Features
'Unreliable ' Articles, 'Trial by Literature ' Revisited
The reliance upon, and use of, unreliable hearsay literature by expert testifiers is a challenging topic that cuts across the spectrum of complex litigation. Often, the literature is comprised of technical or scientific articles published in some journal with a claim that the published work product has been "peer reviewed." The problems seem to have exacerbated.
Law Firm Leaders Struggle with Setting Firmwide Rates
Rate-setting has proven a bit vexing for firm leaders as they grapple with setting rates in an era where firms span multiple markets and practice concentrations, clients aren't willing to pay the published rates, and alternative fee deals are a growing part of firm revenue.
Features
Bounties for Wandering Whistleblowers
Last year, a number of important new developments, judicial and otherwise, expanded the rights of individuals, even those based overseas, to assert whistleblower rights under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Report and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. This article explains what you need to know.
Features
Expanding the Playing Field for Video Game Lawsuits
Video game litigation is a hot area for entertainment lawyers in 2015, as more celebrities have sued over being cast as game characters without their permission. The spree is driven by a pair of 2013 rulings that sided with athletes depicted in college football games, lawyers said, as well as by the overall boom in gaming sales which has made the industry a rich target for plaintiffs lawyers.
Features
Are Franchisors 'Employers'?
Part One of this article analyzed what recent court and NLRB decisions are saying about the franchisor/franchisee employment question. The discussion continues herein.
Top 10 International Employment Law Issues
This article compiles and describes, with varying degrees of specificity, what appear, to this author, to be the top 10 global employment law issues facing employers in 2015. They are listed in reverse order.
Features
<i> 'Momentive'</i> Provides a Reminder About Intercreditor Agreements
The growth in mezzanine and junior financing has spawned a rise in litigation over lien intercreditor agreements ' agreements between creditors that govern their relative rights and remedies with respect to shared collateral.
Will the Supreme Court Remove <i>Brulotte</i>'s Shadow Over Patent Licensing?
Part One, last month, set the stage for a possible overruling by the U.S. Supreme Court of its 1964 ruling in <i>Brulotte v. Thys Co.</i> that the collection of royalties after a patent's expiration constitutes per se patent misuse by looking at the case's critics and its impact on licensing over the last 50 years. In Part Two, the authors continue that discussion and look at the arguments made to the Supreme Court for and against overruling the case.
Billing Rates Rise, Discounts Abound
The price of a billable hour has risen by more than 10% in four years, as large corporate law firms focused on their most expensive work and saved clients' money elsewhere.
Features
Infringement Prevention and Brand Management On Social Media
The explosion of social media in recent years has dramatically impacted the manner in which individuals and businesses interact with one another. Social media gives businesses endless opportunity to increase brand awareness and expand audience reach. However, social media also presents myriad legal issues, particularly with respect to brand management.
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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 ›