Category: News Feeds

For small law practices, the risks of failing to embrace available technology include everything from a lack of mobility to a loss of financial opportunity. Think about the amount of time you spend doing things that focus on the business of law, rather than the practice of law. From invoicing to submitting expenses to tracking time, all of these tedious tasks are taking hours away from your ability to improve your firm.

Don’t you wish there was a better way to capture greater value for your hard work?

A smooth, automated, data-driven technology toolset can optimize your life. It will create an opportunity for a better work/life balance, and perhaps most importantly, give you the ability to spend more of your time at work doing what you love: practicing the law.

Click here to join TC Whittaker, leader of PwC’s Law Firm Solutions, and preeminent legal technology journalist Bob Ambrogi on Wednesday, August 21, at 1 p.m. EST for an invaluable look at how your small law practice can succeed in this digital era.

After finally confirming what many observers had long suspected — that the one-time Am Law 200 firm of LeClairRyan was going out of business — LeClairRyan has now officially embarked upon the process of winding down, and it’s turning into a real situation. The firm informed employees that their last day of employment will be August 30th, and many still left at the firm find themselves scrambling to get their affairs in order.

As reported by Law.com, one area of concern for many is health insurance. Because LeClairRyan has a self-insured plan, when the firm is gone as of September 1, so is employees’ health insurance, and the firm is saying they don’t need to provide Cobra benefits:

The firm has told attorneys that it doesn’t have to provide Cobra benefits to extend their health insurance coverage because it uses a “self-insured” benefit plan and the firm itself is shutting down, according to a lawyer transitioning out of the firm.

“A lot of people are not very happy about it,” the lawyer said. “A lot of people have kids, so we’re going to have to find a catastrophe policy in case one of our kids develops cancer on September 1.”

Many lawyers are also working to wrap up outstanding expenses, move their retirement fund, and send out collections, with accounts receivable reportedly being moved to the firm’s lenders:

LeClairRyan’s bank has taken control of the firm’s accounts receivable account, two sources said. LeClairRyan, in announcing its impending dissolution Aug. 7, stated it was “working in cooperation with its lender to ensure the continuity of client service” until its practice ceased.

Plus, they have to figure out what’s the next step in their legal careers. While part of what precipitated the firm’s demise was a drastic reduction in headcount as partners and senior lawyers departed the firm for greener pastures, not everyone was so lucky as to have their landing place locked down before LeClairRyan announced it was closing its doors. Clark Hill appears to be scooping up quite a few of soon-to-be former LeClairRyan attorneys — after previously hiring a labor and employment group from Los Angeles, they’re now reportedly poised to take on LeClairRyan lawyers in New York, New Haven, Connecticut, and Houston. Lewis Brisbois also looks like a winner in the process, announcing they are hiring 11 attorney, five of whom are partners, from the products liability group.

Best of luck to the LeClairRyan faithful, as they now try to move on from the failed firm.

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Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

You know how Uber stock is down like 20% after the company reported that it had somehow managed to lose $5.2 billion in one single quarter? And how CEO Dara Khosrowshahi went on CNBC and told David Faber that some little one-time things all combined to give Uber “a messy PNL from an accounting standpoint,” and therefore an anomalously bad quarter? And remember how everyone realized that “Holy shit, Uber is not being particularly well run for something we just valued at $82 billion”?   

Well, it turns out that shareholders are correct to worry that Uber is still being run like a coked-up tween with a no-limit credit card. Per Crunchbase News:

Last week, Uber’s chief financial officer, Nelson Chai, sent an all-company email announcing a minor policy change. Uber marks the anniversary of employees’ work at the company, which is internally referred to an “Uberversary.”

But now, instead of marking another year of service with helium balloons at their desk, the on-demand transportation giant will start giving its employees stickers to mark the occasion. Chai said in his email that the switch could save the company more than $200,000 at its offices in San Francisco alone.

“It’s not only a great way to find dollars we can invest back into the business, it’s also more environmentally friendly,” Chai’s message said. Crunchbase News was shown the email by a recipient, who did so on condition of anonymity. Uber did not respond to requests for comment prior to publication.

One strategy in particular—internet shutdowns—has been used to great effect. During elections, several countries across Africa and Asia have attempted to silence speech online, especially on social media. And Zimbabwe has shut down the internet a number of times this year.

What is an internet shutdown?

According to AccessNow: “An internet shutdown happens when someone—usually a government—intentionally disrupts the internet or mobile apps to control what people say or do.”

The Zimbabwean government cut internet connections across the country to silence protests, leaving nearly all of its citizens without online access. But they weren’t entirely successful. When governments shut down broadband and mobile connections, here’s what to do.

1. Use circumvention tools like Tor

Tor is a free and open-source software that will protect you from people who may want to spy on your browsing habits. When it comes to achieving anonymity on the internet, it is virtually unbeatable.

2. Get a good VPN that will protect you from detection

With a VPN you can secure your access to the internet in its freest and most open form.

Using Tor over VPN will increase your privacy further. Simply connect to your VPN, then open the Tor Browser.

3. Stock up on tools and apps that protect your privacy and security

Start by using HTTPS Everywhere (which ExpressVPN integrated into our Chrome extension) to secure your browsing on a particular site. Make sure you’re using a browser that puts your privacy first—Tor is our firmly recommended favorite.

Post published in: Featured

• Activists and political leaders targeted ahead of “16 August” protests
• Two activists abducted and severely tortured
• Amnesty International calls on authorities to exercise restraint on protesters

“We are witnessing a violent crackdown on activists and civil society leaders, with authorities using some of the brutal tactics seen under the government of Robert Mugabe. Instead of listening to protestors’ concerns about the economy, the authorities have used torture and abduction to crush dissent and instil fear,” said Muleya Mwananyanda, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Southern Africa.

“Rather than targeting dissent, the Zimbabwean authorities should focus on improving the country’s economy and the lives of the population. Millions of people live in poverty and are routinely denied their human rights, and suspected perpetrators of human rights violations continue to enjoy almost absolute impunity.”

One activist, Tatenda Mombeyarara, was abducted on the night of 13 August from his home in Chitungwiza by unknown men armed with AK-47 rifles. The men placed a plastic bag over his head, bundled him into their car and drove away.

Mombeyarara was severely beaten with metal rods on his feet and buttocks before the men dumped him near a pit in Hatfield, a suburb in the South of Harare, where they left him for dead. He is currently being treated in hospital for the serious injuries he sustained.

During the beatings, he was accused of being involved in organizing the protests scheduled for 16 August. The men threatened him, saying: “[We are going] to deal with all of you”.

In May, Tatenda Mombeyarara was arrested at the Robert Mugabe International airport in Harare, upon his return from a capacity-building workshop on non-violent protest tactics in the Maldives. He was later released on bail, but his travel documents were confiscated by the authorities.

On the same night Blessing Kanotunga, an activist from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), was taken from his home in Mufakose by unknown armed men. They dumped him in Chitungwiza, a suburb in the South of Harare. He is also receiving treatment for serious injuries sustained on his back.

“The authorities must launch a prompt, thorough, impartial and effective investigation into the abduction and torture of the two activists and ensure that suspected perpetrators are brought to justice in fair trials,” said Muleya Mwananyanda.

“As people prepare to protest for their socio-economic rights over the next few days, authorities must exercise restraint against protesters and respect, protect and promote both freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly of everyone. Organizing and participating in protests is not a crime.”

Background

The situation is tense in Zimbabwe as the country’s main opposition party, the MDC called for mass protests to demonstrate against the struggling economy which has resulted in millions of people in both urban and rural areas barely surviving. Millions of people are reliant on food aid. The protest is endorsed by trade unions and other civil society groups.

The government has issued a stern warning against any protest, accusing unnamed foreign collaborators of working with local civil society organizations to destabilize the country through protests.

Earlier this year, 15 protesters were killed by security forces after the government’s decision to hike fuel prices.

Post published in: Featured

The protests will be the first since rallies in January against President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s decision to hike fuel prices that ended in deadly clashes with troops.

“It’s all systems go, we are emphatically clear that on Friday we are going ahead in Harare,” the MDC party’s spokesperson Daniel Molekele told a press conference.

He said the “peaceful” demonstrations will roll out across four other cities in the next few days.

In January’s protests, soldiers opened fire on unarmed protesters, leaving 17 people dead. Several businesses were torched and looted in cities and towns.

Police have refused to sanction this week’s planned marches.

Home Affairs Minister Cain Mathema has warned the police are ready to deal with protesters, raising fears of unrest.

“The police are ready to deal with unruly elements who want to cause alarm and despondency in the country,” Mathema said in a statement last week.

But the MDC is adamant that the constitution only requires that the police be informed of the planned protests and that the party does not require police authorisation for the march.

The ruling Zanu-PF party’s youth wing has also weighed in, threatening to block the demonstrations.

Pupurai Togarepi, the party’s youth league leader, last week warned that “any thuggery will be confronted with equal measure.”

Christian leaders have called on Mnangagwa and opposition leader Nelson Chamisa to explore “the possibility of accelerating much-needed dialogue in this time of deepening national division and despair”.

– Rising costs –

Mnangagwa, who took over from long-time ruler Robert Mugabe after a military-led coup in November 2017, and then went on to win disputed elections a year ago, has promised to revive the economy and woo back investors.

But the economy has declined even further, with fuel and bread in short supply, rolling power outages and prices of basic items skyrocketing.

The June annual inflation hit an unprecedented 176 percent, among the highest since the country dumped its Zimbabwe dollar for the US and other international currencies in 2009 amid massive hyperinflation.

The government has now decreed it will not publish annual inflation figures until next February.

Last month Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube proposed to raise electricity tariffs by between 200 and 400 percent to ease power shortages that have led to rolling power cuts lasting up to 18 hours across the country.

Fuel has gone up seven times this year alone, representing around 600 percent increases in the local currency since January.

Around five million people, or a third of the 16 million population, reeling from a drought and the high cost of food, are facing severe food shortages. At least half of them are on the cusp of “starvation”, UN aid agencies said last week.

Last month senior Zanu-PF officials warned that the government wouldn’t hesitate to deploy the army to confront protesters before warning that soldiers were trained to kill, the Guardian reported.

In January at least 13 people were killed and hundreds beaten, with reports of many rapes as well, following street protests.

The planned opposition campaign follows a series of austerity measures imposed on Zimbabweans by the government and its attempts to launch a new currency as many people fall deeper into debt.

Nelson Chamisa, the leader of the main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), said it was time to throw off “the yoke of bondage” of Zanu-PF, which has ruled for nearly four decades.

Thirty thousand teachers in impoverished rural areas appear ready to support the protest action after they accused Harare of reducing them to beggars due to their low wages contrasting sharply with the spike in the price of everyday goods.

Obert Masaraure, the leader of a union representing the 30 000 teachers, said his members would not be intimidated.

“We remain in the trenches and will continue to fight. We will be on the streets very soon to push the government to address this issue,” Masaraure said.

“They are celebrating budget surpluses but they are not paying workers, there are no hospital medicines. They should be ashamed of themselves.”

Zimbabwe is facing an 800MW power deficit and was unable to close that gap as it owed huge debts to Eskom and could not access further supplies. However, an agreement was reached last week, allowing the country to access 400MW of electricity per week from Eskom.

This has resulted in Zesa Holdings downgrading load shedding from Stage 2 to Stage 1.

Power will now only be cut off during peak hours of 5am to 10am and 5pm to 10pm.

Zesa spokesperson Fullard Gwasira was quoted by state media saying the new development will not result in load-shedding disappearing completely, but will mean it can be downgraded to Stage One.

“This power supply situation gives predictability to load-shedding and largely puts all customers in Stage 1 load-shedding. So there is significant relief, but it does not eliminate load- shedding,” he said.

Meanwhile ZESA has embarked on a blitz to identify and disconnect illegal connections in the country’s major cities.

Post published in: Business