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Patricia Alberts	Discoverability of Social Networking Two recent employment discrimination cases, though differing in their outcomes, make it clear to litigants that information posted on social networking sites (“SNS”) is fair game. …more Discoverable, Discrimination, Facebook	See All Updates »
Stephanie Albrecht	EEOC Releases Its Strategic Enforcement Plan On December 17, 2012, the EEOC released its Strategic Enforcement Plan. As previously reported, the EEOC released the draft SEP for public comment on September 4, 2012, with a plan to vote on and implement it by October 1…more Anti-Retaliation Provisions, Discrimination, EEOC, Equal Pay, Hiring & Firing	See All Updates »
William Alderman	Say Hello To My Imaginary Friend! Judge Posner, Seventh Circuit Issue Stern Warning To Plaintiffs’ Firms For Again Citing Bogus Confidential Witnesses Plaintiffs’ counsel beware: to avoid Rule 11 sanctions you might actually have to talk to “confidential witnesses” yourself and corroborate their statements before citing them in a securities fraud complaint…more Confidential Witnesses, Discovery, Pleadings, Rule 11, Securities Fraud	See All Updates »
Mona Amer	Internal Investigation Fees Awarded To Goldman Sachs On Monday, February 25, Goldman Sachs won its bid to force former director Rajat K. Gupta to pay legal fees it incurred while investigating Gupta’s insider trading activities. In October 2012, Gupta was sentenced to two years in…more Attorney's Fees, Goldman Sachs, Internal Investigations, Mandatory Victim's Restitution Act, Morgan Stanley	See All Updates »
Melissa J. Anderson	Where There’s Smoke, There’s FIRREA Few can ignite a legal firestorm like U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff of the Southern District of New York. Last week, in a mortgage fraud suit against Bank of America and Countrywide, Judge Rakoff refused to dismiss a novel…more Bank of America, Countrywide, Fannie Mae, FIRREA, Freddie Mac	See All Updates »
Daniela Andreatta	Le Sezioni Unite Indirizzano I Giudici Sul Concordato Preventivo Il concordato preventivo è stato oggetto di molte riforme dal 2005 ad oggi e con l’ultima in ordine cronologico (D.L. 22 giugno 2012 n.83) ha subìto uno slancio inaspettato grazie al nuovo istituto del cosiddetto “concordato con…more	See All Updates »
Michael Aparicio	OFCCP Rescinds Prior Guidance on Compensation Discrimination Analysis In Favor of a Case-by-Case Approach Effective February 28, 2013, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) rescinded two 2006 guidance documents concerning how the OFCCP and federal contractors analyze potential pay discrimination. This change…more Audits, Contractors, Discrimination, OFCCP, Wages	See All Updates »
Joy Araman	New Trade Secret Legislation in France? Mais oui bien sûr! If your trade secrets get stolen in France, what protections would you have? Most U.S. trade secret lawyers don’t have occasion to consider trade secret laws outside the United States, but there’s a whole world beyond the…more Misappropriation, Trade Secrets	See All Updates »
Kevin Askew	News Of The (Shareholder Derivative) World: Record-High $139 Million Settlement In News Corp. Phone Hacking Suit Putting an end to shareholder derivative litigation arising from News Corp.’s phone-hacking scandal, the company’s directors agreed last week to a record-breaking $139 million cash settlement. According to the plaintiffs’…more Derivative Suit, News Corp, Phone-Hacking Scandal, Settlement	See All Updates »
Justin Bagdady	Making A Statement: The Two Faces Of Janus In The SDNY Almost two years after the Supreme Court issued its momentous decision in Janus Capital Group, Inc. v. First Derivative Traders, 131 S. Ct. 2296 (2011), lower courts continue to reach significantly different conclusions…more Investment Adviser, Rule 10b-5, SEC	See All Updates »
Melanie Ball	The Extra-territorial Reach of the Broker-Dealer Registration Requirements Under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934; the Staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission Addresses Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Rule 15a-6 and Foreign Broker-Dealers Background. Rule 15a-6 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Rule 15a-6”) provides conditional exemptions from broker-dealer registration for “foreign broker-dealers” that engage in certain specified activities involving…more Broker-Dealer, Foreign Broker-Dealers, Investors, Rule 15a-6, SEC	See All Updates »
Kristen Bartlett	Delaware Supreme Court Says No To Botox And No To Multi-Forum Litigation: Court Dismisses Derivative Suit Against Botox-Maker Allergan, Inc. In a recent decision, the Delaware Supreme Court reversed the Court of Chancery in Pyott, et al. v. Louisiana Mun. Police Emp. Ret. Sys., et al., holding that a derivative suit against Botox-maker Allergan, Inc. should be…more Botox, Class Action, Collateral Estoppel, Derivative Suit, Multidistrict Litigation	See All Updates »
Lily Becker	Delaware Supreme Court Says No To Botox And No To Multi-Forum Litigation: Court Dismisses Derivative Suit Against Botox-Maker Allergan, Inc. In a recent decision, the Delaware Supreme Court reversed the Court of Chancery in Pyott, et al. v. Louisiana Mun. Police Emp. Ret. Sys., et al., holding that a derivative suit against Botox-maker Allergan, Inc. should be…more Botox, Class Action, Collateral Estoppel, Derivative Suit, Multidistrict Litigation	See All Updates »
Robert Benson	The Global Impact of Recent Developments in the U.S. Law of Patent Exhaustion Since Quanta, Particularly on Japanese Corporations Patent Exhaustion or “First Sale Doctrine” Under U.S. law, once an unrestricted, authorized sale of a patented article occurs, a patent holder cannot assert a claim for patent infringement based on the subsequent use or sale of…more Authorized Sales, Conditioned Sales, First Sale Doctrine, Incomplete Articles, Patents	See All Updates »
Penelope Graboys Blair	Record SEC Settlement In S.A.C. Capital Investigation. Well….Kind Of On April 16, 2013, Judge Victor Marrero conditionally approved a $600 million consent judgment between the SEC and CR Intrinsic Investors LLC (“CR”) where CR “neither admitted nor denied” the allegations brought against it. The…more CR Intrinsic Investors, Insider Trading, SAC Capitol Advisors, SEC, Settlement	See All Updates »
Devin Brennan	Water and Wastewater Projects: Financing with Tax-Exempt Bonds Introduction - Managers of water and wastewater utilities face complex financial challenges. The purpose of this guidebook is to provide an overview of issues relating to the financing of water and wastewater projects in…more Arbitrage, Capital Expenditures, Debt, Financial Adviser, Financing	See All Updates »
Andrea Brown	“Picking Off” Plaintiffs in FLSA Collective Actions: Genesis HealthCare Corp. v. Symczyk Earlier this month in Genesis Healthcare Corp. v. Symczyk, 133 S. Ct. 1523 (2013), the U.S. Supreme Court held that it is permissible for defendants to “pick off” plaintiffs in FLSA collective actions. In jurisdictions that hold…more Collective Actions, FLSA, Genesis HealthCare, Genesis Healthcare Corp. v. Symczyk, Mootness	See All Updates »
Chris Brown	Party Foul! NLRB Orders Reinstatement and Back Pay for Party Bus Guide After Finding Facebook Postings Amount To Protected Union Organizing Activity Providing yet another example of how online social networking can amount to protected conduct under the National Labor Relations Act, the NLRB ruled earlier this month in New York Party Shuttle, LLC and Fred Pflantzer, CN:…more Back Pay, Facebook, NLRA, NLRB, Protected Concerted Activity	See All Updates »
Victoria V. Bryxa	Doing business, or thinking about investing, in Russia? Recent changes to the Russian Civil Code In This Presentation: 1. Why were changes needed? 2. How are things changing? 3. The process of change 4. Amendments in place now 5. What is still to change? - 2nd Draft Amendment - 3rd Draft…more Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing, Creditors, Debtors, Dmitry Medvedev, Escrow Acconts	See All Updates »
James W. Burke	Best Buy Bankruptcy Ahead? In November 2008, Circuit City filed for bankruptcy protection. Circuit City had the same business model as Best Buy: selling electronic equipment in large retail stores. Other retailers with that business model are finding…more Best Buy, Circuit City, Debtor-Creditor, Electronics, Insolvency	See All Updates »
Jim Burns Jr.	SEC And FBI Try To Ketchup To Heinz Insider Traders In the latest development in an SEC lawsuit filed Friday, February 15, U.S. District Judge Rakoff extended a freeze on a Swiss Goldman Sachs account linked to possible insider trading in H.J. Heinz Company call options. The…more Acquisitions, Aiding and Abetting, Board of Directors, Derivative Suit, FBI	See All Updates »
Giovanni Carotenuto	The Extra-territorial Reach of the Broker-Dealer Registration Requirements Under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934; the Staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission Addresses Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Rule 15a-6 and Foreign Broker-Dealers Background. Rule 15a-6 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Rule 15a-6”) provides conditional exemptions from broker-dealer registration for “foreign broker-dealers” that engage in certain specified activities involving…more Broker-Dealer, Foreign Broker-Dealers, Investors, Rule 15a-6, SEC	See All Updates »
Steve Chariyasatit	California Court of Appeal Overturns $1.3 Million in Damages and Attorneys’ Fees against Lucasfilm for Failure to Give Instruction on Business Judgment On December 10, 2012, in Veronese v. Lucasfilm Ltd., a California Court of Appeal overturned a Marin County jury’s verdict against Lucasfilm based on its finding that several errors in jury instructions prejudicially affected…more Appeals, Business Judgment Rule, Discrimination, Failure To Hire, FEHA	See All Updates »
I. Neel Chatterjee	FTC-Google Consent Decree Provides Important Lessons Regarding Standards-Essential Patents On January 3, 2013, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) entered into a Consent Decree with Google Inc. (“Google”) and its wholly owned subsidiary Motorola Mobility LLC (“Motorola”). The decree settles allegations that Google and…more Competition, FRAND, FTC, Google, Licenses	See All Updates »
Gino Cheng	Therasense Revisited: In re Rosuvastatin Calcium Patent Litigation In the United States, patent applicants and their counsel owe a duty of candor and good faith to the Patent Office. This duty is breached when the applicant or its counsel knowingly fails to disclose material prior art…more Deceptive Intent, Disclosure Requirements, Failure to Report, Patent Litigation, Patents	See All Updates »
Seung Chong	China 20/20 Legal Regulatory Developments - February 2013 In This Issue: - The Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Revising the Labor Contract Law of the People's Republic of China Released - MOFCOM Solicits for Public Comments on the…more China, Foreign Jurisdictions, Foreign-Related Civil Relationships, Investment Funds, Law On Application Of Laws	See All Updates »
Julian Chung	In Fontainebleau Appeal, Eleventh Circuit Confirms That Term Lenders Lack Standing To Enforce Revolving Lenders’ Commitments Last week, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that lenders in syndicated credit facilities do not have standing to enforce the funding commitment that other lenders owe to the borrower in the absence of specific…more Appeals, Article III, Borrowers, credit, Injury-in-Fact	See All Updates »
Harry Clark	International Trade & Compliance - April 2013 The U.S. State and Commerce Departments have published amendments to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (“ITAR”) and Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) as a major step in implementing changes to export controls…more Barack Obama, Export Administration Regulations, Export Controls, Exports, ITAR	See All Updates »
Sarah Armstrong Coats	2013 Updates to the FEHA California Pregnancy Regulations Amendments to California’s pregnancy regulations became effective on December 30, 2012, creating many new responsibilities for employers. While employers should take note of all of the amended regulations, some of the most…more CFRA, Disability, Discrimination, FEHA, Medical Leave	See All Updates »
Rachel Coe	SEC Releases First Full-Year Report on the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Program: No Speedy Recoveries for Whistleblowers On November 15, 2012, the Securities and Exchange Commission released its Fiscal Year 2012 Annual Report on the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Program (the “Report”), the first full-year report issued since the enactment of…more Dodd-Frank, SEC, Whistleblowers	See All Updates »
Robert Cohen	SEC v. Hackers: More Cybersecurity Enforcement On The Horizon? Cybersecurity may be the SEC’s newest area for enforcement actions. While the SEC first released Disclosure Guidance concerning cybersecurity in 2011, the recent media attention surrounding significant cybersecurity breaches at…more Class Action, Cybersecurity, Data Protection, Disclosure Requirements, SEC	See All Updates »
Elizabeth Cole	China 20/20 Legal Regulatory Developments - February 2013 In This Issue: - The Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Revising the Labor Contract Law of the People's Republic of China Released - MOFCOM Solicits for Public Comments on the…more China, Foreign Jurisdictions, Foreign-Related Civil Relationships, Investment Funds, Law On Application Of Laws	See All Updates »
Monte Cooper	CLS Bank: A Deeply Divided En Banc Federal Circuit Fails to Rule When Computer Claims are Invalid Under 35 U.S.C. § 101 On May 10, 2013, the en banc Federal Circuit issued its highly anticipated decision in CLS Bank Int’l v. Alice Corp. Pty. Ltd., No. 2011-1301, concerning whether computer-implemented method and system claims are patent eligible…more Computer-Related Inventions, Infringement, Patent-Eligible Subject Matter, Patents	See All Updates »
Daniel Corbett	Texas Insiders Say Businesses Champing At The Bit For New Trade Secrets Law To Take Effect For decades, Texas was the wild west of trade secrets law, governed by the state’s outdated common law with no trade secrets statute on the books…more New Legislation, Trade Secrets, Uniform Trade Secrets Acts	See All Updates »
Matthew Craner	Delaware Supreme Court Says No To Botox And No To Multi-Forum Litigation: Court Dismisses Derivative Suit Against Botox-Maker Allergan, Inc. In a recent decision, the Delaware Supreme Court reversed the Court of Chancery in Pyott, et al. v. Louisiana Mun. Police Emp. Ret. Sys., et al., holding that a derivative suit against Botox-maker Allergan, Inc. should be…more Botox, Class Action, Collateral Estoppel, Derivative Suit, Multidistrict Litigation	See All Updates »
Kelly Cullen	Supreme Court Eliminates Jurisdictional Escape Hatch To The Class Action Fairness Act The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Standard Fire Insurance Co. v. Knowles confirms that a plaintiff cannot avoid federal jurisdiction under the Class Action Fairness Act (“CAFA”) by stipulating that the class will seek less…more Amount in Controversy, CAFA, Class Action, Class Certification, Damages	See All Updates »
Lauri A. Damrell	Department of Labor Clarifies When an Employee May Take FMLA Leave to Care for Adult Children The ADA Amendments Act (“ADAAA”) expanded more than just employer liability for disability claims; it also broadened the scope of FMLA leave that employees may take to care for their adult children. On January 14, 2013, the…more	See All Updates »
Don Daybell	USPTO Inter Partes Review Update: Scope of Discovery In Garmin Int’l Inc. v. Cuozzo Speed Technologies, LLC, Case No. IPR2012-00001 (PTAB March 5, 2013), the USPTO recently issued its first-ever substantive ruling on a motion for additional discovery in an Inter Partes review…more Discovery, Inter Partes Review Proceedings, Patents, USPTO	See All Updates »
Alessandro De Nicola	D.Lgs. 231/2001 - Aggiornamento Normativo E Giurisprudenziale Si riporta di seguito una breve rassegna dei provvedimenti maggiormente significativi in materia di responsabilità amministrativa degli enti ex D.Lsg. 231/2001. ENTI STRANIERI - TRIBUNALE DI MILANO – Sent. n. 13976/12…more	See All Updates »
Mike Delikat	Orrick World: A Quarterly Report of Global Employment Law Issues for Multinationals - February 2013 In This Issue: - Asia Employment Law Update - France Employment Law Update - UK Employment Law Update - United States Employment Law Update…more China, Chinese Labor Contract Laws, Data Protection, Discrimination, EEOC	See All Updates »
Anne Diedrich	Germany: Have Rejected Job Applicants the Right to Know the Reasons for Not Getting the Job Recently, the German Federal Labor Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht “BAG”) rendered a decision which had been awaited with interest by German employers (BAG, April 25, 2013 – 8 AZR 287/08) with regard to information rights of…more Discrimination, EU, European Court of Justice, Job Applicants	See All Updates »
Sara Dionne	Supreme Court Eliminates Jurisdictional Escape Hatch To The Class Action Fairness Act The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Standard Fire Insurance Co. v. Knowles confirms that a plaintiff cannot avoid federal jurisdiction under the Class Action Fairness Act (“CAFA”) by stipulating that the class will seek less…more Amount in Controversy, CAFA, Class Action, Class Certification, Damages	See All Updates »
Ihsan Dogramaci	The Revolving Door Spins Again On January 24, President Obama announced his nominee for Chairman of the Securities Exchange Commission – Mary Jo White, a former United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York…more Barack Obama, Mary Jo White, SEC	See All Updates »
James Drury-Smith	Privacy, Data Security and Internet Safety Alert: Tough New EU Data Protection Proposals Edge Closer On Jan. 10, 2013, Jan Philipp Albrecht, the European Parliament’s Rapporteur, presented his report on the European Commission’s proposals for a new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). With his recommendations, data…more Data Collection, Data Protection, EU, EU Data Protection Laws, Internet	See All Updates »
Edward Eisert	The New CFTC Regulatory Regime For Private Fund Managers; First Quarter 2013 Update The enactment of Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) and its implementation by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) has ushered in a new era of…more CFTC, Commodities Exchange Act, Dodd-Frank, Exempt Organizations, Major Swap Participants	See All Updates »
Robert Feyer	The SEC Says Cities (And City Officials!) Must Obey Securities Laws, Too Yesterday the SEC filed an Order Instituting Cease and Desist Proceedings against the City of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania for violations of Rule 10b-5. The City consented to entry of a Cease and Desist Order…more Disclosure Requirements, Municipalities, Public Disclosure, Public Employees, Rule 10b-5	See All Updates »
Joseph Frank	In Fontainebleau Appeal, Eleventh Circuit Confirms That Term Lenders Lack Standing To Enforce Revolving Lenders’ Commitments Last week, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that lenders in syndicated credit facilities do not have standing to enforce the funding commitment that other lenders owe to the borrower in the absence of specific…more Appeals, Article III, Borrowers, credit, Injury-in-Fact	See All Updates »
James Freedman	The Ninth Circuit Clarifies Safe Harbor Rules in Veoh Victory Last week, the Ninth Circuit further clarified the scope of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s (“DMCA”) safe harbor provision for online content providers. See UMG Recordings, Inc. v. Shelter Capital Partners LLC, No…more Copyright, DCMA, Infringement, Safe Harbors, Veoh	See All Updates »
Arno Frings	Germany: Have Rejected Job Applicants the Right to Know the Reasons for Not Getting the Job Recently, the German Federal Labor Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht “BAG”) rendered a decision which had been awaited with interest by German employers (BAG, April 25, 2013 – 8 AZR 287/08) with regard to information rights of…more Discrimination, EU, European Court of Justice, Job Applicants	See All Updates »
Rick Gallagher	What’s The Right Way To Respond To A Shareholder Books And Records Request? Delaware law gives shareholders the right to request corporate books and records in order to investigate issues that are of interest to them…more Corporate Records, Shareholder Rights	See All Updates »
William George	Employee Shareholder Status – An Innovative Solution for Innovative Employers? After twice rejecting the Government’s proposals, the House of Lords has just finally voted to accept the much argued Clause 27 of the Growth and Infrastructure Bill, thereby paving the way for new legislation that will create a…more Employee Shareholders, EU, Shareholders	See All Updates »
Allison Riechert Giese	Three More States Hop on the Social Media Legislation Bandwagon Act 1480, signed by Governor Mike Beebe on April 22, 2013, prohibits an Arkansas employer from requiring or requesting a current or prospective employee to (1) disclose his or her username or password for a personal social media…more Hiring & Firing, Job Applicants, Passwords, Social Media	See All Updates »
Pat Gillette	Required Extension of Statutory Pregnancy Leave as a Reasonable Accommodation In a case of first impression, the Second Appellate District in California, recently took an expansive view of pregnancy leave rights for employees. Under California’s Pregnancy Disability Leave Law (“PDLL”), employees disabled…more ADA, CFRA, Disability, FEHA, Pregnancy	See All Updates »
Beth Goldman	New Trademark Clearinghouse an Important Tool for Trademark Owners as New Generic Top-Level Domains Prepare to Launch Starting on March 26, 2013, there will be an important new tool available to help trademark owners combat unauthorized uses of their trademarks in domain names as more than 1,000 new generic top-level domains (“gTLDs”) prepare…more Brand, gTLD, Trademark Clearinghouse, Trademarks	See All Updates »
Rachel Gould	Orrick's Global Real Estate Roundup - February 2013 As we look back on a busy fourth quarter 2012 that saw a flurry of deal closings in the final weeks of the year for core and value-added commercial properties in the US, an active transaction pipeline is already ramping up for…more CMBS, Commercial Real Estate Market, Foreign Investment, Fund Formation, REIT	See All Updates »
Evelyn Grant	The New CFTC Regulatory Regime For Private Fund Managers; First Quarter 2013 Update The enactment of Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) and its implementation by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) has ushered in a new era of…more CFTC, Commodities Exchange Act, Dodd-Frank, Exempt Organizations, Major Swap Participants	See All Updates »
George E. Greer	In The SDNY, Hindsight Is No Substitute For Red Flags When Alleging Scienter On April 8, 2013, Judge Shira A. Scheindlin of the Southern District of New York granted auditor Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu CPA’s (“DTTC”) motion to dismiss a shareholder class action, finding that plaintiffs failed to…more Auditors, Class Action, Material Misstatements, Rule 10b-5, Scienter	See All Updates »
James Grohsgal	News Of The (Shareholder Derivative) World: Record-High $139 Million Settlement In News Corp. Phone Hacking Suit Putting an end to shareholder derivative litigation arising from News Corp.’s phone-hacking scandal, the company’s directors agreed last week to a record-breaking $139 million cash settlement. According to the plaintiffs’…more Derivative Suit, News Corp, Phone-Hacking Scandal, Settlement	See All Updates »
Dmitry Gubarev	Doing business, or thinking about investing, in Russia? Recent changes to the Russian Civil Code In This Presentation: 1. Why were changes needed? 2. How are things changing? 3. The process of change 4. Amendments in place now 5. What is still to change? - 2nd Draft Amendment - 3rd Draft…more Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing, Creditors, Debtors, Dmitry Medvedev, Escrow Acconts	See All Updates »
Christine Guillot-Bouhours	Orrick World: A Quarterly Report of Global Employment Law Issues for Multinationals - February 2013 In This Issue: - Asia Employment Law Update - France Employment Law Update - UK Employment Law Update - United States Employment Law Update…more China, Chinese Labor Contract Laws, Data Protection, Discrimination, EEOC	See All Updates »
Jonathan P. Guy	Best Buy Bankruptcy Ahead? In November 2008, Circuit City filed for bankruptcy protection. Circuit City had the same business model as Best Buy: selling electronic equipment in large retail stores. Other retailers with that business model are finding…more Best Buy, Circuit City, Debtor-Creditor, Electronics, Insolvency	See All Updates »
Charles Ha	Texas Court Rules that Regardless of Fault, CEOs and CFOs Will Have to Pay Up Under Sarbanes-Oxley Section 304 A Texas federal judge denied defendants ArthoCare CEO Michael A. Baker and CFO Michael T. Gluk’s motion to dismiss the SEC’s claim against them under Sarbanes-Oxley (“SOX”) Section 304’s clawback provision. Section 304 requires…more Clawback Agreements, Sarbanes-Oxley, SEC, Section 304	See All Updates »
Nancy Harris	Policy Observer - January 2013 It has been nearly three months since Superstorm Sandy battered the East Coast of the United States. With several hundred thousand residents still without homes and many businesses still operating out of temporary facilities, it…more Agents, Amended Complaints, Brokers, Chinese Drywall, Deductibles	See All Updates »
Lynne Hermle	“Picking Off” Plaintiffs in FLSA Collective Actions: Genesis HealthCare Corp. v. Symczyk Earlier this month in Genesis Healthcare Corp. v. Symczyk, 133 S. Ct. 1523 (2013), the U.S. Supreme Court held that it is permissible for defendants to “pick off” plaintiffs in FLSA collective actions. In jurisdictions that hold…more Collective Actions, FLSA, Genesis HealthCare, Genesis Healthcare Corp. v. Symczyk, Mootness	See All Updates »
Ken Herzinger	Texas Court Rules that Regardless of Fault, CEOs and CFOs Will Have to Pay Up Under Sarbanes-Oxley Section 304 A Texas federal judge denied defendants ArthoCare CEO Michael A. Baker and CFO Michael T. Gluk’s motion to dismiss the SEC’s claim against them under Sarbanes-Oxley (“SOX”) Section 304’s clawback provision. Section 304 requires…more Clawback Agreements, Sarbanes-Oxley, SEC, Section 304	See All Updates »
Trish Higgins	OFCCP Rescinds Prior Guidance on Compensation Discrimination Analysis In Favor of a Case-by-Case Approach Effective February 28, 2013, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) rescinded two 2006 guidance documents concerning how the OFCCP and federal contractors analyze potential pay discrimination. This change…more Audits, Contractors, Discrimination, OFCCP, Wages	See All Updates »
Christin Hill	Say Hello To My Imaginary Friend! Judge Posner, Seventh Circuit Issue Stern Warning To Plaintiffs’ Firms For Again Citing Bogus Confidential Witnesses Plaintiffs’ counsel beware: to avoid Rule 11 sanctions you might actually have to talk to “confidential witnesses” yourself and corroborate their statements before citing them in a securities fraud complaint…more Confidential Witnesses, Discovery, Pleadings, Rule 11, Securities Fraud	See All Updates »
Brad Hillson	Employers Beware: Post-termination Whistleblowing In the recent case of Onyango v. Berkeley Solicitors, the UK Employment Appeal Tribunal ruled that an employee was allowed to bring a ‘whistleblowing’ claim relating to a protected disclosure that was made after the termination…more Adverse Employment Action, Hiring & Firing, Termination, Whistleblowers	See All Updates »
Lutz Hoheisel	Germany: Have Rejected Job Applicants the Right to Know the Reasons for Not Getting the Job Recently, the German Federal Labor Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht “BAG”) rendered a decision which had been awaited with interest by German employers (BAG, April 25, 2013 – 8 AZR 287/08) with regard to information rights of…more Discrimination, EU, European Court of Justice, Job Applicants	See All Updates »
Aubry Holland	Required Extension of Statutory Pregnancy Leave as a Reasonable Accommodation In a case of first impression, the Second Appellate District in California, recently took an expansive view of pregnancy leave rights for employees. Under California’s Pregnancy Disability Leave Law (“PDLL”), employees disabled…more ADA, CFRA, Disability, FEHA, Pregnancy	See All Updates »
Steven Hong	Inside Out: NASDAQ Proposes Rule To Require Internal Auditing The NASDAQ Stock Market recently submitted a proposed rule change that would require all companies listed on the NASDAQ to maintain an internal audit function. The function would “provide management and the audit committee with…more Audits, Internal Audit Functions, Nasdaq, Risk Management	See All Updates »
Maurice Hoo	Further Guidance on Pre-IPO Investments from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Introduction - It is common for financial investors such as private equity funds and hedge funds to invest in unlisted securities of private companies (e.g., through the subscription of convertible debt instruments,…more	See All Updates »
Elizabeth Howard	It’s Not Just Boilerplate! Best practices for drafting collaboration agreements to protect your IP In This Presentation: - 1. The collaboration conundrum - 2. The Tekmira case: a cautionary tale Outline - 3. Best practices for drafting specific provisions Please see full presentation below for more…more Boilerplate Language, Confidentiality Agreements, License Agreements, Non-Disclosure Agreement, Patents	See All Updates »
Robert Isackson	CLS Bank: A Deeply Divided En Banc Federal Circuit Fails to Rule When Computer Claims are Invalid Under 35 U.S.C. § 101 On May 10, 2013, the en banc Federal Circuit issued its highly anticipated decision in CLS Bank Int’l v. Alice Corp. Pty. Ltd., No. 2011-1301, concerning whether computer-implemented method and system claims are patent eligible…more Computer-Related Inventions, Infringement, Patent-Eligible Subject Matter, Patents	See All Updates »
Kristen Jacoby	Prisoner 24601 May Report For Duty, Says the EEOC Can the EEOC require employers to hire convicted criminals? Last April, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued a policy guideline that calls into question the extent to which employers can incorporate a…more Criminal Background Checks, Criminal Records, EEOC, Employer Liability Issues, Hiring & Firing	See All Updates »
Alexander Janes	Doing business, or thinking about investing, in Russia? Recent changes to the Russian Civil Code In This Presentation: 1. Why were changes needed? 2. How are things changing? 3. The process of change 4. Amendments in place now 5. What is still to change? - 2nd Draft Amendment - 3rd Draft…more Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing, Creditors, Debtors, Dmitry Medvedev, Escrow Acconts	See All Updates »
Jay Jurata	Landmark Court Opinion Provides Guidance in Determining RAND Royalties for Standard-Essential Patents On April 25, 2013, U.S. District Judge James Robart (W.D. Wash.) issued a much-anticipated opinion in a dispute between Microsoft Corporation (“Microsoft”) and Motorola, Inc., Motorola Mobility, Inc., and General Instrument…more FRAND, Georgia Pacific, Microsoft, Motorola, Patent Pools	See All Updates »
Tony Katz	The Extra-territorial Reach of the Broker-Dealer Registration Requirements Under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934; the Staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission Addresses Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Rule 15a-6 and Foreign Broker-Dealers Background. Rule 15a-6 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Rule 15a-6”) provides conditional exemptions from broker-dealer registration for “foreign broker-dealers” that engage in certain specified activities involving…more Broker-Dealer, Foreign Broker-Dealers, Investors, Rule 15a-6, SEC	See All Updates »
David Keenan	Inside Out: NASDAQ Proposes Rule To Require Internal Auditing The NASDAQ Stock Market recently submitted a proposed rule change that would require all companies listed on the NASDAQ to maintain an internal audit function. The function would “provide management and the audit committee with…more Audits, Internal Audit Functions, Nasdaq, Risk Management	See All Updates »
Antony Kim	FTC Assesses $800,000 Fine Against Mobile App Operator and Issues Mobile Privacy and Security Guidance The Federal Trade Commission has emphasized in the past that general privacy protections in the website space apply equally to mobile services, but a new FTC Staff Report released on Friday hones in on some privacy…more Address Book, App Developers, COPPA, Data Collection, Data Protection	See All Updates »
Susanne Klaric	The Final Geithner Tally: TARP Bailout Pays Big Dividends For Taxpayers As U.S. Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner steps down, Treasury released a January 18, 2012 update on the Troubled Asset Relief Program (“TARP”). This most recent update highlights an often misunderstood reality — Geithner’s…more AIG, Bailout, TARP, U.S. Treasury	See All Updates »
Stephen Knaster	Tracing Meets Twombly: Ninth Circuit Sets Section 11 Pleading Standards For Aftermarket Purchasers In a precedent setting decision, the Ninth Circuit affirmed dismissal of a putative class action in In re Century Aluminum Co. Securities Litigation, significantly raising the pleading bar in Section 11 cases. Plaintiffs alleged…more Aftermarket Purchases, Section 11, Shareholders, Twombly/Iqbal Pleading Standard	See All Updates »
Jim Kramer	What Makes A Director “Independent”? What makes a director “independent”? That question is important, not only to investors who want to ensure that boards of directors exercise objective judgment on corporate affairs, but also to companies, who need assurance that…more Directors, Nasdaq, NYSE, Shareholders	See All Updates »
Catherine Morris Krow	Nanotechnology And Asbestos: Informing Industry’s Approach To Carbon Nanotubes, Nanoscale Titanium Dioxide, And Nanosilver With greater knowledge comes greater responsibility, and greater liability. When it comes to nanotechnology, our ability to understand the potential risks is unprecedented, thanks in part to the asbestos mass tort experience. If…more Asbestos, Nanotechnology, Risk Mitigation	See All Updates »
Judy Kwan	The Revolving Door Spins Again On January 24, President Obama announced his nominee for Chairman of the Securities Exchange Commission – Mary Jo White, a former United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York…more Barack Obama, Mary Jo White, SEC	See All Updates »
Douglas Lahnborg	Private Actions in Competition Law: The UK Government announces "opt-out" class actions for private competition damages claims On 20 March 2013, George Osborne delivered his Budget to Parliament. The Government announced that in summer 2013 it will proceed with several of the competition reforms outlined in its recent response to the Department for…more Class Action, Competition Appeal Tribunal, EU, Opt-Outs, Private Competition Damages	See All Updates »
Frederic Lalance	New Trade Secret Legislation in France? Mais oui bien sûr! If your trade secrets get stolen in France, what protections would you have? Most U.S. trade secret lawyers don’t have occasion to consider trade secret laws outside the United States, but there’s a whole world beyond the…more Misappropriation, Trade Secrets	See All Updates »
Marine Lallemond	New Trade Secret Legislation in France? Mais oui bien sûr! If your trade secrets get stolen in France, what protections would you have? Most U.S. trade secret lawyers don’t have occasion to consider trade secret laws outside the United States, but there’s a whole world beyond the…more Misappropriation, Trade Secrets	See All Updates »
Emily Lamond	EPA Clarifies "Innocent Tenant" Liability Under CERCLA Recent EPA guidance imposes new environmental due diligence and compliance requirements on prospective commercial and industrial tenants. The guidance purports to clarify an exemption from liability, but actually confirms that…more CERCLA, Commercial Leases, Compliance, Due Diligence, EPA	See All Updates »
A. Cory Lankford	FERC Proposes Reforms to Facilitate Small Generator Interconnections On January 17, 2013, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) proposing reforms to the pro forma Small Generator Interconnection Procedures (SGIP) and the Small Generator…more FERC, Interconnections, NOPR, SGIA, SGIP	See All Updates »
Alex Lathrop	Policy Observer - January 2013 It has been nearly three months since Superstorm Sandy battered the East Coast of the United States. With several hundred thousand residents still without homes and many businesses still operating out of temporary facilities, it…more Agents, Amended Complaints, Brokers, Chinese Drywall, Deductibles	See All Updates »
Byron Lau	Put up your Dukes! Supreme Court Clarifies that Damages Must be Capable of Class Wide Resolution in Rule 23(b)(3) Class Actions the United States Supreme Court’s Recent Ruling in Comcast Corp. v. Behrend The United States Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Comcast Corp. v. Behrend, Case No. 11-864 (March 27, 2013) reinforces class certification requirements as spelled out in Wal-Mart v. Dukes. However, the closely divided court…more Class Action, Class Certification, Comcast, Comcast v. Behrend, Damages	See All Updates »
Robert Lawrence	EPA Clarifies "Innocent Tenant" Liability Under CERCLA Recent EPA guidance imposes new environmental due diligence and compliance requirements on prospective commercial and industrial tenants. The guidance purports to clarify an exemption from liability, but actually confirms that…more CERCLA, Commercial Leases, Compliance, Due Diligence, EPA	See All Updates »
Matthew Lawson	Private Actions in Competition Law: The UK Government announces "opt-out" class actions for private competition damages claims On 20 March 2013, George Osborne delivered his Budget to Parliament. The Government announced that in summer 2013 it will proceed with several of the competition reforms outlined in its recent response to the Department for…more Class Action, Competition Appeal Tribunal, EU, Opt-Outs, Private Competition Damages	See All Updates »
Sally Lee	Time For The White House To Step In? Patchwork State Fracking Regulations Will Spawn FOIA And Trade Secrets Lawsuits With a growing number of states demanding disclosure of its fracking recipes, the oil and gas industry is fighting to plug what it views as government-mandated leaks in its trade secrets pipeline…more Disclosure, FOIA, Fracking, Trade Secrets	See All Updates »
Giovanni Leoni	Il Fisco Britannico Mette In Rete La Lista Degli Evasori Fiscali Qualche giorno fa la Agenzia delle Entrate inglese, ovvero la Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs, ha postato sul proprio sito l’elenco dei tax defaulters accertati alla data del 21 febbraio 2013. La notizia ha suscitato un…more	See All Updates »
Joe Liburt	2013 Updates to the FEHA California Pregnancy Regulations Amendments to California’s pregnancy regulations became effective on December 30, 2012, creating many new responsibilities for employers. While employers should take note of all of the amended regulations, some of the most…more CFRA, Disability, Discrimination, FEHA, Medical Leave	See All Updates »
Justin Lichterman	In The Wake Of Gabelli, SEC Voluntarily Dismisses Follow-On Cert. Petition Today, the Solicitor General filed a motion asking the Supreme Court to dismiss the Securities and Exchange Commission’s petition for a writ of certiorari in SEC v. Bartek. As noted in a previous blog post, the Bartek petition…more Gabelli v SEC, SEC, Statute of Limitations	See All Updates »
Scott Lindlaw	Texas Insiders Say Businesses Champing At The Bit For New Trade Secrets Law To Take Effect For decades, Texas was the wild west of trade secrets law, governed by the state’s outdated common law with no trade secrets statute on the books…more New Legislation, Trade Secrets, Uniform Trade Secrets Acts	See All Updates »
Robin A. Linsenmayer	Second Circuit Holds that Criminal Penalties for Pharmaceutical Sales Representative’s Off-Label Promotion Violate the First Amendment On December 3, 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued an opinion that stands to transform the regulatory landscape in which pharmaceutical and medical device companies operate. In recent years,…more Commercial Speech, FDA, FDCA, Free Speech, Marketing	See All Updates »
Jennifer Liu	SEC And FBI Try To Ketchup To Heinz Insider Traders In the latest development in an SEC lawsuit filed Friday, February 15, U.S. District Judge Rakoff extended a freeze on a Swiss Goldman Sachs account linked to possible insider trading in H.J. Heinz Company call options. The…more Acquisitions, Aiding and Abetting, Board of Directors, Derivative Suit, FBI	See All Updates »
Andrew Livingston	Ninth Circuit Holds Employees Are Not Required To Allege a Request for “Suitable Seats” For Their Claims to Proceed Last week in Green v. Bank of America Corp., No. 11.56365 (9th Cir. Feb. 13, 2012), the Ninth Circuit held that “suitable seats” lawsuits cannot be dismissed at the pleading stage based on an employee’s failure to allege that he…more Failure To Request, IWC, Pleadings, Suitable Seats Lawsuits, Wage Orders	See All Updates »
Veronica Lockyer	New Developments in Data Privacy in China China is taking notice of the growing focus on data privacy and protection issues by taking two significant steps toward clarifying the country’s approach to protecting personal information. Most recently, China issued the…more China, Data Collection, Data Protection, Personally Identifiable Information	See All Updates »
Bob Loeb	Recent Development on Corporate Liability in U.S. Courts for Conduct Outside the United States This week the U.S. Supreme Court issued its much-awaited decision in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., which addressed the question of whether a federal court may recognize a cause of action under the Alien Tort Statute…more Alien Tort Statute, Extraterritoriality Rules, Jurisdiction, Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., Multinationals	See All Updates »
Scott Lonardo	New Trademark Clearinghouse an Important Tool for Trademark Owners as New Generic Top-Level Domains Prepare to Launch Starting on March 26, 2013, there will be an important new tool available to help trademark owners combat unauthorized uses of their trademarks in domain names as more than 1,000 new generic top-level domains (“gTLDs”) prepare…more Brand, gTLD, Trademark Clearinghouse, Trademarks	See All Updates »
Tim Long	Department of Labor Clarifies When an Employee May Take FMLA Leave to Care for Adult Children The ADA Amendments Act (“ADAAA”) expanded more than just employer liability for disability claims; it also broadened the scope of FMLA leave that employees may take to care for their adult children. On January 14, 2013, the…more	See All Updates »
Christine Louie	In The SDNY, Hindsight Is No Substitute For Red Flags When Alleging Scienter On April 8, 2013, Judge Shira A. Scheindlin of the Southern District of New York granted auditor Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu CPA’s (“DTTC”) motion to dismiss a shareholder class action, finding that plaintiffs failed to…more Auditors, Class Action, Material Misstatements, Rule 10b-5, Scienter	See All Updates »
Katherine Lubin	SEC v. Hackers: More Cybersecurity Enforcement On The Horizon? Cybersecurity may be the SEC’s newest area for enforcement actions. While the SEC first released Disclosure Guidance concerning cybersecurity in 2011, the recent media attention surrounding significant cybersecurity breaches at…more Class Action, Cybersecurity, Data Protection, Disclosure Requirements, SEC	See All Updates »
Lisa Lupion	New York City Passes Bill Treating the Unemployed as a Protected Class New York City has amended its Administrative Code to create a new protected class of workers. Beginning in June 2013, the New York City Administrative Code will prohibit discrimination based on an individual’s unemployment…more Discrimination, Hiring & Firing, Job Applicants, Local Ordinance, Municipalities	See All Updates »
Katherine Maco	Basic Gets Complicated: Vivendi Rebuts Fraud-On-The-Market Presumption In what Judge Shira A. Scheindlin of the Southern District of New York called an “extraordinary case,” French multimedia company Vivendi, S.A. has scored an unusual victory based on a successful rebuttal of the…more Fraud-on-the-Market, Gamco Investors v Vivendi, Investors	See All Updates »
Alessandro Mainardi	Il Fisco Britannico Mette In Rete La Lista Degli Evasori Fiscali Qualche giorno fa la Agenzia delle Entrate inglese, ovvero la Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs, ha postato sul proprio sito l’elenco dei tax defaulters accertati alla data del 21 febbraio 2013. La notizia ha suscitato un…more	See All Updates »
Ashley Mangus	Fifth Circuit to Consider In Re D.R. Horton in Light of Recent Court of Appeals Decision Striking Down Recess Appointments to NLRB A recent D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals decision striking down several recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board has cast doubt over one of the NLRB’s most controversial decisions from 2012…more Barack Obama, Canning v NLRB, D.R. Horton, NLRB, Pro Forma Sessions	See All Updates »
Richard A. Martin	Making A Statement: The Two Faces Of Janus In The SDNY Almost two years after the Supreme Court issued its momentous decision in Janus Capital Group, Inc. v. First Derivative Traders, 131 S. Ct. 2296 (2011), lower courts continue to reach significantly different conclusions…more Investment Adviser, Rule 10b-5, SEC	See All Updates »
Nik Mathews	The New CFTC Regulatory Regime For Private Fund Managers; First Quarter 2013 Update The enactment of Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) and its implementation by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) has ushered in a new era of…more CFTC, Commodities Exchange Act, Dodd-Frank, Exempt Organizations, Major Swap Participants	See All Updates »
Christine McCarthy	Annual Reporting Requirements for Incentive Stock Options and Employee Stock Purchase Plans Annual Information Statements and IRS Returns - Requirement to Report - For any exercise of an incentive stock option (ISO) or transfer of a share previously purchased pursuant to a tax-qualified employee stock…more Employee Stock Purchase Plans, IRS, Reporting Requirements, Stock Options	See All Updates »
W. Clark McFadden III	International Trade & Compliance - April 2013 The U.S. State and Commerce Departments have published amendments to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (“ITAR”) and Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) as a major step in implementing changes to export controls…more Barack Obama, Export Administration Regulations, Export Controls, Exports, ITAR	See All Updates »
Rachel McKenzie	Supreme Court Unanimously Limits SEC’s Ability To Bring Civil Penalty Claims For Conduct Older Than Five Years In Gabelli v. SEC, a unanimous Supreme Court held that the statute of limitations for “penalty” claims in governmental enforcement actions begins to run from the date of the underlying violation of the law, not when the…more Discovery Rule, Discovery Schedule, Enforcement Actions, Equitable Tolling, Fraud	See All Updates »
Jim McQuade	California Supreme Court Allows See’s Candy Time Rounding Decision to Stand Earlier last month, the California Supreme Court denied petitions to review and depublish the California Court of Appeal for the Fourth District’s decision in See’s Candy Shops, Inc. v. Superior Court, 210 Cal. App. 4th 889…more See's Candy Shops, Timekeeping, Wage and Hour	See All Updates »
Mark Mermelstein	Internal Investigation Fees Awarded To Goldman Sachs On Monday, February 25, Goldman Sachs won its bid to force former director Rajat K. Gupta to pay legal fees it incurred while investigating Gupta’s insider trading activities. In October 2012, Gupta was sentenced to two years in…more Attorney's Fees, Goldman Sachs, Internal Investigations, Mandatory Victim's Restitution Act, Morgan Stanley	See All Updates »
Jim Meyers	PCAOB Issues Its First Cooperation Policy Statement On April 24, 2013, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board issued its inaugural “Policy Statement Regarding Credit for Extraordinary Cooperation in Connection with Board Investigations.” The Policy Statement reiterates…more Audits, Cooperation Initiative, Disclosure Requirements, Enforcement, PCAOB	See All Updates »
Rachel Muoio	Rule 23(b) or Not to Be: Wang v. Chinese News the Ninth Circuit’s Latest Decision to Reevaluate Certification after Wal-Mart The Ninth Circuit’s recent decision in Wang v. Chinese Daily News is the latest to affirm that Wal-Mart v. Dukes is controlling in wage-and-hour class action cases. …more Class Action, Dukes v Wal-Mart, FLSA, Over-Time, Rest and Meal Break	See All Updates »
Jeffrey Nisbet	FTC Dot Com Disclosure Update: What's New for 2013 In March, the Federal Trade Commission issued updated advertising guidelines to take into account the challenges created by the rapid growth of mobile and online advertising platforms, particularly small screen size and other…more Advertising, Disclosure Requirements, Dot Com Disclosure Guide, FTC, Mobile Devices	See All Updates »
Jonathan M. Ocker	ISS 2013 Policy Updates On November 16, 2012, Institutional Shareholder Services (“ISS”) released its policy updates to its voting guidelines for the 2013 proxy season. The 2013 updates include a revised methodology for the selection of the ISS peer…more ISS	See All Updates »
Yumiko Ohta	Orrick World: A Quarterly Report of Global Employment Law Issues for Multinationals - February 2013 In This Issue: - Asia Employment Law Update - France Employment Law Update - UK Employment Law Update - United States Employment Law Update…more China, Chinese Labor Contract Laws, Data Protection, Discrimination, EEOC	See All Updates »
Blake Osborn	Stop! In The Name Of ... 28 U.S.C. §2462 On January 8, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in Gabelli v. Securities and Exchange Commission, No. 11-1274, concerning when the clock begins to run on the five-year statute of limitations for civil penalty claims…more Civil Monetary Penalty, Enforcement Actions, Gabelli v SEC, Penalties, SCOTUS	See All Updates »
Robert Pe	Burma/Myanmar Legal Update: Accession to the New York Convention Introduction - On 16 April 2013 the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (also known as Burma) acceded to the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the “New York Convention”) by…more Foreign Investment, New York Convention, United Nations	See All Updates »
Lindsay Pennington	President Barack Obama’s Win Also a Win for the SEC and the CFTC The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) can breathe a little easier after President Barak Obama’s re-election on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, according to legal…more Barack Obama, CFTC, Dodd-Frank, SEC	See All Updates »
Jessica Perry	Three More States Hop on the Social Media Legislation Bandwagon Act 1480, signed by Governor Mike Beebe on April 22, 2013, prohibits an Arkansas employer from requiring or requesting a current or prospective employee to (1) disclose his or her username or password for a personal social media…more Hiring & Firing, Job Applicants, Passwords, Social Media	See All Updates »
Mandy Perry	Employee Shareholder Status – An Innovative Solution for Innovative Employers? After twice rejecting the Government’s proposals, the House of Lords has just finally voted to accept the much argued Clause 27 of the Growth and Infrastructure Bill, thereby paving the way for new legislation that will create a…more Employee Shareholders, EU, Shareholders	See All Updates »
Randolph Perry	Orrick's Global Real Estate Roundup - February 2013 As we look back on a busy fourth quarter 2012 that saw a flurry of deal closings in the final weeks of the year for core and value-added commercial properties in the US, an active transaction pipeline is already ramping up for…more CMBS, Commercial Real Estate Market, Foreign Investment, Fund Formation, REIT	See All Updates »
Lori Lynn Phillips	Where There’s Smoke, There’s FIRREA Few can ignite a legal firestorm like U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff of the Southern District of New York. Last week, in a mortgage fraud suit against Bank of America and Countrywide, Judge Rakoff refused to dismiss a novel…more Bank of America, Countrywide, Fannie Mae, FIRREA, Freddie Mac	See All Updates »
Jinnifer Pitcher	Ringing in the New Year: New California Laws Taking Effect in 2013 As the new year rounds the corner, it is important to stay abreast of the ever-changing legal landscape in California. We’ve previously posted about some recent amendments to the California Labor Code here but here are a couple…more Social Media	See All Updates »
Wolfram Pohl	Energy-Related Tax Provisions of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 On January 1, 2013, Congress passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (the “Act”). President Obama signed the Act into law on January 2, 2013. The Act contains multiple business tax provisions. The following is a…more American Taxpayer Relief Act, Biofuel, Fiscal Cliff, Income Taxes, Investment Tax Credits	See All Updates »
Matthew Poppe	Landmark Court Opinion Provides Guidance in Determining RAND Royalties for Standard-Essential Patents On April 25, 2013, U.S. District Judge James Robart (W.D. Wash.) issued a much-anticipated opinion in a dispute between Microsoft Corporation (“Microsoft”) and Motorola, Inc., Motorola Mobility, Inc., and General Instrument…more FRAND, Georgia Pacific, Microsoft, Motorola, Patent Pools	See All Updates »
David Prahl	Ninth Circuit Holds Employees Are Not Required To Allege a Request for “Suitable Seats” For Their Claims to Proceed Last week in Green v. Bank of America Corp., No. 11.56365 (9th Cir. Feb. 13, 2012), the Ninth Circuit held that “suitable seats” lawsuits cannot be dismissed at the pleading stage based on an employee’s failure to allege that he…more Failure To Request, IWC, Pleadings, Suitable Seats Lawsuits, Wage Orders	See All Updates »
Suzette Pringle	Another Securities Case For The Supreme Court. Next Up: Ponzi Scheme Cases Agreeing to take up yet another securities case, the Supreme Court granted cert on January 18 in three related appeals arising out of the alleged multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme involving R. Allen Stanford’s Stanford…more Class Action, Ponzi Scheme, Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, SCOTUS, SLUSA	See All Updates »
Liana Rabinovitch	2013 Updates to the FEHA California Pregnancy Regulations Amendments to California’s pregnancy regulations became effective on December 30, 2012, creating many new responsibilities for employers. While employers should take note of all of the amended regulations, some of the most…more CFRA, Disability, Discrimination, FEHA, Medical Leave	See All Updates »
Greg Riddle	Energy-Related Tax Provisions of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 On January 1, 2013, Congress passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (the “Act”). President Obama signed the Act into law on January 2, 2013. The Act contains multiple business tax provisions. The following is a…more American Taxpayer Relief Act, Biofuel, Fiscal Cliff, Income Taxes, Investment Tax Credits	See All Updates »
Philippe Rincazaux	Antimonopoly Law Considerations and Risk Management in Connection with M&A Transactions - Assessing Competition Risks in Acquisitions Introduction: Allocation of antitrust risk is an issue that frequently arises between parties in mergers or acquisitions that raise potential antitrust concerns. • Motivations of the buyer and the seller are the…more Acquisitions, Ancillary Agreements, Antimonopoly, Cartels, Competition	See All Updates »
Jonas Robison	The New CFTC Regulatory Regime For Private Fund Managers; First Quarter 2013 Update The enactment of Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) and its implementation by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) has ushered in a new era of…more CFTC, Commodities Exchange Act, Dodd-Frank, Exempt Organizations, Major Swap Participants	See All Updates »
Jill Rosenberg	Fifth Circuit to Consider In Re D.R. Horton in Light of Recent Court of Appeals Decision Striking Down Recess Appointments to NLRB A recent D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals decision striking down several recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board has cast doubt over one of the NLRB’s most controversial decisions from 2012…more Barack Obama, Canning v NLRB, D.R. Horton, NLRB, Pro Forma Sessions	See All Updates »
Ivan Rotunno	D.Lgs. 231/2001 - Aggiornamento Normativo E Giurisprudenziale Si riporta di seguito una breve rassegna dei provvedimenti maggiormente significativi in materia di responsabilità amministrativa degli enti ex D.Lsg. 231/2001. ENTI STRANIERI - TRIBUNALE DI MILANO – Sent. n. 13976/12…more	See All Updates »
Paul Rugani	Purchase Timing A Wall To Facebook Derivative Litigation Despite Unenforceability Of Forum Selection Clause Four derivative lawsuits against Facebook’s directors relating to alleged disclosure issues surrounding the company’s initial public offering have a new status: Dismissed. Last month, Judge Robert Sweet of the Southern District…more Derivative Suit, Disclosure Requirements, Facebook, Forum Selection Clause, IPO	See All Updates »
Lena Ryan	California Supreme Court Eliminates Damages in FEHA Discrimination Cases Where Employer Proves Mixed Motive Defense Earlier this month, the California Supreme Court issued a ruling clarifying details of the “mixed-motive” defense applicable to discrimination claims under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”). Harris v. City…more Appeals, Discrimination, FEHA, Harris v City of Santa Monica, Mixed Motive Cases	See All Updates »
Frank Scaduto	Where There’s Smoke, There’s FIRREA Few can ignite a legal firestorm like U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff of the Southern District of New York. Last week, in a mortgage fraud suit against Bank of America and Countrywide, Judge Rakoff refused to dismiss a novel…more Bank of America, Countrywide, Fannie Mae, FIRREA, Freddie Mac	See All Updates »
Tracy Scheidtmann	2013 Updates to the FEHA California Pregnancy Regulations Amendments to California’s pregnancy regulations became effective on December 30, 2012, creating many new responsibilities for employers. While employers should take note of all of the amended regulations, some of the most…more CFRA, Disability, Discrimination, FEHA, Medical Leave	See All Updates »
Brian Schmidt	Basic Gets Complicated: Vivendi Rebuts Fraud-On-The-Market Presumption In what Judge Shira A. Scheindlin of the Southern District of New York called an “extraordinary case,” French multimedia company Vivendi, S.A. has scored an unusual victory based on a successful rebuttal of the…more Fraud-on-the-Market, Gamco Investors v Vivendi, Investors	See All Updates »
M. Todd Scott	What’s The Right Way To Respond To A Shareholder Books And Records Request? Delaware law gives shareholders the right to request corporate books and records in order to investigate issues that are of interest to them…more Corporate Records, Shareholder Rights	See All Updates »
Shannon Seekao	Seventh Circuit Holds That FLSA and Rule 23 Certification Standards Are the Same and Affirms Denial of Certification Based on Lack of Trial Plan A recent opinion by the Seventh Circuit holds that the standard for certifying a collective action under the FLSA is the same as the standard applied to a class action under Rule 23…more Class Action, Class Certification, Decertify, FLSA, Opt-In	See All Updates »
Stephanie Sharron	California Introduces “Right to Know” Privacy Law, Seeking to Increase Transparency California Assembly Member Bonnie Lowenthal recently introduced the “Right to Know Act of 2013” (AB1291) in the California State Assembly. If passed, this legislation would allow U.S. consumers unprecedented access to…more Disclosure Requirements, Personally Identifiable Information, Proposed Legislation, Right To Know, Sensitive Business Information	See All Updates »
Anushila Shaw	Record SEC Settlement In S.A.C. Capital Investigation. Well….Kind Of On April 16, 2013, Judge Victor Marrero conditionally approved a $600 million consent judgment between the SEC and CR Intrinsic Investors LLC (“CR”) where CR “neither admitted nor denied” the allegations brought against it. The…more CR Intrinsic Investors, Insider Trading, SAC Capitol Advisors, SEC, Settlement	See All Updates »
Rob Shwarts	Rule 23(b) or Not to Be: Wang v. Chinese News the Ninth Circuit’s Latest Decision to Reevaluate Certification after Wal-Mart The Ninth Circuit’s recent decision in Wang v. Chinese Daily News is the latest to affirm that Wal-Mart v. Dukes is controlling in wage-and-hour class action cases. …more Class Action, Dukes v Wal-Mart, FLSA, Over-Time, Rest and Meal Break	See All Updates »
Gary Siniscalco	Prisoner 24601 May Report For Duty, Says the EEOC Can the EEOC require employers to hire convicted criminals? Last April, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued a policy guideline that calls into question the extent to which employers can incorporate a…more Criminal Background Checks, Criminal Records, EEOC, Employer Liability Issues, Hiring & Firing	See All Updates »
Devin Slack	Three More States Hop on the Social Media Legislation Bandwagon Act 1480, signed by Governor Mike Beebe on April 22, 2013, prohibits an Arkansas employer from requiring or requesting a current or prospective employee to (1) disclose his or her username or password for a personal social media…more Hiring & Firing, Job Applicants, Passwords, Social Media	See All Updates »
David Smith	Landmark Court Opinion Provides Guidance in Determining RAND Royalties for Standard-Essential Patents On April 25, 2013, U.S. District Judge James Robart (W.D. Wash.) issued a much-anticipated opinion in a dispute between Microsoft Corporation (“Microsoft”) and Motorola, Inc., Motorola Mobility, Inc., and General Instrument…more FRAND, Georgia Pacific, Microsoft, Motorola, Patent Pools	See All Updates »
Michael Spillner	Mother’s Day Post: Mother And Son Accused Of Trade Secret Theft In honor of Mother’s Day, we note a case in which mother and son were both accused of misappropriating trade secrets…more	See All Updates »
Stephen Spitz	Water and Wastewater Projects: Financing with Tax-Exempt Bonds Introduction - Managers of water and wastewater utilities face complex financial challenges. The purpose of this guidebook is to provide an overview of issues relating to the financing of water and wastewater projects in…more Arbitrage, Capital Expenditures, Debt, Financial Adviser, Financing	See All Updates »
Alexandra Stathopoulos	Party Foul! NLRB Orders Reinstatement and Back Pay for Party Bus Guide After Finding Facebook Postings Amount To Protected Union Organizing Activity Providing yet another example of how online social networking can amount to protected conduct under the National Labor Relations Act, the NLRB ruled earlier this month in New York Party Shuttle, LLC and Fred Pflantzer, CN:…more Back Pay, Facebook, NLRA, NLRB, Protected Concerted Activity	See All Updates »
James Stengel	Recent Development on Corporate Liability in U.S. Courts for Conduct Outside the United States This week the U.S. Supreme Court issued its much-awaited decision in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., which addressed the question of whether a federal court may recognize a cause of action under the Alien Tort Statute…more Alien Tort Statute, Extraterritoriality Rules, Jurisdiction, Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., Multinationals	See All Updates »
Kolvin Stone	Privacy, Data Security and Internet Safety Alert: Tough New EU Data Protection Proposals Edge Closer On Jan. 10, 2013, Jan Philipp Albrecht, the European Parliament’s Rapporteur, presented his report on the European Commission’s proposals for a new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). With his recommendations, data…more Data Collection, Data Protection, EU, EU Data Protection Laws, Internet	See All Updates »
Katie Lieberg Stowe	SEC And FBI Try To Ketchup To Heinz Insider Traders In the latest development in an SEC lawsuit filed Friday, February 15, U.S. District Judge Rakoff extended a freeze on a Swiss Goldman Sachs account linked to possible insider trading in H.J. Heinz Company call options. The…more Acquisitions, Aiding and Abetting, Board of Directors, Derivative Suit, FBI	See All Updates »
Laurie Strauch Weiss	Recent Development on Corporate Liability in U.S. Courts for Conduct Outside the United States This week the U.S. Supreme Court issued its much-awaited decision in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., which addressed the question of whether a federal court may recognize a cause of action under the Alien Tort Statute…more Alien Tort Statute, Extraterritoriality Rules, Jurisdiction, Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., Multinationals	See All Updates »
Emily Tabatabai	FTC Dot Com Disclosure Update: What's New for 2013 In March, the Federal Trade Commission issued updated advertising guidelines to take into account the challenges created by the rapid growth of mobile and online advertising platforms, particularly small screen size and other…more Advertising, Disclosure Requirements, Dot Com Disclosure Guide, FTC, Mobile Devices	See All Updates »
William Benjamin Tabler	CLS Bank: A Deeply Divided En Banc Federal Circuit Fails to Rule When Computer Claims are Invalid Under 35 U.S.C. § 101 On May 10, 2013, the en banc Federal Circuit issued its highly anticipated decision in CLS Bank Int’l v. Alice Corp. Pty. Ltd., No. 2011-1301, concerning whether computer-implemented method and system claims are patent eligible…more Computer-Related Inventions, Infringement, Patent-Eligible Subject Matter, Patents	See All Updates »
Alex Talarides	What’s The Right Way To Respond To A Shareholder Books And Records Request? Delaware law gives shareholders the right to request corporate books and records in order to investigate issues that are of interest to them…more Corporate Records, Shareholder Rights	See All Updates »
James Thompson	Record SEC Settlement In S.A.C. Capital Investigation. Well….Kind Of On April 16, 2013, Judge Victor Marrero conditionally approved a $600 million consent judgment between the SEC and CR Intrinsic Investors LLC (“CR”) where CR “neither admitted nor denied” the allegations brought against it. The…more CR Intrinsic Investors, Insider Trading, SAC Capitol Advisors, SEC, Settlement	See All Updates »
Mark R. Thompson	“Picking Off” Plaintiffs in FLSA Collective Actions: Genesis HealthCare Corp. v. Symczyk Earlier this month in Genesis Healthcare Corp. v. Symczyk, 133 S. Ct. 1523 (2013), the U.S. Supreme Court held that it is permissible for defendants to “pick off” plaintiffs in FLSA collective actions. In jurisdictions that hold…more Collective Actions, FLSA, Genesis HealthCare, Genesis Healthcare Corp. v. Symczyk, Mootness	See All Updates »
Matthew Tolve	Say Hello To My Imaginary Friend! Judge Posner, Seventh Circuit Issue Stern Warning To Plaintiffs’ Firms For Again Citing Bogus Confidential Witnesses Plaintiffs’ counsel beware: to avoid Rule 11 sanctions you might actually have to talk to “confidential witnesses” yourself and corroborate their statements before citing them in a securities fraud complaint…more Confidential Witnesses, Discovery, Pleadings, Rule 11, Securities Fraud	See All Updates »
Julie Totten	Seventh Circuit Holds That FLSA and Rule 23 Certification Standards Are the Same and Affirms Denial of Certification Based on Lack of Trial Plan A recent opinion by the Seventh Circuit holds that the standard for certifying a collective action under the FLSA is the same as the standard applied to a class action under Rule 23…more Class Action, Class Certification, Decertify, FLSA, Opt-In	See All Updates »
Michael Tu	Stop! In The Name Of ... 28 U.S.C. §2462 On January 8, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in Gabelli v. Securities and Exchange Commission, No. 11-1274, concerning when the clock begins to run on the five-year statute of limitations for civil penalty claims…more Civil Monetary Penalty, Enforcement Actions, Gabelli v SEC, Penalties, SCOTUS	See All Updates »
Sonia Elizabeth Valdez	IP Alert: White House Launches Effort to Curb Trade Secret Misappropriation On February 20, 2013, the White House issued a report outlining a new plan to combat trade secret theft from U.S. businesses. Faced with the escalating theft of U.S. trade secrets and noting “the crucial role of trade secrets…more Cyber Espionage, Cybersecurity, Cybersecurity Breaches, Economic Espionage Act, Exports	See All Updates »
Danielle Van Wert	In The SDNY, Hindsight Is No Substitute For Red Flags When Alleging Scienter On April 8, 2013, Judge Shira A. Scheindlin of the Southern District of New York granted auditor Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu CPA’s (“DTTC”) motion to dismiss a shareholder class action, finding that plaintiffs failed to…more Auditors, Class Action, Material Misstatements, Rule 10b-5, Scienter	See All Updates »
Robert Varian	News Of The (Shareholder Derivative) World: Record-High $139 Million Settlement In News Corp. Phone Hacking Suit Putting an end to shareholder derivative litigation arising from News Corp.’s phone-hacking scandal, the company’s directors agreed last week to a record-breaking $139 million cash settlement. According to the plaintiffs’…more Derivative Suit, News Corp, Phone-Hacking Scandal, Settlement	See All Updates »
Joshua Vaughn	New York City Passes Bill Treating the Unemployed as a Protected Class New York City has amended its Administrative Code to create a new protected class of workers. Beginning in June 2013, the New York City Administrative Code will prohibit discrimination based on an individual’s unemployment…more Discrimination, Hiring & Firing, Job Applicants, Local Ordinance, Municipalities	See All Updates »
Siddhartha Venkatasen	Time For The White House To Step In? Patchwork State Fracking Regulations Will Spawn FOIA And Trade Secrets Lawsuits With a growing number of states demanding disclosure of its fracking recipes, the oil and gas industry is fighting to plug what it views as government-mandated leaks in its trade secrets pipeline…more Disclosure, FOIA, Fracking, Trade Secrets	See All Updates »
Ulrich Wahlers	New Developments Regarding Temporary Workers in Germany German companies rely heavily on temporary workers. Due to fundamental legislative reforms in the mid-2000s, it is possible to pay temporary workers a salary which is below the salary of comparable permanent staff. Therefore,…more EU, Hiring & Firing, Temporary Employees, Termination, Wages	See All Updates »
L. Mark Weeks	Antimonopoly Law Considerations and Risk Management in connection with M&A Transactions In This Presentation: - General Indemnity: (1) Background and structure (2) Main provisions (3) Conduct of claims - Antitrust Indemnity: (1) Background (2) Main provisions (3) Conduct of…more Acquisition Agreements, Acquisitions, Anti-Monopoly, Antitrust Investigations, Breach of Contract	See All Updates »
Michael Weil	Party Foul! NLRB Orders Reinstatement and Back Pay for Party Bus Guide After Finding Facebook Postings Amount To Protected Union Organizing Activity Providing yet another example of how online social networking can amount to protected conduct under the National Labor Relations Act, the NLRB ruled earlier this month in New York Party Shuttle, LLC and Fred Pflantzer, CN:…more Back Pay, Facebook, NLRA, NLRB, Protected Concerted Activity	See All Updates »
Adam Wenner	FERC Proposes Reforms to Facilitate Small Generator Interconnections On January 17, 2013, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) proposing reforms to the pro forma Small Generator Interconnection Procedures (SGIP) and the Small Generator…more FERC, Interconnections, NOPR, SGIA, SGIP	See All Updates »
Jason White	Did an obscure remark in a recent regulatory publication signal a new interpretation of the anti-tying rules? As discussed in this Orrick alert, federal bank regulators recently issued guidance to financial institutions concerning leveraged lending practices (the “Lending Guidance”). In most respects the Lending Guidance was…more Anti-Tying, Bank Holding Company Act, Federal Reserve, Leveraged Loans	See All Updates »
Nicola Whiteley	Employee Shareholder Status – An Innovative Solution for Innovative Employers? After twice rejecting the Government’s proposals, the House of Lords has just finally voted to accept the much argued Clause 27 of the Growth and Infrastructure Bill, thereby paving the way for new legislation that will create a…more Employee Shareholders, EU, Shareholders	See All Updates »
Craig Wickersham	California Supreme Court Allows See’s Candy Time Rounding Decision to Stand Earlier last month, the California Supreme Court denied petitions to review and depublish the California Court of Appeal for the Fourth District’s decision in See’s Candy Shops, Inc. v. Superior Court, 210 Cal. App. 4th 889…more See's Candy Shops, Timekeeping, Wage and Hour	See All Updates »
Mark Wine	USPTO Inter Partes Review Update: Scope of Discovery In Garmin Int’l Inc. v. Cuozzo Speed Technologies, LLC, Case No. IPR2012-00001 (PTAB March 5, 2013), the USPTO recently issued its first-ever substantive ruling on a motion for additional discovery in an Inter Partes review…more Discovery, Inter Partes Review Proceedings, Patents, USPTO	See All Updates »
Joe Wright	Recent Privacy Developments: California AG Continues to Lead on Mobile with New Recommendations and FTC Amends COPPA Nearly all businesses today are involved in some way in the development or distribution of mobile applications. The first part of this Client Alert highlights recent activities of the California State Attorney General to…more Advertising, App Platform Providers, Attorney Generals, COPPA, Data Collection	See All Updates »
Michael Yang	Annual Reporting Requirements for Incentive Stock Options and Employee Stock Purchase Plans Annual Information Statements and IRS Returns - Requirement to Report - For any exercise of an incentive stock option (ISO) or transfer of a share previously purchased pursuant to a tax-qualified employee stock…more Employee Stock Purchase Plans, IRS, Reporting Requirements, Stock Options	See All Updates »
Alexis Yee-Garcia	Tracing Meets Twombly: Ninth Circuit Sets Section 11 Pleading Standards For Aftermarket Purchasers In a precedent setting decision, the Ninth Circuit affirmed dismissal of a putative class action in In re Century Aluminum Co. Securities Litigation, significantly raising the pleading bar in Section 11 cases. Plaintiffs alleged…more Aftermarket Purchases, Section 11, Shareholders, Twombly/Iqbal Pleading Standard	See All Updates »
Daniel Yost	FTC Dot Com Disclosure Update: What's New for 2013 In March, the Federal Trade Commission issued updated advertising guidelines to take into account the challenges created by the rapid growth of mobile and online advertising platforms, particularly small screen size and other…more Advertising, Disclosure Requirements, Dot Com Disclosure Guide, FTC, Mobile Devices	See All Updates »
Patricia Zeigler	Federal Trade Commission Announces New Hart-Scott-Rodino Thresholds The Federal Trade Commission has announced the following new Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) filing thresholds, which will be effective for transactions closing on or after Feb. 11, 2013…more DOJ, FTC, Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, Threshhold Requirements	See All Updates »
Yan Zeng	China 20/20 Legal Regulatory Developments - February 2013 In This Issue: - The Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Revising the Labor Contract Law of the People's Republic of China Released - MOFCOM Solicits for Public Comments on the…more China, Foreign Jurisdictions, Foreign-Related Civil Relationships, Investment Funds, Law On Application Of Laws	See All Updates »

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