It was another busy week in the world, with major headlines about the rapid growth of bitcoin, further developments on the Brexit transition, and a vote to repeal Net Neutrality in the United States. On The LexBlog Network, our attorneys discussed these issues and a wide variety of other topics, and this week’s Top 10 features a post about the impact of fertility issues on couples from Cynthia Brown of Brown Law Offices; a guest post from Romano I. Peluso for Perkins Coie, with an update on the state of Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria; and an interview with Ian R. Macdonald and Kristen W. Ng, of Greenberg Traurig, on new developments with President Trump’s travel ban.

We wish you a safe and happy weekend, and we’ll see you next week with a holiday installment of the Top 10!

Legal Ethics in Marijuana Law – By Mike Vitiello on CAP Impact: In my previous post, I mentioned that many areas of marijuana law are complex and that I would discuss legal ethical issues that marijuana attorneys face. It is critical to remember that every use of marijuana violates federal law, even in states like California, where the state allows medical or recreational use. That can create problems for attorneys who work with their clients who are in the marijuana business. View Full Post

How Do Fertility Issues Affect Couples? – By Cynthia Brown of Minnesota Family Law Blog: For many couples, the idea of having a child is integral to their vision of the future. So when infertility interferes with these plans, what can you do about it? What are your options? First, consider some sobering science. A study of 47,515 Danish women found that those who did not conceive following fertility treatments were three times more likely to divorce than those who successfully had children. Per the researchers, “After up to 12 years of follow up, nearly 27% of the women were no longer living with the person with whom they had lived at the time of the fertility evaluation. Women who did not have a child after the evaluation had significantly higher odds ratios for ending a relationship up to 12 years after the evaluation… than women who had a child.” View Full Post

Preventing #MeToo in the Workplace: How Employers Talk the Talk And Walk the Walk – By Kyla Miller, Megan P. Toth, and Erin Dougherty Foley of Employment Law Lookout: Gone are the days where sexual harassment training will be enough. It’s time to shift the workplace focus from just ticking a box (i.e., training complete) to creating a culture where harassment (or discrimination) of any kind is truly not tolerated.  Promptly and effectively responding to such allegations is one step in the right direction.  This is the second article in a three-part series addressing sexual harassment in the workplace, which looks closely at corporate culture and provides tips on how companies might avoid being the next sexual harassment headline. View Full Post

Most of Puerto Rico is Still Without Electricity After Three Months – By Romano I. Peluso, guest blogging on Corporate Trust Insider: Hurricane Irma hit Puerto Rico on September 6. Hurricane Maria, a category 4 storm, struck the island on September 20 and was the most powerful storm to hit the island in nearly a century. President Donald Trump had pledged a quick recovery, but experts said it could take months. Increasing criticism was made that the response by the U.S. government had been sluggish. After three months, large areas of Puerto Rico are still without electricity. According to the latest government reports, so far only 60.4 percent of the pre-storm power grid load has been restored. View Full Post

Morrisons found vicariously liable for a data breach committed by one of its employees – By Cynthia O’Donoghue, John O’Brien, and Eleanor Brooks on Technology Law Dispatch: Following a recent ruling by the High Court against WM Morrisons Supermarket PLC (“Morrisons”), employers may now find themselves vicariously liable for data breaches perpetrated by their employees. In 2014, it was discovered that a file containing the pay roll data of 99,998 Morrisons’ employees had been uploaded to a file sharing website. This data included names, dates of birth, addresses, national insurance numbers, and details of employees’ salaries and bank accounts. Following an investigation, it was revealed that one of Morrisons’ employees, Andrew Skelton – a senior IT auditor – had copied the data which he was supposed to send to KPMG, Morrisons’ external auditors, to a personal USB drive. Mr Skelton then uploaded this data to a file-sharing website. View Full Post

Be Careful Asking About Employees’ (Non) Prescription Drug Use – By Fiona W. Ong of Labor & Employment Report: Many employers have drug-free workplace policies that require employees to disclose if they are taking prescription (and perhaps over-the-counter drugs) that could affect their ability to perform the essential functions of their job safely and/or effectively. This requirement seems pretty sensible, right? But according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, it violates the Americans with Disabilities Act! View Full Post

Third Time’s a Charm? Greenberg Traurig’s Team Breaks down Trump’s Latest Travel Ban – By Mellina Cusick on The LexBlog Network: Cases, appeals, and new versions of the Trump administration’s so-called travel ban continue to dominate the news. We turned to two experts in The LexBlog Network to break down the third version of the travel ban and what it means for employers and employees alike. Greenberg Traurig, LLP’s Ian R. Macdonald, shareholder and Co-Chair of the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice’s International Employment, Immigration & Workforce Strategies group, and Kristen W. Ng, an associate focused on business immigration and compliance matters, including legislative issues, tell us what’s next. Their analysis of future developments can be found via their blog, Inside Business Immigration. View Full Post

What Makes Blockchain So Special? And Why Does it Matter (So Much) for Cannabis – By Julie Hamill on Canna Law Blog: Following my last post about blockchain technology and the cannabis industry, a Canna Law Blog reader commented, “[m]aybe I’m missing something. How is this better than just scanning a barcode when the item changes hands like they do with FedEx?” Great question. I asked similar questions early on in my work with blockchain technology. What differentiates blockchain from applications like DocuSign, DropBox and Google Drive which already provide a shared, instantaneous and relatively secure system. View Full Post

The FCC Just Voted to End Net Neutrality- Lawyers Discuss – By Isabelle Minasian on The LexBlog Network: Earlier this morning, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted 3-2 to repeal the 2015 Obama-era net neutrality rules. In a statement from the agency, the move “will protect consumers at far less cost to investment than the prior rigid and wide-ranging utility rules,” but there are many who oppose this change, including Mignon Clyburn, the Commissioner of the FCC. Mignon wrote, “I dissent. I dissent from this fiercely-spun, legally-lightweight, consumer-harming, corporate-enabling Destroying Internet Freedom Order.” According to an FCC rep, and reported by Seth Fiegerman, it may take “up to several months” for the repeal to be formally approved by the Office of Management and Budget. Until the repeal is approved, the rules will remain as they are. Net neutrality is a complex subject, so we’ve gathered together some of the best posts on the topic from our network of expert law bloggers. Check out the links below, to learn more about net neutrality, and the impact this repeal could have. View Full Post

Twitter is better all around for lawyers at 280 characters than 140 – By Kevin O’Keefe on Real Lawyers Have Blogs: When I saw that Twitter was considering increasing its character limit from 140 characters, I saw it as a bad thing. A company struggling in the financial community’s eyes making changes for the sake of change – not vision. I also saw an increase as making for a poor user experience. People would start to use Twitter for more than it is, short quips with a link for getting more. People who don’t know how to use social media, often marketers and communication professionals, would broadcast more, believing more characters was more, not less. And with longer tweets, the ability to scroll would be harder as columns on Twitter’s home page and lists would be twice as long. I was wrong. Twitter with the 280 character is a better experience — and more valuable for those looking to learn, share, engage, nurture relationships and build a name. All the stuff smart lawyers and other professionals are after. View Full Post