What Do You Want to Read?
May 30, 2006
We want to know how we can make this newsletter an even better resource for your professional needs. Are we covering all you want to see? Are there sections you would like to see enhanced or replaced?<br>Your views and opinions are essential in our effort to continue to provide you with the top notch News, Strategy and Analysis you have come to expect from Law Journal Newsletters.<br>Help us help you! Please click <a href="http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=604771980045">here</a> to complete a short survey or type the following URL into your browser: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=604771980045.<br>Your answers will assist us in making this an even better newsletter for you! Thank you.<br>Regards,<br>Colin Graf<br>LJN Marketing Director
Keep Internet Disclosures From Costing Your Company
April 28, 2006
With securities claims involving improper Internet disclosures on the rise, a company would be wise to institute a review process, carried out by a qualified person (general counsel or compliance officer), to assure that its Internet disclosures are accurate, complete, and appropriate. Following are some questions that should be asked as part of an Internet review, along with suggestions for 'common sense' measures for reducing a company's exposure and keeping pace with Web evolution.
When Prosecutors Fight (with Each Other)
April 27, 2006
The rise in white-collar prosecutions has been accompanied by an escalation of fights between prosecutors. The inevitable tension, if not enmity, that arises when multiple prosecutors chase the same target presents potential opportunities for the white-collar defense counsel. True, the client's perspective might be similar to that of a prey stalked by hungry carnivores. But his or her counsel should carefully assess whether a client's case can, in fact, be advanced by exploiting a law enforcement turf battle.
A Guide to Effective Brady Motions
April 27, 2006
Too often, criminal defense attorneys file boilerplate '<i>Brady</i> motions' seeking in essence 'any and all information which may be favorable to the defendant and material to the issue of guilt or punishment.' <i>Brady v. Maryland</i>, 373 U.S. 83 (1963). Prosecutors respond in cookie cutter form that they are 'aware of their <i>Brady</i> obligation and will disclose such evidence when and as appropriate.' This might be on the eve of trial, mid-trial, or even post-trial. If truly pressed at the motion stage with a detailed <i>Brady</i> request, some prosecutors and courts have relied on <i>Strickler v. Greene</i>, 527 U.S. 263, 280 (1999), as grounds for denying the defense request.
Is the White-Collar Defense Attorney Headed for Extinction?
April 27, 2006
In the 3 years since Former Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson's expansion of the Principles of Federal Prosecution of Business Organizations (the 'Thompson Memorandum' or 'Memorandum'), the number of front-page corporate prosecutions and record fines have continued to grow. Prior <i>Business Crimes Bulletin</i> articles have discussed the impact of the Memorandum on the role of defense counsel, including the effects of waiver of corporate attorney-client privilege. However, the privilege is not all that is disappearing.
Is Your Hotline AAA-Rated?
March 29, 2006
Many companies and organizations have hotlines that are needlessly weak or even ineffective, and they often don't even know it. Unfortunately, there are no up-to-date, authoritative standards for hotlines. This has forced Securities and Exchange Commission registrants and their auditors to use an unusually high degree of judgment in evaluating the effectiveness of hotlines for Sarbanes-Oxley '404 reporting. Non-registrants are more vulnerable to 'phantom hotline syndrome.'<br>Some entrepreneurs, and their advisers, may not be impressed by the need for a hotline at an e-business, but they're mistaken about the importance of this tool in the current environment of ever-increasing regulation and scrutiny of business practices.
