I’m thrilled to be an official sponsor of the New Orleans Dodgeball Association! Drop in for a game this season or join a team next season!
Night Runner Running Lights
As an active runner, I’m always on the lookout for better gear, including lights and other reflective gear for night runs to make sure I don’t trip on something and that I’m visible to cars and bikers.
With warmer temperatures here (or coming to you soon), if you’ll be hitting the road for some night runs, check out this new product that will light your path and help you be more visible on the road. It’s called Night Runner shoe lights, and they promise 270 degrees of light emanating from a rechargeable LED light with 75-lumen LED beams and up to 30 meters of visibility. The light clips to your shoelaces with no straps or bands and sits atop the shoe in order to have a better angle on lighting the path. We’ll see if this is a good product over time, but it might be worth checking out.
Their team has launched a Kickstarter Campaign that you can support and get an early release of the product. Check it out HERE.
King Cake Conspiracy
Came back to the office after being away at lunch and returned to find two slices of delicious Sucre king cake waiting for me. And then this… I’m not complaining, but I have my suspicions. The incident is currently under investigation.
Retaliatory Discharge After Bringing Worker’s Compensation Claim
Have you been fired after making a claim for worker’s compensation? You might have a claim for retaliatory discharge. Under Louisiana Revised Statute 23:1361, an employer may not fire a worker for bringing a workers compensation claim. Under the statute, an employer that engages in this retaliatory action is subject to a tort suit for wrongful termination, with recovery in the amount of not more than one year’s salary, plus attorney’s fees and court costs.
The resulting legal action is one in employment law, and not governed by the workers compensation statutes. Therefore, the claim should be brought in district court. Sampson v. Wendy’s Management Inc., 593 So.2d 336 (La. 1992).
Russian Malware “SoakSoak” Attacks WordPress Sites
Russian Malware called “SoakSoak” has infected around 100,000 WordPress sites over the past 48 hours, turning blogs into platforms from which the Malware is infecting other users.
The issue seems to be limited to user-hosted WordPress websites that are utilizing the third-party WordPress plug-in RevSlide. To read more about this development, click Here.
Google Search Tips
Think you’re a good Googler? Check out these tips for using Google search from Time.com: Time’s Google Search Tips.
Dollree Mapp’s Death and Her Legacy for Police Everywhere
Another landmark figure in U.S. legal history has died. Dollree Mapp was an Ohio citizen who, in 1957, denied police entry to search her home without a valid search warrant. The officers thereafter brandished a fake warrant and made entry into her home, where they found “lewd and lascivious materials” as defined under Ohio law and arrested her. Mapp was convicted of the charges, but challenged the case on the grounds of the warrant and appealed all the way to the United States Supreme Court.
The landmark Supreme Court case, Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643 (1961), resulted in a 6-3 decision in which Ms. Mapp’s conviction was overturned when the Court recognized that the products of warrantless searches should be excluded as inadmissible evidence. In doing so, the Court extended the exclusionary rule for warrantless searches to state actions. In the decades since then, a great number of appeals have ensued to define the exclusionary rule and its limitations. For further reading on the case, the exclusionary rule, and Ms. Mapp, see the New York Times article Dollree Mapp, Who Defied Police Search in Landmark Case, Is Dead.
Your Private Health Information, Leaked
While the Target, LinkedIn, and Home Depot data breaches have gathered significant media attention, major retail providers and businesses as we usually think of them aren’t the only ones with sensitive data. Just as alarming as the fact that these companies suffered data breaches is the fact that hospitals and other medical providers are also under attack from hackers. Even more terrifying than having your personal financial information in the hands of an unauthorized party is that they could have your medical records.
Many people consider their medical records far more personal and sensitive than their financial information, and for good reason – our private health information is intimately personal, and it should remain that way. Companies have a duty to safeguard your health information and should be held responsible for breaches in their data systems. Computer and data forensics can trace data breaches to determine how the breach occurred.
If your hospital, physician, or other medical provider has suffered a data breach, just like in the case of PII, PHI disclosures must be made to the party whose information was compromised, under the Louisiana Data Breach Notification Law, La. R.S. § 51:3071 et seq.
If you’ve received notice of a data breach from your physician, you might be entitled to recovery under the law. Contact me to protect your rights if you’ve received notification of a data breach involving your medical records from your physician or hospital.
LSBA YLD Elections; Supporting Scott Sternberg
Dear fellow young attorneys,
If you haven’t already, I encourage you to vote in the LSBA Young Lawyer’s Division elections, taking place right now, and ending this coming Monday. This election will determine the leadership and direction of the YLD, a group which plays a key role in matters dealing with young attorneys in Louisiana.
I’d like to put my support behind my friend Scott Sternberg, a fellow LSU and LSU Law alum. Many of you know Scott and for those who don’t, I can assure you that, if elected, he will do a fantastic job representing the YLD Division.
Scott Sternberg is one of the first people I met from the LSU Law Center, having met at a cocktail event at Chancellor Weiss’s house months before classes started my first year of law school. Scott and I kept in touch throughout law school and, over the years, he has been a constant source of career advice and practice advice. He has been my sounding board and a good friend. Scott encouraged me to get involved with YLC, a cause which I, too, am now proud to champion and volunteer with across this great city. Scott possesses many of the characteristics which are needed in any elected position; he is an inviting and open leader who is both thoughtful and responsive. I know him to be a dedicated attorney and husband, an exceptional leader in our community, and a proud father to his son, George.
I know Scott will represent us well and I ask that you support him in this election. I encourage you to reach out to him with any questions or concerns, to vote in the LSBA elections, and to share this article with fellow young attorneys. Following below is the text of an email Scott wrote and asked me to share with others:
Dear Fellow Young Lawyer:
I’m Scott Sternberg, an attorney at Baldwin Haspel here in New Orleans, and I’m running for the District 1 (Orleans) seat on the Louisiana State Bar Association Young Lawyer’s Division Council. The election begins November 17 — voting is now open — and ends December 15. You should receive an e-ballot from LSBA_Election_Admin@vres.us with instructions on how to vote online. If you do not receive an E-ballot, you can visit https://www.lsba.org/BarGovernance/Elections.aspx and click “Vote Online Now” to vote.
I would appreciate your consideration as you vote for the District 1 seat on the Young Lawyer’s Division Council. I have been active in the New Orleans community since graduating from LSU Law in 2010. I have served on the Federal Bar Association’s Young Lawyer’s Division Board of Directors since 2012 and volunteered with the Morning at the Federal Courthouse and the Lunch with the Court Programs. I graduated from the Leadership LSBA Program in 2013 and have served on two committees for the LSBA. Outside of the LSBA, I have shown a commitment to our New Orleans community. I serve on the Board of the Young Leadership Council, currently finishing a one-year term as the General Counsel. I regularly participate in volunteer and pro bono activities. I also teach at Loyola New Orleans’ School of Mass Communication.
If you elect me as your representative on the Young Lawyers’ Division Council, I promise to be a responsive, attentive representative for your positions. If you have encountered me before, you know that I am the kind of person who will go out of his way to make sure the LSBA’s YLD is attentive to your wants and needs as a young lawyer in New Orleans. I will work with the Council, including our other District 1 Representative (currently Dylan Thriffiley of the Kean Miller firm) to ensure that our programs run efficiently and our voices are heard.
If you have any questions, please let me know at ssternberg@bhbmlaw.com. I hope you will consider voting for me. In addition, I hope you will consider voting for my friends and fellow young attorneys Larry Centola, Micah Fincher, Ryan McCabe and Degan Skylar Rosenbloom for seats in the House of Delegates. The election for all offices ends December 15.
Feel free to forward this e-mail to anyone in the Young Lawyers Division, which comprises anyone under 39 years of age or has less than 5 years practicing law.
Best,
Scott Sternberg
Data Breach Claims – What they are and What’s at Risk
“Data breach” refers to an incident whereby an individual, application, or service accesses, views, or retrieves data, illegally or without authorization. Data breaches are security breaches that are specifically designed to steal data and publish that information in an unsecured location or utilize that information in an unauthorized manner. Affected information can include personal identifiable information (known as PII; includes information such as an individual’s name, date of birth, social security number, credit/debit card numbers, account login credentials, driver’s license numbers; responsible for 57.2% of data breach claims), personal health information (PHI; responsible for 27.2% of data breach claims), trade secrets (responsible for 1.4% of data breach claims), or other information.
NOLA Contendere 