Columns & Departments
In the Courts
A look at a case involving wiretap evidence.
Features
Strauss/Steffen, District Court Personal Jurisdiction and U.S.-Nexus Rulings
On Feb. 8 and 19, 2013, two judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled on whether foreign nationals residing continuously outside the United States may be prosecuted on civil FCPA charges by the SEC.
Features
Federal Criminal Antitrust Enforcement
The Obama Antitrust Division initiated several important policy changes during the last three years, of which the author discuss three.
Features
'Obtainable Property' and the Mail and Wire Fraud Statutes
The Supreme Court's invalidation of a Hobbs Act conviction in <I>Sekhar v. United States</I> coins a new legal term ' "obtainable property" ' that not only will govern future Hobbs Act prosecutions, but also could limit the scope of the federal mail and wire fraud statutes.
Hidden Issues in Balance Sheets
Attorneys for creditors and debtors and bankruptcy judges are making recommendations or decisions based on only cursory consideration of potentially misleading balance sheets. Neglecting to delve into the issues more deeply can result in serious pitfalls.
Features
Financing Pre-Owned IT Hardware
The robust trade of pre-owned computer, networking, telecommunications and other IT hardware on the secondary market is a reality.
Features
Intercreditor Agreements
Intercreditor agreements are becoming more common in commercial finance transactions, even in the middle- and small-ticket arenas. However, attorneys can protect their clients' interests without derailing a transaction.
Features
Managing Legal Holds
Many in-house legal teams remain limited by reactive legal hold approaches that feature e-mail and spreadsheets as management tools and are defined by an over reliance on manual processes.
Businesses Involved in Patent Litigation
Many would-be corporate patent plaintiffs may not be aware that the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) is a viable alternative to patent litigation. This article explains the ITC and what it does.
Need Help?
- Prefer an IP authenticated environment? Request a transition or call 800-756-8993.
- Need other assistance? email Customer Service or call 1-877-256-2472.
MOST POPULAR STORIES
- 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 ›
- Risks of “Baseball Arbitration” in Resolving Real Estate Disputes“Baseball arbitration” refers to the process used in Major League Baseball in which if an eligible player's representative and the club ownership cannot reach a compensation agreement through negotiation, each party enters a final submission and during a formal hearing each side — player and management — presents its case and then the designated panel of arbitrators chooses one of the salary bids with no other result being allowed. This method has become increasingly popular even beyond the sport of baseball.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 ›
- The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year LaterThe DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.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 ›