Last week, Megan provided our thoughts and predictions for environmental, health & safety. This week, I am providing our outlook for corporate compliance and litigation....more
We review a lot of manufacturing contracts for our clients. As most people know, there are often clauses that dictate what law will apply if there is a dispute (a.k.a. “choice of law” clauses) and where that dispute will be...more
In September, the U.S. government announced a nearly $1 billion FCPA (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act) settlement with the Swedish telecommunications company Telia. The total monetary payment in this global resolution makes it...more
10/30/2017
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
Corruption ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Manufacturers ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Shell Corporations ,
Sweden ,
Telecommunications ,
Uzbekistan ,
White Collar Crimes
As the recovery effort continues after Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma, some manufacturers are starting to deal with supply chain slowdowns or shortages. The most widely reported issue that impacts both manufacturers and...more
The False Claims Act (FCA) is a major civil enforcement tool used by the federal government to redress fraud causing monetary loss to the government. In the 2016 fiscal year, the federal government recovered over $4.7...more
The United States Supreme Court just limited where corporations can be sued for patent infringement in a case called TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC, No. 16-341 (U.S. May 22, 2017). Manufacturers sued for...more
5/23/2017
/ Forum Shopping ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Manufacturers ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Personal Jurisdiction ,
Principal Place of Business ,
SCOTUS ,
TC Heartland LLC v Kraft Foods ,
Venue
Most manufacturers scrutinize indemnification clauses in contracts to determine what liability they make be taking on if something goes wrong in a transaction or sale. A typical indemnification clause will also provide that...more
The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recently announced a $5.8 million agreement with Keurig Green Mountain, Inc. settling claims that Keurig failed to report a product defect that posed an unreasonable...more
As is our annual tradition, this is the first in a series of posts that provide industry and legal outlooks for manufacturers as we head into 2017. I will start with corporate compliance and litigation. Matt will follow...more
1/16/2017
/ Automotive Industry ,
Business Litigation ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Conflict Mineral Rules ,
Connected Items ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Environmental Violations ,
EU ,
Internet of Things ,
Manufacturers ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Supply Chain ,
Technology ,
Volkswagen ,
White Collar Crimes
Last month, I gave a presentation to manufacturers and distributors throughout the United States on Conflict Minerals Laws. The program was sponsored by the United States Department of Commerce. These laws attempt to curb...more
I had the pleasure of moderating a panel at the Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA)’s Annual Manufacturing Summit. The title of the Panel was “The Future of Manufacturing in Connecticut” and included three...more
Last week, I had the privilege of speaking at the American Bar Association’s Business Law Section Annual Meeting in Boston. The title of my presentation was: “Key Considerations for Foreign Manufacturers That Wish to Sell...more
One of the key aspects of any supply chain contract is the section regarding pricing. Nothing is more important in a business deal than determining how much one manufacturer might pay another in a B2B transaction....more
Last year, we provided an overview regarding the requirement that U.S. publicly traded companies disclose their use of “conflict minerals.” As of 2014, the Government Accounting Office reported that 1,321 companies filed the...more
Suppliers and vendors sometimes find themselves unpleasantly surprised by the bankruptcy of a customer, leaving a trail of unpaid invoices and little hope of recovery. To make matters worse, after licking their wounds and...more
Last month, we posted about the United States Senate’s passage of the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016. Breaking news: It passed.
On May 11, 2016, President Barack Obama signed the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016...more
5/12/2016
/ Asset Seizure ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Economic Espionage Act ,
Ex Parte ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Manufacturers ,
Misappropriation ,
New Legislation ,
Private Right of Action ,
Trade Secrets ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
This week, the United States Senate passed the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016, which, if passed by the House and signed into law by President Obama, would give trade secret owners, including manufacturers, a federal private...more
Negotiating contracts in the supply chain are certainly challenging. As a lawyer, there is a temptation to want to change every term that is not to your liking. And, for that reason, a lot of lawyers will receive a contract...more
Manufacturers continue to look for ways to increase sales revenue without a massive infusion of capital. Many companies have been successful in adapting current products for new uses and markets. For instance, a company...more
This is the first in a series of posts that provide industry and legal outlooks for manufacturers as we head into 2016. I will start with corporate compliance and litigation. Matt will follow with labor/employment. And,...more
Our firm has substantial experience in representing nutritional supplement manufacturers. For that reason, the news that the Justice Department and federal agencies (such as the FTC) is engaged in a nationwide sweep of such...more
Over the last few years, our team has worked with several manufacturers and distributors on their terms and conditions of sale and/or purchase. We have even developed a questionaire that we typically use when we speak to a...more
An”anti-assignment” clause can be the death knell of any deal involving the sale or purchase of a manufacturing company. You might ask: what is an anti-assignment clause?...more
For those in the manufacturing community, one of the significant events of the summer was when Congress allowed the authority of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im) to lapse. The main goal of the bank is to...more
8/27/2015
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Boeing ,
Chamber of Commerce ,
Congressional Budget Office ,
Distributors ,
Export-Import Bank of the US ,
Exports ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financing ,
Manufacturers ,
NAM ,
National Association of Manufacturers ,
Wall Street Journal
In the wake of reports about the government’s investigation of Blue Bell Creameries, the United States Department of Justice has issued an ominous warning to food companies: compliance failures will be aggressively...more