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Electronic Discovery Under the New Federal Rules ( January 2007 )
Amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure governing electronic discovery took effect on December 1, 2006. Litigators must familiarize themselves with the new rules, which create a procedural framework for addressing electronic discovery issues, while leaving substantive issues for continued development by the courts. -
Employee Misconduct Defense ( March 2003 )
Employers raise employee misconduct as often as any defense to OSHA citations. If proven to exist by the employer, this defense eliminates the citation and penalty related to employee misconduct. -
Controlling the Cost of E-Discovery Through Preparation and an Organized Response ( December 2005 )
The sending of a "preservation" letter is rapidly becoming the norm in litigation today. The typical preservation letter demands that your client sequester its entire computer network and each employee’s PC at Fort Knox, pending the final resolution of either anticipated or currently pending litigation. Such tactics are clearly designed to raise the cost of litigation while at the same time positioning your opponent to seek a spoliation instruction as well as any other sanction that the presiding court may order against either the client or the attorney in charge. -
Controlling the Cost of E-Discovery Through Preparation and an Organized Response ( December 2005 )
The sending of a "preservation" letter is rapidly becoming the norm in litigation today. The typical preservation letter demands that your client sequester its entire computer network and each employee’s PC at Fort Knox, pending the final resolution of either anticipated or currently pending litigation. Such tactics are clearly designed to raise the cost of litigation while at the same time positioning your opponent to seek a spoliation instruction as well as any other sanction that the presiding court may order against either the client or the attorney in charge. -
Big Guns: Involving Senior Lawyers in Cases from the Outset Leads to Better Results and is More Cost-Efficient. ( May 2004 )
In this economic climate and in the current competitive legal marketplace, virtually all companies are focused on reducing the expenses associated with retaining outside counsel to handle litigation and transactions. When deciding which law firm to retain, companies are keenly interested in hourly billing rates. Indeed, in some instances the amount of the hourly billing rates is the decisive factor in selecting one law firm over another. -
Will Willful Infringement Now Wilt aWay? ( September 2004 )
The "willful" infringement of a patent enables the plaintiff to collect treble damages, as well as attorneys' fees. On September 13, 2004, in <i>Knorr-Bremse Systems Fuer Nutzfahrzeuge GmbH v. Dana Corp</i>., the Federal Circuit overturned 18 years of precedent on how to establish willful infringement in patent cases. After reviewing about 24 <i>amicus curiae</i> briefs, the virtually unanimous <i>en banc</i> court held that when the attorney-client privilege and/or work-product privilege is invoked by a defendant in a patent infringement suit who had sought advice on infringement, it is inappropriate for the trier-of-fact to draw an adverse inference with respect to willful infringement when the opinion is withheld. -
Cutting-Edge Approaches for Managing Mass Tort Litigation in the New Millenium ( September 2004 )
Mass tort products liability litigation has caused the demise of nearly one hundred U.S. manufacturers in the past two decades. Asbestos litigation alone is believed to have led to bankruptcy filings by over 70 companies. In many cases the failure to recognize the magnitude of a mass tort problem or to timely adopt a sound litigation management plan significantly contributed to a company's demise. -
The Legal Checkup - Preventative Medicine for Good Corporate Health ( September 2004 )
Health-care providers generally encourage their patients to have regular checkups to spot potential problems before they develop into irreversible, or untreatable conditions. Periodic "legal checkups," or audits, which draw on preventive law techniques, can help corporations (such as hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, laboratories, physician groups, and therapists) anticipate, and guard against, potential legal problems, liabilities, and excessive costs. -
How the Department of Homeland Security Will Change Your Business ( June 2004 )
Homeland security is really an amalgam of some 40-plus different federal laws. Many states have their own counterparts. These laws affect plant security, identification of key assets and processes, background checks on new employees, employee access to sensitive areas, cybersecurity, and transportation of products and services. -
Safe Communication: Guidelines for Creating Corporate Documents That Minimize Litigation Risks ( April 2004 )
Products liability defense cases are particularly vulnerable to "bad" company documents. A company trying to manage the risks presented by bad documents needs more than a document retention program. It requires an educated work force that understands the risks that are created whenever anything is written down in the workplace, either in paper or electronic form. This article suggests a program to educate employees and raise their consciousness about the litigation risks attendant to the creation of documents.
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