CPLR Amendment Simplifies Rules on Non-Party Discovery
A series of amendments to the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules &sect&sect 2305, 3120, and 3122 took effect on Sept. 1, 2003 and, among other things, eliminated the need for motions and court orders before a party may serve a subpoena <i>duces tecum</i> on a non-party.
Case Notes
Highlights of the latest product liability cases from around the country.
Online: Web Site Offers Conservative, Libertarian Legal Resources
D. Jeffrey Campbell and Julie Smith Stypinski in their article this month direct readers to the Web site for The Federalist Society, <i>www.fed-soc.org,</i> for a transcript of a symposium on gun litigation. The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies is a group of conservatives and libertarians interested in the current state of the legal order. It was founded on the principles that the state exists to preserve freedom, that the separation of governmental powers is central to the Constitution, and that it is emphatically the province and duty of the judiciary to say what the law is, not what it should be.
Discovery of Trade Secrets: What Constitutes Protected Information?
<i>Part One of a Two-Part Series</i> In a technology-driven economy, the threat to trade secret and propriety information is real and visceral. A recent survey estimated that theft of this information resulted in losses of more than $50 billion to the responding companies, which included Fortune 1000 corporations as well as small and midsized businesses, for the year ending June 30, 2001. The American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS) and PriceWaterhouse Coopers, <i>Trends in Proprietary Information Loss: Survey Report</i> (Sept. 2002). It is perhaps only natural that this threat should find its way into litigation, particularly product liability litigation. Discovery in these cases typically involves the production of some of the product manufacturer's proprietary and technical information. More recently, however, claimants have sought the manufacturer's trade secrets — highly confidential information at the heart of the company's business. The responding manufacturer objects to this discovery as causing irreparable harm if disclosed, and the battle lines are drawn.
Are Public Nuisance Lawsuits Against the Handgun Industry Gaining Ground?
Much has been written about the many lawsuits initiated by municipalities against the handgun industry. They are premised on the claim that the gun manufacturers and distributors saturate the market and fail to prevent their retailers from selling to persons who might resell to criminals. <i>See, e.g.,</i> Lawrence S. Greenwald, <i>Municipalities' Suits Against Gun Manufacturers ' Legal Folly,</i> 4 J. Health Care Law & Policy 13 (2000). Plaintiffs typically seek both damages and injunctive relief that would change industry marketing practices. The gun industry has challenged the legal sufficiency of the lawsuits on multiple grounds, with the majority of courts that have considered these issues dismissing the lawsuits. Recent developments, however, suggest that the pendulum may be swinging back in the governmental plaintiffs' favor.
Are You Filing Sales/Use Tax Returns?
There is good news for law firms and providers of legal services. Since they are exempt from sales tax in all states, they are not subject to collecting and remitting sales tax. However, because of the use tax (which is the other component reflected on the tax return), law firms and legal service providers should still file sales tax returns in their resident states. More and more law firms and other exempt service providers are being audited by the states for sales and use tax. These audits are resulting in firms being assessed thousands of dollars in use taxes, interest, and, in some instances, penalties.
Road to Large Law Firm Partnerships Getting Longer
The fast track at top law firms is slowing down. Facing increasingly complex matters, an active market for lateral partners and greater pressure to improve profitability, major New York law firms are prolonging the period leading up to partnership. At firms where an associate's first shot at partnership once came 7 years after law school graduation, tracks of 8 years or longer are now far more common.
Treat Your Partners Well
Managing an organization composed of successful lawyers is famously difficult. The very traits that make lawyers successful are found in abundance in law firm partners ' a healthy skepticism, a penchant for debate, and a high degree of self-confidence ' coupled with a sense of ownership in the enterprise and a desire to be informed and consulted about decisions large and small. Firm management's job got even harder in April, with a Supreme Court ruling affirming that partners may have equal employment opportunity rights.
Executive Committees' New Role: Focus on Integration
Information Resources (formerly called the Library in most firms) and Marketing/Business Development now must form a union to help the firm's senior management with strategic positioning, competitive analysis and revenue generation through firm strategic intelligence. The time for dotting the "I" in Information and crossing the "t" in Marketing has come. It is no longer enough to obtain information about a client.
