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Legal Despite Privacy Issues, Location Analytics Market Forecasted to Reach $9 Billion in 2016 As a result of the recent "locationgate" controversy (centering on Apple's and others' logging of the location of mobile devices as they are used by consumers) the location-based services (LBS) and advertising (LBA) markets have come under intense scrutiny, with privacy legislation a major focus.   Quick Links:  Return to Accounting Homepage Weekly Newsletter Online CPE Twitter: SmartProsEditor       Ethics & Compliance Insights newsletter Online CLE   Updated 10/1

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Working Values Ethics & Compliance Insights Engagement and Tipping Points ... Don't Teach to the Test ... CPE: Should Sustainability Be on Your Balance Sheet? ... BOOK: Tipping Point: How Little Things Make a Big Difference SEC Sues Insurance Group over Stanford Investors The federal government has sued the organization that insures brokerage accounts to compel it to compensate many investors who lost money in the $7.2 billion Ponzi scheme allegedly run by Texas financier R. Allen Stanford. NY Judge Rejects $285M SEC-Citigroup Agreement A judge on Monday used unusually harsh language to strike down a $285 million settlement between Citigroup and the Securities and Exchange Commission over toxic mortgage securities, saying he couldn't tell whether the deal was fair and criticizing regulators for shielding the public from details of the firm's wrongdoing. EDITORIAL: A Blow Against Fraud Judge Jed S. Rakoff, who presides over a federal district court in Manhattan, issued a ruling Monday that should make American citizens rejoice. He refused to sign off on a wrist-slap $285 million settlement the Securities and Exchange Commission had proposed to sign with Citigroup that would have allowed the giant Wall Street investment bank to avoid admitting defrauding investors of $700 million. Eight SEC Employees Disciplined over Madoff Case Failures The Securities and Exchange Commission, which failed to stop Bernard Madoff's long-running investment fraud despite repeated warnings, has disciplined eight agency employees over their handling of the matter but did not fire anyone. Olympus Delays Results Amid Probe, Faces Delisting Olympus Corp. said Thursday it is postponing an earnings announcement set for next week amid an accounting scandal that has wiped out about four- fifths of its stock price and tarnished Japan's corporate image. Law Firm Survey: It's Not Easy Being Green An online survey of mostly smaller law firms has found that they are falling short of green ideals. Top 30 Game Law Firms The number of lawyers specializing in video games is on the rise, according to a national survey by Interactive Age, the global business journal of interactive entertainment. Rapid development of a new field in law is the direct result of explosive growth from the business behind games, and the increasing number of transactions. Doctors Should Use Social Media, but Carefully, Lawyers Say Doctors can add some new tools to their practices: telemedicine - which allows doctors to diagnose patients and prescribe medication online, and social media, which allows them to connect with their patients in new ways. L.A. Times Hacking Scandal Alleged On Heels of News Corp., Says Attorney In what appears to be a news organization out of control highlighted by group hacking incidents, such alleged unethical conduct is not an isolated incident but a potential "class wide" or "industry" problem spanning not just through the United Kingdom and News Corp but in the USA as well, allegedly with Tribune Corp. and its core subsidiary, The Los Angeles Times, according to attorney Robert Silverman. More Than 75 Percent of Businesses Use Social Media, Nearly Half Do Not Have Social Networking Policies Nearly half of all businesses do not have social media and networking policies in place, despite the fact that 76 percent use social networking for business purposes, according to a survey by Proskauer's International Labor & Employment Group of more than 120 multinational employers. In addition, 43 percent of the respondents have reported employee misuse of social networks. Law Firms Set to Approve Expenditures for 'Technology.' Does This Mean People Are on Their Way Out? Technology has long been an area of great expense for law firms, incorporating everything from Telecommunications to IT and Computer Networks to Specialty Software. The survey revealed that technology is the additional expenditure most likely (64%) to be approved in 2011. Are these expenses being approved as a way to improve organization and functionality of the firm with a downturn of support staff? 2011 Survey of Billing and Practices for Small and Midsize Law Firms ALM Legal Intelligence, a leading source of business intelligence for the legal profession, today released its 2011 report on billing rates and practices for attorneys in small and midsize firms. Coalition for Educational Success Demands Expedited Discovery to Obtain Evidence In Suit Against Government In addition to the Coalition's suit, serious flaws in the GAO's investigation and report have triggered Congressional inquiries, with numerous members of Congress expressing concerns about the GAO's conduct. ABA Urges Supreme Court to Uphold Right to Indigent Defense Counsel in Civil Cases Where Potential for Incarceration Exists The American Bar Association filed an amicus curiae brief with the Supreme Court of the United States in support of the petitioner in Michael D. Turner v. Rebecca L. Rogers, regarding the constitutional right to appointment of counsel for an indigent defendant who faces incarceration at a civil contempt hearing. Coca-Cola Ordered to Post Union Rights Notice in Atlanta Facilities As part of a settlement agreement, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has ordered a subsidiary of Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Refreshments USA, Inc., to post a statement in its Marietta and College Park bottling facilities, telling employees that they have a legal right to form a union. Healthcare Spending: Study Shows High Imaging Costs for Defensive Purposes Nearly 35 percent of all the imaging costs ordered for 2,068 orthopedic patient encounters in Pennsylvania were ordered for defensive purposes, according to a new study presented today at the 2011 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS). U.S. Files Insider-trading Charges Against 6 Federal regulators on Thursday filed insider- trading charges against six people they say worked for an expert-networking firm and passed on confidential corporate information to investors. IRS Targets CalPERS Bribe Suspect Villalobos The Internal Revenue Service wants the courts to crack down on Alfred Villalobos, the businessman in the middle of the CalPERS bribery scandal. Stanford Law School Launches Major Study of the Legal Profession Stanford Law School today announced that it has launched a comprehensive empirical study of the state of the legal profession with financial support from the Sidley Austin Foundation. Aligning E-Discovery Solutions to Organizational Goals An interview with Gary R. Markham, President, Legal Solutions Group. Partner Reductions, Deequitization, Reduced Class Sizes and Late Start Dates All Part of "The New Normal" The December issue of The American Lawyer reports on this year's Law Firm Leaders survey, gauging the opinions of leaders at the Am Law 200 firms. Fiscal Year 2009 Annual Report to Congress Signals Opportunities for New Tax Whistleblowers Today the Internal Revenue Service published a report to Congress on the use of section 7623, the section that allows for the payment of awards to tax whistleblowers, in which it revealed that the IRS Whistleblower Office has received a steady stream of information about multi-million dollar tax underpayments over fiscal years 2008 and 2009.

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