As you may recall, we recently noted that Abnormal Use editor Jim Dedman, along with contributor Rob Corney, would be attending the Hospitality Law Conference in Houston this week. Jim spoke at the conference not once, but twice, first on legal ethics and technology, and again on preparedness for an active shooter situation.

Writing for Hotel Business, Nicole Carlino quoted Jim in a piece that was just run:

Meanwhile, Jim Dedman, partner, Gallivan, White & Boyd, P.A., discussed active shooter situations. “Studies suggest 10-15 minutes is about the amount of time these incidents take to unfold,” he said, noting that this means preparedness and training is paramount.

“How do we as attorneys or risk managers conceptualize and attempt to respond to an incident that is violent, rapidly evolving and unpredictable? Is this something we address pre-incident from a human resources standpoint where we attempt to de-escalate or recognize potential signs of violence? Is this something that we address by virtue of a preparedness plan or safety policy? Is this something we look to federal publications, which advise people who find themselves in an active shooter situation should run, and if they can’t run, to hide, and if they can’t hide, then fight? Is this something we address like earthquakes or fires in training?” he asked. “The answer to those questions is it’s a bit of all of them; it depends on the nature of your business, the size of your business and the location of your business.”

You can read the full article here.

Rest in peace, Justice Scalia. Here’s a link to his obituary in The New York Times. And, of course, here is a link to Politico’s recent collection of the best Scalia quotes.

We welcome new attorney Amy Hill to our Columbia office! Click here for more info!

Once again, several members of our firm attended a Bruce Springsteen concert together. This time, it was last night at Philips Arena in Atlanta, and partners Phil Reeves, Ron Tate, and Jim Dedman all attended (as they usually do when Springsteen plays nearby).

If you’re a member of the State Bar of Texas (as our editor, Jim Dedman, is), you have two weeks to submit your entry to that bar’s short story contest. If you’ve got a 2,000 story in you, go for it. Click here for more details.

Our favorite legal tweet of late once again concerns the perils of social media:

Warning: do not share case information via MySpace.*

*Actual instruction received today at jury duty.

— Josh Clark (@bigmediumjosh) February 1, 2016

For the third year in a row, we here at Abnormal Use will be at the Hospitality Law Conference in Houston, Texas. The conferences, which takes place in Houston next week from February 22 to 24, will also feature our own editor, Jim Dedman, as a speaker. In fact, he’s speaking not once, but twice. On Day One (Monday the 22nd), he’ll be speaking on Ethics and Technology. On Day Two (Tuesday the 23rd), he’ll be giving a talk called “Workplace Violence: Preparing, Recognizing, Training, and Responding to an Active Shooter” (a presentation he could not have put together without the assistance of Rob Corney and Lindsay Joyner). Rob will be at the conference, as well, so say hello!

So this weekend is Valentine’s Day. Yikes. We’re not quite certain what to say about that dilemma. However, above, you’ll find the cover of A Year Of Marvels: February Infinite Comic #1, published this very week! Why is Spider-Man carrying a box of chocolates as he fights the Vulture? That seems imprudent.

According to the film Ghostbusters II, the world will end this Sunday, February 14, 2016. Click here for the scene in question.

Our legal tweet of the week is self explanatory:

Just to be clear: If you write about a court decision, and you do not link to the text of that decision, you are a monster.

— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) February 8, 2016

As you know, we here at Abnormal Use enjoy writing at other publications, as well, and this week is no different. Our editor, Jim Dedman, has penned a piece called “The Ethics of Social Media Research,” which was recently published in the January 2016 edition of The Inside Scoop, the newsletter of the North Carolina Bar Association’s Corporate Counsel section. Here’s the first paragraph for you:

Lawyers now find themselves well into the era of social media discovery. Time was, Internet evidence was a novelty, and courts eyed such issues with wonder and skepticism. Cf. St. Clair v. Johnny’s Oyster & Shrimp, Inc., 76 F. Supp. 2d 773, 774 (S.D. Tex. 1999) (“[A]ny evidence procured off the Internet is adequate for almost nothing . . . .”). These days, these inquiries are routine. Accordingly, corporate counsel should be aware of the ethical principles governing social media research in litigation (whether they be conducting such  research internally or relying on outside counsel to do so).

First and foremost, lawyers must familiarize themselves with legal technology issues. Generally, “a lawyer should keep abreast of changes in the law and its practice, including the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology . . . .” See ABA Model Rule of Prof’l Conduct 1.1, cmt. In fact, North Carolina has applied this requirement to social media specifically, noting that “[c]ompetent representation includes knowledge of social media . . . .”  See NC 2014 Formal Ethics Opinion 5.

You can read the full article here.

Well, the Super Bowl will be held this coming Sunday, and since we here at Abnormal Use and Gallivan, White, & Boyd, P.A. maintain an office in Charlotte, North Carolina, you can imagine that we are excited about the prospects of the Panthers. How about that Cam Newton, eh? So, yes, we’ll be watching the game, perhaps even tweeting about it here and there, enjoying it all the while. Keep Pounding!

Our favorite tweet of the week, of course, is also Panthers related:

TEAM. #SB50 #KeepPounding pic.twitter.com/0jG62erVfZ

— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) February 5, 2016

With the Super Bowl looming (and our own Charlotte Panthers participating therein), we here at Abnormal Use thought it would be best to revisit some of our favorite football posts. Sure, some of them relate to college football, while others relate to the NFL. But they all address legal issues relating to one of our favorite games. So, please enjoy.

“NFL Litigation May Forever Change Football” (August 19, 2013).

“PA vs. NCAA: Does the Commonwealth Have Standing?” (January 16, 2013).

“NFL Punter Claims Turf Unreasonably Dangerous” (November 29, 2012).

“Former NFL Players Allege NFL Concealed Risks of Injury” (September 14, 2011).

“The Return of College Football (And Some Law Stuff)” (September 1, 2011).

“South Carolina’s College Football Stadium Parking Jurisprudence” (July 12, 2011).

Oh, and here’s one that sounds like it’s about college football, but it’s really not:

“Georgia vs. Texas” (March 25, 2010).

We here at Abnormal Use have been writing about products liability cases for six years now. So, it may not surprise you, dear readers, that we will be attending the 2016 DRI Product Liability Conference this week in New Orleans, Louisiana. As you may suspect, we here at the blog and at Gallivan, White, & Boyd, P.A. are big fans of DRI and remain very active in that organization. So, our editor, Jim Dedman, will be at this week’s products liability conference. If you see him, please introduce yourself. He may even have with him some snazzy promotional materials we created in support of our blogging efforts. (Jim is also the chair for newsletters for the DRI Product Liability Committee.).

If Jim follows tradition, he will be live tweeting at least some portions of the conference. You can follow him either at his personal Twitter account, @JimDedman, or our firm’s official Twitter account, @GWBLawFirm. If you yourself are on Twitter (and surely you must be), please check it out and send us a note. We understand that DRI is using the hashtag #DRIProducts for the conference, so look there, too!

How about those Carolina Panthers, eh? To celebrate the Panthers earning a spot in the Super Bowl, we’ve featured the cover of NFL SuperPro Super Bowl Special #1, published way, way back in the halcyon days of 1991. We have no idea what sort of marketing stunt Marvel Comics and the NFL were attempting here, but behold it in all of its glory.

We must confess that we’re a bit envious of legal comedy blogger Kevin Underhill, who writes at the very funny Lowering The Bar site. John Cleese responded to one of his tweets? Can you believe that? If you don’t believe us, please click here.

Rest in peace, Abe Vigoda. Let’s all watch Tessio’s final scene to honor the late actor.

Our favorite tweet of late is both law and football related:

If a quarterback could sue his offensive line for malpractice, Tom Brady’s lawyer would have already written the demand letter.

— Michael McCann (@McCannSportsLaw) January 24, 2016

Above, you’ll find the cover of Aquaman #21, published not so long ago in 2013. As you can see, Aquaman is having a bit of difficulty trekking through a snowstorm. We’re not fans of Aquaman, actually. But this cover is relevant, of course, because of the arrival of the snowpocalypse. In fact, due to the inclement weather conditions in North Carolina and the Upstate South Carolina area, we here at Abnormal Use and Gallivan, White, & Boyd, P.A. have closed our Charlotte and Greenville offices today, Friday, January 22. All other GWB offices (Columbia and Charleston) will remain open and operate on a normal schedule.

Rest in peace, Glenn Frey.

Don’t forget that the reboot of “The X-Files” arrives this weekend. Brace yourself for disappointment.

Our favorite legal tweet of late concerns a warning label:

Seems a little much for a bicycle bell label. (cc, again, @overlawyered) pic.twitter.com/dKwl32GYOj

— Bill Childs (@billchilds) December 28, 2015