Features
Discovery in Arbitration Proceedings
This article marks the debut of an occasional column that will provide franchise attorneys with practical advice about conducting arbitrations.
3-D Printing: Strategies to Anticipate the Next Disruptive Technology
One could be forgiven for believing that 3-D printing ' essentially the ability to design and "print" three-dimensional objects ' remains either in the scope of far-fetched science fiction, or out of reach for the masses on account of being hopelessly expensive and complicated. Both of those assumptions, however, are wrong.
Features
Franchised Employees Might Be Employees of Franchisor
In a troubling development for franchisors, a Missouri federal district court has conditionally certified a class of plaintiffs in a collective action brought against Hotshots Sports Bar & Grill under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and Missouri's wage and hour laws. The ruling in <i>White v. 14051 Manchester, Inc.</i> is concerning because it holds, at least preliminarily, that employees of independently owned franchises may be considered employees of the franchisor under the FLSA, based on a common form of control exercised in most franchisor-franchisee relationships.
Features
Franchisee Bankruptcies and Receiverships: What You Don't Know Might Surprise You
Franchisors do not want to be associated with insolvent or bankrupt franchisees; it's not good for the brand. Therefore, franchisors carefully craft provisions in franchise agreements designed to allow termination in the event of a franchisee's bankruptcy or the appointment of a receiver as a result of a foreclosure action, typically initiated by the franchisee's lender
Columns & Departments
IP News
Highlights of the latest intellectual property cases from around the country.
Features
The Role of Supplemental Examination
Considering the provisions of supplemental examination and its contrasts with <i>ex parte</i> re-examination can help practitioners decide whether supplemental examination may benefit a particular patent.
Features
Cybersecurity Report Spotlights Risks to U.S. Business from China
Mandiant, a Virginia-based cybersecurity firm, gave America a wake-up slap across the face last month by detailing how Chinese military hackers are infiltrating U.S. companies. And on Feb. 20, President Barack Obama's administration responded by announcing a broad plan to fight the cyber theft of trade secrets that included diplomatic pressure to discourage it.
Columns & Departments
Decisions of Interest
Several key rulings are discussedl
Features
Lawyers at Parent Psychiatric Evaluations
The trial court in <i>M.A.M. v. M.R.M.</i>, found it prudent to bar an attorney from sitting in while his client was examined in conjunction with a child custody case. We continue our discussion of the rationales behind this decision herein.
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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 ›
- 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 ›