"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed."

That's what the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment says. Last week the Supreme Court agreed to decide what it means. It could be the most far-reaching decision on guns in almost 70 years.

That's when the high court rejected the notion of an individual right to possess guns for purposes unrelated to state militias. That 1939 decision allowed room for the federal government, the states and the District of Columbia to regulate and restrict gun ownership, and that has frustrated gun-rights advocates ever since. The case the court agreed to hear next March challenges D.C.'s 31-year-old handgun ban.

The Supreme Court shouldn't reverse this settled law.

A ruling that establishes a precedent for an individual's constitutional right to possess guns would open the floodgates and drown the courts in challenges of the existing, rational restrictions on gun ownership. And a sweeping decision could mean that the nation would soon be awash in ever more firearms.

With an estimated 192 million privately owned guns already in the country, that we don't need.

Coughlin Stoia currently represents more institutional investors, including public and multi-employer pension funds – domestic and international financial institutions – in securities and corporate litigation than any other firm in the United States.

Coughlin Stoia is committed to practicing law with the highest level of integrity and in an ethical and professional manner. We are a diverse firm with lawyers and staff from all walks of life. Our lawyers and other employees are hired and promoted based on the quality of their work and their ability to enhance our team and treat others with respect and dignity. Evaluations are never influenced by one’s background, gender, race, religion or ethnicity.

We also strive to be good corporate citizens and to work with a sense of global responsibility. Contributing to our communities and our environment is important to us. We raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in aid for the victims of Hurricane Katrina and we often take cases on a pro bono basis. We are committed to the rights of workers and to the extent possible, we contract with union vendors. We care about civil rights, workers’ rights and treatment, workplace safety, and environmental protection. Indeed, while we have built a reputation as the finest securities and consumer class action law firm in the nation, our lawyers have also worked tirelessly in less high-profile, but no less important, cases involving human rights.

If you refuse to pay your property taxes in Dallas County, chances are you're going to hear from a lawyer.

And the chances are even greater that lawyer will be from Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson.

Dallas County and most of its cities and other taxing entities pay the law firm to collect delinquent taxes each year and foreclose on properties when necessary.

Linebarger is a giant in the collections field – the largest law firm of its kind in the nation. The Austin-based firm has offices across the country. It aggressively seeks governmental contracts, uses an army of lobbyists and has millions to spend on political campaigns.

Linebarger has had the lucrative Dallas County tax collection contract since 1984. The firm represents nine of the 10 largest taxing authorities in Texas. It also handles collection efforts for governments in California, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana and Pennsylvania, as well as for the U.S. Treasury.

"We're good at it. There's a reason why people hire us," said DeMetris Sampson, a managing partner of the firm's Dallas office high atop the Univision tower downtown.

The incentive for Dallas County is that the firm's services are free to taxpayers. Delinquent property owners subsidize the collection effort by paying an additional attorney fee that's tacked onto their bill.

County officials say that they are pleased with Linebarger's work and that privatizing the tax collection process has been a success.

The firm says it has collected more than $374 million for Dallas County since 1984. This year alone, Linebarger will collect more than $1 billion for its 1,800 clients nationwide, Ms. Sampson said.

She declined to say how much the Dallas County contract is worth or how much her firm earns. But assuming a fee of at least 15 percent, its revenue this year could translate to $150 million.

Linebarger was one of three private collection firms the IRS began using last September to collect outstanding federal income taxes. But its contract was not renewed when it expired in March. The U.S. House voted in October to end the controversial private-collection program, but the measure died in the Senate.

Despite its successes, Linebarger has not avoided controversy. In 2002, a partner was indicted on charges of conspiring to bribe two San Antonio City Council members who had voted to award the firm a collection contract. Juan Pena resigned from the firm and pleaded guilty two years later.

The law firm settled a lawsuit around the same time from a competitor that accused Linebarger of offering illegal gifts and bribes and rigging bids to win collection contracts from several local governments.

Ms. Sampson said people can file lawsuits for just about anything. She said the firm wins contracts by relying on its track record.

But money doesn't hurt.

From 2000 through this July, Linebarger gave more than $1.9 million to candidates for statewide office, most of it to Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott and Gov. Rick Perry, according to data from the Texas Ethics Commission.

The law firm also gives generously to local Dallas County politicians.

Linebarger and its lawyers typically give between $1,000 and $5,000 to each Dallas County commissioner every year. In total, the firm has spent at least $90,000 in campaign contributions to Dallas County commissioners since 1999.

More than half of sum that went to commissioner John Wiley Price, campaign finance reports show.

Mr. Price said the campaign money does not influence his decision-making on matters related to the firm, which he praises for its work.

"They're in the business of trying to collect. What would you expect?" he said about the campaign donations. "I would expect them to be aggressive."

In 2002, the firm's Dallas office asked Dallas County for and received an increase in its fees from 15 percent to 20 percent of all delinquent taxes, penalties and interest it collects – the maximum allowed under state law.

That means the firm gets a fee equal to 20 percent of every dollar collected, regardless of whether the firm does anything on the case.

In 2005, Dallas County commissioners extended Linebarger's contract for seven additional years, from January 2008 to January 2015, in exchange for the firm agreeing to provide the county with a Web-based tax collection system.

"We think we're doing a great job," said Nancy Primeaux, regional manager of the firm's Dallas office.

Ready to join a rival, you urge several subordinates and clients to come along. You assume you're safe because you lack a noncompete agreement.

Big mistake. Your poaching attempt may bring you big trouble. A growing number of companies sue job hoppers for luring staffers or customers while still employed there. Such lawsuits often claim breach of fiduciary duty. One financial-services concern waged a nasty court fight that stalled defections for months after a manager handed out applications for his new workplace during an office party shortly before he joined the competitor.

In addition, costly litigation over your pre-exit antics "can cast you in a bad light at your new employer," says Christopher Stief, head of the employee defection and trade secrets practice for Fisher & Phillips, a national law firm. "You don't want to have this happen to you."

Even a threatening letter from your old bosses can jeopardize your move. "Just the whiff of a suit is enough to spook an employer," notes Allan Bloom, an employment law specialist for Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker in New York. "I have seen offers pulled."

There are ways to avoid landing in legal hot water when you jump ship to a rival. Experts recommend choosing your words and deeds carefully from the outset of the courtship until you clean out your office.

Beginning with your job interview, never suggest how many loyal co-workers would tag along with you if you got hired. Some skittish businesses reject candidates for boasting about their ability to recruit teammates. "It would be a negative," the general counsel of a major high-technology concern says. "You question the ethics of that individual."

And don't reveal secret customer information to a hiring manager. You'd be safer -- and viewed more favorably -- describing your annual sales and commissions, without giving the exact number of sneakers you peddled to Foot Locker last year.

Brett Senior & Associates, a law firm in Conshohocken, Pa., sued accountant Stephen Fitzgerald last year soon after he quit and joined Fesnak & Associates, a Blue Bell accounting firm that Brett Senior considered a competitor. While discussing his possible employment, Fitzgerald showed several Fesnak partners a list of about 69 clients he served plus the fees paid by 48, the suit alleged.

Mary A. McLaughlin, a U.S. district court judge in Philadelphia, dismissed nearly all of the suit's charges this past July. Among other things, she said, Brett Senior failed to prove those client names and fees paid "were its property."

Still, the judge ordered Fitzgerald to stand trial on his alleged breach of fiduciary duty for calling 20 clients before he left. Fifteen clients followed him. He "conceded that at least some of these contacts were solicitations," her ruling noted. "An employee cannot solicit customers for a rival business."

In court filings, Fitzgerald denied any wrongdoing. He quit Fesnak six months ago for a better job and declines to comment on the case, according to his attorney Bruce E. Rodger.

You can steer clear of such legal troubles by keeping customers clueless about your new employer's identity. You shouldn't even announce your fresh title, phone number or email address before you resign.

As an extra precaution, conceal your departure plans from everyone at work except your supervisor. "Almost anything you say about your intentions to leave could cross that line," cautions Keith Wexelblatt, a senior counsel for Reebok International.

Other job hoppers get in trouble because they suddenly treat differently some subordinates they hope will follow them. "They try to take the distasteful things off the employee's plate" or overlook that staffer's mistakes, explains Steven L. Manchel, a partner at Manchel & Brennan, a law firm in Newton, Mass.

It's also wise to seek legal advice, bankrolled by your employer-to-be, about proper exit behavior. Reebok retains legal specialists like Manchel to coach every incoming executive and certain managers. "I just hope we can stop people from doing stupid things," Wexelblatt says.

The confidentiality of your chats with an attorney vanishes, however, if you email her from work. "The minute you think of leaving, stop using the company computer" for personal matters, suggests a Washington trial lawyer who handles cases involving officials joining rivals.

Even bringing home sensitive documents during your final days could raise red flags. Bottom line: Leave your holiday card list at the office -- especially if it includes names of key customers that competitors don't know about.

You may woo former clients and co-workers once your new job starts as long as your efforts don't involve confidential information, Manchel says. He quit a Boston law firm 10 years ago to launch his own shop.

The day after he resigned, the lawyer recalls, "I informed my most significant litigation clients -- and they all continue to use me."

Missouri State University has hired a former vice president of Strong Law Firm as its new general counsel.

MSU’s Board of Governors executive committee today approved the hiring of Clifton “Clif” Smart, who begins Dec. 1. He will be paid $130,000 annually plus a car allowance, according to an MSU news release.

Smart was with Strong Law Firm PC for 15 years. He had been a shareholder there since 1995 and vice president since 1998. His practice consisted mostly of catastrophic injury, medical malpractice and commercial cases.

Smart holds a juris doctor degree from the University of Arkansas School of Law and a bachelor of arts degree from Tulane University.

Smart replaces John Black, who begins as general counsel at City Utilities on Dec. 1, according to CU spokesman Joel Alexander. Black was with the university for 12 years.