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In the Courts
Analysis of recent rulings you need to know.
Ten Tips for Handling Sensitive Investigations
The Enron, Tyco and WorldCom scandals have greatly heightened the fiduciary duties of directors and officers and the scrutiny paid to them. The spotlight on corporations and their managers is likely to shine brightly for years to come. This article offers ten practical tips for handling sensitive investigations in an era where shareholders, prosecutors, regulators and courts are likely to scrutinize the response of organizations to inevitable episodes of suspected corporate misconduct.
Court-Imposed Waiver of the Joint-Defense Privilege
Most defense attorneys enter into joint-defense agreements with the understanding that even if one of the signatories decides to withdraw from the agreement and cooperate with the government, the confidentiality provisions survive. Two recent decisions ' by the Eleventh Circuit and the Northern District of California ' have called provisions like these into question: <i>United States v. Almeida</i>, 341 F.3d 1318 (11th Cir. 2003); and <i>United States v. Stepney</i>, 246 F. Supp.2d 1069 (N.D. Cal. 2003). Any defense attorney who is considering entering into such an agreement should think twice &emdash; especially if some party may choose, down the road, to cooperate with the government.
Features
State Proceedings and Confidentiality Agreements with the Federal Government
When management or the Board of Directors suspects possible misconduct within the company, they cannot respond with sound business judgment unless they have good information about what happened. In serious cases, they probably need outside counsel to investigate, report, and recommend remedies. The government has long encouraged companies to disclose the results of these internal investigations by offering the hope of leniency in charging or sentencing. On Sept. 22, 2003, the Attorney General added a "stick" to this "carrot" approach when he announced the Justice Department's new policy of charging the most serious criminal offenses that are readily provable, with a limited exception in cases where a defendant provided substantial assistance.
Features
Nationwide Cybercrime Sweep Nets 125 Arrests
Attorney General John Ashcroft said recently that law-enforcement agents had arrested 125 suspects in a crackdown on Internet crimes ranging from hacking to fraud to selling stolen goods. The seven-week cybercrime sweep involved police from Ghana to Southern California and uncovered 125,000 victims who had lost more than $100 million, he told a news conference.
U.S. Supreme Court to Review Internet Porn Law
In deciding to review the constitutionality of the Child Online Protection Act, the U.S. Supreme Court will revisit Congress' efforts to protect children…
Features
Combating E-Identity Theft
The Internet has made commerce as close and as quick as a mouse click, but it has also caused a dramatic increase in e-identity theft. Due to the passive approach taken by Federal and state authorities toward combating it, legal practitioners must use statutes designed to eliminate unlawful actives associated with e-identity theft, to eradicate the theft itself.
Dogandpony.com: GE Unit Holds Online Bid Contest to Trim Outside Counsel
In a bold experiment, Stamford, CT-based General Electric Commercial Finance is buying outside legal services over the next 2 years through reverse-auction bidding ' in Internet chat rooms ' this month.
Philadelphia: The City of Brotherly Internet Law?
There must be something in the fiber-optic cable in Philadelphia. Why else would the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit be such a hotbed for Internet policy making? For Stefan Presser, the longtime legal director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, it is a hotbed blooming with work. Presser is a member of the legal team that filed a lawsuit against Pennsylvania attorney general Mike Fisher in September. The suit challenges a statute that allows the AG to force Internet service providers to block particular Web sites from being viewed by Pennsylvania residents that his office alleges contain child pornography.
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