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When Taking Proprietary Information Is Not a Crime
In two decisions issued back-to-back on April 10 and 11, the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the Ninth and Second circuits interpreted three different federal statutes ” the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), the National Stolen Property Act (NSPA), and the Economic Espionage Act (EEA) ” in ways that narrowed federal prosecutors” ability to charge former employees for stealing proprietary information from their companies.
According to the Ninth Circuit”s decision in United States v. Nosal, ”F.3d”, 2012 WL 1176119 (9th Cir. April 10, 2012), an employee does not always violate the CFAA by intentionally infringing his company”s computer use policy. If an employee was authorized to access the information, and did not gain access through internal hacking, there is no criminal violation of the CFAA regardless of whether the employee misappropriated the information for his own use. Nosal creates a circuit split among the Ninth Circuit on one hand and the Eleventh, Fifth, Seventh and First circuits on the other.
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.