There’s a monumental case at the Supreme Court that has got me obsessed, bewitched, enraged and mildly despondent. Technically, it’s called Integrity Staffing v. Busk. It actually is Amazon v. Amazon’s warehouse workers. (Integrity Staffing is the subcontractor stooge hired by Amazon to employ its warehouse workers). After Amazon…
Chobani and Dov Seidman Wrestle Over Use of ‘How’ Trademark
October 8, 2014
I predict this is going to end badly for Dov Seidman. Seidman, who uses “How Matters” as his content calling card, is suing Chobani yogurt for its new “How Matters” ad campaign. Seidman can win if he can show two things; First, that his trademark is distinctive enough to not be…
Justices Weighing Wages for After-Work Screenings in Amazon Case
October 7, 2014
I’m pretty much obsessed with this case. Amazon – and the companies Amazon hires to deal with its warehouse employees – make its employees go through security screens before they leave work. The employees have to hike up to 20 minutes at the end of their physically brutal shift to get to the…
LegalSifter Demystifies Legal Contracts
August 19, 2014
A disruptor has developed software that scans a contract to tell you what’s wrong with it. It’s billed as a solution for non-lawyers. Lawyers will freak, but that’s not why I like it. I like it because it could be a quality control tool for lawyers – like me…
Want to CYA? Jump up on this sturdy 3-legged stool.
September 17, 2013
There are 3 kinds of risks: the risk that you’ll get screwed or sued; the risk that you’ll get in a fight and the risk that you’ll lose the fight. These risks are ever present. The only way to avoid these risks completely is to stay on your couch….
Robin Thicke Has Got to Give It Up
September 11, 2013
The first time I heard Blurred Lines, I assumed Robin Thicke had sampled parts of Marvin Gaye’s Got to Give it Up. Not just because the feel of the songs is similar – I also heard common elements and grooves. Trouble is, the Gaye family also thought Robin Thicke took…
Learn the different parts of a contract from the Beatles: Baby, you’re a rich man. Baby, you’re a rich man. Baby, you’re a rich man too.
Today on The Profit and Laws Radio Hour In 1978, Apple had cool new computers, but no operating system and no one on their lean staff who could code one quickly. They had started publicizing the Apple II, but they couldn’t get to market without an operating system. Steve…
If you want to go out of business, then just keep treating your employees like replaceable drones.
February 18, 2013
I don’t care whether you run a bagel shop or a car manufacturer. Once you forget that your employees are living humans, you begin marking time until you close up shop. Why? Because your business thrives on workers who give a shit – about the customer, the business and their…
You are just like any of the guys who rode against Lance Armstrong and lost. Those guys – clean or not – lost to a world-class cheater. Tests and testers failed to pick up on the constant doping and blood-swapping in trailers on the side of the race routes….