About a year ago, I had a post entitled, The “E” in E-Mail stands for Exhibit. As in Exhibit A. Here’s a snippet: As part of my respect-in-the-workplace training, I tell employees and managers that bad e-mails are like dirty diapers: they stink and they never go away. Yeah, about…
Articles Posted in Attorney Practice Tips
9 simple steps to drafting a bangin’ EEOC Position Statement
If you’ve ever had to address a Charging Party’s EEOC Charge of Discrimination, you know that drafting a good Position Statement, in which the specific claims of discrimination are addressed and supported with documents and facts is hella-key. This especially holds true now that the EEOC has announced new nationwide procedures that provide…
Facebook “tagging” adds a new wrinkle to social media discovery
More litigants are requesting that their adversaries produce social media evidence during litigation. Often this information is reasonably likely to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence at trial. For example, a Facebook status update about a great day from a plaintiff suing her former employer for discrimination could bear…
The ethical tightrope of social media as a litigation tool
Savvy lawyers today use social media to mine and collect important data about litigants. But cross that line from savvy to shady, and you may find yourself in deep do-do. (Kinda like the blow-out I encountered when I reached inside the back of my youngest’s wetsuit at the pool this…
Tips from Facebook on getting discovery of a plaintiff’s Facebook page
I’m a little late to the game on this case (Gatto v. United Airlines). It’s about a personal injury case in which the defendant sought discovery of a the plaintiff’s Facebook page. Yadda, yadda, yadda, plaintiff deletes his Facebook page and the court sanctions the plaintiff. But here’s the part…
100% pure settlement offer? If not, it may be ADMISSIBLE … AT … TRIAL!
Most parties (and their attorneys) expect that settlement communications are not admissible at trial. There’s even a federal rule of evidence on this subject. However, a federal court recently recognized an exception. But, with all due respect to the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, the…
Employment Law Blog Carnival: Hollywood Casting Call Edition
Welcome everyone to the Employment Law Blog Carnival: Hollywood Casting Call Edition. [Editor’s Note: The original theme for this post was the “Employment Law Blog Carnival: Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll Edition.” I had this bright idea to begin by cutting and pasting the lyrics to Guns N’ Roses’ “My…
That’s what he said: Attorney Tips for Seeking Social Media Discovery
I’m gearing up to host the Employment Law Blog Carnival on Wednesday, so I’m mailing it in today with a quick shout out to Venkat Balasubramani posting over at Eric Goldman’s Technology and Marketing Law Blog. Admittedly, I have fallen behind on updating you, my loyal readers, on the world…
Court grants access to plaintiff’s social media in discrimination case
Many times on this blog (e.g., here, here, and here), I’ve discussed the discovery of a plaintiff’s social media information in pending litigation. More often than not, these issues arise in personal injury actions where the defendant believes that the plaintiff’s injury isn’t as a severe as he claims it…
You can’t get Facebook login info based on a smiling profile pic
I got this as a Google Alert on Monday. The case is Davids v. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. Allow me to set the stage for you. Plaintiff sues, claiming ongoing suffering from osteonecrosis of the jaw (if you click the link, don’t look at the picture on the right. Ewwwww) Defendant…