ProfNet Experts Available on Kim Davis, Data Breaches, Custody Battles, More

NEW YORK, Sept. 9, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Below are experts from the ProfNet network that are available to discuss timely issues in your coverage area.

You can also submit a query to the hundreds of thousands of experts in our network – it's easy and free! Just fill out the query form to get started: http://prn.to/alertswire.

EXPERT ALERTS

• Kim Davis and the Rights of Government Employees to Express Religious Beliefs
• Is the U.S. Safer Today Than Before 9/11?
• 'Game of War' Case Exposes Vulnerability
• Beware Data Breach Insurance Pitfalls
• Can Social Media Reflect Relationship Realities?

MEDIA JOBS

• Freelance Financial Writers – InvestorPlace Media (MD)
• News Editor – Michigan Lawyers Weekly (MI)
• Full-Time Reporter – The Daily Journal (NJ)

OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES

• Queries and LOIs That Sell
• First-Time Speaker: Tips to Build Your Speaking Platform
• Upcoming Events for PR, Marketing and Media Professionals

EXPERT ALERTS:

Kim Davis and the Rights of Government Employees to Express Religious Beliefs
Richard E. Levy
J.B. Smith Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law
University of Kansas School of Law
Levy can discuss the case of Kim Davis, the Rowan County, Ky., clerk who was jailed for contempt of court for violating a federal judicial order to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Specifically, he can discuss constitutional protections and the ongoing topic of same sex marriage: "It is important to distinguish between the rights of government employees to express their religious beliefs when acting as private citizens, which is protected, and the refusal to perform the legal functions of one's office on religious grounds, which is not."
Levy speaks frequently with media on constitutional topics and cases, such as school finance litigation, abortion rights, Supreme Court rulings on same-sex marriage and other controversial decisions. He joined the KU Law faculty in 1985, having received his law degree with honors from the University of Chicago Law School. Before joining the faculty, he served as a clerk for Judge Richard Posner of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. In teaching and research, he has focused on constitutional law, administrative law and government institutions. He is a prolific scholar who was named a Postlethwaite Research Fellow, 1996-1999, and he was named the inaugural J.B. Smith Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law in 2007.
Contact: Mike Krings, [email protected]

Is the U.S. Safer Today Than Before 9/11?
Harlan Ullman
Chair
The Killowen Group
"The jihadist threat in the U.S. has escalated dramatically in 2015, with the country facing more attacks and attempted attacks from homegrown terrorists than any time in over a decade, a congressional panel warned last week. The House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee said in a release that the number of U.S. terrorist cases involving U.S.-bred jihadists has reached 124, a sharp rise from the 38 reported in 2010 and constituting a three-fold increase in just five years."
A former naval officer with combat commands in the Vietnam War and later in the Persian Gulf, Ullman chairs The Killowen Group, which advises leaders of government and business at the highest levels, including presidential candidates here and abroad, through a brains-based approach to strategic thinking. Since the 1980s, he has developed a reputation as a strategic thought leader and thinker in the public and private sectors. He is known for the doctrine of shock and awe and sits on advisory boards for the Supreme Allied Commander Europe and Commander US Forces Europe. Currently a senior advisor to the Atlantic Council and Business Executives for National Security, he was a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the National Defense University and professor of military strategy at the National War College. A student and practitioner of global economies, he writes often on the financial crises in UPI and other media and sits on the boards of both private and public companies in the high technology and financial services sectors. His latest book is "A Handful of Bullets--How the Murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand Still Menaces the Peace." He is based in Washington, D.C.
Website: http://harlanullman.net
Contact: Ryan McCormick, [email protected]

'Game of War' Case Exposes Vulnerability
Joe Ahmad
Executive Employment Lawyer
Ahmad, Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing P.C., or AZA
The trade secret theft charge against Jing Zeng, a former executive at Machine Zone Inc., maker of the popular "Game of War" video game, illustrates how sometimes the most potent cybersecurity threat can be homegrown. Says Ahmad: "According to Machine Zone, he was fired, but wasn't immediately escorted out of the building. In the interim, he proceeded to download proprietary information to an external drive. Fortunately, the company detected the download shortly after it happened. After they confronted him, he had the audacity to try to use his theft as leverage for a better severance package. They filed criminal charges instead. So there are three lessons here: Make sure you have good IT people monitoring the security of your confidential information; when you fire someone, walk them straight out the door; and finally, if you get caught stealing your employer's confidential information never, ever resort to extortion, no matter how valuable you think the information might be."
Contact: Amy Hunt, [email protected]

Beware Data Breach Insurance Pitfalls
Amy Elizabeth Stewart
Insurance Coverage Lawyer
Amy Stewart Law in Dallas
The steady stream of high-profile cyberattacks has many companies in the market to buy cyberinsurance, but prospective buyers should be wary of policies that shift too much risk back on to the company and its employees. In addition to representing corporate clients in disputes with insurance companies, the firm also helps businesses review their policies to make sure they provide maximum coverage. Says Stewart: "If your policy doesn't allow for human error, which is one of the main reasons to buy insurance, it's not a worthwhile policy, no matter how reasonable the premiums are. It's also important not to overstate your internal security protocols to try to get good rates on your policy. If you state that you consistently take certain steps to avoid a breach and you're stretching the truth, that can come back to bite you in a big way, especially if you make a claim and your insurance company discovers that your cybersecurity measures were more haphazard than you led them to believe."
Contact: Amy Hunt, [email protected]

Can Social Media Reflect Relationship Realities?
Brad LaMorgese
Family Law Attorney
Orsinger, Nelson, Downing & Anderson LLP in Dallas
A New York judge presiding over a contentious parental custody battle has ordered the mother to turn over the password to her Facebook account. Her ex-husband claims this will reveal she is a globe-trotting, mostly absent parent. Says LaMorgese: "You have to ask how complete and accurate social media posts are, especially in an area as important as determining custody. You might be able to identify certain questionable activities, such as a cheating relationship or excessive drinking or partying, by scrolling through someone's timeline, and that certainly can be relevant to child custody. But it is not going to be easy to determine the quality of relationship a parent has with a child simply by viewing their social media posts. This is especially true when it is a young child. It is very likely a parent has made a conscious decision not to post photos of her child for privacy or security reasons."
Contact: Rhonda Reddick, [email protected]

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MEDIA JOBS:

Following are links to job listings for staff and freelance writers, editors and producers. You can view these and more job listings on our Job Board: https://prnmedia.prnewswire.com/community/jobs/

• Freelance Financial Writers – InvestorPlace Media (MD)
• News Editor – Michigan Lawyers Weekly (MI)
• Full-Time Reporter – The Daily Journal (NJ)

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OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES:

Following are links to other news and resources we think you might find useful. If you have an item you think other reporters would be interested in and would like us to include in a future alert, please drop us a line.

• QUERIES AND LOIs THAT SELL. We recently hosted a Twitter Q&A with Linda Formichelli, freelancer writer and co-founder of Renegade Writers. Linda explained the differences between queries and letters of introduction, when to use them, how to writer them and much more. You can read a recap here: http://prn.to/1JMTGDS
  
  
• FIRST-TIME SPEAKER: TIPS TO BUILD YOUR SPEAKING PLATFORM. Last week, we looked at four tools needed to help you season your speaking skills, but where do you start if you've never done a speaking event before? In order to get some great experience, you should start small. If you aren't a seasoned speaker, you don't want to burn any bridges by pitching yourself to an event you may not be ready for. Today on ProfNet Connect, Penny Sansevieri of Author Marketing Experts shares a few tips to consider to help you start building your platform: http://prn.to/1EBoMON
  
  
• UPCOMING EVENTS FOR PR, MARKETING AND MEDIA PROFESSIONALS. Attending industry events is one of the best professional development tools available to us. Here is a list of upcoming events for PR, marketing and media professionals around the country: http://prn.to/1NYl2Xk

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