Hotline
June 24, 2009
Recent rulings of interest to you and your practice.
Two Federal Courts Reject Medical Monitoring Class Actions
June 24, 2009
Recently, two federal courts rejected certification in three putative "medical monitoring" class actions that were brought against E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company in West Virginia and New Jersey. These are significant rulings in the still developing field of "medical monitoring," and indicate the limits of class certification based on medical monitoring theories of recovery
Proposed Amendments to Federal Rules Would Limit Expert Witness Disclosures
June 24, 2009
Rule 26 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure incentivizes a party's attorney to get creative in his efforts to prevent disclosure of his communications with the party's expert ... The results of the rule have been costly and often lead to the discovery of information that is only marginally relevant to any genuine issue in dispute.
NJ Judge Won't Certify Class Action By Vioxx Users
June 24, 2009
In March, an Atlantic County, NJ, judge denied a request to certify a class action against Merck & Co. on behalf of consumers for their out-of-pocket expenses for the painkiller Vioxx, which was withdrawn from the market in 2004 after a medical study linked it to heart disease.
Recalls of Foreign-Made Products Lead to Increased Scrutiny at Home
June 24, 2009
The increased regulation of safety standards, testing, certifications of compliance, and advertising will likely result in a significant increase in the number of foreign product recalls. This, in turn, will yield increased litigation in the future. Here's why.
Ex-Heller Employees Sue Former Partners
June 24, 2009
Former employees of Heller Ehrman sued at least 179 former partners in April, demanding they fork over $32 million for the largest group of creditors in the defunct firm's bankruptcy.
Partial Plan Terminations
June 24, 2009
Management teams should be aware that reductions in workforce ("RIFs"), while seemingly cost-cutting in nature, can actually yield the opposite result, and can cause unintended and costly consequences with respect to a firm's tax-qualified employee benefit plan.
Advance Conflict Waivers
June 24, 2009
An advance conflict waiver is an agreement, given by your client, to a potential future representation by your law firm that would otherwise be precluded because of a conflict of interest. Law firms increasingly include such waivers in their standard form engagement letters. Here's what you need to know.
Best Practices in Client Relationship Skills
June 24, 2009
There are key activities that lawyers can engage in to promote the health of existing client interactions. All of these activities can be categorized into one of three stages: 1) establishing the relationship; 2) building the relationship; and 3) proliferating the relationship.