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Employee vs independent contractor: the liability dodge that usually fails

Vicarious liability means you can end up paying for someone else's misconduct, and the old "they weren't really my employee" escape hatch is a lot weaker than people think.

ARTICLE by Danny Correia

ADA coverage looks narrow on paper, but the disability loophole mostly failed

The ADA has a definition that once let employers and businesses argue lots of people were not "really" disabled, but Congress and the courts largely shut that down.

ARTICLE by Brian Saarinen

non-compete vs non-solicitation

Misreading these clauses can cost a worker a new job, trigger a lawsuit, or put a business's customer list and trade secrets at risk. A non-compete restricts where, when, or...

At-will employment: the "you can be fired anytime" rule has one giant catch

At-will employment is the default rule in almost every state, but it only really applies if you are legally an employee in the first place.

ARTICLE by James Thornton

patent prosecution

Defense lawyers may throw around "patent prosecution" in a way that sounds like someone is being accused of a crime. It is not criminal prosecution. In plain English, it means...

why can companies force arbitration instead of court?

The key thing to know is that many companies can require arbitration because federal law strongly favors enforcing arbitration clauses. Arbitration is a private dispute...

trade secret misappropriation

You may see this phrase in a cease-and-desist letter, a lawsuit, an employment agreement, or a warning from a former business partner claiming you "used confidential...

likelihood of confusion test

People mix this up with actual confusion, and that mistake matters. Actual confusion means real buyers were genuinely fooled - wrong calls, misdirected orders, bad reviews...

cease and desist letter

Like a hard brake before a pileup, this is a written warning telling someone to stop doing something now and not start again. Legally, a cease and desist letter is usually sent...

Almost everyone gets the Commerce Clause wrong - and it decides who can make the rules

The Commerce Clause is why Congress can reach far beyond shipping and trucking, but it still has real limits that matter if you are thinking about suing under federal law.

ARTICLE by Marcus Brown

You'll usually see this on the declarations page of an insurance policy, in a denial letter, or when a claims adjuster says, "Only the named insured can make that change." It...

Habeas corpus is real, but proving you should be released is brutally hard

Habeas corpus lets a prisoner challenge unlawful custody, but modern federal habeas mostly turns on a punishing rule: it is not enough to show the state court was wrong.

ARTICLE by LaKeisha Davis

patent infringement

What trips people up most is that copying is not required. Someone can infringe a patent by making, using, selling, offering to sell, or importing a covered invention without...

Terry v. Ohio: the street stop rule that grew far beyond one man on a Cleveland sidewalk

Terry v. Ohio created the rule that lets police briefly stop and pat down someone without a warrant, and the real fight now is over how much suspicion counts as enough.

ARTICLE by Colleen O'Brien

trade dress protection

Legal protection for a product's or business's distinctive look and feel. That can include packaging, design, color combinations, store layout, or other visual features that...

Joint and several liability: the old rule that can leave one defendant holding the whole bag

Joint and several liability means an injured person may collect the full judgment from one defendant, but the real fight is how that rule collides with comparative fault, settlements, bankruptcy, and state law changes.

ARTICLE by Keith Ouellette

umbrella policy

An extra layer of liability insurance that kicks in after the limits on your auto, home, or other underlying policy have been used up. Think of it as backup coverage for a bad...

What counts as employer retaliation for filing a workers' compensation claim?

What the ER doctor records is your injury, work restrictions, and likely cause; what the workers' compensation insurer does with that information is decide compensability and...

step-down provision

The part that catches people off guard is this: the policy may show a big coverage limit on the declarations page, but a hidden clause can cut that amount way down for certain...

Preponderance vs beyond a reasonable doubt and why your workplace case needs far less proof

In most civil workplace cases, you do not need airtight proof - you need enough credible evidence to show your version is more likely true than not.

ARTICLE by Theresa Palazzo