Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%
Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
New Chief At the CEO's Roundtable
Recent reports of criminal investigations, indictments and resignations of high-ranking company personnel coming out of the Hewlett-Packard boardroom remind us that, even after the scandals of the 1990s and the host of new laws, regulations and internal corporate practices that followed, bad things can happen at good companies. Among other things, the saga at HP reinforces the need for an independent compliance and ethics function at all publicly traded corporations. What follows is a proposal to create such a function by improving on the considerable advances in this area made by U.S. companies over the past several years. The foundation for this proposal is this: Ethical and compliance issues are best addressed by corporate officers who are organizationally, physically and financially independent from those of their colleagues who might be subject of their investigatory and reporting work.
Reporting Relationships
For chief compliance and ethics officers (CCEOs) at Fortune 500 companies today, the most prevalent reporting relationship is directly to the general counsel. While common, such a reporting relationship does not maximize the independence of the CCEO, or the robustness of the compliance function. Statistics compiled by the Corporate Executive Board's Compliance and Ethics Leadership Council show that CCEOs primarily reporting into the legal function declined from 74% in 2002 to 38% in 2005, potentially signaling growing independence and power. The 2005 Compliance and Ethics Leadership Council Survey reveals 11% of CCEOs primarily report to the chief risk officer, 13% report to the board of directors, 34% report to the chief executive officer, and 38% report to the general counsel. While this trend is encouraging, further changes in reporting and functions are needed.
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 Anti-Assignment Override Provisions
UCC Sections 9406(d) and 9408(a) are one of the most powerful, yet least understood, sections of the Uniform Commercial Code. On their face, they appear to override anti-assignment provisions in agreements that would limit the grant of a security interest. But do these sections really work?