New England Biz Law Update

In order issued by the Supreme Judicial Court in an employment discrimination case appears to settle the question of when post-judgment interest starts in Massachusetts. By determining that accrual begins when the first judgment is entered after “all claims are ...

Involves ability of cos. to fight

Though lawyers who represent employers insist that wage-and-hour class actions are on the rise in Massachusetts, plaintiffs’ attorneys dismiss the claim as a scare tactic in the debate over recent changes to the state’s Wage Act. The employment law firm of Littler Mendelson, which tracked labor lawsuits filed in the state and federal courts over the summer, was prompted by the activity on the dockets to warn its clients that a tsunami of wage-and-hour class actions is engulfing the state.

Patent litigation filings in Massachusetts spiked earlier this year, which some believe may be the result of new local rules implemented in U.S. District Court last fall. But while lawyers and judges report that the commonwealth has become a more ...

An obscure new law that is best known for prohibiting lead in toys will affect a majority of businesses in New England — including those that have nothing to do with children’s products — in profound ways, say lawyers who have been tracking the legislation.

Law firms that are experimenting with alternative billing options say that the key to surviving the free-falling stock market is to abolish the billable hour.

Sometimes a company’s in-house counsel knows that his or her relationship with a private law firm or lawyer is just not going to work. Maybe the employment contract negotiations were a little off, or the bill had an unexplained charge. Or maybe the outside lawyer’s work seemed blatantly unprofessional.

An appellate court ruling entitling a retired employee of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority to be compensated for unused sick time falls in line with previous decisions by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on issues involving company handbooks and emphasizes the ...

State now among more attractive venues in U.S.