About Apscitu Law
I do not have a law degree from a law school (although my alma mater Columbia University has one of the top-rated law schools). Nor have I passed the bar anywhere — in many places, if you pass the bar you don't need a law degree to be a lawyer. President Lincoln was a self-educated lawyer without a law degree. However, for a variety of reasons, nowadays it would be hard to pass the bar without a law school education.
The U.S. legal system was originally set up so an educated person like myself could use the legal system without need of a lawyer, i.e. as a "pro se litigant". All courts, from the lowest state court to the highest federal court (the U.S. Supreme Court), still provide information for pro se litigants. Pro se litigants can, with extensive study, learn enough about the area of the law relevant to their cases to be very effective, and even be, with extensive legal experience, excellent consultants in other people's cases in that area; in fact, far more effective than any general practice lawyer alone could be in that area. However, without a law school education they would not themselves make good general practice lawyers representing others in court, even if it were legal for them to do so.
I have educated myself extensively about the law, particularly IT law, and not just because the law is a part of almost all IT issues about which I consult and write. I also have extensive legal experience, which is part of the reason for educating myself about the law. I have prosecuted (instituted legal proceedings against) and defended my own cases, not as a lawyer who has passed the bar, but as a pro se litigant.
My early foundational cases led to me consulting on IT law — I realized there is a great need for someone who is both a real IT expert and who also has expertise with the law, particularly IT law — and to this Apscitu Law website in support of this IT law consulting. In particular, I realized that existing IT laws were made and enforced by IT incompetents — for example, see Fake Federal Facebook Fury Finally Finished and IT Incompetent Attorneys General v. Google — and that a real IT expert who also has expertise with IT law could help lawmakers, including judges, greatly improve IT law. Apscitu Law's motto is thus "Dragging the law into the IT Age". See Apscitu Inc.'s Services and Consulting page.
Links to the case summaries of my early foundational cases — Dr. Thresher v. Prof. Dr. Lohmann, Dr. Thresher v. Prof. Bedell, Dr. Thresher v. Montana — which include at their end what I learned from each case, are listed in the Apscitu Law Casebook. (Note that most cases never actually go to trial in a court before a judge to get an official "Plaintiff v. Defendant" title, but are handled outside court by lawyers.)
I still find need to prosecute and defend my own cases and so continue to educate myself about the law. These cases are similarly found in the Apscitu Law Casebook. For confidentiality reasons I can not and will not discuss any cases I was/am involved with for my Apscitu Inc. clients, but my cases are indicative of how hard I fight for my clients.
To contact Apscitu Inc. for this consulting, or for other legal reasons, such as those covered in the Legal Notes below, read the Secure Contact page.
Legal Notes for Apscitu Inc. and Apscitu, Apscitu Mail, Apscitu Law, and Stop IT Incompetence Websites
1. We are Apscitu Inc., with all the legal protections "Inc." implies, about which we are knowledgeable; see Dr. Thresher v. Montana.
2. Apscitu is a trademark and protection of it is vigorously enforced. We are knowledgeable about trademark law, which is related to copyright law; see Dr. Thresher v. Prof. Dr. Lohmann and Dr. Thresher v. Prof. Bedell.
3. I am Duane Thresher, B.S., M.S., Ph.D., CEO of Apscitu Inc. and vigorously protect my reputation from defamation (usually libel). I am knowledgeable about defamation law; see Dr. Thresher v. Prof. Bedell and Dr. Thresher v. Montana.
4. The design of all Apscitu websites — www.apscitu.com, www.apscitumail.com, www.apscitulaw.com, www.stop-it-incompetence.com — is copyright © 2018 by Duane Thresher Ph.D., Apscitu Inc. I am knowledgeable about copyright; see Dr. Thresher v. Prof. Dr. Lohmann and Dr. Thresher v. Prof. Bedell. For more on the design of the Apscitu websites, see Websites: Simple is Smart, Secure, and Speedy.
5. Expert IT News (Apscitu), Expert Email News (Apscitu Mail), Expert IT Law News (Apscitu Law), and Expert News (Stop IT Incompetence) articles are copyright © Duane Thresher Ph.D., Apscitu Inc. with their stated date. I am knowledgeable about copyright; see Dr. Thresher v. Prof. Dr. Lohmann and Dr. Thresher v. Prof. Bedell. With attribution and without alteration though, my articles can be reprinted and linked to.
6. Images on the Apscitu websites are copyright © Duane Thresher Ph.D., Apscitu Inc. I am knowledgeable about copyright; see Dr. Thresher v. Prof. Dr. Lohmann and Dr. Thresher v. Prof. Bedell. These images are often created from other images. Pre-transformed images are used under Title 17 (copyrights) of U.S. Code, § 105 (copyright of U.S. Government works not available) or § 107 (fair use: criticism, comment, news reporting).
7. Apscitu Puzzles and puzzle concept are copyright © 2020 by Duane Thresher Ph.D., Apscitu Inc. and may not be used without permission. I am knowledgeable about copyright; see Dr. Thresher v. Prof. Dr. Lohmann and Dr. Thresher v. Prof. Bedell.
8. Many Apscitu articles are controversial and critical of specific individuals, leading to the possibility of defamation (usually libel) claims. This is particularly true of Stop IT Incompetence and its IT Incompetents Hall Of Shame (ITIHOS), whose goal is to stop IT incompetence to the highest levels of government, business, and media by shaming individuals. I am knowledgeable about defamation law; see Dr. Thresher v. Prof. Bedell and Dr. Thresher v. Montana. In the U.S., truth is an absolute defense against defamation claims, and I never say anything I can't prove. I am thus not afraid of lawsuits and will aggressively countersue.
9. "Select clients" in Apscitu's motto generally means VIPs but it also means Apscitu Inc. turns down some prospective clients. Apscitu Inc. only accepts non-criminal — based on our judgment — U.S. clients. Working for foreign clients, particularly foreign governments, should make one ineligible to work for U.S. clients, particularly government, due to divided loyalties. Unlike many providing IT services and consulting to U.S. government, business, and media, Apscitu Inc. is a completely U.S. corporation and I am a U.S. citizen, born in the U.S.A. See Stop IT Incompetence, particularly Principles of IT Incompetence (IT Hiring: Foreigners) and the IT Incompetents Hall Of Shame. To verify the preceding, we authenticate all clients; see Secure Contact page.
10. Apscitu Mail does not and will not allow built-in easy access by the NSA (and so the FBI, CIA, etc.) to Apscitu Mail email server computers. All demands for access to Apscitu Mail email server computers will be fought in court. A precedent case for this is long overdue and I am willing to do this. Such a case is strengthened because Apscitu Inc. only accepts non-criminal — based on our judgment — U.S. clients; see "Select clients" note.