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Estate Planning/Undue Influence Claim. The Court of Appeals of Washington, Division One, affirmed a trial court finding that Janie Hendrix, adopted sister of legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix, rebutted a presumption of undue influence on father Al Hendrix providing only one Jimi Hen-drix gold record for his son Leon in Al's will. In re Estate of Hendrix, 55711-4-I. After explaining the evolution of a complex series of wills, trust, litigations and antagonistic relationships, the court of appeal emphasized: 'In many situations, a will disinheriting a testator's child could be considered unnatural, but Janie presented substantial evidence to demonstrate that Al's will was natural under the unique circumstances of the Hendrix family. ' [In addition, t]here is evidence in the record that Al met with his estate planning attorneys alone many times, and the attorneys explained the estate plan to Al numerous times. Al signed his will on videotape, acknowledging that he was not leaving a bequest to Leon other than Jimi's gold record and that he was very satisfied with his will. Janie was not present during this signing and had not been present during most of the will drafting meetings.' ' TV-Series Sequels/Forum Non Conveniens. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District Court granted a defense motion to dismiss on grounds of forum non conveniens a suit over the plaintiffs' claimed U.S. rights in the Russian TV series 'Menty.' Overseas Media Inc. v. Skvortsov, 04 Civ. 5133 (RJH). The plaintiffs had tried to block the sale or broadcast of the defendant's alleged unauthorized series sequel. But the district noted in part: 'While there is little to indicate raw forum-shopping on the part of plaintiffs here (particularly considering one is New York-based), the Court does find that the inconvenience of this forum is quite clear. Already, the Court has dismissed one Russian defendant from this action as outside this Court's personal jurisdiction, no party disputes that ownership to the rights in question turn on the force and meaning of contracts entered in Russia under Russian law, and no witnesses or evidence with respect to the central dispute over the right to produce this sequel series may be found in this forum.'
The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs
The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations
This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.
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.
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.