Michael Lavenant, head of our Los Angeles County, California, office, died suddenly and unexpectedly of a heart attack on December 12, after returning home from an exercise session. Michael was only 42 years old, and is survived by his wife and high school sweetheart, Dana, and his three children. Here is an article that appeared late last week in Michael's local newspaper.

Michael's ...

After Tuesday night's rather -- intense -- Presidential debate, it was fun to watch Gov. Romney and President Obama good-naturedly tease each other at last night's Al Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner to benefit Catholic Charities of New York. With two and a half weeks to go until election day (November 6 - don't forget to vote!), I thought this would be a good time to provide some guidance ...

I just learned that the September Employment Law Blog Carnival-Bronx Bombers Edition is up at Dan Schwartz's blog. It's a grand slam of posts on employment and labor law topics, including but not limited to my recent post on the wisdom of talking politics at work. Don't strike out -- go read it right now, even if you prefer the Red Sox or (like me) the Detroit Tigers!

During this season of elections, including the ABA Blawg 100 list (OK, OK, I'm sorry! Today is the last day to vote for Employment & Labor Insider! Please? Thank you!), it seems to be a good time to talk about political discussions in the workplace. It's also on my mind because I was interviewed about that subject this week for an article that will appear in a soon-to-be published edition of ...

The American Bar Association is accepting votes for its 2012 ABA Blawg 100 list. Thanks to you, we made the list last year. Once again this year, if you are so inclined, and if you cast a vote for Employment & Labor Insider, we'd be eternally grateful.

All you have to do is submit some very basic information about yourself and provide a short explanation (limit of 500 characters) of why you like ...

I apologize for the late posting. Our blog server was having severe difficulties on Friday.

Four out of five doctors* agree: work-life balance is the most, to say the least.

*Made-up statistic.

Seriously, it is. Studies have shown that employees who have lives outside of work are healthier and more productive than those who don't. They are also more satisfied with their jobs and stay on ...

I am off to confer, converse, and otherwise hob-nob with my brother attorneys at our firm retreat this weekend. I'll be back next Friday (May 11) -- I hope to see you then!

Dear Readers:

We know how much you look forward to your Friday morning posting here. (Yeah, right!)

Unfortunately, our blog platform had a serious server issue this week that did not get resolved until a little while ago.

So our "Friday" blog post may not be up until Monday. We apologize, and we hope you'll check back with us then.

Thank you, and have a happy April Fool's Day and a great ...

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

We're taking this week off but will be back next Friday, December 30. We wish you and your families and friends a joyous holiday season!