s design.

A shocked Mak said he had received notification from Mr. Thornley’s wife, Julia, about the similarities of the two designs.

In the world of graphic design, similarities between images are quite common. This case illustrates once more how easy it has become to unearth similar images or outright copies. Mr. Thornley, a 40-year-old living in Darwen, England, acknowledges the dangers the digital age presented to creativity.

He is following the controversy while receiving treatment for a rare form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He stated that he first developed his design in May 2011. He wanted to celebrate the fact that someone who had cancer was still working, still driving forward and still thinking positively about the future.

“The Internet can be a double-edged sword,” he said. “You need to use the Internet in order to promote yourself, but in order to do this you are making yourself vulnerable to these situations.”

Mr. Thornley went on to say that he hoped to speak with Mr. Mak soon about the two designs.

“J. Mak has been as honest as he can about the situation, I think,” he said. “It is important to have the debate about this, and J. Mak has to be credited for opening up the debate and not hiding from it.”

Mr. Mak said that he learned a valuable lesson.. “It really taught me to be very careful about what I say and do. With all the negative publicity I received in Hong Kong, it taught me to be very careful. At the same time, I need to stay true to my sense of aesthetics.”

Posted by Tip Top PR at 5:39 PM 0 comments

Copyright Challenged

The U.S. Supreme Court justices are dealing with an interesting issue - to grant copyrights to works by foreign authors. The potential stakes are huge and n pit old industry against new. The publishing and movie industries say that robust enforcement of foreign copyrights in the US is essential to ensuring reciprocal protection of their copyrights overseas.

In contrast, companies such as Google (which has digitized millions of public domain works and placed them online) state that their investments could be jeopardized.

In 1994, Congress sought to give protection to foreign works under the Berne Convention, which gives US works reciprocal protection overseas. The 1994 law applies only to works that were never copyrighted under old US copyright law. Nowadays, all foreign artists receive the copyright protection they get in their home countries.

Granting copyright removes a work from the public domain. This means that works that would be free for anyone to use, republish, perform or build upon is not allowed anymore. Works that long had been available to all (e.g., Picasso, Nabokov and J.R.R. Tolkien) could be withdrawn if the owners assert their ownership.

A group including musicians, filmmakers and archivists who rely on public domain works challenged the law. They claim that it exceeds Congress's power to grant copyrights, and infringes on the First Amendment free speech rights.

Anthony Falzone of Stanford Law School stated that once a copyright's "limited time" expires, a work permanently enters the public domain. Since foreign authors never had copyrights at the outset, Congress can't extend them now.

Justice Ginsburg argued that there was a difference between restoring copyrights that had expired and granting copyright for the first time. However, several justices doubt that taking books and music by long-dead authors out of the public domain could promote the "progress" the Constitution sought to spur through copyright.

A decision in the case, Golan v. Holder, is expected soon.

Why Blawging (legal blogging) is so important

Job seekers should network strategically and take advantage of social media. Blogging about issues in their preferred practice area would give them an opportunity to showcase their capabilities.

Law students and recent grads often fear that they are too inexperienced to blog with credibility. On the up side: they have fresh researching skills and are knowledgeable about cutting-edge issues they learned in their classes. They can leverage this know-how into topics to write or blog about. Their professors might be wiling to endorse them!

Law students should not write law review-style articles. Instead, they should write in a more conversational way about subjects they are passionate about. Their passion will show through and inspires blog writing. So start a blog about law-related matters, and try to combine it with other passions. That’s what engages readers and builds a faithful following.

One law graduate landed a job in an estate planning firm, and he believes that blogging helped. He went to work for a firm that values writing and encourages him to write articles on topics clients care about.

Why did blogging help him? It gave him an audience interested in his writing and analytical skills, since it demonstrated his interest in the practicing in his field of interest.

Advise to all lawyers ( and lawyer to be): start blawging!

Amanda Knox- another miscarriage of justice?

In an astounding reversal of fortune, Amanda Knox was set free by an Italian jury. She told the jury impassioned: "I did not kill, I did not rape, I was not there." Throughout her trial, she has always maintained her innocence. So now, after four years, she walked out of her Italian prison a free woman.

Was she the victim of a miscarriage of justice? Or is she a second Lindy Chamberlain (“a dingo took my baby”) or Casey Anthony?

One of the main problems is the girl herself (similar to Ms. Anthony). She was quite appropriate referred to as “[the killer] with the stone-cold eyes”. She never even flinched once during her court appearances or showed any grief for the brutal murder of her close friend and housemate Meredith Kercher.

Poor Meredith was forced to kneel, her face was pushed into the floor, and she was then raped at knife-point before being stabbed and strangled to death.

Amanda seems to be obsessed though with former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito. To this day, Raffaele denies that she was at his house on the night of the murder (as she claimed).

Ms. Knox also repeatedly changed her story and even accused an innocent man to save her own skin.

So why was she set free? Simple - the evidence was too botched and the forensics too flawed. Does that make her innocent? Far from it! But in any democratic legal system - in dubio pro reo.

The act she put up during her last hearing was an example of great acting. She pleaded: ‘I don’t want to be deprived of my life.’ Yeah, sure, but what about poor Meredith? She for sure was cruelly deprived of her life!

Nicknamed Foxy Knoxy by the media, she will for sure hammer out a great book deal, followed by a Hollywood blockbuster. Ah well, she can always hook up with Casey Anthony and start her own “exclusive” club of accused murderesses set free....

In the mean time, there is no justice served and the parents and relatives of Meredith have to try to come to terms with this latest Italian carriage of justice.....

The public prosecutor announced that they will appeal the latest verdict. Stay tuned....

Ernst August of Hanover latest legal trouble – will BAT teach him a lesson?

Ernst August's latest legal predicament started with an ad campaign, which makes a nice change from his previous track record.

You see, Prince Ernst August of Hanover is a German royal known for his volatile temper which gave him the nickname “der Pruegelprinz” (punchy or beat-up prince).

In 1998 he attacked a TV cameraman breaking his nose by hitting him with an umbrella. The court fined the umbrella-wielding prince the equivalent of $50,800.

In 2000 he repeatedly hit 55-year-old hotel owner Josef Brunlehner, a German national, with a metal object (a knuckle duster) after becoming angry at the noise and laser show from the hotel disco. This incident took place on Lamu Island in Kenya, Africa. A judge in the town of Hildesheim, Germany, fined the prince the equivalent of 40 days of his salary, which the court put at 5,000 euros daily. HRH appealed and won.

British American Tobacco (BATS:LN) used these incidents for their ad campaign promoting Lucky Strike (yes, really). The text is great an example of great copy writing: “War das Ernst (was that serious) Oder August? (Or August)?

HRH was not amused and promptly sued BAT for 100,000 Euro based on "unauthorized use of his name". In the end, he was awarded 60,000 Euro. But BAT appealed and the Federal Court of Justice overturned the verdict and dismissed Ernst August’s claim.

But instead of paying back the money that was awarded to him, the German royal decided to ignore the final verdict. BAT has legal grounds to demand payment. At this moment, HRH is convicted to pay 120,000 Euro. This sum includes interest and court costs. He is therefore looking at foreclosure. Mr. Ad Schenk, CEO of BAT Germany remarked to the German magazine Bild: “Or Ernst or August, we don’t care – someone will pay!”

Will this German royal ever learn?

Why YouTube (and Other Social Media) is Important for Lawyers

Incorporating lawyer videos into a robust attorney Internet marketing campaign is important. An attorney video on Internet can serve various objectives, such as:

Securing high page ranking
The days of just optimizing the corporate website to achieve page 1 ranking on search engines are gone. Nowadays, lawyers must do anything to optimize, including images to articles, lawyer videos that are uploaded to video sharing sites (e.g., YouTube), articles, and free advice (e.g., “how to... guides as downloads) on their websites.

Law firms need to optimize their videos to showcase their abilities. They need to savvy about terms and keywords that can result in their video and their content to be visible to stand out in the Internet clutter. By incorporating optimized lawyer videos and optimized press releases and images in its comprehensive lawyer Internet marketing campaign, law firms will show up in search engine result pages.

Increasing client engagement
Potential clients prefer to watch lawyer video and funky content than read paragraph after paragraph of text a website. By incorporating a video onto select pages of a website, potential clients can learn way about the way a law firm operates. This keeps potential clients engaged and will entice them to visit the law firm’s website.

Building brand
A video enhances a law firm’s credibility and branding. It puts a face to the law firm name. It helps to ease a potential client’s apprehension and thus builds a sense of confidence in the law firm. By producing quality videos, a law firm can actually build its brand while building its credibility among clients.

In short, Use the available internet tools to stand out!