Collaborating With Consultants On In-House Training Programs
February 24, 2005
In-house training programs are an important part of any law firm's professional development curriculum. They allow for a level of customization that makes content more meaningful and immediately useful and they offer the greatest flexibility in how and when they can be delivered. Yet for all their benefits, planning an effective, substantive group of training offerings in-house presents numerous challenges.
Mergers And Attorney Departures: Ethical Pitfalls To Avoid
February 24, 2005
As anyone connected with the modern law firm can readily attest, lawyers come and lawyers go. As anyone connected with the ethics function at the modern law firm can attest, attorney arrivals and departures create conflict of interest and other issues that sometimes seem unsolvable. <br>To be sure, the dynamics are readily different when attorneys arrive at the firm, as compared to when they depart. On the front end of a new relationship, everyone is hopeful and excited ' in stark contrast to the mindset of departing attorneys, in many circumstances, toward their soon-to-be former firm, and vice versa. Regardless of the dynamics, however, important ethical rules and principles must be followed. Otherwise, serious economic and reputational harm ' as well as attorney grievance investigations ' can follow.
The Unchanged Agenda
February 24, 2005
The call for improved corporate ethics has been thoroughly embraced by the worlds of business and public policy -- so much so that the recent invalidation of the federal sentencing guidelines, which allowed corporations to mitigate their sentences, will not slow the campaign's momentum. Rather, the guidelines' new advisory status should focus companies more on the overriding need to build an ethical culture, and less on rote, process-oriented compliance. This change in focus will underscore the guidelines' core strength: They are more than just legal procedure - they articulate best practices in business ethics, which companies can put to constructive use.
Anti-Spyware Consortium Crumbles
February 24, 2005
The Consortium of Anti-Spyware Technology vendors (COAST) has lost its founding members, putting the group's future into question.
Net News
February 24, 2005
Recent developments of note in the Internet industry. This month:<br>Hollywood Lines Up Support for Net Song-Swap Case<br>Ohio Spam Bill Signed into Law <br>Utah Reworking Nation's First Ban on Computer Spyware <br>House Panel Approves Spyware Bill but Doesn't Toss Cookies <br>Student Incarcerated for Possessing Illegally Copied Movies, Music <br>EarthLink Files More Spam Suits
Quarterly State Compliance Review
February 24, 2005
This edition of the Quarterly State Compliance Review looks at some of the legislative enactments and court decisions of interest to corporate lawyers that occurred over the last 3 months. Included is a look at three new limited partnership acts, a Delaware decision granting shareholders access to a corporation's privileged communications, and an Illinois decision holding that an internal corporate memo could be the basis of a defamation action.
Court Says $10K 'Bet' Can't Settle E-tailer Fight
February 24, 2005
A $10,000 "side bet" wasn't enough to persuade a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals en banc panel to answer whether federal courts have jurisdiction over out-of-state Internet retailers.
What to Do When an Audit Committee Complaint Arrives
February 24, 2005
Much attention has been paid to the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) and the stock exchanges and Nasdaq that issuers establish procedures under which their audit committees can receive complaints, including anonymous complaints. Various service providers now offer issuers solutions in this area, including procedures to submit complaints through hotlines and e-mail addresses maintained by the service providers. But none of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the rules or the extensive commentary about establishing complaint procedures addresses what the audit committee is required to do with a complaint when one is received. This article briefly discusses some considerations in dealing with such a complaint.
Publius, RIP?
February 24, 2005
In a classic New Yorker cartoon, the caption reads: "On the Internet, no one knows you're a dog." Not so. Whether you're spouting off your views about the latest episode of "Desperate Housewives" on a fan Web site, complaining about your sinking stock portfolio on a Yahoo message board or, in the case of a Texas man recently, castigating your local politicians for misspending taxpayer dollars, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) knows you're not a dog. And it knows your name, address and telephone number.
