Fashion and Law Combine to Form the Model Alliance

The ABA Journal recently published an article vocalizing the woes of fashion model working conditions and the push towards labor organizing in the industry.  Model Alliance is a fashion model advocacy group.  Model Alliance teams up with Fordham University’s Fashion Law Institute to focus on the working conditions and legal rights of fashion models.  Read more about the joint forces here.

Massachusetts Foreclosure Bill

The public, government, banks, and majority of residents have acknowledged that the foreclosure crisis has gotten out of hand in Massachusetts.  In an attempt to manage the foreclosure crisis, legislation was written and a bill is now pending in the House.  The bill, number is HB1219 (HD1447) for the 2011-2012 session, is primarily sponsored by Representative Steven M. Walsh (D).

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley wrote a Boston Globe opinion piece regarding the foreclosure crisis, the HomeCorps program (to be established), loan modifications, principle reduction, and the pending legislation.  The article titled, “Two-part cure for unnecessary foreclosures,” is available here.  Specifically, AG Coakley wrote:

“Despite agreement on these principles, loan modifications currently do not occur on the scale necessary. Our office met one homeowner in East Boston who purchased his condominium using a $147,000 loan. He lost his job and contacted the bank to request a modification that would require him to make monthly payments equivalent to a loan of $90,000. The bank refused, foreclosed on his property, and later resold that property at just $40,000, well below the value of an affordable revised loan. It made no economic sense for the bank to put this borrower out on the street. Unfortunately, his story is one of many.“

 

Legality of Pins and Posts on Pinterest

One of the latest new crazes on the Internet is a popular site called Pinterest.  Pinterest is a social networking site described as, “a content sharing service that allows members to ‘pin’ images, videos and other objects to their pinboard.”  Users can find pictures images or videos on the Internet and re-post them or ‘pin’ them on their Pinterest pages.  Users can organize their pinboards or Pinterest pages by themes, collections, or categories.

A photographer, blogger, and lawyer named Kirsten posted an article on the legality of pinning images on a person’s Pinterest account.  The initial blog post can be found at her website: DDK Portraits.  Kirsten concludes that users are liable for copyright violations as Pinterest’s terms of use offer no protection to users.  She states:

“My initial response is probably the same as most of yours:  ‘Why [can't I pin their work]?  I’m giving them credit and it’s only creating more exposure for them and I LOVE when people pin my stuff!’  But then I realized, I was unilaterally making the decision FOR that other photographer…Bottom line is that it is not my decision to make.  Not legally and not ethically.”

After she published the blog post, Pinterest contacted her and she wrote a follow up which is available here.  The conversation with Pinterest led to this conclusion:

“[Pinterest founder] knows there are issues with Pinterest and the fear of claims of copyright infringement and he wants to figure out a way to make “his little web page” (which he said his Dad calls it — I thought that was cute) work within the confines of the law AND in a way where photographers and every user feels comfortable.“

Business Insider published an article by Alyson Shontell which further summarized the issues.  Shontell states:

“Basically, if a photographer sues you for pinning an image illegally on Pinterest, the user must not only pay for his or her lawyer, they must also pay for Pinterest’s lawyer.  In addition, the defendant must pay all charges against him or herself, along with all of Pinterest’s charges.“

Check out the links to the full articles above.

AALAM’s Annual Banquet

On the evening of Tuesday, April 24th, I attended the annual Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts (AALAM) banquet.  Hei La Moon, a restaurant located in the heart of Chinatown, hosted the lovely event.

Ivan K. Fong, who is the General Counsel for the United States Department of Homeland Security, was the highlight of the evening and the guest speaker.  With an incredibly impressive background and work history, Attorney Fong keynote speech theme was about Asian Americans breaking barriers.  He specifically referenced the New York Knicks basketball player Jeremy Lin as an example of breaking Asian stereotypes and how persistence is the best way to succeed.

Below are two pictures from the fun festivities.

Fun times at the AALAM Banquet

AALAM Dining Colleagues

Confidentiality Claims in the European Commission

The European Commission has released new guidelines on filing confidentiality claims.  The documents listed on the European Commission Competition page provide further guidance on how to claim confidentiality and includes practical examples.

Access the new guidelines here.

Highest Court in the Land

Fun fact about the Supreme Court: above the Great Hall and the courtroom is a basketball court.  The basketball court is referred to as the highest court in the land.

The U.S. Supreme Court on a sunny day.

 

Home of the highest court in the land.

Linsanity!

My new Jeremy Lin jersey arrived in the mail today!  I ordered it off of the New York Knicks website.  Link available here.  Apparently, he has his own clothing line section.

Jeremy Lin, the recent addition to the New York Knicks team, is one of the few Taiwanese point guards in the NBA and he has caused quite a stir with his impressive playing this season.  He has developed a cult following of fans across the country who call his playing “Bal-Lin” and “Linsanity!”

Last week, Lin filed an application with the US Patent and Trademark Office to trademark the term Linsanity.  Branding at its best.  Read more about the trademark application and his odds of approval from this CNN Money article here.

Case Blurb: Commonwealth v. Clarke related to Padilla v. Kentucky

For anyone who has had a client in criminal court facing potential deportation, they may be familiar with Padilla v. Kentucky.  The full Supreme Court decision for Padilla is available here.  The Supreme Court clarified the confines of ineffective assistance of counsel when applied to a criminal defendant assenting to a guilty plea without knowing the risk that the guilty plea could have on their citizen or non-citizenship status.

In Commonwealth v. Clarke, the Supreme Judicial Court held that Padilla should be applied retroactively.  The case decision is available here.  I cannot summarize the impact of the Padilla decision and the Padilla elements in two paragraphs.  Nor can I explain the intricacies of the Clarke case in relation to Padilla in two paragraphs.  But, I can refer you to a helpful article, available here, that was published in the Boston Bar Journal written by Jesse Boodoo that expands on the two cases.

The College Sports Cartel and NCAA’s Response

For any of you who are into college sports, antitrust law, and published opinions then check out these two pieces:

This first piece was written by Joe Nocera of the New York Times.  The article is available here and titled, “The College Sports Cartel.”

An excerpt from the article sums up the basic premise:

“[I]n Indianapolis a few weeks from now, a home-grown cartel will hold its annual meeting, where it, too, will be working to collude and fix prices.  This cartel is the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The N.C.A.A. would have you believe that it is the great protector of amateur athletics, preventing college athletes from being tainted by the river of money pouring over college sports.“

In response, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) published a response to Nocera’s Article.  The NCAA’s response is available here and titled, “Why the New York Times’ Nocera is Wrong.”

An excerpt from the response sums up the basic premise:

“The NCAA, however, does not fit this [cartel] model. Most importantly, the NCAA is not a collection of independent non-integrated competitors.  To the contrary, the NCAA is a wholly integrated joint venture among schools that creates and supports the unique product of college sports.  The most popular of these sports are football and basketball.  Without collaboration, as Mr. Nocera concedes, there would be no college sports at all.  The same is plainly not true of oil production.“

What is your take on the matter?

Two Dozen Trucks Seized from Housing Authority in Baltimore

Housing Authorities are suffering losses from budget cuts through state and federal funding.  The Housing Authority in Baltimore had their vehicles seized to pay for an outstanding judgment.  Will the Housing Authority survive after this seizure?  What is the likelihood of the Housing Authority’s ability to sustain itself with such a loss?  Without a Housing Authority in Baltimore, what will people who demand on public housing do?  In this situation, who really suffers?  Will there a backlash on the public housing recipients?  I am in no way saying that the Housing Authority’s behavior is excused.  But, do the people in public housing suffer inevitably with either judgment? 

Read more below for details.

Below is an excerpt of an article that was published by The Daily Record.  You need a login to access the article, but the full version is available here if you do have account access.

“The Baltimore City Sheriff will begin to seize nearly two dozen trucks, computers and other office supplies owned by the Housing Authority of Baltimore City Wednesday to send them to auction to raise cash to pay an outstanding lead paint poisoning judgment against the agency.

The property will be collected as part of a levy against the authority, which has been ordered to pay nine judgments of nearly $12 million under orders from state courts to victims of lead paint poisoning.

The auction of the trucks and equipment is centered on one case, and is expected to raise a portion of a $2.5 million judgment, said Evan M. Goldman, a Baltimore attorney who specializes in collections who is working for the plaintiffs.

Paul Graziano, HABC’s executive director, said last spring the agency was unable to pay the lead poisoning judgments because it would deplete its resources. With a bulk of the authority’s assets owned by the federal government, much of it is out of reach for the plaintiffs.

But officials have identified a small fleet of trucks that is not owned by the federal government, Goldman said.

Beginning Wednesday, deputies have been ordered to begin tagging 21 vehicles, already identified by vehicle identification numbers, to ready them for auction, Goldman said.

“We are disappointed that HABC has not voluntarily paid the outstanding judgment, and has instead put us in the unenviable position of having a levy executed against its non-federal property,” Goldman said Tuesday.“