What Is a 'Risk Assessment' and How Do You Perform One?
January 29, 2008
There is an an alphabet soup of acronyms, programs and initiatives suggesting, encouraging, cajoling and, in many cases requiring formal, written codes of ethics and business conduct. This article endeavors to make sense of it all and provide some practical advice on to best protect your company by focusing on the one common thread found in virtually all of the new statutory, regulatory and enforcement guidance: 'Risk Assessments.'
e-Battling Demons and Other Woes
December 21, 2007
When the same entertainment network that gave us Family Guy and American Idol (and soon, The Wall Street Journal) does a multi-million dollar buyout of a self-proclaimed 'spiritual Web site,' www.beliefnet.com, no one can deny that the selling of religion online has become big business. Although the Bible and the Pope may have both condemned mixing commerce and worship, today the temple appears to have firmly established itself in digital form in the e-commerce marketplace, rather than the marketplace having been set up ' and pitched out of ' the temple.
Foreign Nationals and the Unfair Employment Practices Claims
December 21, 2007
Today, a great number of U.S. companies will hire foreign national workers, scrupulously check work authorization, and maintain heightened awareness about the potential for race/nationality claims. Gone are the days when only a limited number of multinational corporations had to deal with foreign labor issues. Far from being a remote consideration for organizations, complying with the nation's immigration laws and avoiding liabilty are of growing concern.
DNA in Civil Cases
December 21, 2007
The future of DNA evidence in civil cases is now upon us. DNA evidence is the most powerful forensic tool available to litigants today. During this decade and beyond, gene expression data developed in connection with the mapping of the human genome will provide causation proof in toxic tort cases and workers' compensation claims that epidemiology studies cannot match. Corporations and their insurance carriers are beginning to reap the financial benefits of toxicogenomic science, which tells them at an early stage whether a toxic exposure has caused an injury to a claimant.
The New Federal Lobbying Regulations
December 21, 2007
Congress just passed the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007. Congress's stated hope in passing this sweeping legislation is that it will increase public confidence in the honesty of the political process. This article explains what the Act means.
Delaware Amends Alternative Entity Statutes
December 21, 2007
Earlier this year, Delaware's Governor Ruth Ann Minner (D) signed into law bills amending three of Delaware's four statutes that govern 'alternative entities' formed in the state. Alternative entities are not corporations, but, rather general partnerships, limited liability partnerships, limited partnerships, limited liability companies, and statutory trusts.
Horns of a Defense Counsel Dilemma
December 21, 2007
This article examines the conflicts that surround the so-called 'tripartite relationship' among policyholder, insurance company, and defense counsel hired by the insurance company, as well as techniques to preserve defense counsel's un-conflicted duty to its client, the policyholder. Insurance conflicts counsel is one such technique.
Guiding Expenditures on Law Firm Videos
November 30, 2007
Videos are popping up increasingly on firm Web sites, but at least one analyst warns that law firms might be paying too much for too little.
FIN 48: Accounting for Uncertain Income Tax Positions
November 29, 2007
This article provides a brief overview of the two-step, benefit-recognition approach implemented by FIN 48, a summary of the disclosures required by FIN 48, and a discussion of issues associated with protecting FIN 48 compliance documentation from disclosure to taxing authorities.
