Law Departments Putting Cost-Cutting into Action
October 26, 2009
Cost-control methods in law departments are more than just talk as cost pressures are creating a fundamental shift in the management and operation of the departments and their interaction with outside counsel, results of a recent Hildebrandt International survey suggest.
Lessons Learned: The DOJ's Crackdown on Hiring Practices
October 26, 2009
Over the past several months, the DOJ has begun investigating several leading technology companies for possible violations of the antitrust laws. One focus of the multi-faceted investigation is whether certain companies have violated antitrust laws by agreeing among themselves not to recruit one another's employees.
Document Retention and Spoliation
October 26, 2009
Corporate counsel should note recent legal developments surrounding spoliation ' the destruction or significant alteration of evidence, or the failure to preserve property for another's use as evidence in pending or reasonably foreseeable litigation. This violation occurs when one party intentionally or negligently breaches its duty to preserve potentially discoverable evidence.
Corporate Internal Investigations
October 26, 2009
While companies conduct internal investigations for many reasons, the results of these investigations are often shared with the government. But the disclosure required by that cooperation leaves open the real possibility that the attorney-client privilege and the work product doctrine may be waived.
Attorney Work Product at Risk
October 26, 2009
A new federal appeals court decision promises to give significant pause to corporate counsel, particularly in-house tax attorneys. To their dismay, the First Circuit has ruled that no amount of anticipation of litigation, nor the intimate involvement of legal counsel, can ever immunize so-called "tax accrual workpapers" from discovery by the IRS.
The Ninth Circuit Decision in United States v. Stringer
September 29, 2009
The federal securities laws authorize the SEC to provide the DOJ with evidence of violations of the securities laws. Because the SEC often shares information with the DOJ and the agencies frequently institute parallel enforcement actions, counsel must be vigilant to avoid the potential pitfalls such parallel proceedings may have for their clients.
Text Messaging
September 29, 2009
In recent years, consumers, cellular telephone providers, and state attorneys general have sued companies and their marketing firms under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act ("TCPA") and state consumer protection laws to curb "text spamming." These suits can result in substantial settlements of millions of dollars relating to a single promotional campaign.
Lawyers, Technology and Money
September 29, 2009
The authors says, "Many lawyers do not like the title of my latest book, 'The End of Lawyers?' And yet I am at pains to point out that my message is a mixed and not a negative one.
International Restrictions on Releasing Personal Information
September 29, 2009
The dilemma confronted by corporate counsel involved in foreign litigation is whether to disclose personal information located in foreign countries with laws that severely restrict the processing and transfer of personal data and risk being punished there with civil and/or criminal penalties; or to filter out the personal data and risk being sanctioned in the U.S. for incomplete responses to e-discovery requests.
Quarterly State Compliance Review
September 29, 2009
This edition of the Quarterly State Compliance Review looks at some legislation of interest to corporate lawyers that went into effect from Aug. 1 through Oct. 1, including amendments to Delaware's corporation and LLC laws. It also looks at two recent decisions of interest from the Delaware Chancery Court.
