For the Public

lawyer's lawyer

The Benefits of Collaborative Divorce

Parties to divorce face hard choices and often, emotional trauma. As divorce lawyers, we are tasked with supporting people who have been stripped of the life they once knew and are required to absorb that loss while facing monumental decisions that will have lasting impact on their children and their future; however, our traditional adversary system is often unable to

Read More »
applicant

Intent Key to Requesting Job Applicants’ Credentials

Minnesota law states that an employer cannot ask a job applicant “to furnish information that pertains to … age” unless a bonafide occupational qualification applies. Minn. Stat. § 363A.08, subd. 4(a)(1). Does this mean that asking for dates of education is prohibited because it “pertains to age?” The answer depends on whether the question is supported by a legitimate reason.

Read More »
patent law

Can You Dawdle Over a Dirty Diaper?

The Supreme Court issued six patent law decisions in its latest term, continuing the Court’s trend of being very interested in intellectual property law. One of those cases dealt with how long a patent owner can “hold it,” so to speak. In SCA Hygiene Products Aktiebolag v. First Quality Baby Products, LLC.580 U.S. _ (2017), the issue on appeal was whether laches

Read More »
work

This Thing Doesn’t Work, Now What?

We have all experienced the excitement of a new purchase, followed closely by the sting of disappointment when that new gadget simply does not do what it claimed. Whether it is a household item or a big-ticket purchase, consumers expect that a company’s representations they relied upon are actually true. So, when that new “thing” doesn’t work, what’s next? Consumers

Read More »
judicial release

Sentencing Reduction Through Judicial Release

Our firm routinely receives inquiries concerning the legal avenues that can be pursued to reduce or eliminate a defendant’s term of incarceration. Because parole is no longer a viable option in Ohio, individuals must seek reprieve by filing a motion for “judicial release.” Whether a defendant is eligible to apply for – or otherwise quali- fied to receive – such

Read More »
DACA

The End of DACA as an Opportunity for Comprehensive Immigration Reform

On Sept. 5, 2017, the Trump administration announced the “phase out” of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. According to Homeland Security Acting Secretary Elaine Duke, the Trump administration’s decision to terminate the heavily litigated program “was not taken lightly …. The Department of Justice has carefully evaluated the program’s constitutionality and determined it conflicts with our

Read More »
ADA

The Americans with Disabilities Act – A Brief Primer

Earlier in our employment law series, we touched briefly on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and specifically looked at the employer’s compliance with the ADA in the context of interviewing and hiring. As we discussed, an employer must tread carefully when inquiring about potential disabilities during the hiring process. However, this article will focus on the ADA from the

Read More »
biases

Biased? Not Me!: Avoiding Unconscious Bias During the Hiring Process

In an ideal world, an employer would evaluate candidates based solely on objective, measurable criteria without consideration of any matter not related to job performance. In reality, many other factors come into play – including biases that the hiring manager is wholly unaware he or she harbors. Although these unconscious biases are unintentional, they are abundant in the workplace –

Read More »
Reining in the Tipsy Coachman

Reining in the Tipsy Coachman: Purpose and Limitations of the Doctrine

Appellate courts can, “affirm a decision from a lower tribunal that reaches the right result for the wrong reasons so long as there is any basis which would support the judgment in the record.” State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. Levine, 837 So. 2d 363, 365 (Fla. 2002) (citation and internal quotes omitted). This “tipsy coachman” doctrine reflects the

Read More »
Mistrial

Mistrial Misgivings?

In Sumner County recently, a high-profile trial ended in a mistrial leading court watchers to ask the question: What happened and what happens now? Timothy Batts was charged with reckless homicide and several other offenses that resulted from the shooting death of his 11-year-old daughter, Timea. After deliberating for two days, the jury announced that they could not reach a

Read More »
lawyer's lawyer

The Benefits of Collaborative Divorce

Parties to divorce face hard choices and often, emotional trauma. As divorce lawyers, we are tasked with supporting people who have been stripped of the life they once knew and are required to absorb that loss while facing monumental decisions that will have lasting impact on their children and their future; however, our traditional adversary system is often unable to

Read More »
applicant

Intent Key to Requesting Job Applicants’ Credentials

Minnesota law states that an employer cannot ask a job applicant “to furnish information that pertains to … age” unless a bonafide occupational qualification applies. Minn. Stat. § 363A.08, subd. 4(a)(1). Does this mean that asking for dates of education is prohibited because it “pertains to age?” The answer depends on whether the question is supported by a legitimate reason.

Read More »
patent law

Can You Dawdle Over a Dirty Diaper?

The Supreme Court issued six patent law decisions in its latest term, continuing the Court’s trend of being very interested in intellectual property law. One of those cases dealt with how long a patent owner can “hold it,” so to speak. In SCA Hygiene Products Aktiebolag v. First Quality Baby Products, LLC.580 U.S. _ (2017), the issue on appeal was whether laches

Read More »
work

This Thing Doesn’t Work, Now What?

We have all experienced the excitement of a new purchase, followed closely by the sting of disappointment when that new gadget simply does not do what it claimed. Whether it is a household item or a big-ticket purchase, consumers expect that a company’s representations they relied upon are actually true. So, when that new “thing” doesn’t work, what’s next? Consumers

Read More »
judicial release

Sentencing Reduction Through Judicial Release

Our firm routinely receives inquiries concerning the legal avenues that can be pursued to reduce or eliminate a defendant’s term of incarceration. Because parole is no longer a viable option in Ohio, individuals must seek reprieve by filing a motion for “judicial release.” Whether a defendant is eligible to apply for – or otherwise quali- fied to receive – such

Read More »
DACA

The End of DACA as an Opportunity for Comprehensive Immigration Reform

On Sept. 5, 2017, the Trump administration announced the “phase out” of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. According to Homeland Security Acting Secretary Elaine Duke, the Trump administration’s decision to terminate the heavily litigated program “was not taken lightly …. The Department of Justice has carefully evaluated the program’s constitutionality and determined it conflicts with our

Read More »
ADA

The Americans with Disabilities Act – A Brief Primer

Earlier in our employment law series, we touched briefly on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and specifically looked at the employer’s compliance with the ADA in the context of interviewing and hiring. As we discussed, an employer must tread carefully when inquiring about potential disabilities during the hiring process. However, this article will focus on the ADA from the

Read More »
biases

Biased? Not Me!: Avoiding Unconscious Bias During the Hiring Process

In an ideal world, an employer would evaluate candidates based solely on objective, measurable criteria without consideration of any matter not related to job performance. In reality, many other factors come into play – including biases that the hiring manager is wholly unaware he or she harbors. Although these unconscious biases are unintentional, they are abundant in the workplace –

Read More »
Reining in the Tipsy Coachman

Reining in the Tipsy Coachman: Purpose and Limitations of the Doctrine

Appellate courts can, “affirm a decision from a lower tribunal that reaches the right result for the wrong reasons so long as there is any basis which would support the judgment in the record.” State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. Levine, 837 So. 2d 363, 365 (Fla. 2002) (citation and internal quotes omitted). This “tipsy coachman” doctrine reflects the

Read More »
Mistrial

Mistrial Misgivings?

In Sumner County recently, a high-profile trial ended in a mistrial leading court watchers to ask the question: What happened and what happens now? Timothy Batts was charged with reckless homicide and several other offenses that resulted from the shooting death of his 11-year-old daughter, Timea. After deliberating for two days, the jury announced that they could not reach a

Read More »

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