Unfinished Business Claims
This two-part article describes recent developments with respect to unfinished business claims, discusses the implications that those cases may have on law firm partnerships, and provides some suggestions as to what law firms may do to avoid unfinished business claim litigation.
Features
Obstruction of (Contemplated) Justice
Obstruction of justice is seeing increased use, and could prove to be a powerful tool in the federal prosecutor's toolbox. Reflective of its growing attention, as discussed further below, it is the subject of a pending U.S. Supreme Court case that will examine just how broadly this statute may reach.
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Collecting Social Security Numbers
In the first half of 2014, at least 96 significant data breaches were reported, compromising more than 2.2 million records. Of these breaches, at least 46 involved records that may have contained Social Security Numbers (SSNs). What the affected businesses may not know is that the mere collection of SSNs may have put them in violation of state laws, in addition to the liability they may now face for having failed to protect the SSN information.
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Gaps in Coverage After <i>Farmers Mutual </i>
Recently, the New Jersey Supreme Court addressed the question of the role of a state insurance guaranty fund within a pro rata allocation scheme. The court's opinion has called into question New Jersey's approach to allocation more generally.
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Changing the Law Firm Business Model
Lawyers must understand the process by which they deliver a legal solution. That means they understand every task in the process and who should be performing those tasks, whether it is a partner, an associate, a paralegal, or another professional.
Keep It Under Control
Client questions about litigation management are always the same: How likely are we to win? How long will it take? How much will it cost? The answers vary from case to case, but metrics exist to answer the questions and to enhance litigation management.
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Supreme Court Misses Chance to Address Difficult Privacy Question
When technology changes the nature of what has been thought of as private, should the response be to continue to recognize that privacy, or to rethink what is private?
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Cost Savings As a Risk Management Strategy
Since the active use of the term <i>risk management</i>, perhaps sometime in the 1980s, I have thought of the confluence of <i>risk</i> and <i>management</i> as an oxymoron.
Filing Multiple IPRs for One Patent
The America Invents Act established <i>inter partes</i> review (IPR) proceedings at the USPTO. Under this new regime, any person other than the patent owner is able to challenge the validity of a patent with a patent office trial. In a growing number of cases, the validity of a patent is determined at the USPTO prior to a district court dispute on infringement. The cost and time benefits of an IPR has encouraged hundreds of Petitioners to partake in these new proceedings.
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CFPB Gets Real About Bitcoin Risks
Consumers should be cautious when using bitcoin and alert the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to any problems with the virtual money, the agency said last month after a government watchdog this summer urged the CFPB to engage more on the currency.
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