Whistle(Blowing) While You Work
June 28, 2006
On May 30, the U.S. Supreme Court decided, in <i>Garcetti v. Ceballos</i>, 2006 WL 1458026, 24 IER Cases 737, that public employees do not enjoy First Amendment protections when speaking in the course of their official duties. While drawing strong reactions as a restriction on the free speech rights of government whistleblowers, the ruling may also be viewed in a different light ' as giving public whistleblowers the same rights as private ones.
Departing Employees
June 28, 2006
Most companies have taken care to ensure that new and departing employees have completed Human Resource files with nondisclosure agreements, non-competition agreements (where applicable), invention and assignment agreements and various other agreements, acknowledgements and forms. Are companies doing enough to protect themselves from intellectual property theft by departing employees and consultants?
What Every Company Needs to Know About Military Leave
June 28, 2006
With increasingly longer military leaves (since 2001, the National Guard's deployment policy has shifted from a 6-month to a 24-month maximum service overseas), companies must understand their legal obligations under military leave laws, specifically the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). Employers must be aware of what happens before, during and after their employees take military leave.
An Employer's Guide to Conducting Internal Investigations
June 28, 2006
Disgruntled employees raise issues every day, and every day employers respond by conducting some type of internal investigation. To warrant an immediate and thorough internal investigation, employee complaints need not be in writing or 'formally' made. The key ingredient in any investigation is preparation.
Executive Compensation: It's Hot and About to Get Hotter
June 28, 2006
With the Enron (Lay/Skilling) trial having concluded and the business community eagerly anticipating more reports recommending SOX ' 404 relief for smaller companies, executive compensation issues seem far removed, except for the occasional (or not so occasional) headline. Don't be lulled, however, into a false sense of security. Executive compensation is about to take center stage as THE latest 'corporate governance' topic.
Is Half a Summer Associate Better Than None?
June 28, 2006
In a February <i>A&FP</i> article titled 'Associate Overcompensation?' I ventured the opinion that competition for the most promising new associates was perhaps needlessly intense, given that law firms aren't very good at identifying which law school graduates actually will turn into excellent lawyers. The following interesting report seems to invite essentially the same question with regard to law student summer associates.
Europe's Reaction Against the SOX Anonymous Whistleblowing Rule
June 28, 2006
Watching the reaction of European data protection authorities to the anonymous whistleblower requirement set forth in ' 304 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) has been like watching an ongoing heavyweight prize fight. In one corner, representing the U.S. and its recent history of corporate frauds, stands the SOX champion determined to use all means to prevent future frauds. In the other corner, representing Europe's 20th-century history, which unfortunately includes use of anonymous 'informants' to 'denounce' and silence or kill opponents of repressive regimes in Germany, France and elsewhere, stands the European Union (EU) data protection champion resolved to protect what Europeans view as the fundamental human right of privacy. The SOX and EU champions have exchanged blows, neither has given up much ground, and the match appears to be headed into the late rounds. The audience of multinational corporations required to comply with both SOX and EU data protection laws can only watch, do their best to implement anonymous whistleblower mechanisms in compliance with both SOX and EU privacy law, and wait until the contest is ultimately decided.
Branches, Boutiques And Client Conflicts
June 28, 2006
As analyzed in several <i>A&FP</i> articles, a major strategic goal of many law firms is to attain and maintain dominance for specific practice areas in a legal market. One downside of dominance in a practice area, however, is that a firm may increasingly need to turn away work in other practice areas due to client conflicts.<br>From the following excerpts of recent news analyses from <i>A&FP</i>'s ALM affiliates, it seems reasonable to conjecture that conflict-related attorney movements between firms help maintain a healthy level of competition in legal services that excessive dominance might otherwise undermine.
Clarifying the Force Majeure Clause in a Commercial Lease
June 28, 2006
<i>A&FP</i> articles in March and April discussed how various 'boilerplate' clauses in a commercial lease may one-sidedly favor the landlord or tenant. The present article emphasizes the need to ensure that the force majeure clause in particular protects vital interests in the event of a major catastrophe. Whether your firm is a tenant or landlord, you'll want to take a close look, first at this article and then at your lease.
