The Most Feared Battle Waged in Litigation
September 01, 2003
The following is a primer on the "leniency" standard for FLSA actions, and its interplay with Rule 23 guidelines. Why do we need a primer? Well, if one were so disposed as to survey a sufficient number of well-regarded class action practitioners, the result of that inquiry would most assuredly be a virtual consensus that the quest for class certification is, to a targeted defendant, the most feared battle waged in litigation.
E-mails: 'Smoking Guns' in Employment Litigation
September 01, 2003
E-mail traffic by employees in the workplace has proven to be key evidence in recent criminal and civil investigations of public companies like Martha Stewart Omnimedia, Merrill Lynch, Citibank and other Wall Street firms.
Work for Hire Agreements Do Not Provide Beneficial Copyright Ownership
September 01, 2003
In order to sue for copyright infringement, it is necessary for the plaintiff to be either the legal or beneficial owner of the copyright in the infringed work. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has found that the creator of a work made for hire cannot be either a legal or beneficial owner of a copyright in such a work.
Protecting Executive Severance Claims
September 01, 2003
Amid the furor surrounding headline-grabbing scandals at corporate giants, the conduct of corporate executives is being scrutinized more closely than ever. Ushered in by the enactment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the Act), the era of "corporate accountability" has left many officers and directors worried about their potential exposure if a company struggling to remain profitable goes south during their tenure at the helm, regardless of the cause of the meltdown.
Litigation
August 27, 2003
Recent cases of importance to your practice.
Lateral Transfers: 'Adverse Actions'?
August 25, 2003
Retaliation claims are the growth industry of employment discrimination law. According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the number of reprisal charges filed with the agency has ballooned from under 11,000 in 1992 to more than 22,000 in 2002, rising steadily during that period from 15% to 27% of all EEOC charges.
How to Avoid a 'Runaway Jury'
August 25, 2003
In the wake of several United States Supreme Court decisions, many employers have implemented mandatory arbitration procedures in order to avoid costly federal and state law employment discrimination trials. The idea that arbitration offers a cheaper alternative and avoids the possibility of a 'runaway jury' has considerable appeal for employers who are now subject to a host of employment discrimination and other workplace protection statutes.
