The Era of Mega-Case Litigation
March 30, 2004
The era of mega-case litigation has arrived. In the last 2 years, mega-cases ' those with more than 500,000 pages for review ' have become commonplace according to leading law firms and litigation support vendors. Indeed, in high profile cases today, document collections can easily run over 50 million pages ' roughly a terabyte of data, or the equivalent of about 20,000 Banker boxes. The rapid growth of electronic documents presents significant challenges for corporations and law firms involved in litigation. Dealing with the challenges of document reviews across multiple, related cases is also becoming increasingly important for many corporations.
Practice Tip: <B>Protecting Against Digital Spies</b>
March 30, 2004
As the legal industry leverages IT to deliver enhanced services and improve overall business operations, Internet threats are increasing. According to the latest Symantec Internet Security Threat Report, one of the most significant threats today is malicious code that exposes confidential data such as passwords, decryption keys, keystrokes and more. Moreover, this malicious code is entering businesses from a widening array of sources. One of the most common delivery vehicles is spyware. According to security experts, millions of PCs in homes and businesses across the world are already infested with spyware. Yet, for all its ubiquity, it remains a relatively misunderstood threat.
Demographic Analysis: Foreshadowing the Future of Your Law Firm
March 30, 2004
In law firm management audits and strategic planning, an objective demographic analysis can be a very important analytical tool. On a firm-wide and practice group basis, charting firm demographics can provide a substantive foundation for conclusions about the current standing of a law firm, and sometimes, provide the genesis for startling insights about the short- and long-term strategic position of a law firm, individual office, or practice group.
Tactics for Defending Preference Actions
March 24, 2004
In a troubled business climate, a scenario all too often occurs wherein a once steady and reliable customer becomes delinquent in payment and eventually files for bankruptcy protection. In this common situation, your client's good customer becomes a debtor and your client becomes one of many creditors jockeying to recover a small portion of its investment. To make matters worse, your client receives a letter from the debtor or court appointed trustee demanding repayment of a pre-petition preferential payment pursuant to section 547(b) of the Bankruptcy Code (the Code).
Using Letters of Intent in Real Estate Leasing Transactions
March 22, 2004
Everyone wants to do the deal, but no one is ready to sign the lease. Zoning approvals, construction plans, financing, and a host of other issues need to be firmed up before the lease will be signed, but it is a lot of time and expense to go through if there's no agreement on the essential terms of the relationship. Hence, the Letter of Intent ("LOI"). An LOI is intended to, and should, give assurances to the parties, fix the agreed-upon terms of the deal, provide information and assurances to third parties, and provide a framework for further negotiations and the definitive agreement. It can, however, also be a minefield of potential problems and an invitation to litigation. This article reviews some of those problems and suggests ways to accommodate the parties' needs while avoiding the most common dangers.
A Call for Continued State Law Tort Reform
March 03, 2004
The recent federal trial court decision in <i>Dusek v. Pfizer Inc.</i>, Civil Action No. H-02-3559 (S.D. Tex. 2/20/04) dismissing plaintiffs' products liability claims against Pfizer in connection with the prescription drug Zoloft' on the ground of conflict preemption has given the pharmaceutical industry some hope that compliance with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations will afford protection from common law failure-to-warn claims. The court granted summary judgment on the ground that a cause of action based on the plaintiff's proposed additional warning to the product label that Zoloft can cause suicidal ideation would conflict with the FDA's decision not to add such a warning because no causal link had in fact been established and it would in effect be false and misleading in violation of federal law. This should not deter continued efforts to obtain tort reform at the state level, however, where the continued influx of pharmaceutical product liability claims continues to burden courts and the pharmaceutical industry.
News from the FDA
March 03, 2004
The latest news of interest to you and your practice.
Designing a Medical Device Surveillance Network
March 03, 2004
In last month's newsletter, we looked at some helpful Web sites for those who need to track the efficacy and safety of medical devices. Following are more useful Web sites for these purposes.
Case Briefs
March 03, 2004
Recent rulings of importance to you and your practice.
