Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%
Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
Creating Private-Sector Standards of Conduct
Whether certain conduct is a crime depends on more than legislatures, judges, and juries. When prosecutors decide whether, whom, and what to charge, the policies underlying their decisions create operative standards of conduct. So, too, do those of agencies administering regulatory programs backed by criminal sanctions. But what about the private sector? Sensible standards of conduct articulated by trade associations can and should play a substantial role in drawing the line between acceptable business practices and bad conduct that can be subject to criminal sanctions.
A good example is the recent development of a Compliance Program Guidance for Pharmaceutical Manufacturers under the Medicare/ Medicaid anti-kickback statute, 42 U.S.C. ' 1320a-7b(b)(1)-(2), by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the Department of Health and Human Services. In general, the anti-kickback statute prohibits the payment of any “remuneration” to a provider of health care to influence the provider's selection of any goods or services to be used in health-care covered by Medicare, Medicaid or another federal health care program. The statute has exceptions, 42 U.S.C. ' 1320a-7b(b)(3); and several safe harbors for specific kinds of arrangements have been created by regulation, 42 C.F.R. ' 1001.952. Nevertheless, there remains a large gray area, which makes it hard to know what is prohibited in many kinds of circumstances.
Law Firms are Reducing Redundant Real Estate by Bringing Support Services Back to the Office
A trend analysis of the benefits and challenges of bringing back administrative, word processing and billing services to law offices.
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
Bit Parts
Summary Judgment Denied Defendant in Declaratory Action by Producer of To Kill a Mockingbird Broadway Play Seeking Amateur Theatrical Rights
Risks of “Baseball Arbitration” in Resolving Real Estate Disputes
“Baseball arbitration” refers to the process used in Major League Baseball in which if an eligible player's representative and the club ownership cannot reach a compensation agreement through negotiation, each party enters a final submission and during a formal hearing each side — player and management — presents its case and then the designated panel of arbitrators chooses one of the salary bids with no other result being allowed. This method has become increasingly popular even beyond the sport of baseball.
Disconnect Between In-House and Outside Counsel
'Disconnect Between In-House and Outside Counsel is a continuation of the discussion of client expectations and the disconnect that often occurs. And although the outside attorneys should be pursuing how inside-counsel actually think, inside counsel should make an effort to impart this information without waiting to be asked.