Regulation

Social networking sites are not just for social networking. As individuals become more and more comfortable with presenting "private" information to the "public," information posted on social networking sites can provide a rich source of discovery and can be a game-changer in litigation.

The guidelines governing the sentencing of fraud offenses ' long criticized as irrational, unduly severe, and the product of overt political pressure ' require wholesale reform.

In a stunning victory for the Obama administration, the U.S. Supreme Court on June 29 upheld the centerpiece of the nation's new health care law ' the so-called individual mandate to buy insurance ' as a constitutional exercise of Congress' taxing authority.

The treatment of personal identifiable information (PII) is quickly becoming a critical issue and should be on litigation support's risk and information governance agenda.

This edition of the Quarterly State Compliance Review looks at some legislation of interest to corporate lawyers that went into effect between May 1 and July 1, 2012, as well as some recent cases of interest. It includes two rulings from Delaware's courts, and decisions from California and New York on whether corporate officers may sue for wrongful termination.

With the proper tools, support from corporate management, a motivated audit team and a few guidelines, a privacy audit can be conducted using primarily internal resources and with little or no business disruption.

Pharmaceutical companies scored a major victory on June 18 when a divided U.S. Supreme Court held that the industry's sales representatives are not eligible for overtime pay.

The next stop for the Proposition 8 case is the Supreme Court.The order denying rehearing leaves in place the court's February 2-1 ruling striking down the ban on equal protection grounds. The majority said the voter-enacted initiative served no purpose other than 'to lessen the status and human dignity' of gays.