Offshore Outsourcing: Protecting Privacy A World Away
December 28, 2006
Business process outsourcing (BPO) to offshore service providers has become an integral part of the global economy ' and integrally 'e' ' finding particular success in the financial services, health care and IT industries.<br>Studies confirm that offshore BPO will not only continue to grow, but accelerate in the years to come. One study projects that by 2010, the world's 100 largest financial institutions will move $400 billion of their cost base offshore, saving an average of just under $1.5 billion annually each. <br>This explosive trend will continue to create economic, political, cultural and legal challenges for all types of companies dealing with personal data and the regulations that cover the collection, movement, storage and accessing of it ' in the United States and abroad. And, given the popularity of financial services and health care BPO, privacy concerns are certain to figure largely in these challenges. This article provides an overview of some of the legal and practical implications of BPO to offshore vendors.
Confusion Over Regulation of Lawyers' Sites In Florida
December 28, 2006
To Google or not to Google is the dilemma plaguing the Florida Bar in its protracted debate over how to regulate law firm Internet sites. <br>Because the Bar Board of Governors deadlocked on proposed new Web site rules at its monthly meeting on Dec. 8 in Key Biscayne, law firm sites are completely unregulated as of Jan. 1. The Board tabled its discussion until this month.
CA Supreme Court Shields Web Re-publishers
December 28, 2006
People who republish defamatory content online cannot be held liable for defamation even if they were warned about it, the California Supreme Court ruled, 7-0, late last year.
Deepening Insolvency Is Sinking Fast
December 27, 2006
Uniformity among courts on this question has not been and may never be reached. Nevertheless, recent decisions from the Third Circuit, the Delaware Chancery Court, and the Southern District of New York reflect an unmistakable and growing trend toward restricting significantly or even rejecting claims for deepening insolvency. This article describes this emerging trend, and demonstrates that each of these cases reflects an approach that appears to have developed within these respective courts. The common thread underlying these decisions is a concern that recognition of a claim for deepening insolvency would discourage good faith efforts to turnaround a troubled company that qualify for protection under the business judgment rule. This article concludes by identifying serious weaknesses from which deepening insolvency claims suffer in light of these significant rulings.
The Growth of Litigation: A Global Trend
December 26, 2006
For the past three years, our law firm, Fulbright & Jaworski LLP, has conducted its Litigation Trends Survey, based on responses from senior-level in-house lawyers at companies in a variety of industries and at various revenue levels. In the first year, we surveyed only United States companies. Last year, we expanded our survey to encompass companies in the United Kingdom as well. This year's edition of the Litigation Trends Survey ' in recognition of the increasing globalization of the world economy and our own firm's rapid international expansion ' drew on responses from companies around the world. The survey results generally confirmed what prompted us to expand the scope of the Survey to begin with ' that companies are increasingly operating more globally and therefore face greater and more frequent challenges in protecting their interests in areas far from home.
Averting Data Security Threats From Portable Electronics
December 22, 2006
The proliferation of flash drives, iPods, camera cell phones, Black-berries, and similar electronic devices has put all companies at added risk for insider theft. With the use of these devices, downloading significant amounts of data is easy, virtually instantaneous, and often very difficult to detect. These risks apply to essentially all companies that allow employees access to electronically stored, confidential, and proprietary information.<br>So what is today's company supposed to do to protect its valuable, sensitive information in the face of the risks posed by new portable devices?
Data Security Breaches Offshore
December 22, 2006
Outsourcing decisions should be based in part on a comparison of data security in-house and at each vendor location; generally this is evaluated in terms of staff vetting, physical access security, database security, communications security, etc. But another vital consideration should be the effectiveness of each candidate location's legal preventive measures and remedies for data theft or misuse ' and the complexity and cost of securing those protections. This article, which surveys the state of data security legal protections in India, shows that making such a comparison is no simple matter.
Policing Employees' Online Access at Work
December 22, 2006
What are the risks for employers in instances where employees use company computers to access, view, download, store and possibly forward pornography or engage in illegal activities? How can corporate counsel both prevent these abuses and handle investigations if they suspect some kind of prohibited conduct is occurring in the workplace?
Cybersecurity Researcher Addresses 'Misplaced' Fears: Q&A with Professor Fred H. Cate
December 19, 2006
<i>The Privacy and Data Protection Legal Reporter</i> spoke recently with Professor Fred H. Cate, distinguished professor of law and adjunct professor of informatics at Indiana University, in Bloomington, IN, about what he sees as the hyperbole that, at times, overtakes the public discussion about ID theft and electronic security. As the director of Indiana University's Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research, Cate is a leading researcher and consultant on issues such as phishing, consumers' use of passwords, and cybersecurity.
Online Banking's Battle Against Phishing
December 19, 2006
Online banking, which has seen explosive growth in recent years, has made it faster, cheaper, and more convenient than ever before for consumers to manage their financial affairs. It also holds the promise of significant cost savings for the financial services industry, as rising numbers of customers are expected to shift from over-the-counter services to online transactions.
