July 30, 2019, 9:54 am CDT
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https://www.forlawfirmsonly.com/why-this-lawyer-bought-nearly-21000-worth-of-shoes-at-payless/
Wednesday, July 31, 2019
Why this lawyer bought nearly $21,000 worth of shoes at Payless
Personal Lives
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An Arkansas lawyer taking advantage of a sale at Payless ShoeSource as it liquidated merchandise in bankruptcy bought more than 1,500 pairs of shoes, costing about $21,000.
Lawyer Carrie Jernigan said she was inspired to make the purchase after her 9-year-old daughter asked about buying a pair of Avenger shoes for a friend whose shoes were too small. About 1,100 pairs of shoes will be donated to children and local schools, while the remainder will go to adults in need. Money, KFSM and KNWA have coverage.
Jernigan made the purchase as part of a deal to buy out the store.
Jernigan, the president of the school board in her home town of Alma, has now started a Kickstarter campaign to provide school supplies to families. A community church and local businesses already have gotten involved.
“It’s just becoming a huge community effort,” she told Money.
Jernigan hopes to raise awareness about the high cost of school supplies and to inspire others to give.
Image from Shutterstock.com.
New trial won for inmate convicted of plotting wood-chipper murder of federal judge
Sixth Amendment
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An inmate convicted in 2016 for seeking hit men to kill those who sent him to prison for scamming an elderly couple has won a new trial.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at San Francisco overturned the conviction of John Walthall because he was denied the right to represent himself at trial, report the Orange County Register and the OC Weekly. The court found a violation of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel in a July 24 unpublished opinion.
In a recorded prison yard conversation with an undercover FBI agent, Walthall said he wanted to kill U.S. District Judge Andrew Guilford, two FBI investigators and two federal prosecutors, according to the Orange County Register. Walthall had thought the FBI agent was someone who could carry out the plot.
Walthall said in the recorded conversation the judge should be put in a wood chipper.
U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney had refused to allow Walthall to represent himself in the trial. Carney ruled that Walthall was competent to stand trial but not competent to represent himself because he wasn’t capable of handling his defense, and he lacked legal knowledge and skills to defend himself.
Carney’s determination was largely based on Walthall’s “antics” during court appearances, the appeals court said. He didn’t talk to Walthall about three elements of self-representation, and he wrongly used Walthall’s lack of legal knowledge in his assessment.
Terminating Walthall’s right of self-representation would have been allowed if he was disruptive or obstructionist after he was given the opportunity to represent himself, the appeals court said.
The OC Weekly had covered Walthall’s entire trial, in which he attacked the work of his defense lawyer and made odd allegations. “Carney repeatedly displayed generous patience with the defendant, who was prone to bizarrely glare at people inside the courtroom and perform loud, rambling outbursts—some involving the Illuminati’s alleged role in his plight,” the OC Weekly reported.
July 30, 2019, 12:19 pm CDT
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WordPress Proposes Plan for 61% of WP Sites Using Outdated PHP via @martinibuster
WordPress development volunteers published a proposal to urge users of potentially vulnerable versions of PHP to upgrade. An alarming number of WordPress users still use PHP versions that no longer receive security updates.
WordPress Addresses 61.6% of Vulnerable Publishers
PHP is the underlying scripting language that WordPress runs on. The most current version is PHP 7.3.7. PHP is continually updated to make it more efficient and to patch security issues. Except versions that have reached “End of Life” status (EOL). PHP versions 5.6 and 7.0 reached EOL in December 2018.
Only 38.5% of WordPress sites run on an up to date version of PHP.
PHP version 7.1 will reach EOL in December 2019.
According to official WordPress statistics, 45.3% of WordPress publishers are running their sites on PHP versions 5.6 and 7.0.
An additional 16.3% of WordPress publishers are using versions that are even older than 5.6.
That’s a total of 61.6% of WordPress publishers who are using versions of PHP that no longer receive security updates.
NOTE: Those numbers are 0.1% over 100%. 38.5% sites using valid PHP + 61.6% using retired versions of PHP = 100.1%. Those numbers are from WordPress.
29.1% of WordPress publishers still use PHP 5.6. 16.2% use PHP 7.0. Both versions have reached End of Life status.
61.6% of WordPress Publishers are Vulnerable
This means that 61.6% of WordPress users may be vulnerable to hacking events. The WordPress proposal is to get all out of date PHP users up to date by using a nag screen. This means reaching all users of WordPress 5.6 and under plus those who are still using version 7.0.
This is the proposed timeline:
- “Our suggested roadmap to increase the minimum PHP version is:
- Display the PHP update widget for PHP 5.6. This will trigger the widget for anyone using PHP 5.6 or below and WordPress 5.1+ in their dashboards warning them of the fact we recommend upgrading the version of PHP.
- Display the PHP update widget for users of PHP 7.0 and below.
- Based around support and stats of points 1 and 2, have a discussion about whether the next step should be displaying the PHP update widget for PHP 7.1 or a direct increase of the required minimum version to PHP 7.2.”
WordPress Proposal for Nag Screen Widget
The official WordPress proposal calls for a nag screen to display. The nag screen urges users to upgrade their PHP.
This is a screenshot of a WordPress update widget, also known as a nag screen.
Here’s what the official announcement states:
“I would like to propose we trigger displaying the PHP update widget for users of PHP 5.6 in WordPress. At the time of writing, the WordPress stats show that: PHP 5.6 has a usage share of 29.1% PHP 7.0 has a usage share of 16.2% PHP 7.1 has a usage share of 13.2%”The first nag screen may begin showing as soon as August 5, 2019. Subsequent nag screens will be determined at a later date. Here’s the proposed timeline:
“We suggest to start showing the update recommendation for users of PHP 5.6 or lower starting August 5th, the timeline for showing the warning to PHP 7.0 users will be announced in a followup post, and relies on factors like support load, and adoption rate from the previous increase.”Read the official WordPress discussion: Proposal for increasing recommended PHP version in WordPress
Law doesn’t impose ‘most gullible person on Facebook’ standard in suit over fake police page, 6th Circuit says
First Amendment
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A federal appeals court has refused to toss a lawsuit against the city of Parma, Ohio, by a “cyber culprit” prosecuted for creating a fake Facebook page for the city’s police department.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Cincinnati allowed Anthony Novak to sue the city and two Parma officers for First Amendment retaliation, prior restraint on speech, wrongful arrest, malicious prosecution and conspiracy. The court dismissed other claims because the officers were entitled to qualified immunity. Cleveland.com and Courthouse News Service have coverage.
Judge Amul Thapar wrote the July 29 panel opinion. President Donald Trump elevated Thapar to the 6th Circuit and reportedly interviewed him when searching for a replacement for Justice Anthony M. Kennedy.
“Apple pie, baseball and the right to ridicule the government. Each holds an important place in American history and tradition,” Thapar wrote at the beginning of the opinion. “So thought Anthony Novak when he created a Facebook page to mock the Parma Police Department.”
The parody page looked like the official police department page. Novak initially included a disclaimer, but he took it down after police posted a warning about the page on its official website and promised to investigate.
Novak’s fake page included an ad for a “pedophile reform event” in which pedophiles would receive honorary police commissions. He included a job posting that “strongly encourag minorities to not apply.” He posted an apology from the department for “neglecting to inform the public about an armed white male who robbed a Subway sandwich shop,” while promising to bring to justice an African American woman who was loitering outside the Subway during the robbery, according to the opinion.
“Novak’s page delighted, disgusted and confused,” Thapar wrote. “Not everyone understood it. But when it comes to parody, the law requires a reasonable reader standard, not a ‘most gullible person on Facebook’ standard. The First Amendment does not depend on whether everyone is in on the joke. Neither is it bothered by public disapproval, whether tepid or red-hot.”
The page had about 100 followers and was up for 12 hours before Novak took it down. A handful of people called the police department to complain. Novak was arrested on a charge of disrupting police functions. Jurors acquitted him in August 2016, according to Cleveland.com.
In considering Novak’s claims, the appeals court stressed that the litigation was at an early stage, and some qualified immunity claims would not be resolved without more factual development.
A fact-finder will have to decide whether the fake Facebook page was a parody and whether the officers had probable cause to arrest Novak, the appeals court said.
If the officers did not have probable cause, Novak would have to show that the retaliation was a substantial or motivating factor for the arrest, and the officers would have arrested Novak even if the Facebook page didn’t criticize the department.
Other factual claims also will have to be resolved, the 6th Circuit said.
“Though Novak’s Facebook page mocking the Parma Police Department has since left the cyber world, several of his legal claims will live on,” the appeals court said.
The case is Novak v. City of Parma.
July 30, 2019, 2:52 pm CDT
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Instagram Purges Meme Accounts, Shutting Down Pages With Millions of Followers via @MattGSouthern
Instagram is cracking down on accounts that primarily post memes, deleting popular pages that have amassed millions of followers.
Dozens of accounts with over 30 million followers combined were deleted without warning. The removal is permanent, meaning there’s no hope for the users to get their accounts restored.
@instagram you just deleted all of my accounts for absolutely no reason, no warning, and no context behind this. (30 million+ followers worth of accounts deleted in 24 hours) #fuckinstagram #reactivateyerdank #reactivateautist pic.twitter.com/nJY6CvkQkW
— yerdank (@umCaige) July 26, 2019
Even rapper Lil Nas X has been bringing attention to the purge of Instagram meme accounts:HUGE meme page purge last night on insta. Accounts with millions of followers (one had more than 13M alone) got deleted. pic.twitter.com/Beugxh6bm4
— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) July 26, 2019
According to various news reports, one user was earning up to $30,000 a year through partnerships and using the money to pay for college. A Facebook spokesperson tells reporters that the accounts were disabled following multiple violations of platform policies. Earlier this month, Instagram updated its account removal policies. It can now remove accounts that have a certain number of violations within a window of time. Based on the timing, it’s possible the account purge is related to Instagram’s latest policy change. In any case, this whole situation illustrates the danger of building a business solely on social media. Those who were once thriving on Instagram are now having a rough go of it. Organic post engagement is down, sponsored post engagement is down, and Instagram continues to expand its test of hiding like counts. Now, Instagram is swiftly deleting popular accounts without giving them an opportunity to appeal the decision. And that’s perfectly fine, technically speaking, because Instagram can do what it wants with its own platform. Unlike having a website, which is an owned property, people have no ownership of their social media pages. Instagram can throttle the reach of pages, suspend them, or delete them permanently. It looks like uncertain times are ahead for people who rely on Instagram for a large part of their income.why is instagram purging all the meme accounts. we deserve to exist too.
— nope (@LilNasX) July 29, 2019
Afternoon Briefs: DUI lawyer arrested for alleged bizarre attack; judge warned for law license lapses
News Roundup
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• A prominent DUI lawyer from Petersburg, Virginia, has been charged with his wife in an alleged attack on their driver that began during a limo ride and ended at the home of the alleged victim. Prosecutors charged lawyer Charles Vanevera Hardenbergh and his wife, Mari, with assault, abduction, trespassing, and breaking and entering. The couple’s lawyer, Jack Randall, said his clients “unequivocally deny any wrongdoing whatsoever,” and they are “hurt by these allegations from a trusted friend they considered family. They and their family and friends care deeply and are praying for her.” (WTVR, the Progress-Index, WWBT)
• A judge in El Paso County, Texas, has received a public warning for allowing her law license to temporarily lapse for failure to pay bar dues. The judge, Yvonne “Bonnie Rangel” Guaderrama, had let her license lapse on five separate occasions since she joined the bench. (Law360, the State Commission on Judicial Conduct)
• Falsely yelling “I’m a U.S. marshal” in a crowded theater also lacks First Amendment protection, according to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Chicago. The court ruled in the case of Michael Bonin, convicted for impersonating a federal officer after flashing a gun and claiming to be a marshal. The court noted the oft-quoted observation by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes that a person who falsely shouts “fire” in a crowded theater is not entitled to First Amendment protection. Judge Michael Brennan, nominated by President Donald Trump, wrote the opinion. (7th Circuit opinion via How Appealing)
• The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Atlanta has reinstated a lawsuit seeking to hold Royal Caribbean Cruises responsible for the gang rape of a 15-year-old passenger in 2015. The suit alleged that the attackers gave the teen alcohol in view of crew members who failed to intervene. Chief Judge Ed Carnes wrote the opinion, and he wrote a concurrence arguing that publicly available data on cruise rapes reinforces the notion that Royal Caribbean knew or should have known of the dangers of sexual assault on its ships. (Daily Business Review, Miami Herald, 11th Circuit opinion)
• President Donald Trump has pardoned five people and commuted the sentences of two others. One of the people receiving a commuted sentence, Ted Suhl, had been sentenced to seven years in prison in 2016 for paying bribes to a state official. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee—whose daughter was the White House press secretary—had encouraged Trump to commute Suhl’s sentence. Members of Congress and “many reputable legal scholars” supported the other sentence commutation for Ronen Nahmani, whose wife has terminal cancer. Nahmani had been sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2015 for distributing synthetic marijuana. (CNN, the New York Times, press releases here, here and here)
July 30, 2019, 5:05 pm CDT
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Tuesday, July 30, 2019
Trump announces deal allowing ouster of asylum-seekers to Guatemala
Immigration Law
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President Donald Trump announced Friday that he had reached an agreement with Guatemala to allow asylum-seekers who passed through the country to be returned there to seek asylum.
Asylum-seekers can’t ask the United State for asylum if they passed through Guatemala unless they applied there first, report the New York Times, Politico and the Washington Post. Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan said the deal is a “safe-third-country” agreement that designates Guatemala as a safe place to live.
Critics had criticized the Trump administration earlier this month for requiring applicants at the southern border to apply first for asylum in other countries that they traversed, even though the United States hadn’t negotiated a “safe-third-country” agreement with those countries. That requirement was blocked by a federal judge last week.
At the time, Canada was the only country that had a “safe-third-country” agreement with the United States.
McAleenan said the new deal would be “up and running” by August.
The U.S. State Department has said murder is common in Guatemala, and police are ineffective. McAleenan said the whole country should not be labeled unsafe.
Guatemala President Jimmy Morales is not calling the deal a “safe-third-country” agreement. Avoiding that phrase may be an attempt to avoid a ruling by Guatemala’s constitutional court that barred Morales from signing such a deal without approval from lawmakers, according to the New York Times.
Guatemala Interior Minister Enrique Degenhart said the court ruling was “provisional” during a White House event Friday. McAleenan told reporters that Guatemalan leaders think they “can work this through consistent with their legal regime and the constitutional court oversight.”
Spanish text of the deal released by the Guatemalan government calls the deal a “cooperative agreement regarding the examination of protection claims.”
Trump had threatened to impose a travel ban and tariffs if Guatemala did not agree to the deal.
July 29, 2019, 10:29 am CDT
Image from Shutterstock.com.
https://www.forlawfirmsonly.com/trump-announces-deal-allowing-ouster-of-asylum-seekers-to-guatemala/
Lawyer held in contempt for recording defendant’s mouth being taped shut on judge’s orders
July 29, 2019, 11:39 am CDT
A public defender in Louisiana has been found in contempt of court for taking out his cellphone and recording a talkative defendant’s mouth being taped shut on a judge’s orders. Judge Marilyn Castle of Lafayette found lawyer Michael Gregory in contempt Friday, fined him $100, and banned him from bringing his cellphone to court for six months. KATC 3 and the Lafayette Daily Advertiser covered the contempt hearing. Castle is also the judge who ordered a bailiff to tape defendant Michael Duhon’s mouth shut during his sentencing July 18 for theft and money laundering. The Lafayette Daily Advertiser and the Acadiana Advocate verified Castle’s order based on minutes of the proceedings. Duhon had objected to evidence and tried to make arguments during the sentencing hearing, although Castle warned him repeatedly that he should speak through his defense lawyer, Aaron Adams. Gregory did not represent Duhon. Castle allowed removal of the tape after Adams objected and said the better option is to remove his client from the courtroom. During the contempt hearing Friday, Castle said Louisiana’s judicial ethics code requires judges to bar recordings in their courtroom, according to KATC 3. “This is not a pleasurable thing to do, but I am mandated by the Supreme Court to uphold its rules,” Castle said. Local court rules generally ban cellphones in courtrooms, but lawyers are among those granted an exception as long as they follow the rules. Castle had ordered Gregory to delete the video, but he submitted a copy to the court as evidence. It was admitted under seal. Gregory said he would appeal.Citing contradictory evidence, judge overturns sex assault verdict; juror is ‘absolutely appalled’
Criminal Justice
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Advocates for victims are expressing concern after a Pennsylvania judge granted a defense motion for a judgment of acquittal in a sexual assault case.
Judge Alexander Bicket of Allegheny County acquitted 24-year-old Joon Woo (Jason) Baik on July 22 after jurors had found him guilty of sexual assault, report the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and WTAE.
Bicket cited “unreliable and contradictory” evidence that he thought to be incapable of supporting a guilty verdict.
Baik was convicted on the sexual assault charge in May but was acquitted on a charge of rape of an unconscious victim, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Among those who disagree with the judge’s decision are Pennsylvania’s victim advocate, two jurors, and a representative of Pittsburgh Action Against Rape.
“I’m absolutely appalled,” juror Leslie Mason told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Baik, a former student at Carnegie Mellon University, had secretly made an audio recording of the September 2018 incident at his apartment. The women who alleged that she was sexually assaulted was a University of Pittsburgh student.
Mason said the tape shows the woman both gave consent and took away consent several times. “Collectively, we felt like just because you get one green light, you can’t ignore the red light,” Mason told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, using an analogy used by prosecutors.
The tape also made clear that the woman was drunk and unable to give consent, Mason said.
Pennsylvania Victim Advocate Jennifer Storm told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that Bicket’s decision “sends a chilling message to survivors that at any moment, a judge can throw out your verdict, he can throw out your justice.”
July 29, 2019, 2:13 pm CDT
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Monday, July 29, 2019
New Study Shows Which Keywords on YouTube Get the Most Video Views via @MattGSouthern
A study of popular YouTube videos in 2019 reveals which keywords are associated with the most views.
Pew Research Center published an analysis of every video on YouTube created by high-subscriber channels in the first week of 2019.
For the purpose of this study, a high-subscriber channel is defined as one with at least 250,000 subscribers. There are at least 43,770 channels with that many subscribers.
Analysis of the study is broken down into three parts, but I will only be going over the third part as it’s the one most closely related to SEO.
The third part of the report focuses on keywords in video titles and descriptions that were associated with more views.
YouTube Keywords With the Most Views
Pew Research Center narrowed down a list of 20 keywords in YouTube video titles that are associated with the largest increase in median views. Here are the top 20 keywords in order:- Fortnite
- ASMR
- Slime
- Rainbow
- Prank
- Worst
- NFL
- Makeup
- Moment
- Wrong
- Eating
- PubG
- NBA
- Ultimate
- Hack
- FIFA
- Player
- Mystery
- Insane
- Roblox
Saturday, July 27, 2019
Back to Basics: Do outbound links matter for SEO?
In Google’s debut two-minute episode of #AskGoogleWebmasters on the Google Webmasters YouTube channel, Webmaster Trends Analyst John Mueller addressed whether linking out is good for SEO.
“Does linking to other websites help or hurt SEO?” In the video, Mueller said that links help users find out more about a topic and be able to check your sources. He then cautioned about link schemes, links in advertisements and within user-generated content, recommending that they apply the rel=“nofollow” attribute in those cases.
Why we should care. Links are a critical component of SEO, and you should regard outbound link quality similarly to inbound link quality. Are your links useful to your readers? Do they point to reputable sources? These should be your goals, and achieving them will improve your users’ experience and won’t hurt your optimization efforts. In short, be careful about where and how you link.
Learn more about link building. This first #AskGoogleWebmasters episode stuck to the basics, but there’s a lot to cover when it comes to links. Here is some related reading to bolster your knowledge.
About The Author
George Nguyen is an Associate Editor at Third Door Media. His background is in content marketing, journalism, and storytelling.
https://www.businesscreatorplus.com/back-to-basics-do-outbound-links-matter-for-seo/
Afternoon Briefs: $2B verdict against Roundup maker slashed; law firm breakup now a play
News Roundup
Image from Shutterstock.com.
• For the second time in two weeks, a judge in California has reduced a verdict against the maker of Roundup weed killer in a suit by cancer victims. Judge Winifred Smith of Alameda County reduced the award to Alva and Alberta Pilliod from $2 billion to $86.7 million. Defendant Bayer AG called the reduction “a step in the right direction” but said it continues to think its product is safe. An appeal is planned. (The Wall Street Journal, Bayer AG, Judge Winifred Smith’s order)
• The breakup of the New York personal injury law firm Cellino & Barnes is the subject of a new play to be staged next month in Brooklyn. The writers and stars are two comedians. “We started reading about the breakup, and it was just too juicy, too funny, not to write about,” said one of the writers, David Rafailedes. (The New York Law Journal, the New York Post)
• The U.S. Department of Justice has given final approval to a $26 billion merger between T-Mobile and Sprint. The companies won approval after agreeing to sell Sprint’s prepaid business and some of its airwaves to satellite TV company Dish Network. Attorneys general from 13 states and Washington, D.C., who have sued to block the deal say they still have serious concerns. (The Washington Post, the New York Times, U.S. Department of Justice , New York attorney general)
• Nebraska’s attorney general has filed a lawsuit claiming that Hilton is violating state consumer law by charging hidden resort fees at some of its properties that aren’t disclosed up-front on its website. Washington, D.C.’s attorney general recently filed a similar suit against Marriott International. (Fox News, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Nebraska attorney general, amended complaint)
• A Philadelphia lawyer who said he was a scam victim when he was charged in an alleged stock-market manipulation scheme has pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor charge of withholding information from the IRS. Lawyer Michael Garnick was accused with Chris Messalas, a former broker who was barred from the securities industry by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in 2012, according to Law360. Garnick told the Philadelphia Inquirer that he was “just an investor” who “got caught up in someone else’s nefarious activities.” (Law360, the Philadelphia Inquirer)
July 26, 2019, 5:02 pm CDT
Image from Shutterstock.com.
Friday, July 26, 2019
TV cameras roll as deputies pull over lawyer for failure to use turn signal and find drugs in his car
July 26, 2019, 12:00 pm CDT
Sheriff’s police pulled over an Austin, Texas, lawyer for failing to signal a lane change last weekend and found drugs in his car in a search recorded for the cable TV show Live PD. Lawyer Victor Hardy, 50, was charged with possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, the Austin American-Statesman reports. Williamson County deputies had allowed the show Live PD to record and broadcast the search, according to KXAN. An affidavit said a police dog was alerted during a sniff of Hardy’s BMW, leading to a police search that turned up suspected marijuana, methamphetamine, cocaine, psilocybin mushrooms, suspected LSD, suspected heroin, Xanax and ecstasy. Hardy, who was an intellectual property attorney at Hardy, Parrish, Yang, is no longer listed on the firm’s website. His former bio said he had extensive experience in high-stakes patent infringement litigation and other types of litigation. He is a 1994 graduate of the University of Texas School of Law and has a 1997 LLM from Harvard Law School, the bio said. Hardy also is licensed in New York, his bio said. He had tried four homicide cases as a special assistant district attorney in Kings County, New York. He has no public record of discipline in New York or Texas. He did not answer a call placed to a number listed by the State Bar of Texas.Google Makes it Easier to Visit Web Pages from Image Search Results via @MattGSouthern
An update to Google Images makes it easier for users to visit the original web page that an image is featured on.
This will be helpful to searchers and has the potential to send more traffic to publishers.
However, there’s a catch. In order for pages to benefit from this update, they need to be coded in AMP HTML. That’s because the feature relies on AMP to load an instant preview of a web page.
The feature is called “Swipe to Visit” and was previewed at Google I/O earlier this year.
When selecting an image in Google Images’ mobile search results, a preview of the web page header will appear at the bottom of the screen (provided it’s an AMP page).
Users can swipe up on the web page header to instantly load the page in full. When users are done viewing the web page, they can simply swipe down to continue their image search.
Here’s an example:
In an announcement, Google explains how it works:
“Swipe to Visit uses AMP’s prerender capability to show a preview of the page displayed at the bottom of the screen. When a user swipes up on the preview, the web page is displayed instantly and the publisher receives a pageview.”Google says the speed and convenience offered by Swipe to Visit makes it more likely for users to visit a publisher’s site. If your site already supports AMP, there’s nothing more you need to do to optimize your pages for Swipe to Visit. Traffic data from AMP in Google Images will be available in Search Console in the coming weeks.
Google shortnames bug persists despite Google insisting it’s fixed
The saga of shortnames continues. About two weeks ago, a bug caused Google My Business (GMB) listings to disappear when shortnames were added to accounts. That problem was supposed to be resolved and the missing listings restored early last week, according to Google.
Problem appears to persist. Some SEOs continued to report a problem ten days later. From the following tweet, it appears the issue is not fully resolved:
However, other local SEOs we informally consulted said that the problem did appear to be resolved and had not heard about any continuing issues with adding shortnames. Google says any suspensions now from user violations. Google reiterated to us that the issue is resolved, including the restoration of all related missing listings. Any current listings suspensions, Google suggested, are the likely result of violations of GMB’s content and conduct policies. However, the company wouldn’t be more specific. Why we should care. The shortnames rollout has been somewhat more buggy than other new product launches. It’s not immediately clear whether these problems have compromised SEO adoption of shortnames, which were intended to offer convenience for consumers and a potentially effective marketing shortcut for local business owners. Let us know if you’re still experiencing problems with missing listings. Also, let us know whether your interest in shortnames has been negatively impacted by problems with the rollout.Although no announcement has been made, Google has confirmed there is an ongoing bug with Google My Business shortnames that can result in your listing being suspended.#seo #googlemybiz #gmb pic.twitter.com/M5GN1vYTru
— Candour (@candouragency) July 25, 2019
About The Author
Lawyer suspended for disclosing client info in ‘vindictive’ bid to collect fees
Ethics
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The Ohio Supreme Court has suspended a lawyer for threatening to disclose confidential information in a bid to collect a fee and then carrying out the threat.
The court indefinitely suspended lawyer Timothy Andrew Shimko, of Westlake, Ohio, in a July 18 opinion, report Court News Ohio and the Legal Profession Blog.
The nature of Shimko’s conduct was “unreasonable and vindictive,” said the court, which rejected a recommendation for a lesser, two-year suspension.
The ethics case stems from a fee dispute between Shimko and an engineer who hired the lawyer to represent him regarding his insurance claims for fire damage. A home the engineer had been building for about 17 years had burned down, along with the instruments, data and books he stored in the basement. The engineer wanted Shimko to represent him during an examination under oath.
Shimko had informed the engineer his rate was $385 an hour and he anticipated his total bill for reviewing the policies, preparing the engineer and representing him at the examination would be somewhere in the range of $2,300. After Shimko completed the work, he sent the engineer a bill for $4,350.
The engineer informed Shimko he would pay only $3,300 in $500 monthly installments, then did as he said. Shimko sued for the rest of the fees.
When the engineer’s new lawyer asked Shimko to drop the complaint, Shimko responded that the engineer had made false statements under oath that he had not worked or conducted business on the premises before they were destroyed by fire. The engineer’s policy on the fire-damaged premises excluded coverage for business property.
“I suspect that my motion for summary judgment, a public record, which will not be long in coming, may have an impact beyond this litigation,” Shimko wrote to the engineer’s lawyer. “I am giving your client his last break, and he would be wise to take it. After I file the motion for summary judgment, I cannot unring that bell.”
In a later brief in the suit for fees, Shimko said the engineer had conducted a significant amount of business at the premises, but claimed he didn’t run a business when he was examined under oath.
After weighing conflicting testimony, a hearing panel of the Ohio Board of Professional Conduct rejected Shimko’s claims that the engineer lied under oath, the Ohio Supreme Court said.
“Ultimately, the panel was convinced—as are we—that the sole purpose of Shimko’s threats and subsequent exposure of confidential information was not to prevent from using his legal services to commit insurance fraud,” the court said, “but to compel to pay his fee.”
The court found that Shimko violated a disciplinary rule that generally bars lawyers from using information relating to the representation of a former client to the disadvantage of the former client.
The court also said Shimko had violated the disciplinary rules by charging an excessive fee.
Shimko had told the engineer he wouldn’t be charged for an initial telephone conference, yet he billed him $154 for the call. At his disciplinary hearing, Shimko testified, “My word is my bond until I change it, I guess.”
He also charged $539 to prepare an email memorializing a fee agreement and charged a 1.5% interest rate on the unpaid fee. The hearing panel had found both to be excessive.
Shimko had been disciplined twice in the past. In June 2009 he was censured in Arizona for representing clients with potential conflicts of interest and charging an excessive fee. In 2012 he received a stayed suspension in Ohio for accusing a trial judge of dishonesty.
Shimko didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment by the ABA Journal.
July 26, 2019, 1:05 pm CDT
Image from Shutterstock.com.
Your Simple Guide to Twitter #Hashtags via @searchmastergen
There’s no doubt Twitter has changed the world we live in.
From its launch in July 2006 to its current state 13 years later, the microblogging website has become the ultimate news source, outreach platform, meme supplier, political soapbox, and so, so much more to so many people.
One of the many results of Twitter and its growing popularity was the rise of the hashtag.
Twitter infamously helped create the hashtag in 2007, first used by Chris Messina, which changed not just Twitter, but all of social media – and much of the world around it – in a big way.
What Are Hashtags?
A hashtag is a keyword index tool written with a #, or the pound symbol, at the beginning of a series of space-less keyword sets to refer to a specific topic, idea, or trend. Hashtags are metadata tags consisting of letters and numbers – excluding spaces and punctuation – that categorize keywords and ideas (typically on social media platforms, like Twitter) by turning them into clickable phrases that are indexed with other, related tweets. After debuting on Twitter thanks to Messina, hashtags flourished, first on Twitter, then on other social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and even business-oriented LinkedIn. Hashtags have become a staple on most social media platforms and are embedded in the everyday fabric of social media. And, thankfully, they’ve made categorization in a world of data overload easier than ever before.How to Use Hashtags
Hashtags help categorize content among a plethora of information, thus making it easier than ever before to find and sort specific bits of information as they are published across Twitter. It has become a legitimate source for breaking news, official statements, campaign launches, and even jarring photos and videos that have led to arrests and accusations, as well as other unexpected, unprecedented, and unbelievable interactions. When using hashtags – either ones that are already trending or trying to kickstart a new one for a specific reason, campaign or idea – there are basic guidelines to using the right one, at the right time, with the right content. This will limit the potential for unintentional blowback, and later, damage control. Creating a new hashtag and hopping on an existing one are drastically different moves and need to be handled as such. But they’re both helpful and are skills all quality social media marketers (and Twitter users) should understand.Creating Hashtags
Creating a hashtag can be tricky. Like most “viral” content on the web, some of the strangest ones will find a way to break through the surface and become a multi-day Twitter trend. Others will fall to the wayside with very little effort. Even the best hashtags benefit from influencer piggybacking, overall timing, and general luck to becoming a common trend on Twitter. In addition to those aspects, you should follow a few other rules when creating a new hashtag if you want it catch on and become popular. The three most important rules for creating hashtags are: Keep It Simple Keeping it simple is the most important aspect when it comes to creating a hashtag. If it’s too complicated or elaborate, it will likely not catch on. It also can’t be so vague that it’s impossible to separate it from other, unrelated hashtags with similar keywords or ideas. Keep It Memorable Clever hashtags tend to get legs easier than ones that are not. If it’s witty and easy to remember, not only will the hashtag likely catch on and be used, but it will also likely have a longer shelf life than a hashtag that is not that memorable. Give It the ‘Common Sense Check’ This is just as critical as the first two rules for creating hashtags, if not more. Does the hashtag you’re trying to create make sense? Can it be confused with another topic or hashtag that has nothing to do with your goal? Most of all, does it offend, confuse, or lean toward the idea that this isn’t the best hashtag for your unique messaging? A simple common sense check should help direct you as to whether your newly developed hashtag is going to be a winner or if it’s danger looming.Using Existing Hashtags
When using hashtags that are already being used by others on the platform, there are some important rules to consider as well, but they are a bit different than those for creating new hashtags. The three most important rules for using hashtags: Research the Hashtag Before Adopting It It may not mean what you think it means. Your first step to ensuring it is the hashtag you’re looking for is to research it; look at other tweets using the hashtag and make sure they are in line with your thinking. Too many times, users miss the mark with this one and adopt a hashtag that really means something completely different than what they intend. Just ask DiGiorno’s Pizza about #WhyIStayed. Make Sure It’s Relevant Once you know what it means, make sure it makes sense to use for your messaging. Miss the mark and suffer the consequences. Be Clever Be sure to use your wit and personality and put your brand/personal spin on it. Remember, the right hashtag has been used hundreds or thousands of times before you. This is the chance for you to stand out in a crowded room. Do it! The biggest aspect of this to realize and remember is that, if hashtags are used incorrectly, it could come back to hurt the brand. Being associated with a poor user experience is a quick and easy way to lose followers, fans, and even customers.Potential Hashtag Nightmares
Just like anything else on the internet, there are people who will try to manipulate the system to gain an edge by doing less than others. When it comes to hashtags, lazy (and bad) marketers will piggyback on popular and trending hashtags to gain increased visibility, sometimes compromising the integrity of the hashtag if misleading tweets aren’t filtered out. These piggy-backers are rarely, if ever, rewarded. And brands that try it only suffer the backlash of the public, then the history books (i.e., American Apparel’s Hurricane Sandy Sale and other piggybacking disasters). Like most things in the digital marketing realm, make sure what you’re doing is ethical and sensible. It’s unlikely you’d be penalized for that.When to Use Hashtags
Hashtags have a time and place to be used, and it can be in every tweet a brand publishes. It also doesn’t need to be, either. Be genuine in your messaging and use hashtags to help categorize information, not to manipulate or deceive. Customers will remember it and they know what they want.Why Use Hashtags
Simply put, hashtags improve your messages’ general visibility on Twitter (typically). In addition to the increased organic visibility, hashtag users also tend to see increased engagement on the platform, increased brand awareness, and increased customer feedback, among other things, when effectively (and properly) using hashtags – all of which result in increased visibility. More Resources:https://www.businesscreatorplus.com/your-simple-guide-to-twitter-hashtags-via-searchmastergen/
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
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Google Makes YouTube Masthead Ads Available to All Advertisers via @MattGSouthern
Google is now letting all advertisers buy YouTube masthead ads, following a successful beta test in select markets. Ads will be available to buy on a CPM basis.
“With premium placement atop the YouTube Home feed, guaranteed reach and the flexibility of CPM buying, the opportunity to drive impact with the Masthead has never been greater.”Google notes that the masthead will remain as a reserved placement, even when buying on a CPM basis. Impressions will be guaranteed across campaign flights that can range from one to seven days. You can preview what a masthead ad would look like with one of your videos by using this tool from Google.
How to Convert More Web Leads in Your Firm
In today’s digital landscape, a lot of business happens online. Even for legal firms, there’s a good chance a large portion of your leads may come through website forms or online contact.
To successfully convert online leads into new cases, you must implement the necessary tools and processes in the same way you would for phone leads. And while 74% of consumers visit a law firm’s website to take action, according to a Google Legal Services study, firms can lose qualified leads if handled improperly.
Below are a few tips for converting more web leads into paying clients.
How law firms can convert leads online
To turn website visitors into leads, you should use the following tools and strategies to compel them to fill out a form and become a potential client.1. Use a strong value proposition
People have plenty of options when it comes to choosing where to do business. When they check out your website, you have to immediately communicate with them why they should choose your law firm over the competition. Avoid fluffy, generic adjectives and instead hone in on the unique value you bring to your clients when they partner with your firm.2. Incorporate video
The human brain processes video significantly faster than text, which is why it can be such a powerful element to add to your website. According to research by EyeWideDigital, embedding a video into your landing page can increase your conversion rate by approximately 80%. There are a few different ways to use video to your advantage, including inserting a lead capture form directly into the video, sending personalized videos to prospects, and gleaning video viewership data. Most importantly, though, your video needs to be high-quality, short, and meaningful, otherwise you could do more harm than good.3. Use clear calls-to-action
Your call-to-action (CTA) can be any number of things – make a phone call, send an email, learn more about a service – but it should be prominent and well-defined on every website page. For the sake of converting website visitors into leads, your CTA should encourage them to take the next step of the “buying journey” – or in this case, filling out an online web form. You can make your CTA more impactful by providing a unique offer, such as a free consultation or downloading a useful guide.4. Retarget website visitors
Retargeting is a form of online advertising that allows you to remain in front of people who don’t convert immediately. You can use retargeted ads as a subtle reminder for people to revisit your website or make contact with your firm based on their past views. Research shows website visitors who are retargeted with display ads are about 70% more likely to convert on your website.Taking conversion to the next level
Your job isn’t done by getting a website visitor to fill out a form and become a lead. Once they’ve taken that step, the way you respond can greatly impact whether they continue on their journey toward converting into a client. Here are some measures you should be taking:1. Provide an immediate live response
Automation makes certain processes easier, but it can also feel impersonal. Reaching out to a website visitor with an immediate live response puts you in a better position to provide information they might need and guide them toward becoming a client. Live responses are also more difficult to ignore.2. Follow up on a schedule
Don’t give up on a lead if you can’t reach them on the first try. You should “chase the lead,” or follow up three to five times in an effort to catch them at the right time – and before they’ve moved on to a different law firm. Make sure you keep track of each attempt, including how and when it took place. Also, different people prefer different forms of contact. You can increase your web conversion rate by more than 30 percent by following up with leads through numerous communication methods, including phone calls, emails, and even text messages.3. Track web leads in a CRM
Through lead tracking, you can follow your interactions with a potential lead from the moment they make contact with your firm through conversion. A single lost lead can be a significant loss of revenue that diminishes the return on investment (ROI) of a marketing campaign. Fortunately, modern customer relationship management (CRM) software makes lead tracking easy. With the integration of a CRM system, you can store and manage data on each lead, increasing efficiency, improving customer relationships, and supporting market research.4. Partner with a legal call center
To boost your law firm’s ability to convert every website visitor, you can partner with a legal call center that offers a variety of communication services. For web and online chat inquiries, agencies such as Alert Communication combine immediate, live outbound follow-up calls with text messages and email-based responses to reach leads through the platform they prefer and increase client conversions. They also track leads to keep them engaged with your firm.Turning web visitors into valuable clients
For many people, the first step in researching a law firm is visiting their website. That means your law firm should not only have a robust online presence, but also tools and processes in place to convert those online visitors into leads. Incorporating these digital tools and working with legal intake specialists can help boost your law firm’s web conversion rates, along with its revenue.
https://www.forlawfirmsonly.com/how-to-convert-more-web-leads-in-your-firm/
8 Things To Know About Digital Advertising
There’s a lot to know about Digital. In fact, there’s a TON of information out there. However, it doesn’t need to be complicated.
2. Make your advertising mobile. According to emarketer, time spent with smartphones and tablets increasingly skews towards mobile apps, rather than mobile website. In fact, app usage accounted for almost 90% of smartphone time, and over 75% of tablet time in 2017. That’s a lot of time for the 81% of adults in the US that own a mobile device and the 52% that own a tablet. In addition to that, businesses have spent, in total, more than $58 billion on mobile. We know people are spending money on mobile, and we know that people spend a lot of time on mobile. What exactly is it? Mobile Advertising, what we refer to as Mobile Conquesting is using location based, demographic, and behavioral targeting to reach consumers with digital ads (display and video) on their mobile devices (smartphones and tablets). There is so much versatility with Mobile Conquesting, one of the major reasons a lot of local advertisers turn to this product to advertise. From specifically targeting competitors and events to promoting your business only during the time it rains are just some of the capabilities of Mobile Conquesting. ROI is important to everyone, and one way to do that with mobile is to track in-store visits, for those of you with brick and mortar locations. Wouldn’t it be nice to know how many people are walking into your store because of your digital campaign?
3. Hyperlocal advertising is the new black. Local advertisers have the ability to determine the geographical area where your ads are served. We refer to this as geo-targeting. This can be done in many ways. You could start with targeting a specific mile radius around your business. You could target your ads to be displayed only in certain zip codes. You can also target the city in which your business is located. There are ways to scale larger too, but for small and medium size businesses, those are the best ways to start. Focus on your local area, one of the biggest benefits of digital marketing. Then, as you grow, you can expand your targeting area. Being able to focus on your community, on your neighborhood, and in only the areas that matter for your business is one of the reasons advertisers love digital. You can zero in on what’s most important to you.
4. You can track metrics with digital. With digital advertising, you have access to so much data. It just depends on what you want to see. For starters, Google Analytics is a great, free, tool that Google has that can be installed on your website. It’s easy to learn as they have free classes. It’s straight forward and you can go at your own pace.
We provide monthly reports that include impressions, clicks, conversions, and view throughs on all reports. In addition, for certain products we are also able to provide website/app breakout, creative performance, device performance, and top keywords. View-throughs are when someone sees your ad online, they don’t click on it, but venture to your site at a later time. Those are important because not everyone clicks on ads. They may see the ad and come to your site later, or they may just open up a new tab on their browser so they don’t lose their spot. Either way, we track those. Conversions, mentioned above, are key. This is what you want someone to do when they come to your website. Do you want them to fill out a contact form? Apply for financing? Start a live chat with one of our agents? Tracking conversions tells you what people are doing when they come to your website after being served your ad.
5. Use video when you can Not every business has video they can use as part of their creative. However, you can create video easily. With apps like Ripl and Legend, making video ads has become a lot easier, especially for the small to medium size business that can’t pay outrageous production fees. Some of the best performing video ads we have run were actually “homemade” video ads shot by clients on their smartphones.
Why should you use video in your marketing when possible? 80% of internet users can remember a video ad they have seen in the last 30 days. Also, 90% of consumers claim that video will help them make a purchasing decision. Video can be King, as long as it’s a good video.
6. Diversify. One of the best abilities that digital advertising has is the ability to utilize many digital platforms/products at the same time. One of the newest forms of digital advertising out there is OTT or “Over The Top” video advertising. With the ability to target the “cord cutters”, this new platform can serve ads on Roku, Slingbox and even TV apps like Fox and CBS. There are 168.1 million people watching content through services like these. That’s a lot of people that you can be advertising to and send in your direction that you might not be able to reach if you are only doing broadcast TV and cable.
7. Ad spending is affordable. We all have marketing budgets. With Digital Advertising, though, it is so streamlined. With services starting as low as a penny per impression, digital can be purchased by any company. Here’s the kicker… you get to target a much more specific audience of users: Those most likely to be interested in your product or service. There is so much data out there that allows us access to it so businesses like yours can target effectively. Some companies will have a Digital Buyer or hire a company to do the ad buying for them. This accomplishes a few things. One, it cuts down the amount of time you need to spend researching how to accomplish everything we’ve talked about above. It allows you to focus on running the business that you own. Lastly, it allows you to be provided with reporting on how well your campaign is performing.
8. It can be easy to understand. The key here is to find yourself an expert. That may be your local radio station, TV station, newspaper publishing company or ad agency. We’ve all learned the information inside and out, and can break it down in a very simple, clear manner that allows you to understand it. Just because you don’t know the world of digital advertising doesn’t mean it’s complicated. It’s not. Find yourself the right partner that can explain it to you, one that you trust, and that is truly interested in helping your company grow.
Digital advertising is growing. More and more businesses are spending more and more money because it works. We are all spending more time online, which means you have more opportunity to reach your targeting audience while they browse on their favorite device. Invest in yourself. Invest in your company. Invest in Digital Advertising. It has become a must have as part of your marketing mix.
What is Digital Advertising?
This is when you buy advertising space across websites, mobile apps, and even social media platforms, like Facebook and Instagram, where audiences are targeted with the help of specific information about their online behaviors, interests, and purchasing habits. What you might not know, is that digital advertising doesn’t have to be complicated and it doesn’t have to be expensive. If you’re looking into adding digital advertising into your media mix, here are 8 things you should know before getting started (in no particular order):- Your competitors are already doing it. You are not alone when it comes to digital advertising. Take Facebook for example. There are over 5 million businesses on Facebook that are spending money each month on advertising to their specific users. Most of these are small to medium sized businesses. Facebook is a monster (in a good way) tool to use for your business. There are thousands of ways you can target your specific audience. How do you do that? That’s just Facebook! 2019 is going to hit a milestone. It’s going to be the first year that advertisers are spending more money on digital than on traditional advertising. We expect digital ad spending to reach over $129 billion dollars this year.
2. Make your advertising mobile. According to emarketer, time spent with smartphones and tablets increasingly skews towards mobile apps, rather than mobile website. In fact, app usage accounted for almost 90% of smartphone time, and over 75% of tablet time in 2017. That’s a lot of time for the 81% of adults in the US that own a mobile device and the 52% that own a tablet. In addition to that, businesses have spent, in total, more than $58 billion on mobile. We know people are spending money on mobile, and we know that people spend a lot of time on mobile. What exactly is it? Mobile Advertising, what we refer to as Mobile Conquesting is using location based, demographic, and behavioral targeting to reach consumers with digital ads (display and video) on their mobile devices (smartphones and tablets). There is so much versatility with Mobile Conquesting, one of the major reasons a lot of local advertisers turn to this product to advertise. From specifically targeting competitors and events to promoting your business only during the time it rains are just some of the capabilities of Mobile Conquesting. ROI is important to everyone, and one way to do that with mobile is to track in-store visits, for those of you with brick and mortar locations. Wouldn’t it be nice to know how many people are walking into your store because of your digital campaign?
3. Hyperlocal advertising is the new black. Local advertisers have the ability to determine the geographical area where your ads are served. We refer to this as geo-targeting. This can be done in many ways. You could start with targeting a specific mile radius around your business. You could target your ads to be displayed only in certain zip codes. You can also target the city in which your business is located. There are ways to scale larger too, but for small and medium size businesses, those are the best ways to start. Focus on your local area, one of the biggest benefits of digital marketing. Then, as you grow, you can expand your targeting area. Being able to focus on your community, on your neighborhood, and in only the areas that matter for your business is one of the reasons advertisers love digital. You can zero in on what’s most important to you.
4. You can track metrics with digital. With digital advertising, you have access to so much data. It just depends on what you want to see. For starters, Google Analytics is a great, free, tool that Google has that can be installed on your website. It’s easy to learn as they have free classes. It’s straight forward and you can go at your own pace.
We provide monthly reports that include impressions, clicks, conversions, and view throughs on all reports. In addition, for certain products we are also able to provide website/app breakout, creative performance, device performance, and top keywords. View-throughs are when someone sees your ad online, they don’t click on it, but venture to your site at a later time. Those are important because not everyone clicks on ads. They may see the ad and come to your site later, or they may just open up a new tab on their browser so they don’t lose their spot. Either way, we track those. Conversions, mentioned above, are key. This is what you want someone to do when they come to your website. Do you want them to fill out a contact form? Apply for financing? Start a live chat with one of our agents? Tracking conversions tells you what people are doing when they come to your website after being served your ad.
5. Use video when you can Not every business has video they can use as part of their creative. However, you can create video easily. With apps like Ripl and Legend, making video ads has become a lot easier, especially for the small to medium size business that can’t pay outrageous production fees. Some of the best performing video ads we have run were actually “homemade” video ads shot by clients on their smartphones.
Why should you use video in your marketing when possible? 80% of internet users can remember a video ad they have seen in the last 30 days. Also, 90% of consumers claim that video will help them make a purchasing decision. Video can be King, as long as it’s a good video.
6. Diversify. One of the best abilities that digital advertising has is the ability to utilize many digital platforms/products at the same time. One of the newest forms of digital advertising out there is OTT or “Over The Top” video advertising. With the ability to target the “cord cutters”, this new platform can serve ads on Roku, Slingbox and even TV apps like Fox and CBS. There are 168.1 million people watching content through services like these. That’s a lot of people that you can be advertising to and send in your direction that you might not be able to reach if you are only doing broadcast TV and cable.
7. Ad spending is affordable. We all have marketing budgets. With Digital Advertising, though, it is so streamlined. With services starting as low as a penny per impression, digital can be purchased by any company. Here’s the kicker… you get to target a much more specific audience of users: Those most likely to be interested in your product or service. There is so much data out there that allows us access to it so businesses like yours can target effectively. Some companies will have a Digital Buyer or hire a company to do the ad buying for them. This accomplishes a few things. One, it cuts down the amount of time you need to spend researching how to accomplish everything we’ve talked about above. It allows you to focus on running the business that you own. Lastly, it allows you to be provided with reporting on how well your campaign is performing.
8. It can be easy to understand. The key here is to find yourself an expert. That may be your local radio station, TV station, newspaper publishing company or ad agency. We’ve all learned the information inside and out, and can break it down in a very simple, clear manner that allows you to understand it. Just because you don’t know the world of digital advertising doesn’t mean it’s complicated. It’s not. Find yourself the right partner that can explain it to you, one that you trust, and that is truly interested in helping your company grow.
Digital advertising is growing. More and more businesses are spending more and more money because it works. We are all spending more time online, which means you have more opportunity to reach your targeting audience while they browse on their favorite device. Invest in yourself. Invest in your company. Invest in Digital Advertising. It has become a must have as part of your marketing mix.https://www.forlawfirmsonly.com/8-things-to-know-about-digital-advertising/
Judge caught on video grabbing employee by the neck is suspended during disciplinary case
Ethics
Image from Shutterstock.com.
The Florida Supreme Court suspended a Broward County judge without pay Friday after she was accused of grabbing an employee’s neck for failing to prepare her afternoon docket at the expected time.
The court suspended Judge Vegina “Gina” Hawkins while her disciplinary case is pending, report the Miami Herald and the Broward Palm Beach New Times. The June 11 incident was captured on a courthouse security camera, according to the disciplinary complaint filed Thursday by the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission. The Daily Business Review and Law360 have coverage of the allegations.
According to the complaint, Hawkins interrupted the employee’s work in another courtroom and summoned him into a hallway. As he walked through the door, Hawkins placed her hands on the employee’s neck and shook him, the complaint says.
Hawkins reported the incident to the commission in a letter that said she “jokingly reached toward” the employee as if to grab him. “I was in no way upset, and at no time did I yell at him,” Hawkins said.
“While it is my contention that I never actually touched him, it is clear that I invaded his personal space, for which I am truly sorry,” Hawkins wrote.
The commission had recommended the suspension, citing “the exceptionally inappropriate physical contact” and her contention that she never touched the employee. The statement “is clearly refuted by the security video,” the commission said.
During questioning in a July 12 hearing before an investigative panel, Hawkins finally acknowledged that she touched and shook the employee, according to the commission. Hawkins attributed her earlier assertion that she didn’t touch the employee to the grainy quality of the video and the fact that she was crying when she watched it.
July 23, 2019, 11:31 am CDT
Image from Shutterstock.com.
Lawyer accused of defrauding his law firm by secretly referring its clients to outside lawyers
Criminal Justice
Image from Shutterstock.com.
Federal prosecutors have accused a Pennsylvania personal injury lawyer of defrauding his law firm out of about $4.2 million in legal fees and costs by secretly referring its clients to outside lawyers and taking a cut of the recovery.
Prosecutors in Philadelphia charged 64-year-old Neil Mittin of Huntingdon Valley with one count of mail fraud, report Law360 and the Philadelphia Business Journal.
Mittin worked at his firm, Gay Chacker & Mittin, for 38 years, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal. The firm has since changed its name to Gay & Chacker.
Mittin would receive referral fees averaging 33% to 40% of contingency fees obtained by the outside lawyers, as well as reimbursement for costs incurred by his firm before the referrals, prosecutors alleged in a press release.
Prosecutors said Mittin referred the clients to outside lawyers, although they didn’t request it. Often, the clients didn’t know that their matter was being referred to another lawyer.
Mittin allegedly hid his conduct from the firm by making it appear that the cases weren’t viable and by closing the case files without listing a settlement or resolution. His conduct happened over the course of 10 years, prosecutors say.
Mittin mostly handled lower-value personal injury matters at his law firm that did not result in trials, according to the federal court filing charges, filed July 18. He received an annual salary at the firm and only received a percentage of financial recoveries in his matters when he achieved a set benchmark.
Mittin’s lawyer did not comment when contacted by the Philadelphia Business Journal. He did not immediately respond to a message left by the ABA Journal at a number listed for him online.
July 23, 2019, 3:37 pm CDT
Image from Shutterstock.com.
LinkedIn Users Can Now List the Services They Offer on Their Profile via @MattGSouthern
LinkedIn is adding a new feature to user profiles allowing people to list the professional services they offer to clients.
This creates an opportunity for users to market their services outside of their business page and possibly connect with new prospects.
The new services section in LinkedIn profiles will also be a helpful way for people to communicate exactly what it is they do for work.
Just think – how many times have you had to explain to someone what an SEO does? Now you can clearly list the services you perform in your profile.
To update your profile with a list of services, follow the steps below:
- Visit your profile page and look for a box under the profile photo/headline that prompts you to add information about the services you provide.
- Click “Add Services.”
- Fill out the form to provide details about the services you provide.
- Click “continue” and the information will be added to your profile.
This feature is first being rolled out to people in the US who have a Premium Business subscription. It will be available to everyone this fall.
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