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Ten Tips for Handling Sensitive Investigations
The Enron, Tyco and WorldCom scandals have greatly heightened the fiduciary duties of directors and officers and the scrutiny paid to them. The spotlight on corporations and their managers is likely to shine brightly for years to come. This article offers ten practical tips for handling sensitive investigations in an era where shareholders, prosecutors, regulators and courts are likely to scrutinize the response of organizations to inevitable episodes of suspected corporate misconduct.
1. Consider whether an outside law firm with little or no relationship to the company will better serve the objectives of an independent investigation.
In matters potentially implicating senior corporate executives, the Board of Directors or Audit Committee should consider whether counsel conducting investigations should be from a law firm that the company regularly uses as outside counsel or that derives a material amount of revenues from the company. For example, in the Enron case, the firm had collected more than $100 million in legal fees from Enron, and its partners had provided legal advice in the transactions it later investigated. Issues of independence and self-interest clouded the credibility of the law firm's internal investigation.
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Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Removing Restrictive Covenants In New York
In Rockwell v. Despart, the New York Supreme Court, Third Department, recently revisited a recurring question: When may a landowner seek judicial removal of a covenant restricting use of her land?