I’ve recently been reminded of a hard-and-fast rule for businesses facing governmental scrutiny:  Don’t try to handle the internal investigation of the facts by yourself.  Rest assured, that road is fraught with perils you haven’t even considered. A few years ago, I wrote a primer on corporate investigations published by the Journal of the Missouri Read More …

I’m a little late to the party, but I thought I’d better weigh in on the Supreme Court’s decision in Salinas v. Texas.  You know, the one that guts your rights under Miranda v. Arizona.  There’s a great recap of the case here at SCOTUSblog, but here’s the ruling in a nutshell: In Salinas, the Read More …

It’s no secret that lawyers don’t enjoy the greatest reputation among the general public.  It makes me sad, because most lawyers I know are good, kind, hardworking people who care about their clients, colleagues and reputations.  Most lawyers want to play fair, and expect to be treated fairly. A small but highly visible minority of Read More …

The ABA Journal reported today that federal authorities, in securing a sealed warrant to review the emails of James Rosen of Fox News, characterized Rosen as an “aider, abettor and/or co-conspirator” of Stephen Jin-Woo Kim, who was indicted in 2010 for leaking classified State Department information to Mr. Rosen. While Rosen was ultimately never charged Read More …

At risk of sounding trite, my experience in litigating business disputes among once friendly partners has reinforced the adage that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”  Many of these disputes could have easily been averted if the parties had simply sought out the help of a lawyer to draft contracts that Read More …

I often take calls from clients (and potential clients) who have been contacted by a law enforcement officer.  The officer has told the client that he “just wants to talk,”  that the client “isn’t under arrest,” and that the client is free to “stop answering questions and leave at any time.”  Or, the officer may Read More …

Consider this hypothetical: You’ve worked hard to build a restaurant business. You’re thriving in a tough industry through a combination of excellent food, outstanding service and savvy marketing. You have a solid stable of repeat clientele, and your prospects of growing the business to a second location across town look good. During a discussion with Read More …

I just finished reading President Obama’s 23 executive actions on gun control.  Here are my initial thoughts: 1.  Relax, people.  He’s not coming to take away your guns by executive fiat, as some in the gun lobby have said.  In his address, the President appropriately left it up to Congress to require universal background checks; Read More …

I don’t think Lance Armstrong is getting good advice. Something you learn very early in your career as a defense lawyer is that it is extremely difficult to win “confession cases.”  In other words, if your client has already spilled his guts to the police, his girlfriend, or the guy he shared a cell with Read More …