Supreme Court Ruling Paves the Way for Nationwide Legalized Sports Betting
On Monday, in Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, the United States Supreme Court struck down a federal law that effectively banned sports betting in most states. The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, passed in 1992, prohibited states from authorizing sports gambling. Senator Bill Bradley (D) of New Jersey, a former college and professional […]
Empathy Yields Compassion…And Knowledge
As I watch my younger sister being brought into a nursing home/long term care facility, weeks after having portions of her body amputated, I truly can empathize with so many family members as they deliver their loved ones into such facilities. A few years ago, I spoke on a radio show about nursing homes […]
Mental Health Awareness Month Part 2 – Attorneys and Stress
In recent years, there has been a lot of news about mental health issues plaguing the legal profession, including dangerously high rates of stress, anxiety, depression, and even substance abuse among lawyers. A 2016 article published in The Journal of Addiction Medicine, detailed a collaborative study by the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation and the American […]
This Monday we celebrate Memorial Day
This Monday we celebrate Memorial Day. For most, it is a time of barbeques, get-togethers, and car trips to visit family or to experience a long weekend getaway. The official start of summer! Ahhh… But I’d suggest that all of us must take some time to solemnly reflect on our Nation’s history, and on the […]
Pennsylvania Asbestos Litigation Update
More on the “Bare Metal” Defense Since the time I posted about the Third Circuit’s favorable decision in Devries rejecting the “bare metal” defense for asbestos claims under maritime law, Defendants, CBS Corporation (Westinghouse), Air & Liquid Systems Corp. (successor by merger to Buffalo Pumps, Inc.), Foster Wheeler, LLC and Ingersoll Rand, Inc., sought review […]
Mental Health Awareness Month – Part 1: Dealing with Loss and Grief during Litigation
Since May is Mental Health Awareness Month, I want to highlight the importance of dealing with loss and grief—issues that affect many plaintiffs and their loved ones throughout the course of litigation. As an attorney handling asbestos mesothelioma and other personal injury cases for over a decade, my role is often part zealous advocate […]
Public Health for Sale Part II
Direct parallels can be drawn between how the NRA and other industries influence public health. Monsanto is a behemoth in the agricultural and chemical industry. It has invested extensive sums of money into genetically modified crops. It manufactures and sells Roundup© a glyphosate-based pesticide that its genetically modified crops are designed to work in conjunction […]
Self Driving Cars
If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to be stopped at a traffic light, look over to your side, and see a car with no driver, you may not have to wait much longer to find out. Although we will initially see these self-driving vehicles with a human driver behind the wheel as […]
May is Bike to Work Month!
May is Bike to Work month, and with the Spring weather finally (hopefully) upon us, those of us in the cycling community expect to see a large uptick in the number of riders on the road. With the increase in riders comes the unfortunate, but inevitable increase in bicycling crashes and injuries. My blog this […]
Realistic Expectations? The Glamour and Glory in the TV series Suits
My son has been trying to get me to watch the series Suits for quite some time. I keep telling him that I don’t want to watch at night what I live every day. Over time, however, he wore me down and one night I found myself with nothing to binge watch, so I decided […]
Congress Prevents Rule Banning Arbitration From Coming Into Force
On October 24, 2017 the U.S. Senate voted 51-50 with Vice President Pence casting the tie-breaking vote to disapprove and nullify the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s arbitration rule, which would have allowed consumers their day in court by banning pre-dispute arbitration clauses in certain consumer contracts involving many consumer financial products and services, and by […]
Another Company Settles Minimum Wage and Overtime Claims for $5 Million
On April 2, 2018, the operator of 17 Houlihan’s restaurants in New Jersey and New York agreed to pay $5 million to settle the government’s claims that it violated the minimum wage, overtime, and record-keeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The US Department of Labor complaint, originally filed in September 2015, claimed, […]