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Staying Up To Speed In A Fast-Changing e-World
It has long been the law that an obligation to preserve potentially relevant evidence attaches when an action or investigation is commenced against a person or company, but until quite recently few companies had formal policies addressing that duty. The last few years have seen a seismic change in this area, driven largely by concerns about electronic records. Recent independent surveys of corporate general counsel confirm that companies have been taking steps to formalize their preservation practices when litigation or enforcement activity becomes reasonably likely.
A 2003 survey conducted by the e-consulting firm Cohasset Associates found that 46% of the companies surveyed had not established any formal system for preserving records, and the litigation-hold policies of 65% did not address electronic documents. (For more information on general-counsel e-discovery process, see, “GC's New Discovery Role: Reduce Cost With More Document Review Efficiency.”)
Contrast those figures with ones from the 2005 Litigation Trends Survey commissioned by the international law firm of Fulbright & Jaworski, and conducted by an independent research firm early this summer. With 354 senior in-house counsel participating, including 50 legal directors in the United Kingdom, this was likely the largest survey of corporate counsel ever conducted. It found that in just 2 years, the percentage of companies without written litigation-hold policies had fallen to 25%. (Companies in energy, real estate, health care and retail/wholesale were most likely to have litigation-hold policies in place.) Perhaps even more interesting, among the companies that had litigation-hold policies, 43% had revised their policies in just the last 12 months.
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.