RICO
April 27, 2009
Smithfield Foods' precedent-setting civil racketeering suit against the United Food and Commercial Workers' Union (UFCW) and several related defendants spawned critically important legal precedent that blazes a new trail for employers who are in search of litigation options for responding to non-traditional union organizing methods.
Supreme Court Again Broadens Scope of Fair Employment Anti-Retaliation Provisions
April 27, 2009
The end of the Bush administration and the first six weeks of the Obama administration resulted in significant changes to key federal fair employment statutes.But there are also four U.S. Supreme Court decisions issued since June 2006, which have significantly expanded the scope of the anti-retaliation provisions ...
Q&A: Shareholder Activism and M&A Deals in the Current Market
March 30, 2009
Page Davidson is a member of the Transactional Corporate and Securities Practice of the Nashville-based firm Bass Berry & Sims PLC. In this interview, Mr. Davidson discusses the increased role that shareholder activists play in M&A deals, how corporate counsel can develop a productive working relationship with shareholder activists, and the current marketplace forces that have led to a chain of failed deals.
Cloud Computing
March 30, 2009
It would be hard to find an IT department of a large business that was not undertaking a "cloud computing" project or at least considering the idea. Here's a look at what it is and how it works.
The Alien Tort Claims Act
March 30, 2009
In recent years, companies doing business in countries where human rights or environmental violations have occurred have found themselves dragged into U.S. courts as defendants in lawsuits brought by foreign plaintiffs to account for violations ' often committed by others, including foreign governments. Here's an update.
Mixing International Arbitration with U.S. Discovery
March 30, 2009
A recent United States court decision highlights the opportunities and pitfalls associated with the potential use of U.S.-style discovery to obtain materials for use in international arbitrations.
Quarterly State Compliance Review
March 30, 2009
This edition of the Quarterly State Compliance Review looks at some legislation of interest to corporate lawyers that went into effect recently. It also discusses some recent decisions of interest, including one from the Delaware Supreme Court and two from the Delaware Chancery Court.
Second Circuit Reins in Risk of 'At-Issue' Attorney-Client Privilege Waivers
March 30, 2009
In law, exceptions can swallow the rules if the rule-makers are not careful. One area of particular concern is when the privilege over communications with lawyers is called into question because those communications have been invoked to show someone's good faith in attempting to follow the law.
Legal Economics
February 19, 2009
The upward spiral of legal costs, including the demands of Electronic Database Discovery (EDD) and the impact on early case assessment, puts pressure on departmental legal budgets. Artificial floors created by budgets derived from prior-year expenditures will give way to application of traditional return on investment (ROI) analysis to set appropriate cost levels.
The Whole Foods Antitrust Saga
February 19, 2009
A couple of years ago few people would have thought that a socially conscious company that specializes in selling organic groceries would find itself in a knock-down, drag-out brawl with the Federal Trade Commission. But that's just what has unfolded as a result of the FTC's challenge of the merger between Whole Foods Market, Inc. and Wild Oats Markets, Inc.
