Posts by Brendan Conley
Do Giant Tax Giveaways Like the Foxconn Deal in Wisconsin Work?
Wisconsin is the latest state to offer huge tax breaks to a company promising jobs, but such deals have a spotty track record. Wisconsin is offering a massive incentive package to Foxconn, the Taiwanese electronics firm known for building Apple’s iPhones. In exchange for $3 billion in taxpayer-funded incentives, Foxconn plans to invest $10 billion…
Read MoreThe Science of Decision Making
Effective legal marketing depends on understanding how and why people make choices, but many common assumptions about this process are incorrect. To build a powerful marketing strategy, learn the science of decision making. Humans vs. Econs Economists are fond of a mythical creature known as homo economicus, or “economic man.” John Stuart Mill described is…
Read MoreGoogle Executives Must Testify in Uber Trade Secrets Case
The judge in the trade secrets lawsuit between Uber and Google subsidiary Waymo has ordered Google executives Sergey Brin and Larry Page to testify, but Uber claims the two are not cooperating. U.S. District Judge William Alsup lost patience June 23, complaining that both sides failed to schedule depositions necessary to keep the case on…
Read MoreClient Journey Mapping for Law Firm Marketing
Too many law firms have a random approach to marketing: resources are applied haphazardly toward advertising or website development, and everyone hopes the phone keeps ringing. This method is obviously flawed. In order to improve, you need to know what works and what does not, and that is only possible with a systematic approach. However,…
Read MoreMissouri Becomes Third U.S. State to Sue Opioid Manufacturers
Josh Hawley the Attorney General of Missouri, filed a lawsuit against major drug manufacturers, claiming they misrepresented the risks of opioid painkillers. Two other states have filed similar lawsuits. Hawley filed the lawsuit on June 21 in state court in St. Louis, against Johnson & Johnson, Purdue Pharma and divisions of Endo International. Hawley claimed…
Read MoreSupreme Court Upholds Consumer Rights in Printer Toner Case
On May 30 the U.S. Supreme Court gave consumers and small technology companies a big win over patent owners, upholding the right of people to use and resell the products they buy. The 7-1 decision, in a case called Impression Products v. Lexmark International, held that after a patent owner sells an item, the patent…
Read MoreFederal Judge Cites Trump, Spicer in Ruling Blocking Sanctuary Cities Order
A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked President Trump’s executive order that sought to withhold funds from so-called sanctuary cities, jurisdictions that limit their cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. Judge William H. Orrick of the U.S. District Court in San Francisco cited the public comments of President Trump and the White House press secretary Sean…
Read MoreTrump Budget Would Eliminate Legal Aid Funding
Veterans, people facing eviction or foreclosure, and domestic-violence survivors would lose access to legal aid services under the federal budget proposed by President Trump. Trump released an outline of his 2018 budget proposal on March 16. To pay for significant funding increases for the military, homeland security and veterans, Trump moved for deep cuts to…
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