Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

Product Liability Law & StrategyKickerFeaturesSectionsNewsLJN Newsletters

Counseling the Counselors

By Ronald J. Levine, Sharon A. O'Shaughnessy and Briana Rose Pigott
September 02, 2015

In the wake of recent product liability firestorms, there has been a heightened emphasis on corporate accountability. The actions of officers, directors and even corporate professionals are being more closely scrutinized than ever before, and in this climate, the personal liability risk of in-house counsel has increased exponentially. Because in-house attorneys must necessarily hover between multiple roles on a daily basis, including attorney, businessperson, investigator, and compliance officer (to name a few), these individuals are especially susceptible to heightened liability exposure. A variety of potential liability theories ' such as professional malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty claims ' may be pursued against in-house counsel by the corporation, its shareholders, and members of the public, as well as by governmental authorities.

Further complicating matters is the Responsible Corporate Officer (RCO) doctrine, which has gained serious traction in recent years. This doctrine allows civil and criminal liability to be strictly imposed on corporate employees for violations of law that occurred during their tenure if they had the power, by virtue of their position, to prevent or correct violations of law but failed to do so ' regardless of whether such employees had individual intent, awareness of the wrongdoing, or direct involvement in the misconduct. Often described as “the crime of doing nothing,” the RCO doctrine raises the possibility that personal liability for a corporation's misdeeds may be imposed on an in-house attorney based on nothing more than the attorney's position at the corporation.

This premium content is locked for Entertainment Law & Finance subscribers only

  • Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
  • Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
  • Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts

For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473

Read These Next
Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It Image

Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?

Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough Image

There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.

The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later Image

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.

A Lawyer's System for Active Reading Image

Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.

Protecting Innovation in the Cyber World from Patent Trolls Image

With trillions of dollars to keep watch over, the last thing we need is the distraction of costly litigation brought on by patent assertion entities (PAEs or "patent trolls"), companies that don't make any products but instead seek royalties by asserting their patents against those who do make products.