Category Archives: Media

Social Media Privacy

By: Moneer Kheireddine

 

Social Media: A New Generation of Evidence?

social

As this generation of tech-savvy individuals grows up, we as a society find ourselves in more situations where our advancing usage of the internet and social media contributes to a very thin border of what violates the rights of citizens, and what doesn’t. This debate has been widespread and heavily discussed since modern media came into existence, and will continue to be discussed until definite guidelines are set in regards to what is private within social media and what isn’t. Take, for example, earlier this month the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit stated that the usage of a rap video and images of tattoos from defendant Melvin Colon’s Facebook page did not violate his First Amendment rights by giving this information to the Jury.

 

Melvin Colon as well as Earl Pierce and Joshua Meregildo were convicted in 2013 of murder, conspiracy, racketeering, firearms offenses and narcotics trafficking due to their actions on behalf of the Courtlandt Avenue Crew, a notorious street gang. In recent years, the usage of rap lyrics, photos, and other information shared on gang members and criminals Facebook’s has caused concern among citizens. Americans are growing more and more distressed everyday about what exactly is private in this newly digitized world.

social-media

 

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and many other social media outlets have been consuming more and more of our lives. We share our opinions, our ideals, our (not always so eloquent) photos, each and every day. People might share things they might not necessarily want to be shown in a courtroom, and yet most tend to share them anyways. The truth is, in this day and age, anything you share can and will be used against you in a court of law. If you want to take steps to minimize the chances of information that you post being used against you, whether in the courtroom, when pursuing employment, or anything in between, we here at Blick Law Firm are here to help. Here are some tips to consider:

 

  1. Make sure your Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram profiles are set to private! Ensure that no one except your friends has access to your accounts.
  2. If you post something and immediately regret it after, don’t be afraid to delete it! You never know what might come back to haunt you.
  3. Take time every couple of months to go through some of your older posts and photos and see if there is anything you should remove, or that might make you look bad. You don’t have to delete them, but you can always set it to only be viewed by you or select friends.
  4. Try googling your name and seeing what comes up! This allows you to see what’s public knowledge and what anyone can find by simply looking up your name.
  5. Always remain respectful and courteous, especially on social media. Nothing you say is anonymous, and people will know that you said it.
  6. If you know a big job interview (or something of that nature) is coming up, professionalize your social media! You wouldn’t want employers getting the wrong idea.

If you ever have any questions concerning what is appropriate to post, if you find yourself in need of legal advice, or know of anyone who is, we highly encourage you to contact us here at Blick Law Firm at 813-931-0840. We pride ourselves on always being here to help the hurting and those in need. Think quick, call Blick!

 

Do you have an opinion on how social media is impacting our lives? Do you believe that it is/is not constitutional to use social media in the courtroom? Do you constantly keep tabs on your social media profiles? Share your opinions and views in the comment section below!

 

Posted in Blog, Media, Personal Injury | Leave a comment

Personal Injury| “Minor” Claims

simple_img_2Written By: Louie Talacay

Unfortunately, personal injury claims happen every day. People, for no reason, without their conscious knowledge get into accidents and get hurt. The resultant is thousands of dollars in medical bills and an uphill struggle to recovery.

Often time, people who get hurt are adults. But what would be the recourse if the person that was hurt happened to be a minor? A minor is defined as anyone under the age of 18. Minors can file a personal injury suit. The guidelines, of course- for minors, are different from those of adults.

When a minor wishes to make a personal injury claim they must usually be guided by a guardian. The guardian represents the minor and tries to have their best interest in mind. The attorney must work with the guardian closely in order to resolve the claim. Minors are not able to settle cases on their own outside of court.

Furthermore, certain cases require court approval before the disbursement of funds resulting from a settlement. The need for approval is dependent on the amount that is realized from the settlement. Please seek counsel from an attorney for accurate figures.

Blick Law Firm has handled numerous personal injury cases. We’ve represented all sorts of individuals from adults to minors. We encourage people to come to our offices and seek counsel, from one of our attorneys, if they need any sort of personal injury or other legal related advice.

Are you a minor or know a minor who might have a personal injury case? Feel free to contact us at our website, listed below and schedule your 1 on 1 consultation with our attorneys. call

Posted in Blog, Media, Personal Injury | Leave a comment

Cyber Theft| Consumer Protection

Written By: Louie Talacy

blick-law-firm, tampa-law-firm copyWhat do Target, JP Morgan and Home Depot have in common? These are all large corporations that have experienced serious security breaches. The security breaches compromised the identity of millions of consumers and shook their confidence. How do such big corporations get hacked? Aren’t there firewalls and identity protection procedures in place to prevent such breaches? Surely such huge corporations can afford the best and most secure anti-hacking products.

The truth of the matter is that, technology has evolved to a magnitude that is nearly incomprehensible. Nearly everything we do is integrated to some sort of machinery. The dawn of the internet laid the foundations for a worldwide integrated information super highway and now, more than ever, people who are tech savvy are finding ways to get ahead.

Unfortunately, some of those people are hackers who are willing to take advantage of other people’s hardships for their own monetary gains. As a result, the continuous struggle between hackers and security programmers has escalated into an intense cold war. Just like viruses and antibodies adapting to each other’s defenses, hackers and programmers are consistently evolving their tactics to keep ahead of each other.

The thought of having your information stolen is terrifying. With the advent of Black Friday and the winter holidays consumers must be more careful now than ever to protect their information. Fortunately for Floridians, new legislation has taken effect to protect consumers from cyber fraud.

Implemented July 2014, the Florida Information Protection Act imposed new regulations for protecting the consumer. Essentially the act states that companies must do more to ensure that consumer information is protected and safeguarded from hackers. The expected level of protection is based on the size of each company; obviously, the larger the company the greater the need for more advanced consumer protection.

So now that you know about these changes, you can shop a little easier for your holiday gifts. Remember there are things you can do to help protect your information such as…

1. Check banks statements and report anything that seems suspicious.

2. Keep cards in a protected wallet

3. Perform regular credit checks

If you become a victim of identity fraud please seek counsel with an attorney at…call

Posted in Bankruptcy, Behind The Scenes, Blog, Criminal Law, Media, Minute with Mike, Personal Injury | Leave a comment

Ebola Epidemic| Business Legal Issues| Implications & Consequences

EBOLA, EBOLA EPIDEMIC, CNN, CNN NEWS, BUSINESS LEGAL ISSUESWritten By: Louie Talacay

Guinea, December 2013 — A curious disease took hold in the heart of West Africa. The strange illness, which was previously documented, found a way to break through the isolation of small villages and make its way to the larger city of Sierra Leon. From there, the epidemic festered and spread it reaches far and wide to the world at large.

Ebola is a very deadly disease that has a mortality rate of 70%. The latest outbreak has infected more than all previous Ebola outbreaks combined and has killed a staggering amount of people including many healthcare workers treating Ebola patients.

Media coverage of the disease and the rampant, seemingly uncontrollable, spread of the disease induce fear and anxiety to the general American public. Some people have suggested drastic measures such as quarantining people who have recently traveled to West Africa for a discrete amount of time.

The seriousness of the situation has caused many people to question the risks and benefits of drastic action. Very recently, Reed Smith, a distinguished international law firm, formed a group dedicated to addressing the legal issues associated with the Ebola outbreak.

What are the legal implications of Ebola in regards to how businesses operate? Is it legal to quarantine people without their consent? Can businesses be held liable for the accidental spread of the disease? These are all questions that the recently formed group is trying to address.

The following scenarios below outline some major questions that are associated with the Ebola outbreak…

1. A shipping company that operates in West Africa ships major goods to the United States. A cargo crate has been infected with fluids from a West African worker unaware of being infected. The disease manages to survive the flight to the United States and infects a worker handling the crate. The worker goes home and infects his family, who, in turn, infects more people. Can the business be held liable for the incident?

2. A businessman recently traveled to West Africa to conduct some key transactions. Upon arrival to the United States, he is quarantined against his will for 2 weeks. He claims to feel completely fine and does not believe he is infected. After, 2 weeks he proves to be completely healthy. The quarantining prevented him from closing the transaction and the company is forced to take the loss.

3. Take the same scenario above but instead of being quarantined, the gentleman says he feels fine and is allowed to conduct his operations. A week later he goes to the hospital and is confirmed with having the disease. CDC is then forced to track his movements and notify anyone he came in contact with, that they could be infected.

 

These scenarios are obviously just hypotheticals, for the time being, but it’s good to address the issue. It is important to know how we will handle the situation, if we ever come across this dilemma.

What do you think about the above scenarios? Go to https://www.blicklawfirm.com and give us your thoughts and opinion regarding the Ebola outbreak. Should businesses be fined or penalized for the spread of Ebola?

References:

1. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/ebola-prompts-law-firm-to-form-group-to-advise-companies-on-liability-travel-safety/2014/10/22/fe457e54-5963-11e4-b812-38518ae74c67_story.html

2. http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/11/health/ebola-fast-facts/

 

 

Posted in Behind The Scenes, Blog, Health, Media, Media Releases, Personal Injury | Leave a comment

Blick Law Firm Participates in Social Media Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Blick Law Firm Participates in Social Media Competition

Tampa Bay Business Journal hosts Social Madness engagement and Blick Law Firm participates in the small business bracket for an online competition that launched on June 3, 2013.

TAMPA June 5— Social madness has commenced and over 92 companies compete for placement in a social engagement competition hosted online by the Tampa Bay Business Journal.

The social media competition, launched June 3, 2013, categorizes Tampa Bay businesses into three categories: small, medium and large.

Blick Law Firm proudly competes in the small business bracket with several other local Tampa Bay businesses.

“We engage social media into our marketing tactics on a daily basis,” said Dana Blickensderfer, director of marketing and public relations at Blick Law Firm. “If you are not engaging your business in social media, you are missing a key ingredient into the wonderful opportunity technology has for reaching and communicating to its public.”

Local winners will be announced on July 9, 2013 and finalists will be eligible to participate at a national level kicking off July 16, 2013.

Blick Law Firm is competing their Twitter handle and will be scored on how well they engage social media audience on Twitter for the entirety of the contest. Social engagement is defined as likes, comments, and shares of a company’s posts by their followers.

To vote you simply go here and select Blick Law Firm! Help your favorites advance by giving them your votes and interacting with them on social media. And remember, you can come back to vote again and support local businesses every day!

For questions about competition visit: http://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/socialmadness or contact Dana at dana@blicklawfirm.com. Engage in the conversation on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/blicklawfirm or on Twitter at https://twitter.com/blicklawfirm.


About Blick Law Firm
Blick law Firm is a local Tampa Bay legal firm specializing in immigration, personal injury, criminal and real estate law all across the state of Florida. The owner, Michael C. Blickensderfer, has over 25 years’ legal experience in Florida, New York and New Jersey. Blick Law Firms practice areas include criminal law, DUI/ Traffic, real estate transactions, loan modifications, short sales, foreclosure defense, bankruptcy, title insurance and real estate litigation. We also serve clients in personal injury, including auto accidents, motorcycle accidents, slip and falls premises liability, dog bites, marine and aviation accidents and wrongful death. For further information regarding our legal services please visit our website at www.blicklawfirm.com.


The hiring of an attorney is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisements. Before you decide, ask us to send you free written information about our qualifications and experience. Copyright © 2010 by Blick Law Firm. All rights reserved. Disclaimer

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Close to 100 companies accepted into Social Madness

The nominating period ended at 11:59 p.m. on May 15, and some local companies got in just under the wire, bringing the total number of competitors in Tampa Bay to 93.

The new companies are:

  • Blick Law Firm
  • Citizinvestor
  • Cushman & Wakefield
  • DigitalBrainz
  • Keller Williams Realty Tampa Properties
  • MB2x
  • Modern Enterprise Solutions Inc.
  • Nickel Communications
  • Pam’s Country Restaurant
  • Strategic Image Management

Social Madness is a one-of-a-kind competition that measures a company’s social media engagement.

Nominations are now closed. The competition will kick off on June 3, and if your company wins the local bracket-style competition, it will move on to the nationals, starting July 16. The winning companies will have $10,000 charitable donations made on their behalf.

Social Madness is locally sponsored by Mercedes-Benz of Tampa.

Pam Huff is Director of News Operations for the Tampa Bay Business Journal.

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