Features

Second Circuit Directs Consideration of an 'Efficient Market' Interest Rate for <b><i>Momentive</i></b> Cramdown Plan
On Oct. 20, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in Momentive Performance Materials, Inc. v. BOKF, NA (In re MPM Silicones, L.L.C. "MPM")…
Features

Date Approaches for Start of EU Trade Secrets Directive
In 2016, concerns about protecting trade secrets in the European Union resulted in Directive (EU) 2016/943 of the European Parliament and of the Council of June 8, 2016. Directive (EU) 2016/943, which will impact the entertainment industry, seeks to protect undisclosed know-how and business information (trade secrets) against their unlawful acquisition, use and disclosure.
Features

When Lack of Informed Consent Is Not the Issue
When an injury occurs, the first reaction of those in the medical office might be to ask, "Did the patient sign an informed consent form?" When the answer is "Yes," and the harm that occurred is listed as a possibility on that signed form, everyone can breathe a sigh of relief. Right? Not so fast.
Features

Exclusion of Evidence: The FDA's 510K Process
In a drug or medical device injury case, one of the defense's most potent arguments often is that the product in question underwent FDA approval. But when a device is approved for sale to the public through the FDA's 510(k) process, the rigorous safety and efficacy analysis required of new and unique medical devices has not been undertaken.
Features

Children of a Married Same-Sex Couple
<b><i>The Presumption of Legitimacy</i></b><p>In what is being hailed as a landmark decision, New York's Appellate Division, First Department, recently held that the presumption that a child born to a married couple is their legitimate offspring applies not only to biological children of both spouses, but also to children born through more modern means — even when the married parties are in a same-sex marriage.
Features

MAGA: Make Acronyms Great Again!
The author discusses how acronyms (and some initialisms) can help you become a better communicator.
Features

Follow Up on False Claims Act Actions
The authors discuss several steps to take in order to avoid the pitfalls that could accompany lengthy exposure vis-à-vis state false claims actions.
Features

Read This Before You Set Your 2018 Billing Rates
Failure to increase senior billing rates differentially, and thus to rebalance the source of margin from junior to senior lawyer time, will result in a calamitous decline in profitability. It can be avoided if firms start now to gradually change their billing rate structures.
Features

Showing Better 2017 Financial Results Just Got A Little Tougher
Will law firms' financial results for 2017 fall short of 2016? Legal industry results through the first nine months of 2017 suggest that's a real possibility.
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- 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 ›
- 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 ›
- Meet the Lawyer Working on Inclusion Rider LanguageAt the Oscars in March, Best Actress winner Frances McDormand made “inclusion rider” go viral. But Kalpana Kotagal, a partner at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll had already worked for months to write the language for such provisions. Kotagal was developing legal language for contract provisions that Hollywood's elite could use to require studios and other partners to employ diverse workers on set.Read More ›
- Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar InvestigationsThis article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.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 ›