New England Biz Law Update

Reversing an opinion it issued just 11 months ago, the D.C. Circuit recently ruled the federal government can tax the money damages a plaintiff for emotional distress and other intangible injuries. The plaintiff, a whistleblower, argued she shouldn’t be taxed ...

Ruling that RAM data is discoverable may expand new e-discovery rules

While patent legislation deliberately makes its way through in Congress, the courts and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office are making changes on their own. In an opinion expected to have a significant impact on patent practice, the Federal Circuit ...

As the number of cases alleging family responsibilities bias continues to rise, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently issued guidelines addressing this emerging area of employment law.

Federal legislators the last three years have introduced bills designed to reform the U.S. patent system, only to see them die in committee. But the U.S. Supreme Court stepped in this past term and made its own changes to the ...

Rhode Island verdict triggers wave of litigation

Brooklyn Law School professor Wendy Seltzer wanted to teach her copyright class a lesson by showing them what a copyright notice looks like. So she posted a 30-second clip from the 2007 Super Bowl containing the National Football League’s copyright ...

While lawyers struggle with the new electronic discovery amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, state courts are facing similar problems. To date, few states have rules in place that directly address e-discovery, and the handful that have adopted ...

National employers could be affected

Both the defense bar and plaintiffs’ lawyers are claiming victory in the wake of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that a punitive damages award in a tobacco case was unconstitutional.