http://www.wislawjournal.com/typeCategory.cfm/Columns The latest News updates for Columns from WLJ en-us Copyright 2008, Wisconsin Law Journal. http://www.wislawjournal.com/article.cfm/2008/10/13/Attorney-is-a-Twitter-about-online-networking-resource A couple of months ago, I read about Twitter and thought, “Why would anyone care what I’m doing right now? Do I really care what anybody else is doing right now?” Mon, 13 Oct 2008 13:37:01 CDT http://www.wislawjournal.com/article.cfm/2008/09/29/Conquering-the-quest-for-malpractice-insurance “Oh how I need Someone to watch over me.” Mon, 29 Sep 2008 13:23:49 CDT http://www.wislawjournal.com/article.cfm/2008/09/29/Some-PR-firms-are-beginning-to-share-the-risk While working at a national trade association, I was charged with building visibility for issues in Washington with key members of Congress. After reviewing several DC-based PR firms, our CEO decided to hire a firm he knew, rather than one with specific expertise that matched our needs. The results were predictable, but we engaged the firm nonetheless. Mon, 29 Sep 2008 09:48:58 CDT http://www.wislawjournal.com/article.cfm/2008/09/22/Bio Jane Pribek is the editor-at-large for the Wisconsin Law Journal. Pribek is a former family law attorney and the former editor of the Wisconsin Law Journal. She lives in Nashville, Tenn. with her husband and two daughters. Mon, 22 Sep 2008 11:26:15 CDT http://www.wislawjournal.com/article.cfm/2008/09/22/Bio Job Cites is a monthly employment law column submitted by Jacquelynn Ruiz, Warren Buliox and Jerilyn Jacobs. All three are attorneys practicing employment law at Gonzalez Saggio & Harlan LLP, in the Milwaukee. Mon, 22 Sep 2008 11:13:52 CDT http://www.wislawjournal.com/article.cfm/2008/09/22/BFOQs-have-to-be-more-than-cheap-talk There is one thing we all know about employment law: employers cannot deliberately exclude an individual from consideration from employment based upon the individual’s gender or other protected class. However, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 carves out an express exception for circumstance where gender is a “bona fide occupational qualification” for the position. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(e)(1). This is known as a “BFOQ.” Mon, 22 Sep 2008 11:10:24 CDT http://www.wislawjournal.com/article.cfm/2008/09/22/The-fraud-blame-game-Accusing-the-auditors When a company discovers an internal fraud, it’s not uncommon for owners and management to look for a party to blame. After all, someone should have known that a fraud was in-progress, right? Often, the blame is cast in the direction of the auditors. Mon, 22 Sep 2008 10:09:33 CDT http://www.wislawjournal.com/article.cfm/2008/09/15/Four-midpriced-legal-research-options Although the best things in life may be free, unfortunately, the best electronic legal research tools are not. Mon, 15 Sep 2008 10:02:32 CDT http://www.wislawjournal.com/article.cfm/2008/09/08/Tracking-down-free-case-search-alternatives When I attended law school in the early 1990s, part of the required curriculum was electronic legal research, taught by Westlaw or LexisNexis reps. I took full advantage of free Web searching. Mon, 08 Sep 2008 10:30:09 CDT http://www.wislawjournal.com/article.cfm/2008/09/08/Four-legal-research-companies-offer-midpriced-options Although the best things in life may be free, unfortunately, the best electronic legal research tools are not. Mon, 08 Sep 2008 09:52:39 CDT http://www.wislawjournal.com/article.cfm/2008/09/08/How-can-you-benefit-by-shaping-medias-agenda Mark Twain once wrote, “The trouble is that the stupid people — who constitute the grand overwhelming majority of this and all other nations — do believe and are molded and convinced by what they get out of a newspaper.” Mon, 08 Sep 2008 09:34:29 CDT http://www.wislawjournal.com/article.cfm/2008/08/18/Save-time-dollars-by-shopping-for-supplies-online At the risk of grossly generalizing … like most members of my gender, I adore shopping or “retail therapy,” as it’s sometimes called. This applies when I’m recreational clothes shopping for kids or myself. For all else, including buying office supplies, software or electronics, it’s mostly a chore. I just want the cheapest and best I can get, in the quickest amount of time. Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:40:37 CDT http://www.wislawjournal.com/article.cfm/2008/08/18/Executive-prison-sentences-and-fraud-deterrence One of the key parts of Sarbanes-Oxley, the legislation created to address the problem of massive financial statement fraud at public companies like Enron and WorldCom, was the increased prison sentences for executives participating in fraud. Supporters of the legislation cheered harsher potential punishment for executives as one of the keys that would help prevent fraud. Mon, 18 Aug 2008 09:05:18 CDT http://www.wislawjournal.com/article.cfm/2008/08/11/Do-you-dream-of-being-a-managing-partner In years past it was a cliché that children dreamed of becoming President of the United States when they grew up. That’s likely still the case to some extent, but given today’s gigantic salaries in segments of Corporate America, it’s equally probable that some children dream of growing up to become CEO of a major corporation. With CEO salaries (not including bonuses) being many times larger than the average worker’s, it’s an attractive aspiration. Mon, 11 Aug 2008 11:48:47 CDT http://www.wislawjournal.com/article.cfm/2008/08/11/Court-to-reconsider-unpublished-opinion-rule On Oct. 14, 2008, the Wisconsin Supreme Court will, for the fourth time, consider a proposed rule to allow citation to an unpublished decision for persuasive authority. Mon, 11 Aug 2008 10:30:35 CDT http://www.wislawjournal.com/article.cfm/2008/08/04/Small-solo-firms-can-seek-professional-help-with-HR-duties So, you’re starting your own solo or small firm, and you’re looking to hire staff. Will your employee(s) be classified as exempt or nonexempt for Wage and Hour regulations? Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:05:15 CDT http://www.wislawjournal.com/article.cfm/2008/08/04/NY-firm-liable-for-Fla-firms-failure-to-file-claim Just the other day I came across a case from New York, which should scare the bejesus out of every attorney practicing whether in this state or any other state. Mon, 04 Aug 2008 09:59:08 CDT http://www.wislawjournal.com/article.cfm/2008/07/28/Why-attorneys-inevitably-mishandle-crisis-situations The title of this column derives from a monthly media coaching session I conducted for a corporate law firm client. As you can imagine, the advanced billing for this session created quite a stir. Mon, 28 Jul 2008 09:16:26 CDT http://www.wislawjournal.com/article.cfm/2008/07/21/Marital-property-agreement-concerns-remain The prospective divorce client comes to your office with a marital agreement in hand. Well, that should ensure a quick and relatively painless end to that marriage, right? Not so fast. Mon, 21 Jul 2008 09:17:20 CDT http://www.wislawjournal.com/article.cfm/2008/07/21/Feds-new-mortgage-rules-wont-stop-fraud As the panic continues about the “subprime mortgage crisis,” pressure has been put on regulators to do something to stop mortgage fraud. The “crisis” has been blamed largely on corrupt mortgage brokers, and so last week the Federal Reserve adopted new mortgage regulations. Mon, 21 Jul 2008 09:12:17 CDT