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Daily Archives: January 16, 2020

2020 Report on the State of the Legal Market

“The Center on Ethics and the Legal Profession at the Georgetown University Law Center and Thomson Reuters Legal Executive Institute and Peer Monitor® are pleased to present the 2020 Report on the State of the Legal Market detailing our views of the dominant trends impacting the legal market in 2019 and key issues likely to influence the market in 2020 and beyond…”

Alexa, How Do I Protect My Organization’s Data From You?

Law Technology Today: “Has Alexa infiltrated your company yet? There are 3.25 billion users of digital voice assistants in the world. It stands to reason that if you haven’t seen one of these devices on employees’ desks yet, you soon will. The industry is expected to grow to eight billion users by 2023…” Continue Reading

47 countries witness surge in civil unrest – trend to continue in 2020

Political Risk Outlook 2020 – “The dramatic surge in protests in 2019 has swept up a quarter of countries in its tide and sent unprepared governments across all continents reeling. According to our latest data and forecasts, the turmoil is set to continue unabated in 2020. Our quarterly Civil Unrest Index reveals that over the… Continue Reading

OPEC World Oil Outlook 2019

“OPEC’s World Oil Outlook (WOO) is part of the Organization’s commitment to market stability. The publication is a means to highlight and further the understanding of the many possible future challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for the oil industry. It is also a channel to encourage dialogue, cooperation and transparency between OPEC and other… Continue Reading

Reflections on Collective Collections

OCLC – Reflections on Collective Collections By Brian Lavoie, Lorcan Dempsey, and Constance Malpas: “Collective collections are the combined holdings of a group of libraries, analyzed and possibly managed as a unified resource. Constructing, understanding, and operationalizing collective collections is an increasingly important aspect of collection management for many libraries. This article presents some general… Continue Reading

Presidential Pardons: Overview and Selected Legal Issues

EveryCRSReport: Presidential Pardons: Overview and Selected Legal Issues,, January 14, 2020: “Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution authorizes the President “to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.” The power has its roots in the king’s prerogative to grant mercy under early English law, which… Continue Reading

The Best and Worst U.S. Airlines of 2019

WSJ.com [paywall – alternative free link] – “Flight cancellations increased. So did long delays, bumping ticketed passengers and consumer complaints. Overall, 2019 was a frustrating year for many U.S. travelers. But the travel pain wasn’t evenly distributed. Delta excelled and finished at the top of the Middle Seat Scorecard for the third year in a… Continue Reading

Native Species or Invasive? The Distinction Blurs as the World Warms

YaleEnvironment360: “With thousands of species on the move as the climate changes, a growing number of scientists say that the dichotomy between native and alien species has become an outdated concept and that efforts must be made to help migrating species adapt to their new habitats…In recent years, scientists have documented countless species shifting their… Continue Reading

Burning Planet: Climate Fires and Political Flame Wars Rage

“Economic and political polarization will rise this year, as collaboration between world leaders, businesses and policy-makers is needed more than ever to stop severe threats to our climate, environment, public health and technology systems. This points to a clear need for a multistakeholder approach to mitigating risk at a time when the world cannot wait… Continue Reading

FBI Changes Policy for Notifying States of Election Systems Cyber Breaches

WSJ.com [paywall] – “The Federal Bureau of Investigation will notify state officials when local election systems are believed to have been breached by hackers, a pivot in policy that comes after criticism that the FBI wasn’t doing enough to inform states of election threats. The FBI’s previous policy stated that it notified the direct victims… Continue Reading

GAO – Trump administration violated the law by withholding Ukraine aid

GAO – Office of Management and Budget—Withholding of Ukraine Security Assistance. B-331564: Jan 16, 2020. In the summer of 2019, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) withheld from obligation funds appropriated to the Department of Defense (DOD) for security assistance to Ukraine. In order to withhold the funds, OMB issued a series of nine… Continue Reading