NYS Bar Issues New Civility Guidelines for Lawyers

NYS Bar Issues New Civility Guidelines for Lawyers

April 23, 2019 Oscar Michelen 0

Thanks in large part to the proliferation of social media (and, I would argue, the current WH occupant) civility has been going the way of the horse-and-buggy in public discourse. Emails, Tweets, Instagram, etc etc have made it easy and the norm to be rude, offensive and demeaning in a variety of communication platforms. So […]

Tattoo Artists File Lawsuits Against Video Game Makers Over Sports Games

December 28, 2018 Oscar Michelen 1

Fans of athletes know their hero’s tattoos these days. So when a video game maker wants to create a realistic sports game, of course they want to get down every detail of the most iconic players by including exact copies of their tattoos into the athlete’s game avatars. A series of copyright lawsuits brought by […]

Cohen Search Warrant is Nothing New

April 10, 2018 Oscar Michelen 0

The President is screaming that the search warrant executed on the offices Michael Cohen, his longtime attorney, is an attack on our country and a violation of the attorney-client privilege. First of all, 9-11 was an attack on our country; this search is just one step in a long criminal investigation. But Presidential histrionics aside, […]

Court Labels Attorney as “Copyright Troll” and Fines Him $10,000 Over Frivolous Case Involving Photograph

March 13, 2018 Oscar Michelen 2

2018 has been a bad year for copyright infringement troll attorney Richard Liebowitz. He specializes in bringing hundreds of suits over the alleged infringing use of a digital photograph. In February, in the case of McDermott v. Monday, Monday LLC Southern District of NY Judge Denise Cote labeled him a “Copyright Troll” for filing over […]

Top 5 Tips for Lawyers Arguing Their First Appeal

March 11, 2018 Oscar Michelen 0

Back in 2010, I wrote an article for this blog on Top 10 Tips for Young Trial Lawyers It remains one of the most viewed and re-viewed articles on my blog. Since its publication, there has not been a week that it has not been viewed. This week, I judged New York Law School’s Wagner […]

Copyright Law

Court Dismisses Lawsuit Over Taylor Swift Song Because Lyrics are Too Banal

February 23, 2018 Oscar Michelen 1

U.S. District Judge Michael Fitzgerald of the Central District Court of California has dismissed a lawsuit against Taylor Swift, in which songwriters Nathan Butler and Sean Hall alleged that her hit song “Shake It Off” ripped off the lyrics to 3LW’s “Playas Gon’ Play,” which the pair wrote for the ’90s girl group. Butler and […]

For Want of a Comma $5 Million Was Lost

February 13, 2018 Oscar Michelen 2

English majors and writers all over the world know the value of and cherish the Oxford comma. But I doubt anyone knows its true worth more than a Maine dairy company that had to fork over $5 Million to its truck drivers because an overtime law failed to include an Oxford comma in its lists […]

Client: “I’m Not Guilty!” – Lawyer: “Yes, You Are!” SCOTUS to Rule on Who Decides in Louisiana Death Penalty Case

January 18, 2018 Oscar Michelen 2

Louisiana man Robert McCoy was accused of killing Christine Colston Young, Willie Young and Gregory Colston, who were the mother, stepfather and son of Mr. McCoy’s estranged wife. There was substantial evidence that he had done so. The actual shooting was caught on tape as the victim had called 911 upon the shooter’s arrival and […]

Colorado Gay Wedding Cake Case: Is Selling A Cake “Speech”?

December 3, 2017 Oscar Michelen 7

On Tuesday The Supreme Court will hear oral argument on one of the most anticipated cases on the docket for this term: Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission Back in 2012, Charlie Craig and David Mullins were set to celebrate their wedding in Denver, after having been married in Massachusetts. Jack Phillips, a well […]