Commercial Law

  • The New Math

    The employer mandate under the ACA, which requires large employers to provide health insurance for their full-time employees or pay a penalty, is set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2015. Regulations released by the IRS set forth the final rules that an employer must use to determine whether it is a large employer subject to the mandate. With just over six months to go, the time is ripe for employers to determine whether they will be considered large employers and if so, to determine appropriate next steps.

    June 02, 2014Stephanie Vasconcellos

  • Court Watch

    Inconsistent Testimony Made Plaintiff Not Typical off Proposed Class
    Franchisor Sanctioned For Failing to Prepare Its Representative for Corporate Deposition
    Federal Court Enforces Franchisee Post-Termination Obligations

    June 02, 2014Cynthia M. Klaus and Susan E. Tegt

  • Changes to Mental Disorders

    The ACA is not the only health care challenge facing employers. Recent medical disease reclassifications are affecting a large portion of America's workforce, and the long-term impact is proving difficult to predict. These changes may result in an increased number of workers' compensation and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) discrimination claims, but hopefully, they will also result in a greater emphasis placed upon prevention and treatment.

    June 02, 2014Frank Cragle and Jaime Wisegarver

  • Seeking Quick Relief for Trademark Claims on Social Media Sites

    Policing and enforcing trademark rights in social media requires a brand owner to reexamine some of the basic premises about infringement. It is black letter law that trademark maintenance requires a trademark owner to maintain control over the quality of the goods and services associated with its mark. In the infringement context, this has generally been interpreted as an obligation to prevent any uses that are inconsistent with the brand's image. However, social media has altered this fundamental assumption.

    June 02, 2014Stephen W. Feingold

  • Construction Contracts and Project Management

    Whether designing and constructing a new retail center, a tenant finish-out or a renovation project, retail real estate developers, property managers and tenants interact with construction contracts, contractors, architects and other construction industry professionals on a regular basis. Those interactions may include lengthy, sophisticated contracts, very basic contracts or no written contract at all. This article addresses some of these common issues from the perspective of protecting the owner of the project.

    June 02, 2014Daniel Goodwin, Roger Fitzgibbon

  • In-House Survey Suggests Best Practices for Vendors

    In November 2013, I surveyed 26 predominantly administrative professionals throughout Fortune/Global 500 law departments. In addition to questions related to pricing predictions for hosting, review, processing, the future of predictive coding, the trend towards growing in-house teams and the expansion of managed services, I asked for their impressions of certain leading vendors in the market.

    June 02, 2014Ari Kaplan

  • Protect Your Brands on Social Media

    Online counterfeit sellers are increasingly more sophisticated and are engaging in social media counterfeiting to exploit social media tools to bolster their sales of counterfeit products online.

    June 02, 2014Camille M. Miller and Elizabeth Lai Featherman

  • Intercreditor Agreements

    This is the fourth article in a series covering various aspects of intercreditor agreements.

    June 02, 2014Sean Gillen

  • Analysis of Sup. Ct. Raging Bull Ruling

    Authors and other creators of copyrighted works scored a major victory in May when the U.S. Supreme Court eliminated a significant barrier to recovering damages for copyright infringement.

    June 02, 2014Marcia Coyle

  • Court Orders Identity of 'Company Doe' Revealed

    The sealing of the identity of a company that fought to block public access to a consumer safety report was improper, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has held, ordering the disclosure of its name and publication of case documents.

    May 27, 2014Mike Scarcella