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The defense of employment-related lawsuits is a significant expense for employers that, many times, cannot be avoided. At the same time, it is an expense that offers little return on investment for the employer. Despite the efforts of at least some courts to try to resolve these cases through early mediation or to move them faster through the system, claims of employment discrimination and other alleged wrongdoing in the workplace, often languish far too long.
Features
Suppose that you represent an employer that does not hire foreign nationals and is in an industry that does not lend itself to foreign workers. Does your client nevertheless have responsibilities under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA)? The answer -- surprising to too many employers and attorneys -- is yes. The IRCA prohibits unfair immigration-related employment practices and makes all U.S. employers responsible for verifying the "employment eligibility" and "identity" of all employees hired to work in the United States after Nov. 6, 1986.
Features
Gone are the days of the Internet chat rooms for disgruntled associates. Gone are the multitude of public surveys where law firms learned, only after survey publication, how poorly associates rated their firms in terms of professional satisfaction. <br>These days, associates are less vocal about their dissatisfaction with their firms and the opportunities afforded them for professional development. Nonetheless, associates are still on the move, and firms continue to struggle to find effective ways to retain them. <br>Firms have made significant investments in improving their associate programs, including hiring Professional Development Administrators. Now, rather than ignoring issues related to professional development and satisfaction, firms are evaluating all aspects of their associate programs. They no longer want to leave the surveying to someone else.
Features
There is an industry-wide epidemic amongst mutual funds of both insider trading and market timing to the diminution of the ordinary stakeholder, including defined contribution plan account balances. Late trading is the clearly illegal practice of placing orders after the day's close at 4 p.m., and market timing is the disruptive (but not necessarily illegal) practice of trading quickly in-and-out of a fund. <br>This article is intended to assist plan fiduciaries (<i>eg</i>, law firms sponsors of pension plans and law firm clients) regarding how to behave in a fiduciarily appropriate manner.
Features
The unauthorized practice of law (UPL) issue is the modern law firm's ultimate bottomless ethics pothole. In today's world, common sense would seem to dictate that a Maryland lawyer could close a complex commercial transaction for a Maryland client in foreign jurisdictions like Florida or New York. The fact that more than a few states would disagree with this proposition is what makes the UPL issue the bottomless pothole that it is.
Special Issue: As we all know, as a result of widespread accounting scandals in 2001-02, Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, Pub. L. No. 107-204, 116 Stat. 769 (2002) (SOX). SOX, signed into law on July 30, 2002, authorizes substantially increased funding for the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, creates broad new SEC enforcement powers, a greater range and magnitude of civil and criminal penalties, several new criminal prohibitions and more rigorous reporting requirements among other things.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was created by Congress in the aftermath of the 1929 stock market crash, the cause of which was widely attributed to fraudulent and deceptive practices on Wall Street. It is an independent regulatory agency whose five commissioners, including a Chairman, are appointed by the President. The SEC's Division of Enforcement is the "police force" of the Commission; it is responsible for the civil and administrative enforcement of the various federal securities laws. The Enforcement Division also typically works closely with U.S. Attorney's Offices throughout the country to assist with the criminal prosecution of securities violations.
Ever since the Supreme Court rendered its landmark decision in the case of <i>Blakely v. Washington</i>, lawyers and judges have been cast in the role of prognosticators, trying to predict how the courts -- most importantly the Supreme Court itself -- will apply <i>Blakely</i> to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. We will soon know the answer, as the Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments on Oct. 4, 2004, after expedited briefing. Until then, however, lawyers must prognosticate -- at the risk of guessing wrong.