Features
Penance But No Absolution
The legal fiction of corporate criminal liability may finally get the rewrite it badly needs. Urged by practitioners and academics for decades, arguments for changing corporate criminal liability, if not abolishing it altogether, may now have a receptive audience in Washington.
Features
Independent Corporate Investigations
In this age of regulatory and prosecutorial focus on corporate compliance, companies increasingly are relying on special outside counsel to conduct internal investigations into potential wrong-doing. Sometimes, these investigations are prophylactic: A company may want to understand the consequences of its current hiring prac-tices so it can develop standard operating procedures to better ensure compliance with anti-discrimination laws. Because this sort of pro-active, self-reflective investigation generally proceeds in the absence of outside scrutiny, counsel has the time and space to conduct a deliberate investigation.
Features
At Last, Changes in the Thompson Memo
At press time, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty revised the controversial 'Thompson Memorandum.' A new 'McNulty Memorandum' was issued after harsh criticism from District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan in the KPMG case and a proposal by Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) to abrogate the Thompson Memorandum by act of Congress. Look for an in-depth analysis in our February Issue.
Features
When Is Discretion the Better Part of Valor?
Counsel for companies faced with criminal violations of securities laws must maneuver carefully through a gamut of factors to determine whether to voluntarily disclose criminal conduct. A corporation may face administrative and criminal sanctions for non-cooperation from both the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the SEC. But the DOJ's 'Thompson Memorandum' also bestows attractive benefits for cooperation, measured in part by the corporation's willingness 'to disclose the complete results of its internal investigation.' The prosecution may grant a corporation 'immunity or amnesty or pretrial diversion' or 'a non-prosecution agreement in exchange for cooperation.'
Real Property Law
Expert analysis of rulings that affect your practice.
Features
Index
Everything in this issue, listed in an easy-to-read format.
Features
Court Dismisses Mold-Related Injury Claim Against Coop
Mold-related personal injury claims have mushroomed in recent years, fueled in large part by the media and plaintiffs' lawyers who see mold as 'the next asbestos.' Many of these claims have been brought against cooperatives, condominiums and landlords by residents claiming that their health has been adversely affected by the presence of mold in their apartments. The science regarding causation is inconclusive, however, and New York courts have not weighed in on the matter until recently.
Decisions of Interest
Recent rulings of importance to you and your practice.
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