What information should be used to decide a case ' only that offered by the opposing sides? If independent legal research is permissible, just how much is too much? These questions, which are being asked in the realms of medical malpractice, criminal and other types of cases, have become more imperative in the last few years.
Everything in this issue, listed in an easy-to-read format.
Are concepts of confidentiality and disclosure mutually exclusive? With the concepts we have discussed in the last two installments in mind, some have argued that there is really no issue of confidentiality left to protect in a matrimonial case.
Seven new Family Court judges in New York City would be among 21 judgeships created in Family Courts statewide under legislation approved by the state Senate. The additional judgeships for New York City would be the first in the city's Family Court since 1991 and the most significant increase statewide on the Family Court bench in at least three decades.
Some states have legalized same-sex marriage while others recognize or grant certain rights to same-sex couples. The issue is critical and hotly debated because marriage confers certain benefits under state and federal law that are generally denied to same-sex couples. Many of these protections and benefits pertain to estate planning.
California's premarital agreements are significantly different from foreign marital contracts, which allow a couple to elect a regime of marriage ' for example, joint or community property regimes, a separate property regime, or a variation thereof ' depending on the country. Whether a California court will enforce a foreign marital contract may depend on whether the court applies California law or foreign law.
REMS, or Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy, is a new tool that Congress provided the FDA to ensure the safe use of certain types of prescription drug products. The FDA may require a drug manufacturer to include a REMS in its new drug application when the agency concludes this is necessary to ensure that the benefits of the drug outweigh its risks.
In November 2008, as part of its ongoing study of the impact of the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 ("CAFA") upon federal courts, the Federal Judicial Center ("FJC") published Preliminary Findings from Phase Two's Pre-CAFA Sample of Diversity Class Actions. That report studied 231 diversity jurisdiction class actions filed in or removed to federal court in the two years prior to Feb. 18, 2005, CAFA's effective date.
The dilemma confronted by corporate counsel involved in foreign litigation is whether to disclose personal information located in foreign countries with laws that severely restrict the processing and transfer of personal data and risk being punished there with civil and/or criminal penalties; or to filter out the personal data and risk being sanctioned in the U.S. for incomplete responses to e-discovery requests.
This edition of the Quarterly State Compliance Review looks at some legislation of interest to corporate lawyers that went into effect from Aug. 1 through Oct. 1, including amendments to Delaware's corporation and LLC laws. It also looks at two recent decisions of interest from the Delaware Chancery Court.
