June 2020 Archives

A federal appeals court on Wednesday ordered Judge Emmet Sullivan to dismiss the case against former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, a surprise conclusion in a long-running political fight.

Despite Flynn twice pleading guilty for lying to the FBI about his conversations with then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the presidential transition, the Justice Department moved last month to dismiss the case against him. Sullivan did not immediately act, instead asking for a review of the decision.

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Bills currently before the New York assembly and senate have requested an immediate moratorium on all live animal markets in the city. If passed, they would see the markets closed until a proposed new taskforce investigates concerns about public health and animal welfare in the sector.

From Instagram to LinkedIn (and soon, Twitter), there are ways your heirs can request access to your accounts once you've died, but why stress them out with those complicated procedures? Several online services allow you to designate legacy contacts or grant access after a period of inactivity. The post teaches you how to manage your digital accounts.

You can create a password manager emergency kit with the keys to all your digital accounts and pass them on to a loved one.

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The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned the Trump administration's decision to phase out a program that deferred deportation for some immigrants.

The decision to rescind the program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals was arbitrary and capricious, the Supreme Court said in a majority opinion Thursday by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.

The program, established during the Obama administration, defers deportation and grants work permits for immigrants brought to the country illegally as children. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security decided to phase out the program in 2017.

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The U.S. Supreme Court in a divided decision (full text) Monday said federal workplace laws prohibit employers from firing gay, lesbian and transgender workers.

The justices split 6-3, with Justice Neil Gorsuch writing the majority opinion. He was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., and the court's liberal wing. Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Samuel Alito Jr. wrote separate dissents. Justice Clarence Thomas joined Alito's dissent.

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• Apple has new page on its website explaining ways that the Apple Watch and iPhone can work well together.

WASHINGTON -- The retired judge appointed to act as a friend of the court in the Michael Flynn case strongly urged the court Wednesday not to let the Justice Department abandon the prosecution.

In a scorching 83-page submission, John Gleeson said the government's move to drop the case was "riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact," which were contradicted by the positions it has taken in other false statement cases and by its own previous court filings about Flynn's conduct as well as his decisions to plead guilty twice.

Now that more and more states are reopening, job seekers might find themselves in the position of having to decide how to approach an in-person job interview. Should you wear a mask? Should you avoid shaking hands? Should you attempt to stay at least six feet away from your interviewers?

According to Ask a Manager's Alison Green, the answer is yes--to all of the above. As Green recently explained in The Cut:

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Thousands of workers in the U.S. with J-1 visas have been laid off as the coronavirus shut down the economy. They can't afford to fly to their home countries -- and can't afford to stay.

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Long before social distancing entered the global lexicon, Zoom, the videoconferencing platform, touted its capabilities for lawyers.

In a 2015 blog post, the company suggested its platform could be used for remote depositions, a range of meetings and mediation, among other uses.

That post now also emphasizes its encryption capabilities. That's because without encryption, users could be exposed to hacking and what's become known as Zoom bombing.

That the company felt it necessary to do so represented an acknowledge of the new COVID-19 reality. Zoom is booming, with a reported jump from 10 million daily users at the end of 2019 to 200 million in March. Its stock price has more than doubled since the start of 2020, going from nearly $70 at the beginning of January to just over $200 as of June 1.

But lawyers must be extra careful when using Zoom or any other videoconferencing tool.

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