Any product liability litigator who prosecutes or defends class actions should be familiar with the concept of "cy pres" ' which has been the subject of significant recent attention by the courts and commentators.
Two recent cases highlight issues of importance to practitioners. One case dealt with preemption; the other with discovery sanctions.
In-depth analysis of recent key cases.
Recent rulings of interest.
In pharmaceutical actions, most false claims qui tam actions brought by whistleblowers involve off-label promotion, kickbacks, pricing allegations, and reimbursement abuses. Although these start out as civil lawsuits, they often end with the DOJ pressing charges against the pharmaceuticals manufacturer.
A recent opinion from the Southern District of New York indicates that lawyers will typically be prohibited from bringing qui tam actions against their former clients. And the new Dodd-Frank regulations expressly limit when an attorney can reap a whistleblower reward.
The crime-fraud exception to the attorney-client privilege allows the government, often ex parte, to obtain a court order demanding the production of what were once thought to be privileged communications.
A recent tax court case dealt with two issues that are relevant to many law firms. The first issue is the allocation of partnership income to the partners in the absence of a written partnership agreement. The second is whether income generated by a limited liability partnership is subject to self-employment tax.
If you walk into the Meet and Confer or 26(f) meeting of parties unprepared for an informed discussion of electronically stored information (ESI), the repercussions are serious. Here's how to prepare.
This edition of the Review looks at some legislation of interest to corporate lawyers that went into effect from May 1 through July 1, 2011. It also looks at recent decisions of interest from the courts of Delaware, California, and Nevada.
