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Criminalizing Product Liability Claims? An Idea from Across the Pond
On July 26, 2007, the Queen of England gave royal assent to the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act of 2007. This statute alters the standards by which companies, including foreign companies, can be prosecuted when the goods and services they provide contribute to the death of an individual. The avowed purpose of the new law is to 'make[ ] it easier to convict culpable' companies. Gary Slapper, Corporate Manslaughter Law Is Vast Improvement, Times Online (London), July 18, 2007, http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article2097907.ece ('Slapper Article'). See also U.K. Ministry of Justice, A Guide to the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 3, (Oct. 2007), available at www.nio.gov.uk/guide_to_the_cmch_act_2007_web.pdf_oct_07-3.pdf (explaining that '[t]he new offence allows an organisation's liability to be assessed on a wider basis … ') ('Ministry of Justice Guide').
The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act of 2007 is yet another example of a worldwide trend toward criminalizing the law of product liability. While the idea of establishing criminal corporate manslaughter has been discussed in the United States, it has not gained much momentum. The recent reform in the United Kingdom, however, may rekindle the efforts to criminalize product liability, especially during the course of this election year.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.