Welcome to your daily briefing on legal developments in Nebraska. Today we're covering 7 key stories including updates on nebraska legal headlines, background & context. Let's dive in.
4 stories
A website now offers Nebraska court records for running background checks online.
Legal professionals in NE may find this online tool useful for expediting client background screenings and due diligence research.
The Nebraska State Bar Association works for Nebraska attorneys to help them achieve the highest standards of competence, ethics, and professionalism, and to protect and promote the administration of, and access to justice.
NE legal professionals can rely on the NSBA as a key resource for maintaining professional standards and advancing justice in their practice.
The Nebraska Judicial Branch has developed instructions and forms to help people better understand legal processes and court records access.
Legal professionals in NE may encounter pro se litigants using these resources, and should be aware of the self-help tools available to clients considering self-representation.
Case information from Nebraska's statewide trial case management system (JUSTICE) and appellate system (SCCALES) is available for free at courthouse kiosks and law libraries including the Nebraska State Library, UNL's Schmid Law Library, and Creighton's.
Legal professionals across Nebraska can conduct case research without subscription fees by utilizing these no-cost access points throughout the state.
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3 stories
Enforceability of employee non-competes varies dramatically by state and is trending toward narrower enforcement nationally. Common defects include geographic scope broader than the employer's actual market, duration longer than necessary to protect a legitimate interest, and lack of consideration beyond continued employment.
An overbroad non-compete is often unenforceable in its entirety, not just blue-penciled down — meaning the employer gets no protection at all. A narrower, defensible clause protects more than an aspirational one.
Client trust funds and the firm's operating funds must never commingle, even temporarily, even with the intent to "fix it later." Bar audits look for two things first: (1) any check or transfer that touches both accounts, (2) negative balances on any specific client's ledger. Both are presumptive misappropriation regardless of intent.
Trust-account violations produce some of the harshest discipline in professional regulation, including suspension and disbarment. The technicality has no defense based on good intentions.
A preservation (litigation hold) letter is appropriate as soon as litigation is reasonably anticipated, not just after a complaint is filed. The letter should identify the matter, the document categories at issue, and the recipient's preservation duty. Failure to send one is the leading evidence of spoliation in subsequent motion practice.
Sanctions for spoliation can include adverse-inference instructions, monetary fines, and in severe cases default judgment. The cost of issuing a hold letter is one paralegal hour.
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