Commercial Law

Everything contained in this issue, in an easy-to-read format.

Just when some thought it might be safe to presume that class action discrimination lawsuits under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act were on the wane, several recent decisions involving the huge retailer, Wal-Mart, Inc., should give many employers pause for thought.

Most in-house counsel know the types of inquiries that should trigger evidence preservation or collection protocols. Once there is reason to believe there will be litigation or investigation, the duty to preserve kicks in immediately. But what's next?

This is the first in a series of articles discussing how in-house counsel can better manage litigation matters.

Export controls are a morass of overlapping jurisdictions dotted with strict liability and criminal landmines. Worse, criminal and civil penalties have been severely ratcheted up recently, and more appear on the horizon.

The criminal justice process can be arcane, but one term is recognizable to the public. An indictment is a formal accusation by a grand jury that an indicted individual has committed a crime. While damning, the indicted defendant nonetheless has the constitutional right to say to the government, 'Prove it,' and, if the government fails, to be cleared of all criminal wrongdoing. Unlike the defendant who has a right to defend himself, the unindicted co-conspirator is not on trial but confined to a limbo in which vindication is never possible.

Even though Chapter 9 of the Bankruptcy Code has been in effect for over 30 years, fewer than 100 cases have been filed during that time. Municipal bankruptcy cases ' or, more accurately, proceedings involving the adjustment of a municipality's debts ' are a rarity, compared with reorganization cases under Chapter 11.

Pending in bankruptcy court in Corpus Christi, TX, is In re ASARCO, LLC, et al., the largest environmental bankruptcy case ever filed. This article explores the ramificatinos of the case.