It's been 14 years since a Whitehall Township police officer strapped on a bicycle helmet, hopped on a mountain bike and zipped through the Lehigh Valley Mall parking lot or one of the township’s other shopping centers while on patrol.As the saying goes, riding a bike is one of those things you never forget.Whitehall’s police bicycle unit is making a comeback this summer, Lt. Greg Bealer said, re-launching a patrol unit that is not only able to quickly maneuver through busy parking lots and unpaved sections of hiking trails, but also serve as a valuable way to interact with the community.“It’s a multi-faceted tool,” Bealer said. “Public relations is a big part. When I was on the bike patrol, people seemed to have a lot easier time just coming up and starting a conversation with an officer on a bicycle than they do when an officer is in a car.”While most departments using bikes for patrol are larger cities with a centralized downtown, more … [Read more...] about Whitehall police re-launch bike patrol program
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European Commission Considers Sector Inquiries as a New Procedural Tool in State Aid Law
The European Commission eyes sector inquiries as a new tool in European State aid law. In European antitrust law Sector inquiries are already successfully employed to detect cartelist activities. This could allow the European Commission to proactively investigate whole sectors for illegal subsidies and to subsequently open new cases.In its drive to modernise its approach to reviewing EU Member State support to companies (State aid), the European Commission (Commission) is considering launching sector inquiries. On 25 September 2012, the Commissioner for Competition, Vice President of the European Commission Joaquin Almunia, expressed his wish to use sector inquiries as a tool in the enforcement of EU State aid law in a speech to Members of the European Parliament. He believes this would give the Commission a better understanding of the problems inherent in a particular industry. In a communication on State aid modernisation released on 8 May 2012 the Commission … [Read more...] about European Commission Considers Sector Inquiries as a New Procedural Tool in State Aid Law
US Launches Investigation into China’s Technology Transfer & IP Practices
United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) Robert E. Lighthizer launched an investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 (“Section 301”) into acts, policies, and practices of the Chinese government as they relate to “technology transfer, intellectual property [IP], and innovation.” The August 18 announcement of the investigation came just days after President Donald Trump signed a memorandum directing the USTR to consider whether to launch an investigation of China’s IP laws and practices that “may inhibit United States exports, deprive United States citizens of fair remuneration for their innovations, divert American jobs to workers in China, contribute to our trade deficit with China, and otherwise undermine American manufacturing, services, and innovation.”While Section 301 was a frequently used tool between the 1970s and 1990s (including when Ambassador Lighthizer was Deputy USTR during the 198os), the number of … [Read more...] about US Launches Investigation into China’s Technology Transfer & IP Practices
Thomson Reuters launches cloud-based tool ‘for lawyers by lawyers’ to assist firms in real time
Home Daily News Thomson Reuters launches cloud-based tool… Law Practice Management By Victor Li Posted February 27, 2019, 7:00 am CST Thomson Reuters has released Thomson Reuters Panoramic, a product geared toward large and midsize law firms to help them budget, plan for and manage matters in real time. On Wednesday, the company unveiled the cloud-based Panoramic, which joins together its productivity and content capabilities from its Practical Law product with the analytics and financial management tools in its 3E offering. Calling it a tool developed “for lawyers by lawyers,” Panoramic purports to be an easy-to-use tool that joins the practice and business of law, so that lawyers can better predict profitability and provide greater transparency for clients. “I visit law firms all the time, and all are working through transformation—how they price, collaborate with clients, budget or manage work,” said Elisabet Hardy, vice president of Financial … [Read more...] about Thomson Reuters launches cloud-based tool ‘for lawyers by lawyers’ to assist firms in real time
Ravel Law launches analytics tool for entire court systems and jurisdictions
individual judges and what their histories and tendencies are, so that lawyers will be able to make more informed decisions regarding litigation strategy. But what about entire jurisdictions, court systems or pools of judges?Ravel Law believes that it has addressed those questions. On Monday, the San Francisco-based company launched Court Analytics, a comprehensive analytical tool that covers more than 400 federal and state courts. According to the press release, Court Analytics allows users to search through a jurisdiction, filtering out over 90 types of motions and topics. The tool analyzes case outcomes, language patterns and citation history, among other things, to give practitioners insight as to how courts and judges throughout a jurisdiction have ruled on certain types of motions or cases in the past. The tool also highlights the most-cited precedents and cases within a jurisdiction.According to co-founder and CEO Daniel Lewis, Ravel’s customers and clients had been … [Read more...] about Ravel Law launches analytics tool for entire court systems and jurisdictions