We Should Get Together More
There's a marketing concept out there that many law firms have just recently stumbled upon, one that most other types of industries have known well for decades ' return on investment, or ROI. As firms become more sophisticated in marketing, as budgets for marketing increase, and as competition becomes more fierce, firms are beginning to demand that their marketing dollars they spend produce results. <br>Nowhere is the concept of ROI more easily implemented, tracked, and realized than in the area of Internet marketing, through the use of Web sites and the search engines that locate them.
Should You Make an Earnings Claim?
If there is one question in the minds and on the lips of potential franchisees, it is "How much money can I make with this concept?" Franchisors may answer this question, of course, but with great care and consideration as to what, how, and when they answer it.
Pros and Cons of Drafting Patent Applications in India
A call center in New Delhi, India, fields questions from a utility customer in a small town in Pennsylvania. An accounting firm in Mumbai, India, provides back-office services for a growing Texas company. An IT company in Perumbavoor, India, provides Internet support to a manufacturer of amplifiers in Washington state.
IP News
Highlights of the latest intellectual property news from around the country.
Application of a Universal Law in Multidistrict Litigation
When product liability cases are consolidated through Multidistrict Litigation ("MDL") proceedings, the proceedings are rife with complexities, and the obvious temptation for an MDL judge is to streamline and simplify these proceedings as much as possible. MDL judges have many appropriate tools at their disposal, such as case management orders and adoption of uniform discovery requests, to facilitate the proceedings. While certain techniques used to simplify and consolidate are appropriate, application of a "universal law" — in which one substantive law is applied to cases from various jurisdictions — is not. Application of a universal law violates due process and places consolidation and expediency above the interests of justice. Such a dangerous proposition was briefly suggested during the Ephedra MDL proceedings, involving hundreds of cases consolidated for pretrial purposes in the Southern District of New York.
Researching Your Case: When Hard Work Pays Off (For the Other Side)
During the course of discovery in product liability matters, a key liability theme is often whether the defendant company complied with its regulatory obligations in connection with the product at issue. For example, in product liability litigation concerning chemical compounds, the focus might be on whether the company properly registered the compound with the EPA or with state environmental agencies. Likewise, in a pharmaceutical or medical device product liability case, plaintiffs will often focus on whether the product complied with FDA regulatory requirements. Plaintiffs' approach to such liability issues will often result in depositions that focus on whether, how, and when the defendant company informed the appropriate regulatory agencies of any risks potentially associated with use of the product at issue. Did the company submit the requisite scientific data; did it properly report known adverse events associated with the product at issue, and did it seek appropriate approval from the regulatory agency regarding the nature of its warnings to users and consumers? To that end, plaintiffs will often notice depositions of fact witnesses whom they think can provide testimony on the company's regulatory compliance or they may seek depositions pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 30(B)(6) of witnesses "with knowledge" of the company's regulatory compliance.
Practice Tip: Prepare Yourself and Your Employee Witness for the 'Regulatory' Deposition
During the course of discovery in product liability matters, a key liability theme is often whether the defendant company complied with its regulatory obligations in connection with the product at issue. For example, in product liability litigation concerning chemical compounds, the focus might be on whether the company properly registered the compound with the EPA or with state environmental agencies. Likewise, in a pharmaceutical or medical device product liability case, plaintiffs will often focus on whether the product complied with FDA regulatory requirements. Plaintiffs' approach to such liability issues will often result in depositions that focus on whether, how, and when the defendant company informed the appropriate regulatory agencies of any risks potentially associated with use of the product at issue. Did the company submit the requisite scientific data; did it properly report known adverse events associated with the product at issue, and did it seek appropriate approval from the regulatory agency regarding the nature of its warnings to users and consumers? To that end, plaintiffs will often notice depositions of fact witnesses whom they think can provide testimony on the company's regulatory compliance or they may seek depositions pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 30(B)(6) of witnesses "with knowledge" of the company's regulatory compliance.
Beware of Judicial Exceptions to Federal Rule of Evidence 407
As you prepare for your upcoming product liability trial, things could not seem any better. You have qualified experts waiting to testify that your client's product is not defective. The client is credible, well established, clearly safety conscious and responsible. Throughout lengthy pretrial depositions, your client has never denied ownership or control of the product, and never claimed that purported safety measures suggested by the plaintiff were not feasible. He claims only that the measures would have been inconsequential based on the facts of the case. Therefore, it is your impression that the warning label your client added to the "Super Widget" subsequent to the accident will never be presented to the jury based on the protections of Federal Rule of Evidence 407, a conclusion the judge will surely come to as she flips through your motion in limine.
Case Notes
Highlights of the latest product liability cases from around the country.
