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Photo by: Sebastian Pichler Taylor Swift’s testimony in her countersuit against former radio host David Mueller for alleged assault and battery has been making the rounds on social media. Taylor Swift won her counter-claim, which sought a symbolic $1 to make a point. The lawsuit argued that the trial would “serve as an example to other women who may resist publicly reliving similar outrageous and humiliating acts.” Now that Taylor Swift has spoken publicly about being groped,

[Originally published as Emoji and Deciphering Intent in the Digitial Age, by Tanya Kiatkulpiboone and Andrea W. Paris, in Orange County Lawyer Magazine, June 2017, Vol. 59 No.6 on page 42.] Figure 1 An emoji known as “Face with Tears of Joy” was named the Oxford Dictionaries’ 2015 Word of the Year. See Figure 1. Caspar Grathwohl, President of Oxford Dictionaries, explained that “Emoji are becoming an increasingly rich form of communication, one that transcends linguistic bor

Photo by: Joshua Sortino Many businesses recently reviewed their profit and loss statements and took a closer look at the business’s profitability. This analysis usually prompts the question “how to increase my business profits?” Although this question could only be answered after becoming familiar with your particular business, below are 3 areas where small changes, if done right, could increase your profitability. Decreasing Bad Debt If your business model does not require

The restaurant industry is often the target of wage and hour lawsuits, particularly, ethnic restaurants, which find themselves on the defense side of a wage claim or lawsuit filed by a server or cook who was recently terminated. For ease of administration, many smaller restaurant owners and their staff agree on wages in the form of a fixed daily rate that is paid regardless of the number of hours the employee works. Unfortunately, many of these restaurant owners believe that

Photo by: Thomas Kelley Whether you came to the decision to look for an attorney because you’ve been served with a lawsuit and have no choice but to defend yourself, or if you have reached an impasse in a dispute and have no choice but to say “see you in court,” what happens after this point is likely a mystery for you. If that’s the case, this is what a lawsuit looks like. But there’s also an emotional part of a lawsuit. Therefore, in addition to the obvious considerations o

Photo by: Thomas Martinsen You may have been in the situation where you had an agreement with someone else to do something. It may have been a family member, a friend, a customer, or a service provider. You or the other person didn’t want to go through the formal process of putting it in writing because you have a close relationship, don’t want to offend the other person, or don’t want them to think you don’t trust them. Then something goes wrong. You discuss it with the othe

[Originally published without image as Help! What Are My (Immediate) Defenses to a Federal Trade Secret Claim?, by Lily Li and Andrea Paris, in Orange County Lawyer Magazine, September 2016, Vol. 58 No.9 on page 52.] Photo by: Jakob Owens The Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA), signed into law by President Obama on May 11, 2016 creates a new federal cause of action for trade secret theft. Not only does the DTSA open the doors of the U.S. district courts to trade secret p

Photo by: David Siglin A California Court of Appeal recently upheld an award of $16 million against Staples for age discrimination in a case called Nickel v. Staples. The majority of that award ($13 million to be exact) was in the form of punitive damages, which are meant to punish the defendant for its wrongful conduct. I found the court’s analysis in this case particularly interesting because many employers have a false sense of security that terminating older employees bec

Photo by: Anthony Delanoix Congratulations! You made a deal, reached an agreement, or resolved a dispute and now you’re ready to sign a contract to make it all official. If this contract is important enough to you, pause for a minute, read it carefully, and ask an attorney to review it. Why? There are 2 reasons: Whoever drafts the contract will include terms and provisions that are in their favor. They have no obligation, duty, or interest (generally) in watching out for you

Photo by: Alvin Balemesa New regulations related to the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) went into effect on April 1, 2016. Among the various additions, which touch on a broad range of discrimination issues in employment, is a discussion about support animals as a reasonable accommodation in the workplace. As a servant to my 3 dogs and lawyer who has worked on dog bite cases, this was of particular interest to me. The new regulations specifically discuss assistive and s

Photo by: Daria Shevtsova Here’s a common situation, an employee calls in sick and a couple of days later you receive a doctor’s note taking the employee off work for 2 weeks. If you are an employer with 5 or more employees in California, you are subject to the anti-discrimination provisions of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”). If you have 15 or more employees, you are also subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). Both laws require emp

This is the first post in a new series called “What to Do” where I will discuss “what to do” in various common situations that come up in small and medium sized businesses. Feel free to send me your “what to do” question. Today’s topic is what to do when a client doesn’t pay. This is a common problem that businesses big and small face and if you’re in business, you’re selling services or products in exchange with the expectation that you will be paid for those services or pro

Photo by: Rachael Crowe If your business sells products or services, it is likely that you have at least one inside salesperson who earns commissions on the sales that the inside salesperson makes. If this inside salesperson has the potential to earn a decent amount in commissions, your company may have classified this salesperson as an exempt commissioned employee. This means that you are not paying this person overtime pay for overtime hours worked. If this is the case, you

Photo by: Fabian Blank There has been much discussion about the Department of Labor (DOL)’s proposed changes to federal overtime rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). California employers may have mostly ignored the federal overtime rules because California’s rules are more protective of employees and have a higher threshold for overtime exemptions. However, if these rules go into effect, California employers will have to make some adjustments. Failure to properly

Photo by Hunter Newton on Unsplash Breach of contract is likely the most common claim alleged in civil litigation cases. Contracts are the glue that holds our society together and we all enter into agreements (i.e. contracts) in one form or another on a daily basis. When the breach of that agreement results in injury, many look to the court system for a remedy. Here are a couple of the more memorable recent breach of contract cases include: Bill Cosby filed a breach of contra

This series applies to California lawsuits only. For rules regarding your state’s civil litigation procedure, visit the website for your specific state’s judicial branch. This is a very broad overview. Multiple considerations must take place and detailed analysis goes into each step. To recap, we’ve discussed some considerations before filing a lawsuit such as What is the Deadline to File a Lawsuit and Where to File a Lawsuit. We’ve also discussed How to File a Lawsuit, Respo

This series applies to California lawsuits only. For rules regarding your state’s civil litigation procedure, visit the website for your specific state’s judicial branch. This is a very broad overview. Multiple considerations must take place and detailed analysis goes into each step. To recap, we’ve discussed some considerations before filing a lawsuit such as What is the Deadline to File a Lawsuit and Where to File a Lawsuit. We’ve also discussed How to File a Lawsuit, Respo

Photo by: Jesse Stevenson This is an ostrich with its head up, looking out into the horizon, rather than burying its head in the sand (although that’s just an optical illusion and they don’t really do that but you get the point). If you are served with a lawsuit or receive a letter from a lawyer or government entity, you want to be this ostrich and deal with issue head-on. I can understand the appeal of waiting as long as possible, whether it’s economics, time, or the philoso

Photo by: Caroline Methot In today’s business environment, companies live and die by the information and data you possess. Your company’s confidential information is probably housed on a network that is accessible by some, or all, of your employees. Are you doing enough to protect your company’s data from computer fraud leaving with an employee and winding up with a competitor? The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) The CFAA is a federal law that makes it illegal to “inten

Photo by: Helloquence In California, workers who believe that they are owed wages, overtime, or vacation pay may file their claims in court or with the Labor Commissioner. Claims filed with the Labor Commissioner are adjudicated by the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) and is a much more informal process. If you recently received a Notice of Claim and Conference from the DLSE, here is an overview of what the process normally looks like. Worker Filed a Claim. The