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Defending Automobile Manufacturers in Design Defect Cases
Counsel defending manufacturers who are alleged to have designed defective vehicles that have caused serious traffic accidents often have an uphill battle in convincing jurors that the design of their client's vehicle was not wholly responsible for the accident and resultant injuries and damages. If the defect is not at issue, the defense attorney may seek to prove that the driver of the vehicle was at least partially at fault ' and that often requires extensive analysis of various factors.
The good news is that jury pools are populated with persons who have first-hand knowledge of reckless and aggressive drivers. They are also well aware of the frequency of accidents and their toll in lives and injuries, i.e., 6,420,000 crashes and 42,636 deaths each year (2005), a rate of 115 deaths per day. In addition, as courts and jurors are called on to examine the various facts presented in these cases and, in order to apportion causality, they are most often provided with reports and testimony from accident reconstructionists, employed by law enforcement or private consulting firms. The reconstructionists compute the coefficient of friction of the road surface, measure skid marks in evidence on the road's surface, analyze the vehicles' damage to determine impact forces, make estimates about the speed of the vehicles, and generally provide a description of the physical forces at work in various accident scenarios. Such computations, however, only tell part of the accident story. An equally important dimension involves the human factors issues involved and, in particular, driver reaction times. This is where the plaintiff's counsel will present the other side of the story.
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.
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.