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Understanding <i>Blakely's </i>Impact on Corporate Compliance and Ethics
Timing is everything. The U.S. Sentencing Commission's Revised Organizational Sentencing Guidelines, with their significant shift in focus from corporate compliance programs to a broader assessment of corporate efforts to create corporate to instill cultures of “compliance and ethics,” took effect on Nov. 1, 2004. The Revised Sentencing Guidelines are published at 69 Fed. Reg. 28994, 29018-29024 (May 19, 2004). (A copy annotated with LRN's comments is available at www.lrn.com /news/ussc2.htm, as is LRN's testimony and comments to the Commission.) But even before their effective date, their future, particularly with respect to individual defendants, was in doubt. On Oct. 4, the Supreme Court heard oral argument, on an expedited basis, in two cases — Booker and Fanfan — that challenge the constitutionality of the basic structure of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines themselves.
While the Supreme Court may certainly reject the current Sentencing Guidelines, it would be more than unwise to assume that such a decision renders the Organizational Sentencing Guidelines without value. The real value of the Guidelines is not for a company hoping to qualify for a lower sentence, in the sad event of being convicted of a crime. Instead, they offer a roadmap for a company seeking to perform its most basic obligations of corporate governance: building ethics into the fabric of the company, and creating robust processes to meet its legal obligations.
The Decision in Blakely
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
Legal Possession: What Does It Mean?
Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.
The Stranger to the Deed Rule
In 1987, a unanimous Court of Appeals reaffirmed the vitality of the "stranger to the deed" rule, which holds that if a grantor executes a deed to a grantee purporting to create an easement in a third party, the easement is invalid. Daniello v. Wagner, decided by the Second Department on November 29th, makes it clear that not all grantors (or their lawyers) have received the Court of Appeals' message, suggesting that the rule needs re-examination.