Recently, the Second Circuit Court in New York heard oral arguments concerning Rescuecom V. Google. If Rescuecom eventually wins, the case could have strong implications as to the future of trademark use.

Here’s what’s going on in language I can understand. Google makes its money by selling ads, just like television networks, radio shows, and other forms of media. Unlike this other media, Google sells ‘keywords’ or AdWords to sponsors so their site pops up when a user types in something specific. For example, if you search for ‘monkeys’ a link to PawsWeb.org displays on the far right with the header, “Adopt a Monkey”. PawsWeb.org ‘bought’ the keyword “monkeys” so that every time someone does a search for that term, their site displays. Whenever someone clicks their link, they pay Google some amount of money. Lawyerahead.ca generates vast of amount of traffic by purchasing keywords also. For example the keyword ‘Lawyer‘.  This is good for Google (revenue) and good for PawsWeb.org (increased monkey adoptions). But, what if you typed in something more specific, let’s say a company’s name and a link with that same company’s name (but not the company itself) appears in the top and side ad bars? Thinking it’s the actual company, you click on the link and are directed to some other company’s website.

That’s basically what the case is about. Rescuecom is suing Google because they auctioned the AdWord “Rescuecom” to someone. So whenever you searched (it doesn’t work anymore) for “Rescuecom” a link up top and a link on the side displayed that had nothing to do with the company, Rescuecom. This, as Rescuecom argues, creates confusion and infringes upon their trademark.

The case was dismissed years ago, but the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York decided the lower court was wrong to dismiss it. The panel claimed that, “If the searcher sees a different brand name as the top entry in response to the search for ‘Rescuecom,’ the searcher is likely to believe mistakenly that the different name which appears is affiliated with the brand name sought in the search.”

Oral arguments for the case are rather entertaining and can be viewed here.

In our previous posts we covered the first 3 steps one should take shall he or she is faced with a personal injury.

Step 1:  Meeting Your Lawyer

Step 2:  Starting a Lawsuit

Step 3:  Resolving Case before Trial

Step 4 of a personal injury case is Settlement.  In personal injury cases, the Settlement stage can occur at any moment of time, even before the lawsuit if both parties are willing to settle the case outside the court.  An agreement is reached outside the court if both parties can agree upon a sum of money from the defendant or the insurance company.  It is important to note here that in a settlement stage, a settlement can be reached without the lawyer’s help.  However it is also important to note that a lawyer that has reviewed your case has a better understanding of the right settlement amount much better than you may do.  We can’t speak on behalf of your negotations skills, but a safe bet would be to go through a lawyer.

Step 5 of a Personal Injury case is the Trial stage.  The trial stage in a Personal Injury case isn’t very different from a trial stage of a criminal case for example.  The difference here is that only in rare occurences do a personal injury case goes to trial.  But if the case could not be settled outside the courtroom, both parties will need to go through the trial stage.  A jury is selected, the facts will be presented and reviewed, and the jury ultimately chooses the outcome of the case based on the presented facts.

Stage 6 of a personal injury case is Collecting the money.  After the trial is completed, there is the so-called Collecting Money stage.  At this stage the side that lost will be required to pay compensation to the other side.  There are generally two types of scenarios at this stage.  On one hand, the defendant is able to pay the money and on the other hand defendant is unable to pay the compensation.  In the event of the first scenario the compensation is usually paid immediately to avoid any further expenses that may be incurred due to payment delays.  In the second scenario one can expect many permutations of solutions and that depends on the financial health of the company or individual.   For example, if the lost part files for bankruptcy, the ability to collect the full settlement amount will be limited.  An experienced lawyer will help in defining the possible ways of payment and inform his or her client of all the possible limitations of collection as set by the law.

The final stage of a personal injury case is Appeal.  The defendant can still go through the appeal stage shall he or she is not happy with the verdict in the trial stage.  The lawyer of the other party prapares a brief with arguments that the decision of the lower court was wrong and pass that along to the higher court.  the higher court then reviews only the process of the trial and searches for possible mistakes concerning the case.  If the appeal courts’ decision hasn’t satisfied the attorney and his or her client, the case could be passed on to the Supreme Court.  Again this is very rare in a personal injury case as most are resolved before trial.  Get a top lawyer for your personal injury case through Lawyer Ahead.  It is simply the best way to find a lawyer in Canada.

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania may overturn hundreds of sentences doled out by Judge Mark Ciavarella and Michael T. Conahan, who both plead guilty to fraud charges earlier this month. The judges were charged with receiving kickbacks from private detention centers to, in essence, fill the bunks. The saddest part is it was kids filling those bunks.

The bizarre story begins back in 2002 with Ciavarella overseeing juvenile courts and Conahan in charge of the Luzerne County budget. They argued to privatize juvenile detention centers, stating the county-run centers were in poor condition. Conahan used part of the county’s budget to fund the leasing of the private facilities, PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care. Then they started sentencing.

Some 1200 cases are expected to be overturned. The state’s high court intends to expunge the records of first-time offenders convicted by the judges, many of whom were not allowed a lawyer nor legal representation. Such convictions include Hillary Transue’s who was sentenced to three months for making fun of an assistant principal on MySpace and Kurt Kruger’s five months for shoplifting.

For their efforts, Ciavarella and Conahan received $2.6 million in kickbacks. To date, the two detention centers doing the kicking have not been charged with anything, which proves the old adage, “It’s better to give than to receive.”

Toronto Lawyers and Vancouver Lawyers who specialize in criminal law and represent clients related to criminal charges can be found at www.lawyerahead.ca

The leasing process begins by signing an “offer to lease”. These contain the fundamental terminology featured in the full lease. Negotiating the conditions included in the lease is usually done at this stage. Whatever conditions and penalties for breaking the lease should be included.

Unlike residential leases, commercial leases are less regulated. Here are some of the basic concepts included in most commercial leases.

The contract contains the length, location, and cost of the lease. These are pretty basic and should be expected. It is more of a formality to define what exactly the tenant is renting, for how long they are renting it, and how much they will pay the property owner for usage. Payments may be in lump sum form or differentiate between utilities, taxes and other costs.

Leasing contracts specify insurance and physical obligations of the tenant. Some proprietors may require the tenant to insure the space for the duration of the lease. They may opt to specify what can and cannot be done by the tenant to maintain solidarity for their policy as well. As far as physical obligation, this section goes further to limit what tenants can and cannot do to the property. It could be written, for instance that a tenant agrees to complete the space’s transformation from a massage parlor into an art gallery. Or, it may specify that at no time during the lease the tenant install a horse stable. These clauses tend to be rather open-ended to that effect.

Contracts spell out the attornment, non-disturbance and subordination rights of the tenant. This is about when the tenants rights are ‘subordinate’ or subject to the rights of a landlord’s creditors and when the tenant’s rights are senior. These offer assurance to a lender that the tenant will continue being the tenant under the new landlord or will ‘attorn to the lender’ if, in fact, they foreclose on the property. The non-disturbance portion preserves the tenant’s rights to the building even if the property owner defaults on their mortgage and the creditor forecloses.

Lastly, the lease contains provisions for default and special rights. Default clauses lay out what recompense the landlord is due if the tenant defaults. The special rights clause detail what rights the tenant has in regards to expanding, lease renewal & termination, and any incentives the property owner offers for entering into the lease.

After negotiating, the final lease is drawn up and signed.

This whole process is intricate and being cautious is wise. To avoid future regrets, it is best to get help from a lawyer. An experienced real-estate attorney, well versed in local and provincial laws can lead you through the process, circumnavigating the many pitfalls and risks.  To find Toronto Lawyers, Vancouver Lawyers and Lawyers, use Lawyerahead.ca.

The night began well. You and your friends were out celebrating by barhopping and doing all sorts of interesting drugs. Your significant other decided to pass out and you chose to head home, because you both had to be at work tomorrow. Everything went fine until the police pulled you over and charged you with your first DUI. Being an upstanding citizen and all, this was a new experience for you. After drunkenly bribing the cops and resisting arrest, you find yourself incarcerated. Now you need a lawyer. Here are some questions and tips you should know when consulting with your attorney for the first time.

Ottawa Personal Injury Lawyer

 Ask the lawyer what their background and experience are. Some attorneys go into private practice right after graduation and may not possess the experience your case demands. Those with an extensive background in a Public Defender’s Office have put in more courtroom time and will know more of the ins and outs.

Be wary of lawyers who promise to get you off. Emotions can run high when charges are pending and some seek unreasonable assurances. Having an attorney tell you what you want to hear is not what you want. Make sure the attorney listens to the entire case, observes the evidence against you, and ‘knows’ the case before they make any sweeping claims. Empty promises do you no good.

Are they handling the case or a paralegal? Many times this is reflected in the price. An experienced lawyer commands larger sums than a junior attorney or paralegal, because in essence, they’ve earned it. It is important to make sure the lawyer you want to represent you is actually representing you.

How much? Fees vary based on the case type, the attorney’s level of experience, and many other factors. Try to find an attorney who offers free consultations. These consultations are your chance to interview him or her and gauge whether or not they are worth their fee. Asking about the payment structure is a good idea as well. Is it a flat fee? Hourly? What about additional charges? Even if you have to spend a few extra dollars to get what you need, know that a lawyer you can trust and does a good job is priceless.

Finally, do they seem trustworthy? Asking an attorney if they are trustworthy is probably not the best tact, but asking yourself is. Some lawyers may be more interested in the paycheck than in your case. Ultimately, it is important to find an attorney that gives you a sense of confidence, because at the end of the day, you need piece of mind knowing that the person representing you is someone you can trust.

For more information on Toronto Lawyers, Vancouver Lawyers, Ottawa Lawyers, Brampton Lawyers, Hamilton Lawyers, Mississauga Lawyers and local Lawyers in your geographic region, simply go to http://www.lawyerahead.ca/, post your case, and have lawyers with varying experiences, fees and expertise contact you with their proposal. 

We help thousands of clients find the right legal needs, whether they be a small business owner, come from a middle-class family, have a multi-million dollar mansion or even cannot afford the legal services but need it anyway.  We wish you all the best with you legal matter - you deserve the best services you can get.  Visit http://www.lawyerahead.ca/ in Canada.

Open the Yellow Pages and you’ll find page after page after page of legal advertisements. They are generally categorized by ’specialty’, but all of them seem to be specialists in multiple areas of the law. The sheer number of ads is astonishing.

“Well, here’s a nice advertisement. Big letters, toll-free phone number, a nice picture of a classy office and a distinguished gentleman.” Guess what? You’ve just figured out which law firm is good at advertising. You have, in effect, selected the best ad writer, not the best lawyer for your circumstances. And pages of ads, all offering the same ‘free consultation’ doesn’t help either.

You shouldn’t choose a lawyer like you would choose a plumber. Rather, finding a lawyer to take on your case is more like finding a doctor to treat your illness. You are going to develop a long-term relationship with your attorney – a relationship built on trust and communication. The Yellow Pages will not help you here. In fact, they can hurt you.

The advertisements will not tell you how much a lawyer charges. They will not tell you who pays the law firm if you lose your case. Did you know that you might be responsible for paying the attorney fees if your case doesn’t result in a collection? What about expenses related to investigating and pursuing your case? Who pays for those?

All of these questions and more can only be answered in person. You will need more than a phone call, you will need to interview a few lawyers to find one that you trust to handle your matter. Someone you can be confident in and a firm you can rely on.

Put the Yellow Pages away. Take some time to investigate both your type of case and local attorneys on lothe Internet. Lawyer Ahead is a great place to start as it carries the most comprehensive information on a lawyer and only publishes lawyers that meet its minimum publishing standards.  Set up an appointment (usually free) and ask some key questions:

1. Does my case have merit?
2. Who pays if I lose? How much of any judgment will go toward attorney fees and expenses if I win my suit?
3. What is the expected outcome and how will your firm get me there?
4. What is your track record with my type of case?
5. Who else could you recommend in this area of law?

Remember, what you want is someone who can guide you through the legal minefield, someone with expertise and someone you trust who you can communicate well with. Leave the Yellow Pages for when you need lawn service or snow removal.

To get more information on Vancouver Lawyers, Toronto Lawyers, Ottawa Lawyers, Brampton Lawyers and Mississauga Lawyers, please visit www.lawyerahead.ca

Social media forums are growing rapidly. Millions of internet users have accounts with sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube, dedicating many hours of week to attend to and build their networks. It is a logical step for lawyers to start using these free sites to market his or her law firm.

Many Lawyers have a website as a formality. These sites tend to go into little depth about the firm, usually with brief blurbs about their history and contact information. In turn, these sites shortchange the firm of potential business. By utilizing social networking sites like Facebook and LawyerAhead, a lawyer connects with millions of potential clients.

Rex Gradeless is a prime example of social media’s potential. Rex is a third-year law student at the St. Louis school of Law. After joining Twitter in November 2008, Rex built his following to six thousand in two months. He attributes his following to his daily link sharing to those that follow him. The potential benefits of social media are shown by what Rex said during an interview with LexBlog. “I send about 15-20 useful, or interesting, links a day to those following me. These links range from topics including (but not limited to) social media, web 2.0 technologies, lawyer tech tips and legal marketing with social media. From there, I began to talk with those in the legal community and build relationships. People enjoyed my links so much that I quickly gained, and have maintained, a substantial following in the legal community.” To date, Rex7, Rex Gradeless’ username, has over ten thousand followers.

Although many will not find their following grow as quickly as Rex’s, Twitter is catching on like wildfire. They say when you first try it you will not get it. Twitter is a mixture of blogging and text messaging, limiting posts to 140 characters. This is still in its infancy yet many people are “getting it” and growing Twitter by leaps and bounds. One would be tempted to cop out and create a generic “firm” Twitter account, but in Smashing Magazine’s article, “8 Useful Tips to Become Successful with Twitter”, Paul Boag makes it clear that you need to keep it personal.

The speed at which one is able to build relationships and connections with the use of these sites is remarkable. As it stands, LinkedIn has 30 million users, Facebook gets 132 million unique visitors per month, Twitter is the fastest growing social network, and Youtube is the second largest search engine. All of these comprehensive services are excellent ways to get a lawyer’s name and the name of her firm out there. 

Learn more about Lawyer Ahead Inc.’s social networking features and see how you can reach many potential clients.

Despite the crisis in the global automotive industry there is still a huge number of cars on the streets of every city. Huge number of cars lead to huge number of crashes, even if everyone is extra careful. And the number of deaths, injuries and damages in this accidents is huge, so be sure to keep in mind some of the following things in case you will have your car crashed.

You need to report to the police about the accident as soon as possible, just be sure to do all the needed things to collect evidence about the accident. After the cops arrive at the place of accident, the accident area will definitely become a more crowded place, so be sure to keep some evidence of the initial crash site. As we already wrote if someone is seriously injured it is a different situation and you need to report to the cops immediately.

So after the initial things we will step to more law related stuff. First thing that you need to know – do not take any fault. Even if you are guilty, the whole situation in the end will be solved by insurance companies and car accident lawyers and they will tell you what you need to do.

The next most important step is gathering information. Get other drivers info, license plate numbers, driver’s license numbers, full names, telephone numbers and addresses. It will be very useful to film the crash site, the best helper will be the camera in your phone, or better a digital camera. You need to capture the position of the vehicles and damages. It will help you to charge money if your car was also damaged by the tow truck, that dragged it away. Also do not try to repair the other drivers’ car, except when the repair is small and is needed to start the car. Get some info from neutral witnesses who saw the accident. Try to make a clear and detailed picture of the accident and the contact your insurance company and describe the situation.  Find top lawyers for your accident by posting your case on Lawyer Ahead - its as easy as step 1, 2, 3 and it is the best, free way to find a lawyer.

The last thing is the most important one. After you’re done with everything try to relax, you are still alive and damaged property is not such a huge problem.

We have all seen lawyers on television promising the world at low, low fees. These and other ethical affronts hurt firms in the end. The good name lawyers have developed for themselves over the years (illustrated by thousands of lawyer jokes) makes it not only important, but also necessary to be ethical when advertising your firm.

In regards to advertising, the Canadian Bar Association states “Lawyer should make legal services available to the public in an efficient and convenient manner that will command respect and confidence, and by means that are compatible with the integrity, independence and effectiveness of the profession.” Many times, an advertisement is a client’s first impression of a law firm and being ethical from the beginning is important. The basic intentions of advertising are clear-cut but seem to get lost in the fold at times. Mainly, you want to get your name out there, inform people about your “product” (legal services), and explain how you can deliver good results. Name recognition is important but how reputable that name appears is important as well. As tempting as it may be, it is important not to overpromise results or misrepresent past victories. Using these tactics lowers the industry as a whole and breeds false expectations in clients. Although doing this may get clients in the door, it tends to eliminate the potential for long-term representation opportunities and referrals which are both key to success.

As many in business know, repeat customers and word of mouth advertising are vital to growth. Unethical advertising breeds mistrust and future disappointment. Being straight with clients and realistic about costs, expected settlements, and time in court creates a base for clients to build trust. When you say “free” mean it. “Free” consultations charged later through added fees or billing manipulation are not free and may be quite costly when it comes to reputation.

Being ethical when advertising and in practice creates a standard higher than designated by law. A lawyer benefits in the long run by staying clear of unethical practices. They eliminate the chance of lawsuits stemming from false advertising or misrepresenting themselves, which of course can cripple a firm. They increase their clientele through word of mouth and repeat business all the while maintaining a strong reputation. Most importantly, clients deserve a little honesty from their attorneys so why not give it to them.

A contract is a legally binding agreement between two or more persons for a particular purpose. In general, contracts are always formed on the same pattern. A person offers to give another person something; to provide a service or to refrain from doing something. If the offer is accepted, the contract is then valid in principle.

A contract is, therefore an agreement that legally binds the parties to the agreement to do (or not do) what the contract stipulates. The essential elements of a contract are the offer, acceptance, and consideration.

Common law is the system of law that evolved from the decisions of the English royal courts of justice since the Norman Conquest (1066). Today the common law, considered more broadly to include statutes as well as decisions, applies in most English-speaking countries, including all Canadian provinces except Québec. Civil Law is the system of law that evolved from the Roman law compilations of the Emperor Justinian. Today it is found in countries of continental Europe as well as their former colonies and, in Canada, in Québec. Canadian common law and Québec civil law generally follow similar rules in this regard, that is a contract legally entered into represents a legal bond between the parties. Parties are free to contract whenever and for whatever reason they wish.

Five conditions that must be met for a contract to be legally binding

Mutual Consent

The first condition is that there should be mutual consent of both parties. In other words there must be an offer by one side and an acceptance of the offer by the person to whom the offer was made.

Contractual capacity

The second condition is the contractual capacity of both the parties. For a contract to be enforceable it must be between competent parties. All persons are legally authorized to enter into a contract except for the following:

• Minors, who are above 18 years of age,

• Mentally incompetent persons,

• Person who is ineligible from entering into the contract by law.

Purpose

The third condition is that the contract should have an object or a purpose; it must concern a specific and agreed-upon good or service.

Lawful Cause

The fourth requirement of a valid contract is that its provisions be legal. If a purported contract requires an illegal act, the result is a void contract. Parties to an illegal contract have no standing in court. If one party receives money or property under an illegal contract, the other may not sue to recover what was paid under the contract. Contracts to commit crimes or to engage in immoral acts are void.

Written formalities

The fifth condition, which is not required in all cases, is the compliance in certain circumstances to formalities provided by law such as, for instance, a valid written instrument.

Lawyer Ahead, Inc. has the best business lawyers you can find in Canada. To find a lawyer for your legal needs, post your case and have lawyers contact you with their expertise. Easy as step 1, 2, 3.