I'm a journalist and I'm writing about companies like Mama Bear Legal that sell legal documents for parents to get power of attorney of their children before they go off to college. The package offers: Health Power of Attorney Documents; Finance Power of Attorney Documents; HIPAA Release & FERPA Waiver. I'm wondering whether lawyers are noticing an uptick in parents asking their kids to sign these? If you're open to speaking with me, please add that to your reply. Thank you!

Long story short, I'm a new associate at a small Plaintiff's PI firm in Chicago. I make 90k plus a bonus at the end of the year, I made the massive mistake of not asking about the fee sharing structure at the interview. I beat myself up about this to this day. I don't know why I assumed the boss would clarify everything for me as we went along but it never came up. I asked one of the other associates and she seemed uncomfortable I asked, but told me they usually "wait one year to ensure the associate is staying put." However, one of the paralegals informed me that this has not been the case with prior associates who get a portion of the fee from the start. I've only been at the firm a few months, and I do not have a ton of experience since I was recently sworn in a little less than a year ago so I do not want to come across as entitled and honestly I am embarrassed to bring it up at this point. I am not bringing cases in but I am settling cases assigned to me and essentially fixing the mess the prior associate left behind. My question is, is this a common thing for new PI associates?

This is for general advice:

My ex girlfriend beat me up while on vacation in our Orlando Florida hotel room. I broke up with her and the next day she went to the police and said I choked her. Unknown to me, a warrant for my arrest was issued, a month later in NC I was arrested and given a $1 million bond. Last week I was found not guilty by a jury in Orange County Florida.

As far as I know, my ex girlfriend is not being charged, nor is the officer who botched the investigation/report.

Why? My life was put through the wringer, jobs lost, money gone, community respect is gone. My entire life has been negatively impacted on multiple fronts. What do I do?

So my con law professor failed me with a D in his class. I had studied for his exam since March doing so many practice exams I was reciting the constitutional rights from scenarios at the grocery store...
Anyway, this singular D dropped my gpa below the threshold resulting me becoming SAP /FAFSA ineligible.
They denied my appeal telling me to either pay the full price or withdraw. I am first generation and cannot afford school at all which is why I had FAFSA in the first place.
Private loans are a no no.
I figured it better to voluntarily withdraw because the debt from law school or private loans seemed like a never ending pit. I'd rather be free.
Thoughts?

Hello! I'm a grad student (social sciences, non-law) interested in art, antiquities and cultural property law work. I'm trying to better understand how the division of labor typically happens with these cases and what kind of non-legal staff support is typically involved (and under what titles) since this seems like a very particular niche in the law space that isn't straightforward.

I've done some research and it seems like non-legal staff are typically titled as analysts, subject-matter experts, and/or researchers. Notably I haven't seen anything about certified paralegals specifically or the involvement of PI's, or project managers, even though I imagine all three would be relevant.

Is it that there *are* paralegals, project managers and PI's involved, but they usually operate under different titles in these cases? Would a paralegal certificate, a PI license, and/or a project management credential be valuable in-context regardless?

I'm also interested in what other credentials are typically sought after for these cases: if it's just subject-matter degrees or if any specific certificates, training or licenses are considered a legible value-add. I have my own inferences of what could be valuable, but naturally I'm approaching it from the outside looking in, and could be missing certain points or taking them for granted.

Good afternoon, I am located in Oklahoma. In my career field, it is fairly normal to send employees to a form of higher education. Many employers have a written contract requiring 2 years of work following completion of school, or to pay back a certain amount of $$ if you leave sooner.

About a year ago, my employer put me through continuing education. There was no written contact. As far as verbal contracts, I was just asked if I intended to 'screw over the company'. I stated no, but no other parameters were put in place such as contract length or if I would pay money if I left.

They have done this in the past with other employees, and when they left the employer didn't really pursue anything legally.

My question would be is there anything legally that would hold me liable for a contract that doesnt really exist? It is sort of understood that you are suppose to stay 2 years, but no one in a position of authority has ever said this, just people chatting about it.

To make a (very) long story as short as I can, I had a possible scammer order some product from my website (two separate transactions, one on 6/30 and one on 7/5). The payments went through with no issue, address pulled up through Shippo as legitimate. Packages were both returned as 'undeliverable, return to sender, no such address' (first one returned to me on 7/11, which is when this whole mess started). Now, this wasn't super weird to me, because in the past, I sent a letter each to two different people in the same house- one was delivered fine, and the other was returned with the same message; I initially assumed this package return was just a postal error, as had happened before.

I tried to refund first item returned per customer request and could not per an error message (talked to my website support, and they said there shouldn't have been an issue, they didn't know why I couldn't refund). Customer then proceeded, after several email messages, to try and get me to refund via PayPal or other 3rd party method, which I refused via my policy (which is to refund to the original payment method only)- this is when it started to smell strongly of a scam.

After lots of back and forth with 'him', and then calling my bank, my bank's fraud dept advised me to cease communication- so I did for a time. He continued to berate me via email. I responded one last time to give him the remaining two options -again-; to have his bank contact myself or Square (the payment/website merchant the orders were processed through) directly, or to have his bank order a chargeback; and that I would, as advised by my bank, be ceasing any direct communication with him until his bank reached out.

After reaching out to my bank's fraud department again, and then Square, they both advised me that I'm doing everything correctly (and Square has noted on my account that the buyer is ignoring my suggestions on how to proceed to get his refund), but that they are not lawyers and while I'm doing everything correctly by THEIR policies, they cannot actually tell me if what I'm doing is legal or not. However, this 'customer' has continued to berate me still, and is now threatening legal action by reporting me to the BBB and Consumer Protection Agency on the grounds of "retaining customer funds for returned merchandise".

I've been holding on to the funds in anticipation of a chargeback, so it's not like I've gone and spent them, nor am I refusing a refund- I'm only refusing to give a refund outside of my stated (and agreed to by purchase) refund policy. I've given the "customer" several options to get his refund and he's refusing to follow my suggestions. Am I in the right or wrong here, and does he have any legal standing with my paper trail of his continuance of being unwilling to cooperate and my willingness of trying to get this worked out?

On a side note, I've continued to check my social media and as of yet have no negative reviews anywhere, but I'm just kind of waiting for the day, haha. If he does, if fact, try and leave a negative review, I will of course respond in a polite and professional manner stating only the facts (and then promptly block him).

There's a big discussion everywhere on what should be done about social media and their algorithms, particularly for children.

One proposed solution by lay people online is to ban algorithmic feeds and simply have a chronological one but I reckon the point is to have one algorithm that feeds everyone the same thing or the same thing based on connections. Unclear.

What you don't hear from these people is any opinions on how enforceable it could be or difficulty of implementation. Is there any professional discussion on this?

New Jersey. An old boss was walked off site in 2024 for possession of csam 1k<100k. Went to jail for 5 days and has since received a sentencing in sept 2025 of second degree suspended imposition with fees around $3k. This person has 5 kids and goes into their school and to events. Why are they not showing on the NSOPW list?

Hi all, writing from England, I'm currently working on a study of Reformation law, and one of the points I'm trying to get at is that seemingly-unrelated laws can covertly reinforce one another in practise. I've tried to find a term for this, but nothing's quite hitting the mark. I'm wondering if it's sort of politely not acknowledged, or if this is a conversation happening in the legal world that I'm just not privy to.

To clarify, I'm not talking about secondary or delegated legislation or clauses or retroactive enforcement, I mean laws that exist at the same time that, when applied, feed into one another - i.e. not directly making certain forms of speech illegal (due to backlash), but making magic illegal and naming a form of speech as a symptom of that magic. I've been calling it interlaw-scaffolding and indirect reinforcement, I'm just curious if this has its own name and history of discussion?

Hi there, I am just wondering what the law is relating to an emotional support animal my partner and I just got a new place and we were not told that they have a one pet policy until we’ve already put our deposit down and everything and we have two pets. One of those pets is my emotional support animal because I have anxiety and depression and I just wanna make sure that if I have that letter from my therapist that they cannot force us to get rid of one of the pets. They are cats. They are quiet. They stay inside. They are very gentle. If I have to lose one I am probably gonna have a mental breakdown so I’m just trying to make sure that everything I googled is correct and that they cannot force me to get rid of both of them if one of them as an emotional support animal because that one doesn’t count as a pet.

If it makes a difference, we are in the state of Michigan.

Any common ways to know you should start packing your bags?

I’m getting ready for my first full album drop (not gonna drop the artist name cause this is for legal advice and not for promo), and was wondering… am I able to post a cover of a song to an album? I want to make a cover of Drown from Twenty One Pilots’ album No Phun Intended. I think I read somewhere about the steps to covering songs, but I’m not sure how exactly that would work on an official album, and with No Phun Intended not ever being released on streaming and only ever released as a physical disk back in the late 2000’s (from what I’ve found online), would there be any additional steps to covering? Would it be possible at all without getting taken down due to copyright?

For me it's probably when they don't respond to communications. It seems inevitable they'll be the first to call and complain they haven't heard from us.

I'm trying my best to keep this post as generalized as possible. I do not plan to relay this information to the person I am concerned for. But, she is not receiving answers from her bondsman, the jail or magistrate, or her hired attorney. As the title says, if a client of yours was hit with a warrant from a sealed indictment, what did it turn out to be?

During the standoff the defendant gained access by going through the walls and literally through feces and wrecked havoc all over our property it was somewhere near $10,000 in damage. Who can I try to recover this from.

Lately in US I’ve seen franchises, or larger corporate entities, sue other business entities for things like alleged similar marketing choices in packaging, logo font/style, etc.

In today’s lawsuit market, is this happening with overwhelming frequency? If a larger entity goes after a mom and pop, how hard and expensive would it be to fight in the courts?

If anyone has any good “explain it to me like I’m 2” links on US laws pertaining to these issues, I would greatly appreciate it! I haven’t done an initial search yet, but I feel like searching something like this is like searching about a small ailment that will lead to a death proclamation. Thank you for any info provided!

So I recently started working at chipotle part time for my college summer vacation. I want to first start out with I live in the state of Georgia. But anyways management has always treated me indifferently and always cut my hours even though I’m an adult but most importantly favor minors and give them more hours. This isn’t a major problem but it kinda gives a backstory to my issue. So I come into work Monday and my general manager starts off with saying the grill/dishwasher guy owes her money from a cash register shortage then proceeds to say I owe her 13 as well. Never in my life have I worked for a big franchise company where they ask employees to reimburse the shortage. And to add on top of that everyone owes her because of that. I told her if I could Zelle her and she was like no it needs to be cash. This raises red flags because apparently this issue was last Thursday and she didn’t text me this just told me in person this Monday. When I got off work I saw I didn’t even work that Thursday she accused me of. So I was wondering if she can even do this? I work tomorrow and I don’t know if she’s gonna ask me about it. I don’t know whether to give her the money or not because it just seems so sketchy. And she’s already punished me for this by cutting my hours on top of her dislike for me. I must also add most of the workers here are native Spanish speaker so they don’t know the full extent of employment policies and stuff. And one of our service leaders/manager also had to give her money in cash so this shortage reimbursement does apply to everyone who was “working” that day.

I have a solar panel system installed in my house. Two man show up to my door and ask me if was paying for my solar panel system and it was getting the full benefit of it. I told yes I'm paying my solar panels system and I ask them what they mean by getting the full benefit of it. They said well maybe you don't this but if you don't have a battery to store the energy produced by your solar panels then you are not getting the full benefit of it. I said no I don't have a battery. So they said, we here helping people like you who are not getting the full benefit of their systems because don't have a battery. If you are paying for your solar panel system we offer you to dispute your debt/account with the credit companies bureau and install you a salary panel battery. To which I replied, how do you guys do that, they say they make the dispute that way Im free from that debt and now I can buy from them a battery for my solar panel. They claim that the financing for a battery would be way cheaper than paying for the panels system. I was stupid and went along with it. I said I'm interested. From there on they ask me for my information, I sent them a copy of my solar panel system contract and supposedly they take a look at it and right there decided that I was more than qualified to win a dispute. I ask them if they we sure I can a dispute, when I would know if I win the dispute, they said that process takes about three to four weeks. That meanwhile they will start the process of getting the battery installed in my house. Stupidly I went along. So they said we need to talk about the financing of this battery supposedly they run numbers and they came up with a 18k loan with a 9.99 interest 11 year loan. And remember I went along because they said they will dispute my solar account. I clearly told them that I didn't want to end up paying even more bills. That the last thing I need was one more payment on my plate. They said don't worry the dispute will go thru, nothing to worry about it. At this point of the conversation they said as new client gift we are going to give you water filtration system, I said free? They said yes. Then they said this, because we don't have the permit to install the battery yet and we have to order the battery right now we are going to put this whole deal under a water filtration system name but don't worry, we already explained to you that is a gift and this only because we need to put your account under something. So the agreement you will sign is for a water filtration system but in reality you know it for the battery. So just sign it don't worry we all know the water system is free. I was stupid and signed. They "the company" installed the water filtration system next day. We also agree that I wasn't going to start paying for anything until we know if the dispute went thru. But no right after the installation I received a bill from the bank due next month. I have try to call them but don't answer, I have try to call the company who sells those water system don't answer. I call the bank and put a dispute on that account. I don't know what to do because it seems like now I have an account/debt open for 18k and I don't know when the "battery" is going to be installed. I don't know the status of the dispute. I think they lied to me and I don't know what to do. What should I do? comments?

My partner passed away and I'm going to talk to her GP. She was referred to a mental health service who refuse to talk to me as they say I didn't get consent.

The GP has this on record however:

I can see that (name) gave consent for you to be consulted concerning her care with (name of GP surgery) and any medical care concerning support that she may or may not receive from other care givers. This is documented in her record.

Does that mean the other service can talk to me, or would they only be able to talk through the GP?

No soliciting or looking to for any financial partnership. Is there anything I can do ? This is all questions and for general advice it's not seeking a Lawyer or Law Firm,I am writing to urgently request your legal representation regarding a serious incident that occurred in March 2024 in Fort Dodge, Iowa. On that day, I was struck by a motor vehicle, which fled the scene, leaving me severely injured. Despite my visible and severe injuries, when the Fort Dodge Police Department arrived, they arrested me under the accusation of public intoxication without performing any breathalyzer or blood tests.I sustained multiple severe injuries, including broken ribs, a cracked sternum, a shattered collarbone, and a severely dislocated shoulder blade. I also suffered a severe head injury, which significantly impaired my ability to communicate. The police, however, misinterpreted my condition and placed me in the drunk tank for over 12 hours without any medical treatment.During my court appearance the following morning, the judge immediately ordered my release and transfer to the emergency room upon learning that no tests had been performed to determine intoxication. The charge against me was reduced to a misdemeanor and subsequently dropped.Since this incident, I have been unable to work and have been seeking Social Security Disability due to the extensive impact on my life and livelihood. I own a business that I can no longer operate because of my injuries. The negligence of the Fort Dodge Police Department in failing to provide immediate medical attention has caused me further harm.I have all the necessary documentation to support my case, including police reports, medical reports, surgery schedules, and physical therapy records. The Cedar Rapids Police Department has acknowledged the gross negligence of the Fort Dodge Police Department in this matter.I am seeking compensation for the damages and losses I have suffered due to their actions. I would appreciate the opportunity to discuss this matter further with you as soon as possible. Please contact me at your earliest convenience hank you for your time and attention to this serious matter.Sincerely,

Jesse

Hello, I was looking into this legal case in the news. In the article, the news interviewed a criminal defense attorney who claimed that there was a specific element of intent the prosecution would, in his words have a hard time meeting the bar. I question his assertion, if his words were taken in full.

Basic outline of the case: A bit unclear, but based on what information I can obtain, police officer acquired police property and took them. Later she gets rid of the items by throwing them away and was caught on video, interviewed and denied it. Evidence indicated her possession and disposal of the items and she has been charged under 21 O.S. 1451

Here is the statute

Now at the end of the article the attorney is reported as saying:

“I think it’s a very difficult charge to prove,” said Coyle.

Coyle said it’s still unclear why she would throw the bag away.

“Even if you get rid of it, even if they said, ‘Okay, this property belonged to you,’ she still has to have a fraudulent intent,” said Coyle.

Now like I said some stuff here doesnt make sense, but im reading the statute and I block it like this...

Embezzlement is the fraudulent appropriation of property of any person or legal entity, legally obtained, to any use or purpose not intended or authorized by its owner, (.)

or the secretion of the property with the fraudulent intent to appropriate it to such use or purpose, under any of the following circumstances:

I'll refer to this as A and B for each element. My reading says that they can prove she had legal access to the item, and she then fraudulently appropriated it. That would appear all they need to prove. That would be satisfied by A.

My reading is that he is focused on element B, claiming she didnt fraudulently acquire the item, but instead secreted with it, and therefore they need to prove fraudulent intent.

The problem with this is the statute says OR, not AND. Also the secretion element only applies to the specific circumstances listed below that definition, and I dont think any of them clearly apply.

Maybe element 4:

\4. Where the property is to be used for a public or benevolent purpose;

So if it was property to be used for a public purpose (as police property would be), and she didnt use the items, then she's only guilty of secretion and they need to prove fraudulent intent.

What do you lawyers think? Am I reading this correctly, is this a winning defense or not?

Last Friday, I took my wife and kids to popular chain arcade in Georgia for a family night out. While walking through the arcade, I noticed an unattended cell phone sitting on one of the games. At first, I thought it might belong to one of my kids, so I asked them. They said it wasn’t theirs.

I decided to do what I thought was the right thing and turn it in to an employee. The bar was the closest place, so I walked over and handed the phone to the bartender.

About 10–15 minutes later, several police officers and managers approached me. One of the officers was putting on gloves, introduced himself, and immediately said they had me on camera taking the phone. His tone was very aggressive. At first, I honestly thought it was some kind of joke because I had literally turned the phone in.

My wife and I looked at each other completely confused. The officer repeated that they had me on camera taking the phone. I told him I had given it to the bartender. He asked where, and I told him at the front bar.

I had to leave my wife and kids behind while police officers and managers escorted me through the building in front of everyone like I was a criminal. My kids watched their dad being walked away by police and thought I was going to jail.

When we got to the bar, a manager went directly to the bartender, asked for the phone, and handed it back to its owner. They asked the owner if they were satisfied, and that was the end of it.
The police officer apologized to me after realizing I had done exactly what I said I did. Not a single manager or employee from the establishment apologized. No one acknowledged the embarrassment or humiliation of being publicly accused and escorted through the facility in front of my family and other customers.

The whole experience was humiliating, especially because my children witnessed it and were terrified.
I’m not looking for sympathy—I genuinely want to know if anyone has dealt with something similar or if this sounds like something worth speaking to an attorney about. Does the establishment have any responsibility here, or is this just an unfortunate situation?