While making the choice to switch to high speed internet might seem like a difficult task, websites are available to simplify the task by streamlining the selection process of internet providers in your area. Providing one place where all your questions can be answered, including those questions

you might

have forgotten to ask, should be the primary goal of a good internet selection website. Because this is such an important decision, an adequate number of choices should be presented for comparison. A review of the top internet providers, including AT&T DSL and Uverse, Verizon, Comcast, Charter Internet and Qwest DSL allows you to compare and contrast the various technologies and packages that are available. Look for the most up-to-date online deals available, as well as information on how bundling services can save you even more on your monthly bill.

Some unique technologies are available like AT&T’s Uverse, which provides all digital high speed internet and television service with integrated technologies that allow your internet and TV to optimally work together. Verizon is now offering FiOS, which is the next generation of fiber-optics-to-the-door technology for unprecedented speeds and versatility between internet and television.

After educating yourself on the various delivery technologies, packages, and speeds available, and you have selected the speed you will require for your personal internet activities, the next step is to determine which internet providers service your area. Some of the companies like AT&T and Verizon have vast networks that cover a large portion of the nation. If your state is listed, you can check availability by entering some specific information about where you live such as your zip code.

With all of these tools available, it’s easy to locate internet providers in your area. Whether you are simply upgrading your speed or just getting connected to the internet for the first time, take advantage of the expertise of those who have gone before you.

Bar complaints: They’re ugly, time-consuming, and scary. You work hard for your clients and want to produce quality results for them. And yet, one of the most frequent bar complaints is not answering phone calls and emails. With a friendly, professional virtual receptionist service answering your calls, you can create a better experience for your clients by providing:

Peace of mind for your clients (and you!). Virtual receptionists will promptly answer your calls cheerfully and professionally. Even when you’re in the middle of working on their case, your clients won’t have to wade through a cold auto attendant or leave a voicemail message and be left wondering when to expect a return call. They will always be greeted warmly by a live person, a comfort in itself.

As a bonus, you’re also welcome to set special call handling instructions to prioritize calls. They can help you be focus on what you do best without worrying if you’re missing an important call. Virtual receptionists can track you down for judges and people from the court or new clients, trying your desk phone, cell phone, or both so that you always look good.

Better responsiveness. Again, a big benefit of an attorney answering service is having someone to promptly answer every business day call; even an in-house receptionist needs to take breaks, gets sick, or goes on vacation. Some virtual receptionist services, like Ruby Receptionists, will pick up in an average of 4 seconds – that’s roughly after one ring!

Sometimes, all clients have is a quick question, but you’re stuck at the courthouse or headed into a meeting, and they’re left in the lurch. Virtual receptionists can answer basic FAQs for your firm such as whether you offer free consultations or what your fax number is. If you client needs a quick update on their case, feel free to tap your legal answering service; in addition to making a great first impression for callers, they can also return calls on your behalf to relay information or confirm appointments!

Spotless client records. Every answering service is different, but with Ruby

Receptionists, every message

taken is emailed and/or texted to you for easy filing. Even voicemail messages are emailed as a .wav file attachment so that you can quickly drag and drop the recording into your client’s electronic file. We also send helpful FYI messages to let you know when a caller declined to leave a message, so you are always kept in the loop!

In one case, a Ruby client relayed an amazing story of how we helped him defeat a bar complaint. Our mobile-friendly Member Services Area keeps a record of every call – including any information gathered and whether they were connected and more – all of which is easily exportable to Excel. So, when the attorney had a bar complaint filed against him saying that they had been calling day and night with no response, we were able to help. We showed him how to run a filter for his client’s phone numbers, and without one call form the client, he was able to send in the records to the ethics committee.

After reviewing his virtual receptionist call records, along with other proactive correspondence he had sent to the client (which had all gone unanswered), his complaint was dismissed. As he said in his blog post on the subject, “I’m convinced that it was a short inquiry that was concluded after reviewing my phone records and finding nary a peep from my favorite customer, despite her claims to the contrary.”

While you’re focusing on what you do best, try letting a live virtual receptionist service take over the phones for you. There’s no substitute for a bright, helpful person on the other end of the line!

Ruby Receptionists is a virtual team of smart and cheerful professional receptionists based in Portland, Oregon. The Ruby team provides answering services for any industry professional including lawyers, technology professionals, financial professionals, and marketing agencies.

Image provided by www.threesnews.net

Oftentimes we grow tired of our everyday activities – sleep, eat, shower, work – and we could all use a break. Not necessarily taking a leave of absence and going off on an island vacation, just something different without having to go for miles and spend money on mojitos. One thing we can do at home is to take part in a little room redecoration. It can be quite a therapeutic task, and not to mention exciting.

What You Get Out of Redecorating

Redecorating your home or a single space at home can have its advantages. It can give you something new and refreshing to come home to after a stressful day at work; it can take your mind off certain issues clouding your head; it can please the significant other and satisfy his or her apparent obsessive-compulsive neatness; it can be an opportunity to remove the clutter at home and get rid of all the old, unwanted junk, giving you and the rest of the household extra breathing room; and it can even be a sort of bonding experience for you and your family.

When It Seems Too Dull

There are a few simple things you can do to make something look different. You don’t really need to purchase new items, as the

old ones can still be of good use. But if you’re desperate to make a change, what you can do is have your existing items personalized.

You can get some of the towels you have in

the closet, have them personalized, and hang them on your towel holders. And while you’re at it, you can treat your kids to personalized beach towels, as well. You can also take out those glasses you have stored in the cabinet of your home mini bar, and have something etched on their surfaces. Then you could take a couple of those personalized wine glasses, pilsners glasses, and highball glasses, etc., and display them on the counter.

When It Seems Too Difficult

Sometimes we don’t like redecorating because of fixtures like your wood burning stove. If you have a wood stove, you can always repaint it, along with the wood stove pipe. The best thing to use for repainting a wood stove would be high temperature paint. If you own a simple and elegant chandelier, you can always purchase a set of new and affordable chandelier shades to match the new style you have envisioned for the space you’re redecorating.

On July 5, 2012, the Supreme Court of New Jersey held in Sussex Commons Assocs., LLC v. Rutgers, the State University that records of clinical cases at public law schools are not subject to the Open Public Records Act (OPRA).

New Jersey Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner, in writing the majority opinion of the Court, described the Rutgers Environmental Litigation Clinic, (RELC):

A clinical legal education program at Rutgers Law School-Newark that provides pro bono legal assistance to clients on environmental matters.  Rutgers legal clinics operate like a law firm in office space that is accessible only to the clinics.  The clinics serve an important educational function by providing an opportunity for law students to perform “hands-on” legal work on actual cases.  In 1996, the American Bar Association began to require that accredited law schools offer such programs.  Today, clinical legal programs are an accepted part of legal education and provide legal services to clients who lack the resources to hire an attorney.

In 2004, the clinic represented the Coalition to Protect Our Land,

Lakes and Watersheds and the Citizens for Responsible Development at Ross’ Corner (CRDRC). CRDRC filed suit in opposition to a plan of Sussex Commons Associates, LLC (Sussex) to develop an outlet mall. Sussex Commons then filed a lawsuit against the Chelsea Property Group alleging that Chelsea tortiously interfered with Sussex Commons’ attempts to secure tenants for the proposed mall.

In the course of the litigation, Sussex Commons moved to amend its complaint against Chelsea to name four individuals, including officers of the Coalition and CRDRC, as co-conspirators, sought broader discovery of the individuals, and also sought to discover communications between Chelsea’s counsel and the RELC.

The trial court denied Sussex’s motion to amend, finding that Sussex Commons was using the threat of legal action to chill the exercise of First Amendment rights by citizens opposed to the mall, and determined that although Sussex was entitled to know if Chelsea’s attorneys were assisting the RELC, the substance of any communications between them was privileged.  Sussex submitted a request in accordance with the OPRA to Rutgers University requesting eighteen categories of documents relating to the RELC.  Rutgers denied the requests. Sussex then sued Rutgers University, the RELC, and the Custodian of Records alleging that it was entitled to the records under OPRA and the common law right of access.

The trial court ruled that the RELC was exempt from OPRA and dismissed the complaint.  The New Jersey Appellate Division Court reversed, ruling that Rutgers University was subject to OPRA, that the University included the law school, and that the Clinic was part of the law school.  As a result, the appellate court concluded that the Clinic met OPRA’s definition of a public agency.

The Supreme Court held that records related to cases at public law school clinics are not subject to OPRA.  The ruling included client-related how to save money on car repairs documents or clinical case files, as well as requests for information about the development and management of litigation.

While the court held that OPRA applies to Rutgers University and its law schools as regards records about public aspects of its programs, the case under consideration concerned whether records related to clinical cases at public law school clinics are subject to OPRA. In In re Determination of Executive Commission on Ethical Standards, 116 N.J. 216 (1989), the Court found that Rutgers’ clinical professors were not “State employees” for purposes of the New Jersey Conflicts of Interest Law, and were not barred from representing private clients before State agencies; The rationale of In re Executive Commission on Ethical Standards applies here.

The decision also stated that because clinical legal programs do not perform any government functions, but instead teach law students how to practice law and represent clients, public access to documents related to clinic cases would not further the purposes of OPRA.

The possibility of disclosure, however, would have real consequences for clinical education and would require clinics to divert attention and resources away from training students and serving clients to respond to OPRA requests.  Even if documents were protected under one of OPRA’s exemptions, law school clinics would still have to shoulder the administrative burden of preparing for, responding to, and possibly litigating over each item requested.  The consequences are likely to harm the operation of public law clinics and, by extension, the legal profession and the public.  Applying OPRA to the RELC and similar clinical programs would also lead to the following absurd result:  public law school clinics would be subject to disclosure of their records, and private law school programs would not.  Nothing suggests that the Legislature intended those results when it enacted OPRA, and the Court does not believe the Legislature meant to harm clinical legal programs when it drafted that important law.

The Sussex Commons discovery also sought RELC records under the common law right of access.  The court held that because clinical professors at public law schools do not act as public officers or conduct official business when they represent private clients at a law school clinic, the common law right of access does not extend to records maintained in that setting.

Mike Roberts lives in the Pacific Northwest and writes predominately on the legal aspects of record retrieval. He routinely uses medical records retrieval services to best help his clients. 

Earning your degree can be one of the more complicated things you have ever set out to accomplish.

It doesn’t matter whether you are earning your degree online or at a campus. It doesn’t matter whether you are earning your associate’s degree, your bachelor’s degree or a postgraduate degree. What does matter is that you stay organized so you can earn your degree easier.

There are five ways to organize your life more effectively while earning your degree.

#1: Use Notes in an Electronic Format

Notes should be taken electronically. You can do this in an array of different ways. You can bring a tablet or laptop to class and type all of your notes as the teacher talks. You can also write out the notes and scan them into a software program that will identify the words and save them electronically. Another way is to take a recording and then use a voice-to-text program to do the translations for you.

It will be easy to stay organized when you have electronic notes because they will always be there for you. You can save the files based upon what classes they are for. Then, when it comes time to studying a particular subject matter, you can search with the ‘find’ feature to locate the subject that needs to be read up on.

#2: Keep a Schedule of Your Classes

You have to keep a schedule of your classes. Whether you’re a full-time student or not, life is happening all around you. If you’re not careful, you can easily forget that you have a class going on during a particular time of the day or on a specific day. When you organize your calendar, you will be sure that you are always in class – or logged onto the computer to attend class.

If you skip class, you skip lessons. When you skip lessons, it will be harder to understand all of the material. You won’t be able to earn your degree in any kind of timely manner if you are constantly retaking the classes.

#3: Utilize App Reminders

There are various app reminders that you can download. You can download them to your smartphone, onto your computer or even a tablet. With these reminders, you can be told of when assignments are due and when deadlines are approaching. Especially if you

are taking more than one class at a time, the number of assignments and deadlines can be significant – and you will want to stay organized with them all.

You can be alerted to the deadlines within the app. This could include an alarm sound, an email or various other messaging systems. Additionally, you can program them to give you the reminders as often as you need.

#4: Organize Study Groups Online

Study groups can help with group projects as well as to help keep everyone on their toes for upcoming papers, essays and tests. If all of you have limited availability, you don’t have to give up on study groups. You simply have to organize yourselves online.

There are enough different programs on the Internet that can help with this. From Skype to Windows Messenger and even Facebook, you can choose the method that works best for you. You may want to video chat or simply start a chat room where you can send files back and forth to each other and message when at least two of you are on at the same time.

#5: Maintain an Outline of Classes Still to Take

One of the more difficult aspects to earning a degree is ensuring you are taking all of the right classes. As much fun as it can be to take electives, you are limited by the number of electives you should be taking. If you take too many, you may find yourself spending more time earning your degree – which will also cost more as well.

Work with your counselor to create an outline of all the classes you still have to take. Stay organized even more by creating an electronic version of this outline.

When you stay organized, it will be easier to obtain your degree in a timely manner. From taking notes to taking the right classes, the proper level of organization will go a long way.

Author Bio

Alex Hudson is a technical advocate writing on a variety of topics including: property ID labels, product reviews, Camcode durable foil stickers, and business decisions.

Mobile security is more important than ever before. There is not just the mobile phone to be concerned with – it’s all the other digital devices as well. Tablets, iPads and even e-readers are becoming increasingly popular. People are using these devices to do online banking, download music and conduct other business on the Internet as well. Security is a hot topic in 2013 because of how utilized these devices are – and how much the right security measures can protect.

Research shows that online shopping for the 2012 holiday season was up considerably from past years. It is estimated that about 30 percent of these sales came from mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. With more transactions being completed on such devices, it’s proof that mobile security is needed now more than in the past. Computers are usually protected, however few people think about their mobile devices because they are so small and because they are limited in the number of functions they can perform.

No one wants to have their personal information stolen. If you aren’t careful, you could log into an unsecure website and put in all of your personal details – address, phone number and even credit cards. If the information falls into the wrong hands, you may find that your entire identity has been taken over. It’s happened before and it will happen again.

You don’t have to open yourself up to breaches of security. With mobile security, you can ensure that no one is able to obtain your personal details unless you want them to. This means that all of your personal information has to be encrypted when it’s sent over the Internet. Since you can access so many different websites from your wireless device, the security is up to you just as much as it’s up to the website that you are using.

Any device that is able to connect to the Internet needs to have some form of security on it. This comes in the form of security for online transactions as well as security for downloads. It’s just as easy to run into problems when sending information across the Internet as it is when downloading a file from the Internet onto the device. This includes everything from apps and music to word files, emails and even e-books.

Most websites have what’s called secure

socket layer encryption, otherwise known as SSL. You can find out if this kind of security is present in your web browser by looking for a simple little icon. The icon is usually in the shape of a padlock. This will signal that the data you enter is being encrypted before it is sent over the world wide web. Without some form of encryption taking place, anyone can procure personal information about you – which can be very dangerous.

It’s not just about personal information being stolen, however. There are also the dangers of viruses, trojans and other malware that can be transmitted to an electronic device. More and more of these are being developed by hackers who simply want to test out their reach and see what they can do. If you don’t have mobile security in place, you could be downloading these to your device without even knowing it.

Almost every device has some sort of security on it. How strong this security is depends upon what the device is and what has been done to the device. For example, many people have been known to unlock their phones from the original coding. Some of this coding is for mobile security purposes to ensure malware cannot be downloaded. When unlocked, the device is more susceptible and therefore security measures have to be taken to protect the device.

The mobile devices of today are allowing people to do more without being tied to a computer. More people are using mobile devices to connect with friends and family, shop, pay bills and much more. Computers have a ton of security – mobile devices aren’t always given the same luxuries. With more people depending on their mobile devices for communication, security has to be given priority.

Enough research has been done to show that 2013 will have more users with mobile devices than in the past. The number of users with smartphones will increase. The number of users who buy tablets will increase. Since there are so many new devices, mobile security must be amped up to protect everyone’s best interests.

Author Bio

Katelyn Roberts is a frequent contributor for NQ Mobile antivirus software. She writes on a wide variety of topics including technology, green living and entertainment.

Your retail team of employees is whom the customer will have direct contact with when they walk into your store. A proactive team who engages the consumer in a positive manner is especially valuable, and directly serves to increase sales and the customer shopping experience. So how can you increase employee proactivity in your own retail environment? Read these tips and learn how to train and motivate your employees to be more proactive.

1. Lead by Example

If you approach your employees with a positive attitude and exhibit an energetic appearance, the same traits can infect your employees. You can foster a more energetic workplace by keeping being proactive yourself. As a manager, you can still approach customers, ask them how their day is going, inquire as to whether they need help with anything, and take a more proactive approach in general towards helping staff and consumers.

Being proactive also means making decisions in a timely and confident fashion, taking the initiative and making plans for the future.

2. Provide Incentive

In any retail environment, there are typically a number of employees on the sales floor to help consumers with products. But if there is little incentive to do so, then less proactive employees may just tend to hang back and let others help customers. You might not have a problem with this if sales are still being made, but there are in fact two problems with this: one, you are essentially paying some employees to stand around and do the bare minimum, and two, you are not considering the sales that you are losing by not having 100% employee proactivity.

You might provide employees with a gift card, a free item, a discount, or some other form of appreciative reward for meeting certain sales goals each week or each month.

3. Role Play

Even with incentive, employees might still feel uncomfortable approaching customers unless approached first. So take the time to role play with your team to get them feeling more confident. Engage in a variety of situations, from a customer walking into the store to handling consumer complaints.

4. Look for Strengths and Weaknesses

One employee might not have great sales skills but could be a good problem solver. Maybe they would serve the team better in a customer service capacity, handling consumer complaints or seeing how aspects of the customer shopping experience could be better improved.

If your store has different departments, are all the employees in departments in which they have knowledge of the product? An employee will find it easier to talk to customers about a product they know about and possibly even have a large interest in. For example, if a customer enjoys music, they will probably be more proactive in the music department.

Depending upon the products you sell, it can also be beneficial to let the employees try out the products or even purchase them at a greater discount. A customer that has direct personal experience

with the product can better explain the features and benefits.

5. Assigning Tasks and Soliciting Ideas

Employees without a clearly defined set of roles will not always be proactive. By letting employees know what their duties are and assigning tasks in the morning, they can be more proactive and require less management throughout the day. Additionally, asking them questions about their opinions on certain matters and inquiring as to their insight on your own ideas leads them to be more open with their communication and less dependent on you. Valuing an employee instills them with confidence, a much-needed trait for employee proactivity.

About the Author:

Valerie Cecil is a research coordinator, marketing specialist and writer for Outbounding.com. Her work allows her to investigate many topics, ranging from online consumer relations to effective communication in the workplace. Her hobbies include kayaking, watercolor, and doing marketing work for retailpackaging.com.

Insurance  scams have become a way for criminals to rob insurance companies for  money, without directly stealing it. Keep in mind, insurance fraud makes  you just as guilty as the next criminal, but it’s a scam that is  practiced by many and unfortunately, a lot of these individuals have  never spent a day behind bars. Below, you will find 5 common insurance  scams and you will also learn exactly how you can see them.

 1 – Forcing a rear-end collision

One common auto insurance scam is when an individual forces a  rear-end collision. Since this is a difficult type of accident to judge,  it’s almost always deemed the behind drivers fault. Therefore, someone  who is committing an insurance scam can swerve in front of another  vehicle and apply the brakes. If the vehicle rear-ends them, it will be  their fault and the insurance scammer will not only get compensated for  the damages to their vehicle, but they can also claim injuries and  receive cash for their discomfort and medical bills as well.

 2 – Life insurance fraud

Another common insurance scam is life insurance fraud. Essentially,  con artists will fake the death

of someone that they are the beneficiary  of a life insurance policy for, in order to receive the life insurance  benefits after they are determined dead. Some con artists will even  stage a funeral in order to accomplish their goal.

 3 – Falsely reporting stolen possessions

Renters insurance and homeowners insurance will often cover some of  the possessions that you have inside your home. This can include  furniture, jewelry, clothing, and much more. Some insurance scams have  been from individuals that have falsely reported these possessions to be  stolen. In actuality, the possessions they are claiming to be stolen  are likely being stored somewhere, which they will return to the home as  soon as the money comes through from the insurance company. It’s an  elaborate and un-thoughtful scam, as many of them are.

 4 – False injury claims

With any type of vehicle accident, false injury claims are incredibly  common. This happens when someone is involved in an accident and  reports an injury due to the negligence of the other driver. In some  rare cases, individuals will report injuries when they aren’t even  involved in the accident. Just this year, a man was arrested for jumping  onto a bus after an accident occurred and then clutching his back in  pain, in order to later file a false injury claim.

 5 – Stolen car fraud

Criminals come up with innovative ways to cash in all the time. One  insurance scam that is not entirely new is reporting your car as stolen,  when it is actually not. There have been all sorts of con artists  convicted of this crime, many of them end up getting caught because they  continue to drive the vehicle even after they have reported it as  stolen.

Insurance scams are common in today’s society and if you want to see  them, you have to have your eyes peeled for some of the more common  scams that we see today.

Author Bio: Stevie Clapton works for CarInsuranceQuote.net where you can find articles and assistance on everything car insurance related.

Data leakage is a common problem among today’s enterprises. With the rise of the Internet and mobile computing, combined with BYOD company policies, there are several different ways hackers can gain access to a company’s proprietary and confidential data.

If you’re using a company device, or a BYOD device which has access to core company databases and applications, you’ll want to take steps to protect the privacy of your organization and its customers. Secure browsing is a critical component of good security practices at the office.

Abide by company rules

Even if your company has a BYOD policy, it likely has a set of security standards

it expects employees to abide by to ensure proper security measures. Always follow any security policies and procedures set forth by your company – they’re designed specifically to prevent data leakage. Whether company-issued or not, your device can serve as a portal for hackers to access sensitive information. Browsing the web with caution will benefit you, just as much as it will your employer.

Update security settings and install browser updates

Your company may have provided you with access to its preferred security vendor. If so, be sure to install and utilize that program, as it likely contains specific filters and other precautions designed to meet

the security needs of your company and prevent data leakage.

Security software – -depending on whether your company utilizes a cloud-based or on-premise solution – may require periodic updates. If that’s the case, always install any security updates as they contain important protections against recently discovered threats.

If you’re browsing the web using an office PC, be sure you’re using the most up-to-date version of your preferred browser. Internet browsers issue periodic updates which are crucial for providing the best protection currently available.

Use distinct passwords for personal and work purposes

If you have access to a company application or database, you’ll want to use distinct passwords which differ significantly from those you use for personal reasons. That’s because a hacker who breaches your personal PC or device and knows your place of employment can seek to gain access to proprietary data for malicious purposes. If your passwords are duplicated, accessing this data will be an easier task.

In general, be smart when it comes to passwords. Don’t enable any automatic password memory (as convenient as it may be) and don’t use the same password to access multiple company accounts. Disabling cookies, which retain browsing history and other information, is also a good idea. You can configure your settings to disable cookies altogether or to automatically delete cookies either periodically or when you close your browser session.

Apply critical software updates

Any on-premise software solution your company utilizes will likely ask you to make an update from time to time. Restarting your system is a typical requirement to finalize these updates. It can be a pain – but it’s worth your time. It’s also a good idea to completely shut down any system you’re using at the office before you go home in the evening. An idle Internet connection can at times provide a vehicle for hackers to gain access to inadequately secured data. Take no chances.

Look to your IT department for help

If you’re working with a company which maintains its own IT professionals, look to them for help when in doubt. Those team members are on the clock working to protect both you and your company from hacks and other unfortunate security events. If you’re prompted to install software you didn’t initialize, seek their assistance. If you have trouble configuring software updates, ask for help.

It doesn’t have to be a major security risk to browse the web on the job. One simple breach can allow the leakage of essential data. Follow your company’s policies first, and utilize sound security practices to keep yourself – and your employer – as safe as possible.

Author Bio

Fergal Glynn is the Director of Product Marketing at Veracode security tools, an award-winning application security company specializing in cross site scripting solutions and other security breaches with effective risk assessment tools

Double wide mobile homes can provide families with affordable yet comfortable living, making them a great choice for any budget. Just how much new double wide mobile homes cost vary depending on the size and brand chosen, but in general, new double wide homes are much more affordable than stick-build homes with the same square footage and features.

Double wide mobile homes are at a minimum of 20 feet wide and can be up to 90 feet long, and are transported in 2 sections to be placed on a foundation or land. The average cost of a new double wide mobile home varies from around $40,000 for a basic model to up to $80,000 for one that is custom-built to owner specifications. Most double wide mobile homes feature 3 to 4 bedrooms and up to 2 bathrooms, but larger (and more expensive) models can have up to 6 bedrooms and 3 or more bathrooms. See here.

The average cost of most common double wide, a 3 bedroom and 2 bath, is around $54,000. This cost typically includes transport and placement of the new home on its foundation. A person looking to own a new mobile home should also keep in mind moving permits, wells, electric hookups, land lease (if placed in a park) and the cost of land before they venture into purchasing a mobile home.

A mobile home often holds no real property value so if a person is thinking of purchasing one and expects to live in it permanently, they should plan to place it on a private land to add more value in case of future re-sell. Most people however choose to buy a double wide for the cheap cost of living rather than a real estate investment. Since mobile homes come in a variety of styles and modern architectural designs, it’s easier to customize this type of home on a smaller budget to make it feel luxurious and convenient for the owner.

A double wide mobile home is a great way to have a terrific new home without spending a lot of money. Since this style of home is considerably cheaper than a stick-built of the same design, many are drawn to acquire property ownership because the price fits any type of budget. This provides a better alternative than a standard home.

Anyone seeking a new double wide mobile home can view several models to find one that suits their taste and fits within their budgets.

Earlier in the year, the United States Supreme Court decided to hear a case regarding the country’s drug industry and federal antitrust enforcers, a billion dollar case that has turned ugly. The outcome of this said case will decide on how fast cheaper generic drugs can be released in the market. The judges explained that they will be making one Abbott Laboratories case as their basis on how to deal with the “pay for delay” agreement which has drug buyers spending a total of $3.5 billion per year.

The agreement’s terms include having branded drug manufacturers pay a sum to other companies to discontinue selling generic versions of their products. This, as the pharmaceutical industry puts it, is a licit settlement of patent dispute. Deals like these have been made way back since 2005, and as the Federal Trade Commission is currently trying to suppress the matter, several companies – Bayer AG (BAYN), Merck & Co. (MRK), Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY), Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. (WPI) and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TEVA) – have been the center of many court cases.

These settlements, which are also termed as reverse payments, are generally acceptable in the opinion of three federal appeals courts that would later rule on the matter in June. Antitrust enforcers and drug manufacturers want the Supreme Court to set a standard that will apply to all states. Ralph Neas, the president for the Generic Pharmaceutical Association in Washington, says that “This case could determine how an entire industry does business because it would dramatically affect the economics of each decision to introduce a generic drug.”

With the help of the Justice Department, the Federal Trade Commission, is filing an appeal to reverse a ruling relating to an Androgel (a drug indicated for decreased testosterone levels) lawsuit against Solvay Pharmaceuticals Inc. (now controlled by Abbot Labs), along with three generic drug companies. Solvay had predicted a significant decrease in profits once competition would arrive, and so they paid off three generic drug manufacturers $42 million per year just to postpone the release of rival drugs.

This happened after the Food and Drug Administration approved to have generic versions in the market. However, there was no confirmation that a rival generic drug is scheduled for immediate release.“ The agreements made economic sense only as a mechanism for Solvay to pay its nascent generic competitors to delay competing with it,” according to the FTC.

In one of the most expensive rules in the history of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), their office was able to demonstrate the first nationwide caps in mercury and several other hazards that come with industrial boilers. They had established this while giving the industry what it demands for companies to be given more time to conform. The said boiler rule is one of the many regulations finalized by the agency last December 22, 2012. The overall cost per year will total a whopping $2 billion, something that different industry groups are not happy about, given the circumstances of today’s economy.

Many environmental groups feel that the EPA is giving in too much to the pressure they get from business groups and lawmakers. They claim that the deadline extension the agency has set (which was extended for another three years, with the option to ask for an additional year) is more likely to cause a lot of asthma attacks and sudden deaths. And James Pew of the Washingon-based Earthjustice wrote in an e-mail message that the holdup is “completely unnecessary, especially given that the changes to the emission standards are relatively small.” Pew is one of the lawyers behind the court cases that prompted the agency to issue the boiler rule.

“For the second straight week, the EPA has finalized another costly and crippling regulation at a time when our economy is on the brink,” shares Hay Timmons, the president of the National Association of Manufacturers which represents the companies Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) and General Electric Co. (GE). Paper plants, hospitals, schools, and various manufacturers all run boilers, and they have largely been set apart from those types with tight controls on acid gases, mercury, and particulate matter that the agency had already issued for coal-fired power plants. The agency has also estimated that the final boiler will cost the industry $1.6 billion each year.

Last year, the EPA had already proposed a set of standards on controls on boilers, but users urged them to make more adjustments. One example would be to require that more sulfur dioxide and mercury must be eliminated from a boiler’s exhaust or non-mercury metals and particulate matter will be cut. In one of their fact sheets, the agency points out that “These adjustments have retained the significant health benefits and resulted in rules that are simpler to implement.”

Issues over royalty rates for streaming songs on the Internet have been around for over 10 years now. Companies such as Pandora Media and various other internet radio services are worried about their survival in the digital age, considering the circumstances that artists nowadays aren’t paid as much as they used to be. And although arguments regarding the matter have simmered down for some time now, it has been reignited by a proposed bill in Congress that will have a lot to do with the conditions of digital royalty rates.

The federal Copyright Royalty Board is responsible for setting rates, but different rates apply to Internet radio services like Pandora, as opposed to cable services like Sirius XM. Pandora reportedly pays a cent to musicians and record companies every time a song is played online, which totaled more than half their revenue last year. Sirius XM, on the other hand, pays only 8 percent of their total income.

Pandora has been one of those companies pushing for lower rates for streaming music online, and they have been scrutinized out in the open because of it. And since online streaming has turned into one of the music industry’s biggest sources of income, their issue has become even tougher to deal with. Tim Westergren, the founder and spokesperson for the company, claims “The rate being too high dramatically depresses how much music gets played.”

Congress’ Internet Radio Fairness Act was first presented in September. It aims to equal the rates of Internet radio companies and cable radio services. And if the bill gets approved, there will be a lot of contemplating on the part of the three judges from the Copyright Royalty Board, as they will need to come up with rates that will not negatively affect the music industry. And that will be quite hard to achieve.

The fair-pay issue has also been acknowledged by music industry labor unions and groups. These groups do want a certain standard to take effect, but they also want rates to remain high. Cary Sherman, chief executive officer of the Recording industry Association of America explains, “This is not just about our present; it is about our future, our ability to make it in the digital age.” He says that “Artists and labels and the entire music community need to earn a fair return on the creative works that are the reason companies like Pandora exist.”

When a person gets injured due to the carelessness of another, it often leads to personal injury claims. One would seek damages which are usually of economic or non-economic nature. Economic damages refer to compensation for the injured party’s losses through fiscal means. Non-economic damages, on the other hand, are related to losses which are not palpable. Included in non-economic damages is pain and suffering, the kind that’s not so easy to measure.

What does pain and suffering damages mean?

Simply put, pain and suffering damages is both the physical and psychological discomfort a person endures from the physical pain and mental anguish caused by an accident, a device malfunction, a slip-and-fall, or medical malpractice. This includes broken bones, depression, mortifying scars, shortened life expectancy, and temporary or permanent disability, among others. And since pain and suffering damages involves things that aren’t necessarily seen by the naked eye, offering up physical evidence is not a prerequisite for the plaintiff to receive compensation. However, when proof suggesting the injured party’s pain and suffering is presented, it makes for a stronger case. The likelihood of being rewarded compensatory damages is much higher.

How does pain and suffering damages get calculated?

Pain and suffering damages is not something that is rewarded as often. It is not easy to deal with as the amount and level of pain and suffering a person experiences will be very challenging to quantify. Because of this difficulty, insurance companies rely on a tool to assist them with determining how much they will be paying to cover a plaintiff’s injuries. There’s really no way for us to come up with accurate numbers, but the most common methods insurance companies use to calculate pain and suffering damages are computer programs. Another method is through multiplying medical expenditures by a certain factor.

What does one need to obtain compensation?

Before anyone is awarded compensation for pain and suffering, there are a few things that need to be done. Detailed accounts of a person’s physical pain and mental discomfort must be recorded daily by keeping journals or writing notes. The written account should contain the type of pain experienced, its location, and how the pain makes you feel. The plaintiff should also collect copies of medical records, patient’s chart, medication prescriptions and other related documents. All these are essential because they have a significant impact on the judge or jury’s decision regarding compensation.

Based on the Washington State Employment Law, the Supreme Court of Washington ruled that Spokane’s 1,200 registered nurses should be entitled to overtime pay if they happen to work during their break time. Because of the court’s decision, several employers are going to have to make themselves more wary of employee rights and overtime provisions in the state.

In the case of the Nurses Association v. Sacred Heart Medical Center, it was held that every time an employee skips his or her rest period, it will be considered as an extension of their working hours. That means that if one nurse on an 8-hour shift skips his or her break period of 25 minutes, then the nurse would have worked 8 hours and 25 minutes that day. And because the nurse worked 25 minutes more than the scheduled 40 hours a week, then he or she is deemed to have worked overtime.

According to the Washington Supreme Court, their decision was also based on a ruling they had made in the Wingert v. Yellow Freight Systems Inc. case. It pertained to workers who were robbed of their 10-minute rest period, which is mandated by the state, and so 10 minutes were added to their total hours of work per day. The said Yellow Freight workers claim that they worked for three hours straight without any break periods, which was required of them by the company.

Court documents beg to differ. These documents state that Yellow Freight’s employees have morning and afternoon rest periods, as well as a lunch break. A typical morning at work for their dock workers and hostlers is 2 hours of work, followed by a break of 15 minutes, and they continue working for 1 hour and 45 minutes. These employees are then given a 30-minute unpaid lunch break. In the afternoon, they also work for 2 hours straight, then have a 15-minute break, and again continue working for an hour and 45 minutes.

Since nurses are now entitled to overtime time under state laws, it would be wise for employers to monitor their employees and try to make sure they don’t skip their break periods. But since hospitals are very busy and with nurses coming to check up on their patients every now and then, it will be quite a difficult feat, especially because these nurses don’t have schedule rest periods.

The recent election had brought about a good omen for the gay and lesbian community, and even for advocates of marijuana. But for those who wanted a change in how food products were labeled, or those in support of soda tax, not quite. A vote for Proposition 37, which seeks to label foods that were made with genetically modified organisms (GMO), appeared to be certain in California, up until the opposition had it derailed.

Money, a whopping $46 million that is, played a big role in this loss. “This wasn’t an election so much as a sale,” said Stonyfield Farm founder and Just Label It! campaign chair Gary Hirshberg. Similarly, money was also a factor in the prevention of soda taxes in El Monte and Richmond. Beverage companies outspent advocates by about $3.3 million.

Do the types of food we eat benefit our health or predispose us to a number of health issues? That’s the issue in question – transparency. But what’s making the GMO labeling issue more complicated is that critics believe that pro-labeling parties are taking a position that is quite difficult to substantiate as there have not been proof of harmful substances in the many years that people have been eating food that contain GMOs. Americans are actually cautious of GMOs, only that the issue might bring about transparency in livestock production, a matter which is easier to prove yet harder to come to terms with.

As for the issue in soda taxes, it may prove beneficial in encouraging people to decrease their sugar consumption. But it seems that a lot of people want solid research and proof that excessive intake of sugar leads to a whole bunch of medical problems before they cut down on their intake. And although there are individuals who will tell you that such studies exist, the justification that apparently many people are looking out for is a successful lawsuit; that a plaintiff develops diabetes because of drinking 10 sodas a day, sues the beverage company and is awarded damages, then that will be proof enough.

But look at the Brightside. Despite these issues losing their votes, more and more people have become aware of the efforts towards GMO labeling and imposing taxes on sodas. Advocates may have lost this battle, but the war is far from over. Jeff Ritterman, who is one of those in charge of the campaign in Richmond, foresees the success of a “14 in ‘14” movement where 14 cities will come together in 2014 to outnumber the opposition.

Given the circumstances that one out of five insider trading cases in the US has something to do with healthcare stocks, several companies in the industry maintain that their policies that were framed to prevent abuse are enough to meet the needs of the situation. Either that or they just don’t want to talk about the matter at hand. A number of people have been sued and/or charged by US regulators for insider trading since 2007, and 97 of them benefitted from trading information regarding drugs, medical devices, and their manufacturers. Most drug manufacturers either decline to discuss their policies or decline to make adjustments.

The biotechnology company NPS Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NPSP)’s chief executive officer, Francois Nader, describes to insider trading as “rogue cases from time to time,” an opinion he shares with every other drug company executive that was interviewed. Though who oppose, however, say that, if unresolved, will lead to the decline of investor support. And Bill Singer, who used to work for the American Stock Exchange as a regulatory attorney, doesn’t think that drug-makers are doing everything they can to correct the problem. “The industry isn’t capable or willing to regulate itself,” he says.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY) and Abbott Laboratories (ABT) is only a couple of the many companies that refuse to share the compliance policies. Both of these manufacturers had executives that were sued for insider trading during the last 6 months, as stated in complaints filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies are quite susceptible to incidents of insider trading due to the various events and people they are connected with. Utpal Bhattacharya, a professor who studies the issue at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business in Bloomington, explains that “the big loser is confidence in the system; no one wants to play a rigged game.”

Another problem is that the relationship between companies and researchers isn’t that solid. Researchers need to be monitored closely by when it comes to their financial ties. Companies must not count on the usual nondisclosure agreements, and they should also stress the legal consequences that could occur once non-public information is passed along.  “Doctors are honorable people with academic credibility whose only interest is public health. But we have the same number of venal criminals as any other occupation,” shares Garret Fitzgerald, the director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Translational Medicine & Therapeutics.

Every kid’s favorite toy store, Toys “R” Us, along with its legal representatives from Sills Cummis and Gross, faced brutal criticism from a state judge last week because of the fact that they utilized litigation as a strategy in negotiations regarding a new lease for their Times Square branch. Last January 2, 2013, Supreme Court Justice Charles Ramos, in Manhattan, dismissed the lawsuit that the toy company and its counsel worked hard on to recover the 12 years of property taxes that it had been paying as part of its flagship store lease.

Ramos’s decision stated that the “counsel and their clients are admonished to consider that the citizens of this State pay a considerable sum to finance the operations of the Unified Court System.” He continued by writing that “the record reveals that this action was commenced in the midst of lease renewal negotiations. Litigation, with its expense and uncertainty, has been used from time to time, as part of a negotiating strategy in circumstances similar to this case. If such a strategy was being utilized here, it would represent an abuse of the judicial process and to the taxpayers of this State, to add insult to injury.”

Toys “R” Us claims that the provisions of its lease included a requirement that they pay for signage taxes, which are assessed by the city on its own signs, which exempts the company from paying a commensurate share of its real estate taxes for the entire building. The clause pertaining to the said requirement states that it is exempt from paying taxes on any other tenants’ signs. The company emphasized that the entirety of the building’s real estate taxes were calculated by its total income, including those from other tenants’ signs. That said, having the store pay a commensurate share would mean they are required to pay taxes on other tenants’ signs.

Ramos, however, was not convinced by the said argument. He believes that Toys “R” Us is “conflating income derived from signs with taxes charged by the City.” He goes on to say that “This State’s finances are in a deplorable condition. Its resources are being stretched thin to the point where the needs of its citizens are imperiled. If counsel and their clients in this case are litigating in bad faith, they are depriving others far less well off of a proportionate share of the services the public relies on.”

Amidst the controversy surrounding their accounting methods, Olam, the second largest rice trader in the world, claim to have enough liquidity to overcome market stress. Carson Block, the founder of the small research firm Muddy Waters LLC, began to call their accounts into question, but Olam’s auditor says that the company “is in a sound financial position.” In addition, representatives also say that “the company has sufficient liquidity in place to meet its financial obligations and those that might arise from stress in the capital markets.”

In a letter issued last Thursday which was addressed to the Olam’s board, Ernst & Young LLP, the auditors for the said company, explained that the financial statements they made conform to Singapore’s reporting standards. In their defense, they said, “We stand by our audit opinions on the consolidated financial statements of Olam.” And Chief Executive Officer Sunny Verghese says that this was just some scheme to scare away the company’s shareholders.

It all started at a hedge fund meeting at London in November 19, 2012 when Block oppugned Olam’s accounting methods. The company reacted by filing a lawsuit two days after in a Singapore High Court. They sought unspecified damages and costs, and filed for an injunction to prevent Block’s remarks from being publicized. “The allegations were flying very fast and furious,” says Tito Isaac, the managing partner for Tito Isaac & Co. LLP. He shares that “It was appropriate for them to file the lawsuit as soon as possible.”

Muddy Waters, however, tells Olam through an open letter to executives that “In the two and one-half years Muddy Waters LLC has been openly criticizing publicly-traded companies, we have not seen a response as defensive as yours — not even from Sino-Forest.” Also stated in the letter which was posted in their website, “Olam’s disproportionate reaction is extraordinary in our experience,” and that “Companies that attack criticism the way Olam does fail to understand that raising money from the public is a privilege.”

Sino-Forest was once a target of Muddy Waters’ criticism. The company’s stocks dropped 74 percent, and later, they ended up filing for bankruptcy. As of November 20, after Block’s public critiques against Olam, stocks dropped 7.5 percent and shares fell 1.8 percent. Moreover, companies such as New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc., Fushi Copperweld Inc. (FSIN), and Focus Media (FMCN) Holding Ltd. are also being targeted, and Muddy Waters say that they stand by their claims no matter what.

If you’ve had no experience with hiring a lawyer and you’ve just been injured because of someone else’s misdoing, then one of the things you must be concerned about is how much a law firm charges. Personal injury firms to be exact, as they are typically the go-to firms for these kinds of cases.

There are two ways in which personal injury lawyers would usually prefer to receive payment. One is through a contingency plan, wherein you pay your attorney when they’ve managed to obtain proper compensation for your injury. The other is through an hourly rate where you would have to pay them depending on the time they’ve spent working on your case.

Paying Through Contingency Basis

This is the most common way personal injury firms or lawyers use to charge a client for their services. Paying a contingency fee means that a client would have to pay their lawyer a percentage of the funds they’ve received for damages, but you should also clarify whether this percentage is taken from your gross or net rewards.

If the attorney was unsuccessful at reaching a settlement or defending the client’s claim in court, then he or she won’t receive any payment. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of the client to pay a firm back for any incurred expenses while the firm was taking on the client’s case.

Paying an Hourly Rate

Some lawyers charge a client for the time they’ve allotted to work on the personal injury case, usually on an hourly basis. The downside with this mode of payment is that the client will have to pay for fees and expenses even though a lawyer is unsuccessful at resolving a case. But do note that once a personal injury lawyer or law firm agrees to handle a case and charge on an hourly rate, this may signal that your case is likely to have a successful outcome.

What Hiring a Personal Injury Firm Will Entail

You should put in mind that, regardless of how they charge for their services, personal injury firms cannot promise you the exact amount of damages or settlement funds you need to cover your injury-related expenditures. There is a chance you would have to pay for injury-related expenses yourself as you need to pay the lawyer’s fee.

While meeting with an attorney or firm, it would be wise to ask them how much your case will cost and what reasonable outcomes you can expect when your case goes to trial. Also ask them how much you would possibly pay for fees and expenses, as well as the amount that would remain once all those are paid off.