Legal Commentary Archives - Riverside County Law Library

In Clients We Trust

Written on September 7, 2023.

America’s political sphere is characterized today by a unique combination of an all-time high in civic participation by the populace, and an all-time high in distrust for those same institutions. During the 2020 election, an unprecedented 66.9% of eligible voters participated in the election [1]. However, In 2022, it was reported that only 25% of the population have a great deal of confidence in the Supreme Court [2]. Perhaps, these trends mark a healthy direction in our democracy towards an awareness...

An Introduction to Trademark Law for Small Business Owners

Written on July 24, 2023.

At various stages of development, a small business owner may ask themselves – should I spend extra time and money on registering a trademark? The short answer is, well, “it depends.” On the one hand, a business may want to register a trademark for many reasons – a trademark can help establish your business brand, it can prevent other companies in overlapping regions from using your name [1], and it can save a substantial amount of cost (and headache) from a potential infringement action...

The Declaration of Independence and Us

Written on July 10, 2023.

Prior to July 4th, 1776, the United States of America was a set of colonies owned by King George III’s England. The story of our independence is familiar enough: some guys in red face threw tea into the Boston Harbor, representation in the media without taxation was the talk of the town, British people were tar and feathered, and, finally, America was born. As it turns out, historical causality is a tricky thing to tease out. The haphazard list of events we associate with the American Revolution...

The Decline of Political Civility and What We Can All Do to Combat This Trend

Written on June 5, 2023.

The 2023 National Law Day theme of Cornerstones of Democracy; Civics, Civility, and Collaboration is a strong reminder of a new state of American politics and law. This year’s theme invoked a concerned message in support of rebuilding trust in our nation’s institutions and leaders, as well as regaining respect and willingness to collaborate with opposing views from one’s own [2]. In an era of growing political divide in the United States and worldwide, the underlying sentiment between opposing...

The Cost of Free Speech

Written on April 19, 2023.

As Americans we have been given the right to say many things without legal consequence. However, as journalist Chris Lamb made the following comment about the circumstances involved in the statements made by Dilbert creator Scott Adams, he “failed to grasp that being a social critic means your freedom of expression only goes as far as your audience is willing to accept it. Adams could say whatever he wanted to his YouTube audience because his listeners may have agreed with what he said.” [1] In...

Rental Arbitrage: What You Should Know

Written on December 16, 2022.

Many people use Airbnb to begin their dealings with rental arbitrage. Airbnb is typically used as a short-term rental site, although some listings do have long term options. As the ebb and flow of available housing continues, many renters are searching for and utilizing strategies like rental arbitrage to put some much-needed money into their pockets. This seemingly business-like-plan affords Airbnb hosts, some who do not own property, the ability to rent out a property on a long-term basis and...

A Labor of a Day

Written on September 2, 2022.

Labor Day weekend is upon us. After… well… laboring away for a while without a (state-sanction) 3-day weekend, it’s time to finally kickback and unwind! The typical Sunday dread that accompanies that gradual realization of a return to work the following day is postponed to Monday. A reward for our hard work during the year? Or the result of years of struggle carried out by workers just like us in the late 19th century? One might be inclined to think that there is a reason for the specificity in...

Illegal Game Show Practices for $500!

Written on August 5, 2022.

Background Like many others, I love watching reality competition shows. Survivor, Big Brother, The Amazing Race, Iron Chef, and RuPaul’s Drag Race are some of my favorite “must watch” reality competition shows. Apart from my personal enjoyment of these shows, what really piqued my interest in writing this blog post was a law journal article I recently came across. The article, “Keeping it Real: How the FCC Fights Fake Reality Shows with 47 U.S.C. 509” from the Chapman Law Review, examined a...

a room full of people sitting at desks with computers

Inland Empire Businesses Are Starting To Hire Again; ICLS Offers Free Employment Law Guidance To Small Business Owners.

Written on July 1, 2022.

While COVID continues to take a toll on Southern California, with substantial amount of the economic impact on small businesses, recent studies suggest that businesses are starting to recover. And since nearly 85% of all businesses in the Inland Empire are considered small or very small,[1] this recovery has been critical to our local economy. How is the recovery going? According to a Spring 2022 Inland Empire Business Activity Index, the Inland Empire has outperformed many regions in California...