Category Archives: Business Law
The Law of the Loo
I don’t think about public restrooms much, and I think about the legalities of them even less. However, there have been three specific instances in my life when I have had a reason to assess where the law and the loo intersect. The first was back in my days working retail. I regularly found… Read More »
From Texas to Mars- How a Little South Texas Village Has Become the Epicenter for the Colonization of the Red Planet
“Mars Colony 1 to Starbase, over”….“Copy Mars Colony 1, this is Starbase, go ahead” – These are phrases we have only dreamed about through our favorite Sci-Fi movies and books, but what if the reality of a colony on Mars was closer than any of us realize? Better yet…what if the staging point for… Read More »
Protecting the Covid-19 Heroes and Is Help on the Way?
First responders and health care professionals are at greatest risk of exposure to Covid-19, yet their daily job responsibilities are a crucial component of keeping the rest of the population healthy and virus free. Clearly without healthy first responders; police officers, EMT’s, firemen, doctors, nurses, hospital staff and the support staff, the rest of… Read More »
Warnings Great and Small, Who Standardizes Them All?
My daughter, who has recently reached the “bazillion questions” stage of toddlerhood, is currently obsessed with warning signs. I cannot seem to go anywhere without her spotting some sign or decal with a picture inside of a bold, red triangle or inside of a circle with a slash through it and asking what it… Read More »
The Public Information Act: An Open Government for the People
The Texas Public Information Act (the “Public Information Act” or the “Act”), largely influenced by the Sharpstown Stock-Fraud Scandal in 1969 and later adopted in 1973, lays the foundation for the policy of open government, allowing the public to maintain control over the instruments created by and for the people. Attorney General of Texas,… Read More »
And/Or: Which Is It? Avoiding Ambiguity in Legal Writing
You know the “Conjunction Junction” song from the School House Rock series, right? Sure you do. It’s the kind of thing that you only need to encounter once for it to become an earworm for life. There you go—it’s in your head now, isn’t it. Well, believe it or not, a vast number of… Read More »
Criteria for Attorney-Client Privilege to Apply in the Real World
Most people are aware that the attorney-client privilege exists, even if they have never been represented by an attorney themselves. However, partially due to its portrayal in pop culture (anyone remember the “put a dollar in my pocket” scene from Breaking Bad?), there are many misconceptions about when the privilege applies and to what… Read More »
Fighting the Pandemic: Serological Testing For Essential Employees
Unprecedented. This is the most fitting term that can be used to describe what the world is experiencing due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As we sit in our homes doing anything we can come up with to keep cabin fever at bay, we stay glued to the most recent updates hoping for some glimmer… Read More »
Stay-at-Home Work and Providing for Paid Leave
According to major news outlets, 90% of Americans are currently under a stay-at-home order due to the COVID-19 pandemic and public health emergency. Apart from orders to stay home, many are unable to go to work due to voluntarily quarantining because of travel, suspected exposure to COVID-19, having to care for children home from… Read More »
Secret Recordings at Work? Privacy and Recordings in Texas
Everyone or nearly everyone has a cell or mobile phone that enables photography, audio recording, and video recording with little effort. But what about being recorded without your knowledge –particularly when you are at work? Can you legally be recorded without your consent or knowledge? The old-fashioned term “wire-tapping” (in our wireless age) is… Read More »