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COURT WATCH
Procedural Matters Rule in Several Recent Franchisor-Franchisee Disputes
Bring back the days when the reported decisions were filled with cases concerning disputes over the quality of the franchise system and whether the parties had complied with their respective obligations to make the franchise relationship work. A seagull's view of the recent decisions involving franchise relationships suggests that even though most of the text of a franchise agreement is devoted to describing the parties' rights and obligations relating to the granting, construction, and operation of the franchise, when the franchise relationship becomes fractured, the field of battle more often than not moves not to the substantive relationship of the parties, but to what might be termed the legalese portions of the franchise agreement and procedural matters ' arbitration, jurisdiction, statutes of limitations, whether preliminary injunctions should be granted, choice of forum, and choice of state law ' to name only a few of these non-substantive issues. The meat of the franchise relationship becomes secondary. The cynic in our audience might say that the sideshows at the circus have moved to center ring.
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations
This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.
The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs
The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.
CLE Shouldn't Be the Only Mandatory Training for Attorneys
Each stage of an attorney's career offers opportunities for a curriculum that addresses both the individual's and the firm's need to drive success.
Discovery of Claim Construction and Infringement Analysis May be Compelled Prior to a Markman Hearing
A defendant in a patent infringement suit may, during discovery and prior to a <i>Markman</i> hearing, compel the plaintiff to produce claim charts, claim constructions, and element-by-element infringement analyses.