Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%
Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
Negotiating the Ethics of Settling a Product Liability Suit
According to recent estimates, over 90% of all civil cases settle. Product liability cases are no exception ' a small percentage are tried in court to conclusion. Thus, every product liability litigator has or likely will play the role of settlement negotiator during his or her career. Yet many litigators are not aware of or do not understand how their professional responsibilities come into play at the settlement table. One central reason for this blind spot might be the contradictory nature of negotiation. On one hand, a lawyer is expected to be fair and honest, but on the other hand, to be effective, a negotiator often needs to mislead his or her adversary to achieve the best possible outcome for his or her side. Indeed, negotiation has been analogized to a game of poker, where a negotiator hopes that the adversary will not be able to judge the value of the other player's hand. So how does one achieve the best possible “win” at the settlement table while still staying within the bounds of ethical conduct required of all attorneys? We offer the following five “rules of the game” to help provide guidance.
1. Do Not Make False Statements of Material Fact or Law
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.