Recent Developments from Around the States
National cases you need to know.
After the Gulf Coast Hurricanes
In the 2005 Special Issue of <i>Employment Law Strategist</i>, we summarized key issues affecting employers following the Hurricane Katrina disaster, including the federal government's legislative and regulatory responses to the catastrophe. The following is an updated summary of relevant legislative and regulatory actions.
Features
Employers and Employees
When I entered law practice in 1971, it was common in corporate criminal investigations for a single law firm to represent the target corporation and all its relevant employees. They hung together lest they hang separately. Over time, practice changed, and such joint-representation arrangements mostly disappeared. The old paradigm was succeeded by a new one, which recognized the separate interests of the corporation and each of its relevant employees, but also provided a large measure of mutual support and good will on the defense side. This paradigm, too, has been attacked by prosecutors and now has largely disappeared in major federal and some state investigations. It has been succeeded by a new, far harsher paradigm.
Features
Freedom to Contract?
How much freedom does a party have to tell its service provider not to use a given employee to provide the services? Although the freedom to contract (or not contract) might suggest that this liberty is unfettered, a recent decision by the Second District Appellate Court of Illinois suggests that the answer is not so clear.
Leasing Seminars and Conferences
Information about upcoming seminars and conferences.
Features
Case Notes
Highlights of the latest product liability cases from around the country.
Features
Online: Learn About Punitive Damages on the Web
There is a wealth of information about punitive damages on the Internet, including the Web sites of various organizations and law schools, as well as blogs. Here is a sample of what's available.
Practice Tip: Navigating the FDA's Recent RiskMAP Guidance
As part of the Food and Drug Administration's ("FDA") ongoing and comprehensive efforts to minimize risks while preserving the benefits of medical products, the FDA recently released three industry guidance documents on risk management strategies. These final guidance documents, applicable to various stages of drug and biological product development, will assist manufacturers in developing and improving methods to assess and monitor the risks associated with drugs and biologics. The risk minimization action plan is one of these initiatives that promises to further tip the balance of the risk-benefit profile of drugs and devices.
A Primer for Successor Corporations on Avoiding Potential Product Liability Exposure
The first part of this article discussed traditional criteria for successor liability and the expanded theory of successor liability provided by the continuity of enterprise exception. The conclusion continues the discussion of expanded successor liability law pursuant to the product line exception.
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MOST POPULAR STORIES
- Protecting Innovation in the Cyber World from Patent TrollsWith trillions of dollars to keep watch over, the last thing we need is the distraction of costly litigation brought on by patent assertion entities (PAEs or "patent trolls"), companies that don't make any products but instead seek royalties by asserting their patents against those who do make products.Read More ›
- Risks of “Baseball Arbitration” in Resolving Real Estate Disputes“Baseball arbitration” refers to the process used in Major League Baseball in which if an eligible player's representative and the club ownership cannot reach a compensation agreement through negotiation, each party enters a final submission and during a formal hearing each side — player and management — presents its case and then the designated panel of arbitrators chooses one of the salary bids with no other result being allowed. This method has become increasingly popular even beyond the sport of baseball.Read More ›
- Private Equity Valuation: A Significant DecisionInsiders (and others) in the private equity business are accustomed to seeing a good deal of discussion ' academic and trade ' on the question of the appropriate methods of valuing private equity positions and securities which are otherwise illiquid. An interesting recent decision in the Southern District has been brought to our attention. The case is <i>In Re Allied Capital Corp.</i>, CCH Fed. SEC L. Rep. 92411 (US DC, S.D.N.Y., Apr. 25, 2003). Judge Lynch's decision is well written, the Judge reviewing a motion to dismiss by a business development company, Allied Capital, against a strike suit claiming that Allied's method of valuing its portfolio failed adequately to account for i) conditions at the companies themselves and ii) market conditions. The complaint appears to be, as is often the case, slap dash, content to point out that Allied revalued some of its positions, marking them down for a variety of reasons, and the stock price went down - all this, in the view of plaintiff's counsel, amounting to violations of Rule 10b-5.Read More ›
- The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year LaterThe DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.Read More ›
- The DOJ Goes Phishing: The Rise of False Claims Act Cybersecurity LitigationWhile the DOJ Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative is still in its early stages and cybersecurity regulations are evolving, whistleblower plaintiffs have already begun leveraging the FCA to pursue alleged noncompliance with government cybersecurity requirements.Read More ›