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ICM Partners Escapes Personal Jurisdiction in Film Suit in Washington State
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington decided it lacked personal jurisdiction over the talent agency ICM Partners in a suit alleging the film Red Tails infringed a screenplay that Washington resident John Dudley wrote. Dudley v. Lucasfilm Ltd., 13-CV-5107. Dudley claimed his lawyer had sent ICM Partners a copy of the screenplay. Chief U.S. District Judge Rosanna Malouf Peterson noted: “Plaintiff could possibly establish that ICM Partners committed an intentional act by providing Plaintiff's screenplay to other defendants without informing them of the nature of the screenplay. However, Plaintiff has not demonstrated that ICM Partners 'expressly aimed' its alleged intentional act at the forum state. The only aimed action alleged by Plaintiff is that Plaintiff's attorney sent a copy of his screenplay to ICM Partners in California. The letter did not come from a Washington address and did not identify Plaintiff as being a resident of Washington. ' Plaintiff's argument that ICM Partners should have known that a film would eventually be distributed in Washington State is insufficient to establish purposeful direction.” Chief Judge Peterson went on to rule that, pending ICM's submission of billed-time logs, she is willing to award discretionary attorney fees under Washington's long-arm statute, RCW 4.28.185(5), for the hours that ICM Partners lawyers reasonably spent on the jurisdictional issue.
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.