Highlights
Are Facebook and MySpace Messages Subject to Discovery?
In the recent case of Crispin v. Audigier, a California judge ruled that Facebook and MySpace messages that aren’t publicly available are protected information under the Stored Communications Act, and therefore can’t be subpoenaed for use in civil litigation. Buckley Crispin sued clothing maker Christian Audigier for copyright infringement, alleging that Audigier used his artistic… » Read More
Update on the Social Media Policies Database
My social media policies database is now up to 162 policies. I troll the internet periodically to add new policies as they become public. If you are looking to draft your own social media policy, the policies in the database are a good place to start. Currently they are organized into these industries Education (5)… » Read More
New Codes of Conduct for Real Estate Companies
It’s always useful to look at what your competition is doing. The same is true in drafting your code of conduct (or code of ethics or whatever name you chose). It is useful to look at you what your competitors’ codes of conduct look like. Since Sarbanes-Oxley requires a public company to have a code… » Read More
In-House Counsel Sanctioned for Failing to Monitor the Preservation of Electronic Evidence
In the Swofford v. Eslinger case, the court sanctioned in-house counsel (but not outside counsel) for failure to preserve evidence. The attorney sanctioned was general counsel for a government entity, the Seminal County Sheriff’s Department. What was unique about this case was that the sanctions were brought against in-house counsel for spoliation of evidence even… » Read More
Massachusetts Amends Its Strict Data Privacy Law (Yet, Again)
Massachusetts has revised its data privacy regulations one more time. The revised regulations are less demanding that the original version released over a year ago. But this law is the strictest in the country and will be the de facto law of the land for many companies. Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation released… » Read More
Corporate Compliance Fraud in Georgia, Florida and Massachusetts
Just like the Corporate Compliance Fraud in Ohio, Compliance Services is also targeting companies in Georgia, Florida and Massachusetts. The Daily Citizen is reporting Georgia corporations warned about solicitations. The Georgia Secretary of State issued a warning: “Several corporations registered with the Corporations Division of the Office of the Secretary of State received a letter… » Read More

