Legal Briefs: Oodles of Fascinating Topics

• Why Aren't More Mormons Supporting the Ground-Zero Mosque? CNN 

• Part of Lawsuit Against Mormon Church and Boy Scouts, Thrown Out By Federal Judge. Standard Journal

• With Prop 8 Reversed Some Want Reconciliation Between LGBT, LDS Church. Deseret News

• LDS Church Unveils Phoenix Temple Redesign. To accommodate local zoning ordinances. Arizona Republic

• The September issue of U.S. News and World Report ranks 1,400 universities in the country, placing BYU at 75. BYU News Release 

A Quick Introduction

My name is Nate Moller. I'm a Utah online marketing consultant that writes quite a bit about starting an online business. I've been involved in sales, marketing, and advertising for over 10 years and love the power of the internet to reach audiences everywhere.

A few months ago, Clint asked if I'd be interested in guest posting at MormonLawyers.com. He said he'd been reading some of my articles and thought his audience would like to know more about what I do for businesses online.

Thanks, Clint, for this opportunity. (Clint and I served missions together in the blessed land of Santiago, Chile in the late 90's.)

A few quick highlights about my career:

• I've consulted with thousands of start-up, small, and medium sized businesses in search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing, and online reputation management
  
• My "social media claim to fame" is that out of 3,125, 625 followers of Shaquille O'Neal on Twitter, I'm one of the 613 he's following and has made contact with directly :) (read the whole story here)
  
• I love internet marketing, although in High School and College, internet "techy stuff" was NOT what I envisioned as my long-term career path
• I manage a team of 8 Internet consultants who help clients build and market new online businesses
• I'm an AVID New York Yankees fan!

So that's a bit about me.

Now, let's talk about YOU.

QUESTION: What would you like to know about online marketing? (SEO, Social Media, Brand & Reputation Management, Building Websites, etc.)

Since I don't completely know the audience I'm writing to nor am I legally saavy per se, I'll start by asking that simple question...

Here are a few topics I'm considering:

1. What a business owner should know BEFORE they hire an online business consultant (real case study)
   
2. The basics of setting up a professional website that generates leads and sales
   
3. How to use Facebook and Twitter (and other social networks) for business

I look forward to moving in one of those directions (or others if you have specific questions).

Your comments will determine which way I go.

Legal Briefs: Phoenix Temple, PA Church, Woman Arrested in Church

• Residents of a Phoenix, Arizona neighborhood will have a meeting to discuss the height of the proposed Mormon Temple. Arizona Republic

• LDS Church appears clear of legal hurdles to construct a new church in East Hempfield Township. Residents' appeal was denied by county judge. Lancaster Online

• Naked woman arrested inside an LDS meetinghouse in West Jordan, Utah. Deseret News

Job of the Week: New York City -- Broker Dealer

Here’s the latest Job of the Week, from Lateral Link.

Position: Broker Dealer Attorney

Location: New York, New York

Description: Our client, an investment management company with more than half a billion under management, is one of the world’s foremost bond fund managers, overseeing more than 70 mutual funds invested in corporate paper, emerging markets debt, municipal bonds, mortgage-backed securities, and credit default swaps. The company seeks a Broker Dealer Attorney with 5-8 years of experience in and knowledge of broker-dealer SEC rules, securities laws, and FINRA rules applicable to principal underwriters of 1940 Act registered funds. Working with one other attorney and paralegal staff, the successful candidate will review and negotiate fund intermediary agreements, participation agreements, authorized participant agreements and vendor contracts as well as assist in applicable FINRA and SEC matters, including necessary filings, coordination with the Compliance staff, and regulatory issues.

For attorney candidates interested in this position or others like it, please register for Lateral Link and schedule a time to chat with one of our seventeen recruiters. If you are a general counsel or recruiting manager looking to hire for your legal department on a permanent or short term basis, please contact Michael Allen directly, at 213.785.2344, learn more about how Lateral Link can assist you.

Expert in 1847 Mexican Immigration Law?

I recently came across a letter to the editor in the Salt Lake Tribune contrasting the Mormons who settled in the Great Salt Lake Valley in the summer of 1847 to the Mexicans illegally living in this country at this time. In July of 1847, when Brigham Young and his band of Mormon pioneers reached what is now Utah they were actually in Mexico. I've read statements by other people that Mormons should not support the enforcement of United States' immigrations laws because they themselves were the first illegal aliens to live in "Utah".

Does anyone know if that is a true statement? Was Brigham Young and the rest of the Mormon settlers illegally living in Mexico? Is anyone out there an expert in what Mexico's immigration laws were in 1847?

Legal Briefs: Proposition 8 Update

As efforts were under way to formally appeal U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling that Propositional 8 was unconstitutional as violating due process and equal protection (USA Today), Attorney David Boies alleged during a keynote speech at an annual meeting of the American Bar Association that personal threats were launched against the judge involved in the ruling. Mr. Boies, who characterized efforts such as Proposition 8 as "state-sanctioned discrimination against our gay and lesbian citizens," called on all states to eliminate the definition of marriage as between one man and one woman. The ABA Journal has more, including reports of a resolution being taken up by a committee on the issue. --SJR

Legal Briefs: Philadelphia Temple, Utah Illegal Aliens, Sued for Tithing

• After months of dispute Mormon temple to be built in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia Inquirer

• Utah may offer a better model than Arizona for dealing with illegal immigrants. The Economist

• LDS Church being sued for tithing paid by suspected fraudster. Deseret News

Press Release from LDS Church in Regards to Today's Prop 8 Ruling

Below is an official press release from the LDS Church in response to Judge Walker's holding.

The Church issued the following statement today in response to the ruling by Judge Vaughn R. Walker of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in Perry et al v. Schwarzenegger et al:

“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints regrets today’s decision.  California voters have twice been given the opportunity to vote on the definition of marriage in their state and both times have determined that marriage should be recognized as only between a man and a woman. We agree.  Marriage between a man and a woman is the bedrock of society.  

“We recognize that this decision represents only the opening of a vigorous debate in the courts over the rights of the people to define and protect this most fundamental institution—marriage.

“There is no doubt that today’s ruling will add to the marriage debate in this country, and we urge people on all sides of this issue to act in a spirit of mutual respect and civility toward those with a different opinion.”