2016 is in full swing and we will soon be conducting the 2016 Mattern & Associates Cost Recovery Survey. We've been conducting this bi-annual survey since 2004 and, during that time, it has become an industry resource for tracking the cost recovery practices of law firms across size and geography.
- February 29, 2016Robert C. Mattern
n a first-of-its-kind decision, the Eleventh Circuit deferred to the EEOC and held that job applicants may bring "disparate impact" claims for age discrimination against potential employers, even in the absence of evidence of intentional discrimination. The court additionally held that the statute of limitations for filing a charge with the EEOC may be tolled in such cases.
February 29, 2016Matthew R. SimpsonThe Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra (BPO) had little choice but to fire its principal oboist for his repeated clashes with the symphony's conductor, other musicians and staff, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York found in upholding the "fair and just" findings of an arbitrator.
February 29, 2016Joel StashenkoOn Jan. 20, 2016, the United States Supreme Court rendered its decision, in an Eleventh Circuit case in which an ERISA health plan sought to recover medical benefits paid to an injured participant after that participant's personal injury settlement funds had already been spent.
February 29, 2016Jennifer S. KiesewetterSuccessfully negotiating a monetary settlement in an on-the-job injury, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage and hour or other employment-related claim is the responsibility of all parties ' both defense and plaintiff. Here's a look at structured settlements.
February 29, 2016Patrick FarberAcross the nation, by far the most common setting for deciding domestic relations cases is the bench trial, where the judge sits alone without a jury except in extraordinary circumstance; cases involving domestic torts, for example. In the final analysis, therefore, our judges are our audience. They are certainly more than a passive audience; they are participants in every sense.
February 29, 2016Curtis J. RomanowskiDespite appearing to accept that rapid and ongoing market change is here to stay, firms, and their leaders, have responded with change efforts that can largely be described as limited and reactive short-term solutions. Why?
February 29, 2016Whit WesenbergIn a first-of-its-kind decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit deferred to the EEOC and held that job applicants may bring "disparate impact" claims for age discrimination against potential employers, even in the absence of evidence of intentional discrimination.
February 29, 2016Matthew R. SimpsonOn Feb. 2, 2016, the U.S. Department of Commerce and European Commission unveiled a new framework for personal data transfers from European Union (EU) Member States to the U.S. The new framework ' dubbed the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield ' will replace the EU-U.S. Safe Harbor program, which was invalidated by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in 2015.
February 29, 2016Alisa L. Chestler and Tracy E. WeirOn Jan. 28, the Commerce Department issued a much-anticipated policy statement entitled "White Paper on Remixes, First Sale and Statutory Damages: Copyright Policy, Creativity, and Innovation in the Digital Economy." This article briefly describes the white paper's scope and recommendations, with a focus on the issue of statutory damages, as to which the white paper proposes several amendments to the current Copyright Act.
February 29, 2016Robert W. Clarida and Robert J. Bernstein

