Spring 2014, Privacy

Does “I Accept” Really Mean “Abandon All Hope of Privacy, Ye Who Enter Here”?

Simon Goodfellow

Recently, courts have been allowing suits about online privacy to proceed to class certification. We present a fictional case that lays out arguments about the very real issues.

The Tricky Business of Call-Recording Litigation

Electronic communications don’t stop at the state line; clients can be ensnared by the privacy laws of other states.

FISA Authority and Blanket Surveillance A Gatekeeper Without Opposition

Jacob Sommer

Electronic communications providers are facing increased legal process from the government—often in secret, with little case law to guide their response.

Is Confidentiality Really Forever: Even if the Client Dies or Ceases to Exist?

Questions about the expiration of privilege have important implications for attorneys.

The New Parole Ankle Bracelet: Your Smartphone

We have voluntarily surrendered the very privacy that we lament the government is “stealing”—simply by carrying a smartphone.

Sua Sponte: A Judge Comments

Hon. Linda Quinn

A judge urges us all to debate, discuss, and define privacy rights in the contemporary world.

Opening Statement: Fourteen Tips to Make You a Better Litigator

Don Bivens

These practice tips will help you bring out your best in both motions and the court room.

From The Bench: A Reasonable Expectation of Privacy

Hon. Jeremy Fogel

When it comes to privacy, lay understanding, legal authority, and technological reality are often in tension--what does the Fourth Amendment mean today?

iWitness: Securing Your Data in a World of Remote Access

Frank Sommers

This overview of privacy and technology policies may help firms avoid malpractice charges.

On The Papers: Controlling Crowded Sentences

George D. Gopen

Here are some methods to help readers correctly understand information-packed sentences.

Global Litigator: Privacy Challenges in Obtaining Discovery from Europe

Kate J. Brimsted

Litigators increasingly find themselves trapped between U.S. discovery requirements and European privacy laws.

Advance Sheet: Is SportsCenter Killing the Law?

Robert E. Shapiro

Like baseball, it requires context to understand what a ruling really means.

Sidebar: Taking Risks

Kenneth P. Nolan

Trial practice involves constant analysis and risk.

Scruples: Accessing an Adversary’s Emails

Michael Downey

An examination of ethics rules around lreading an adversary's email.

E-Discovery: Under the Hood of Your E-Discovery Search Engine

William Hamilton

Our experience motoring around the Internet has created a happy sense that searching is so easy, it’s almost hands-free. Of course, driving an effective search requires experience behind the wheel. Google’s simple interface—and the raw horsepower of its search engine—can lull even a novice driver into thinking the cruise control is always on. When it comes to e-discovery however, such pleasant conceits can lead to an unforeseen sharp turn and, at times, a disastrous crash in litigation.

Privilege: The Zone of Confidentiality Expanded

Edna Selan Epstein

Do you want your communication with a client seeking legal advice to be protected by privilege in discovery? The communication must be confidential when made and be kept confidential thereafter. Does that mean it can be conveyed to no one other than client and attorney? Of course not. Lawyers these days need an army of “others” to provide legal advice to their clients. So let’s say that the communication must remain within a zone of confidentiality.

Privacy: We’re Not Newsworthy

Eric M. Schiffer

Chief Justice Earl Warren once foretold that “the fantastic advances in the field of electronic communication constitute a greater danger to the privacy of the individual.” Yet, these days, everyone seems to crave public notoriety and celebrity of any sort, don’t they? YouTube is packed to the gills with candid (and not so candid) moments from those just waiting to share their private lives with anyone who happens to pass by their link and click “play.” Reality shows, cooking shows, game shows, daytime talk shows—they are all filled with would-be celebrities clamoring for their 15 minutes of fame. Electronic communications of all types inundate our lives now more than ever and make those moments possible.