Uncertainty Reigns Over Ownership Of Social Media Content
February 29, 2016
When a social media account is created, who owns the resultant content? When a business cultivates Facebook "likes" in order to expand its marketing reach and effectiveness, who controls the outpouring of support for the company?
Extracting the 'Consent to Settle': A Game Plan for Insurers and Defense Counsel
February 29, 2016
Consent-to-settle provisions in medical malpractice insurance policies present challenging issues to insurers, defense attorneys and policyholders in the context of defending professional liability claims. Most liability insurance policies cede the ultimate discretion over settlement decisions to the insurer. Medical malpractice policies are outliers from the norm in the insurance industry.
The Raising of a Privacy Shield
February 29, 2016
On Feb. 2, 2016, the U.S. Department of Commerce and European Commission unveiled a new framework for personal data transfers from European Union (EU) Member States to the U.S. The new framework ' dubbed the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield ' will replace the EU-U.S. Safe Harbor program, which was invalidated by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in 2015.
$596 Million Stock Offering For Burger King Parent
February 29, 2016
Greenberg Traurig corporate and securities shareholders Kara MacCullough and Flora Perez barely slept for eight days. That's the time they had to complete a secondary public offering for their client Restaurant Brands International, or RBI, parent of Miami-based Burger King and Oakville, Ontario-based coffee, doughnuts and sandwich chain Tim Hortons.
Court Watch Franchisors Rebuff Franchisees' Claims Of Bad Behavior
February 29, 2016
The implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, while not always a separate cause of action, depending on the jurisdiction, can be a powerful tool in a franchisee's arsenal to assert claims based on breaches of franchise agreements due to a franchisor's bad conduct. However, recent cases coming out of New York and Michigan demonstrate just how difficult it can be for a franchisee to make out a claim premised on the franchisor's poor behavior.
The Illusion of a 'Second Opinion'
February 29, 2016
Creating the illusion of an independent "second opinion," insurance companies involved in personal injury lawsuits frequently contract with vendors to provide "records reviews," "peer reviews" or "paper reviews." In the authors' view, these opinions are far from objective.
They're With Us!
February 29, 2016
Recently, faced with pressure to increase efficiency, companies have increased their dependence on outside entities to complete tasks that were once reserved for in-house employees. How does this affect the attorney-client privilege?
Cost Recovery in 2016
January 31, 2016
2016 is in full swing and we will soon be conducting the 2016 Mattern & Associates Cost Recovery Survey. We've been conducting this bi-annual survey since 2004 and, during that time, it has become an industry resource for tracking the cost recovery practices of law firms across size and geography.
Prioritizing e-Mail Security in the Legal Sector
January 31, 2016
Data breaches and cyberattacks aren't new occurrences, but it can sometimes feel like they are. It's only in the last few years that we've seen these attacks make headlines more and more, increasing in both quantity and impact.