Don't Let An Ex-Employee Sabotage Your Case
With the instability in the corporate world today, employees ' both managerial and not ' are changing jobs or being laid off routinely. The employee who spends his entire career with one company is clearly now the exception, not the rule. Gone too is the concept of "loyalty up ' loyalty down." Corporations today can no longer afford to show their appreciation to long-term employees, as was the case a generation ago. In return, corporate employees do not reciprocate the same loyalty as they did in years past. This article discusses some strategies for dealing with the possibility of a hostile former employee sabotaging your otherwise valid claim or defense.
Cybervillains and How to Find Them: Obtaining the Identity of Anonymous Internet Users
Many corporate executives and in-house attorneys have complained about acts done "anonymously" over the Internet and the lack of accountability for Internet users. Each has seemingly been harmed by various online conduct, such as defamation, trade libel, trade secret leakage and other acts that occur because of Internet use and abuse. Many Internet users do not realize that an experienced lawyer can actually find their identity, location, and the situs of the damaging action(s).
<i>Zubulake</i> Standard Applied in <i>U.S. v. Phillip Morris</i>
When a lawsuit looms, corporate counsel have traditionally known what to do. They issue a litigation hold, telling company employees to maintain all records related to the disputed matter. <br>Unfortunately, that's not good enough any more. Attorneys can no longer simply issue instructions and leave it up to company employees to comply. <br>Two recent federal court rulings hold companies and their counsel to a higher standard, requiring them to act aggressively and proactively in order to preserve company records. Otherwise, a company that destroys discoverable records can face harsh sanctions for spoliation.
SOX Backlash
Corporate counselors are in a unique position to help facilitate the cultural changes needed in most companies to meet new Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) requirements.
10 Reasons Why Americans Should Arbitrate in Canada
Choosing the right place to arbitrate disputes concerning international commercial transactions is of fundamental importance. The choice has significant legal and practical implications. Fortunately for American corporate counsel and their clients, an ideal place of arbitration lies close at hand, just north of the 49th parallel. Canada should be the preferred place of arbitration for U.S.-based organizations involved in international commercial disputes.
Utilizing CAN-SPAM Provisions To The Best Advantage
When, in December 2003, U.S. companies were given only a few weeks to become compliant with the newly-enacted CAN-SPAM Act, many companies may have hastily implemented compliance programs in order to get up to speed by the time the Act became effective on Jan. 1, 2004. However, many companies may not have looked for ways to benefit from some of the Act's lesser-known provisions and, in fact, some wrinkles inherent in the Act. A careful review of the details of the Act will reveal ways companies can utilize its provisions to their best advantage.
Reexamination As An Alternative To Litigation
One of the main concerns of many companies is the ever-increasing cost of patent enforcement. The probative costs of patent litigation can have a chilling effect on innovative businesses and can result in forced settlements, ie, entering settlement rather than incurring attorneys' fees, costs and lost employee time. So the question is: if your company faces the prospect of defending a patent infringement action, is there an alternative to the expensive and time consuming process of litigating a patent in federal court?
Ethereal Asset
In the past 10 years intellectual property lawyers have become the profession's "it" boys and girls, if not quite rock stars. Law firms want to acquire them and are willing to pay them handsomely. Law students see IP as their meal ticket. And, most importantly, corporations want to retain them, as executives have begun to realize that ' in the words of Federal Reserve Board chairman Alan Greenspan ' "the economic product of the United States has become predominantly conceptual." <br>Intellectual property law is the container that creates value for Greenspan's conceptual assets ' stuff like biotechnology discoveries and circuitry design that is hard to create but comparatively easy to duplicate. IP lawyers are the enforcers of this peculiar brand of law, and frequently they are also the managers of this peculiar brand of asset. IP lawyers are in the catbird seat ' highly desirable free agents as firms chase talent, and highly sought-after corporate counselors. Can the good times last forever?
10 Reasons Why Delaware is the Leading Formation State
Delaware, with over 500,000 domestic corporations, LLCs and other entities ' including more than 50% of the country's publicly traded corporations and 58% of the Fortune 500 ' is without question the leading formation state in the country. According to the "Delaware's Business Entity Laws" seminar currently running as part of CT Corporation's 2004 seminar series, there are numerous reasons why business owners, managers and lawyers choose Delaware.
Employers On Alert!
On June 14, 2004, the United States Supreme Court decided a sexual harassment case that has consequences for nearly every employer, regardless of industry. <br>What the Supreme Court did in <i>Pennsylvania State Police v. Suders</i>, however, was to unequivocally establish that Title VII applies when employees are forced to quit for unlawful reasons (constructive discharges) and that the degree of a supervisor's involvement in a hostile environment may be all that stands between strict liability and a trial over whether the employer had effective policies and procedures to address harassment.
