LJN Newsletters

  • Special Report on e-Discovery: The Revised Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

    The 2006 amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ('FRCP') were anticipated by some corporate counsel with Y2K-like gloom and doom predictions. In particular, many wondered aloud whether the rules would have the effect of placing reasonable limits on electronic discovery, or whether instead they would open the floodgates and drown us all in a sea of electronic document production. However, the past year has shown that, like the Y2K hysteria that went out with a whimper, the fretting over the negative impact of the amendments may have been overblown.

    January 29, 2008Adam I. Cohen

  • e-Commerce Docket Sheet

    Recent cases in e-commerce law and in the e-commerce industry.

    January 29, 2008Julian S. Millstein, Edward A. Pisacreta and Jeffrey D. Neuburger

  • Sarbanes-Oxley and Open Source

    If you use software and work for or with a company subject to Sarbanes-Oxley ('SOX'), then 2007 was an interesting year for you. How interesting? I'll raise some issues arising from the intersection of the topic of software use and SOX from last year to help you keep to a minimum the risk that 2008 will be an interesting year in some very bad ways.

    January 29, 2008Sue Ross

  • Emerging Internet Telemedicine Issues

    Internet telemedicine, in use to varying degrees for more than a decade and general technology-assisted telemedicine for much longer than that, is plagued by concern for patients whose physicians prescribe medication without a face-to-face examination. The result has been that state boards of medical examiners and state legislatures throughout the country have initiated disciplinary hearings and legislation to limit a physician's ability to practice medicine without prior hands-on contact with a patient. But emerging technology and medical advancements may be stifled by problems unique to Internet telemedicine.

    January 29, 2008Jonathan Bick

  • Bell Atlantic v. Twombly and Its Aftermath

    One of the most important decisions that corporate counsel must make in any case is whether to file a motion to dismiss. While a motion can put an early end to the case, it can also prompt a judge to make damaging pronouncements about the law, without the benefit of a fully developed factual record.

    January 29, 2008Linda L. Listrom

  • German Data Retention Law Takes Effect

    The controversial German draft bill designed to amend legislation on communications surveillance and other secret investigation measures, and to implement the European Directive 2006/24/EC ' which was set to introduce mandatory retention of communications traffic data ' went into effect on January 1.

    January 29, 2008Dr. Katharina Scheja

  • 'You're Fired!'

    For Donald Trump, 'You're fired!' has become a money-maker. But for Human Resources managers and in-house counsel, 'You're fired' is a dreaded phrase that will bring not an increase in ratings, but an increase in lawsuits. A poorly executed termination exposes the employer to significant liability; even a simple discrimination claim can cost the employer $100,000 in defense costs.

    January 29, 2008Bernard E. Jacques

  • Should Auld e-Commerce Be Forgot?

    For many, 2008 began with the timeless strains of 'Should auld acquaintance be forgot.' But for e-commerce practitioners, there's no time for celebrating: The pace of change is constant. Information is out of date almost as soon as it has been published, as new technology may in itself, and certainly will help, competitors race to unseat those who came before. In that spirit, then, let's look back over some of the subjects that have recently appeared on these pages, to see how the law and business of e-commerce have developed since we first wrote about them.

    January 29, 2008Stanley P. Jaskiewicz

  • Majority Voting in Director Elections

    Majority voting for the election of directors has been transformed from a fringe concept to the prevailing election standard among large public companies in the brief span of three years, as demonstrated by the November 2007 edition of the Study of Majority Voting in Director Elections. Statistics and examples drawn from the Study underscore that majority voting has become a relatively mature, as well as widespread, movement.

    January 29, 2008Claudia H. Allen

  • What Is a 'Risk Assessment' and How Do You Perform One?

    There is an an alphabet soup of acronyms, programs and initiatives suggesting, encouraging, cajoling and, in many cases requiring formal, written codes of ethics and business conduct. This article endeavors to make sense of it all and provide some practical advice on to best protect your company by focusing on the one common thread found in virtually all of the new statutory, regulatory and enforcement guidance: 'Risk Assessments.'

    January 29, 2008Christopher A. Myers and Gregory A. Baldwin