Features
The Michigan Dioxin Study: Help for Defendants in Toxic Tort Litigation
The first part of this article discussed dioxin litigation and the use of environmental and blood data, and the design and results of the University of Michigan study. The conclusion addresses how to use the study.
Features
Round Up the Usual Suspects: Traditional Methods of Selecting First-Chair Trial Counsel Exclude Women
'You can't be shining lights at the Bar because you are too kind. You can never be corporation lawyers because you are not cold-blooded. You have not a high grade of intellect. I doubt you could ever make a living.' Clarence Darrow to women lawyers. Morello, Bar Admission Was Rough for 19th Century Women, 189 N.Y.L.J. 19 (1983).
Features
Practice Tip: Crafting a Winning Document Retention Policy to Avoid Court-Imposed Penalties
From the moment a manufacturer decides to undertake a new venture, it creates a staggering number of documents. These documents run the gamut from new product designs to market studies to safety test results. Even small-scale manufacturers may generate enough documents to fill a small warehouse, thus begging the question: Are we required by law to keep all these documents?
Features
Speaking Outside the Box: Juror Questioning of Witnesses at Trial
It would be unheard of if a student were to be told that he or she was required to master a course of study without having the ability to voice any questions along the way. In fact, from Socrates' time to the present, teachers at all levels typically encourage interactive learning. Until recently, however, the process through which a jury arrives at the facts of a given case is a fairly passive process — with the exception of the deliberative process at the close of the case.
Features
Be Careful What You Wish For
In the wake of the demise of Arthur Andersen following the partnerships' indictment by the federal government, prosecutors are increasingly pressuring corporations to enter into deferred-prosecution agreements (DPAs) to avoid ' at least temporarily ' full-blown criminal prosecutions. While these agreements may seem to offer an attractive option to embattled companies faced with the prospect of a lengthy and potentially devastating criminal prosecution, the freedom with which the individual prosecutors operate when crafting the agreements should cause concern.
Features
Voluntary Disclosures Under the FCPA
<i>' ' [A]lthough nothing is off the table when you voluntarily disclose, I can tell you in unequivocal terms that you will get a real benefit ' '</i> Despite these heartening words by Assistant U.S. Attorney General Alice S. Fisher at a recent conference on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), an attorney representing a corporation cannot recommend voluntary disclosure of potentially criminal FCPA activities without weighing the promise of a 'real benefit' against the very real risks.
Features
The McNulty Memorandum
The Department of Justice (DOJ), in the wake of increasing criticism of its policies on waiver of privileges by corporations and their advancement of legal fees to employees under investigation, issued a 21-page memorandum on Dec. 12, 2006, revising the 'Principles of Federal Prosecution of Business Corporations,' alias the Thompson Memorandum. The revised policy, embodied in a memorandum by Deputy Attorney General Paul D. McNulty, comes close on the heels of two influential attacks on the Thompson Memorandum: a bill sponsored by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) that would prohibit prosecutors from pressing companies to waive privileges or cut off legal fees, and an opinion by Manhattan U. S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, holding that prosecutors had violated the constitutional rights of former KPMG partners when they pressured KPMG to stop paying the ex-partners' lawyers.
Features
Bankruptcy Court Demolishes Baseless Lender Liability Complaint
A Delaware bankruptcy court held on Nov. 16 that a secured lender with a $128 million claim could credit bid at a judicial sale of a Chapter 11 debtor's assets, after dismissing the expansive complaint filed against the lender by the creditors' committee in the debtor's case (claims for recharacterization of debt as equity; equitable subordination; breach of fiduciary duty; invalid loans; voidable liens; and preference liability).
Features
A Financial Expert's View on e-Discovery and Financial Expert Challenges
In this edition, we offer you the first of a two-part article on the challenge of financial experts as witnesses in cases in which e-discovery is relevant. This month, our expert author from PricewaterhouseCoopers provides an overview of how a financial expert can help counsel in e-discovery and litigation strategy.
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