The Great Resignation — a massive reshuffling ongoing in the U.S. labor market — has created a new and very competitive economic reality in which American employers struggle to fill a record number of open jobs. In such a challenging ...
Read More »IP Frontiers: Checking in on expungement and reexamination
Since Dec. 18, the United States Patent and Trademark Office has accepted two new types of ex parte proceedings to be filed for trademark purposes: expungement and reexamination. When these new proceedings were first proposed and announced, many practitioners were ...
Read More »Discipline and discharge: Best practices for avoiding costly litigation
Disciplining and terminating employees are realities of doing business, but by adhering to certain practices, employers can help reduce the risk of costly litigation. Discipline or termination (often referred to as “adverse employment actions”) can give rise to allegations of ...
Read More »A force to consider in real estate transactions
Before March 2020, force majeure provisions in real estate contracts were seldom implemented, and sometimes received minimal attention in real estate contract negotiations. Such provisions are meant to cover contracting parties against unforeseeable events that are outside the control of ...
Read More »Trademark holders, don’t skimp on the merchandizing budget
Copyrights, patents and trademarks — although registered by the hopeful future trademark-holder — are largely for the benefit of the public. More accurately, they are for the benefit of the consumer. A client’s trademark designates to the consumer the source ...
Read More »Abutter must show particularized harm to have standing to appeal
When it comes to the concept of legal standing, Massachusetts zoning law can be an unpredictable landscape to navigate. However, in Murchison v. Zoning Board of Appeals of Sherborn, 485 Mass. 209 (2020), a relatively recent opinion, the Supreme Judicial Court clarified ...
Read More »Rule would make it easier for spouses, dependents to get health care coverage
It would be more affordable for many spouses and dependents who are currently covered under employer-sponsored family health insurance plans or currently uninsured to buy coverage through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace, under a proposed rule issued by the ...
Read More »Protecting yourself from growing cybersecurity threats
In recent years, we have witnessed a swift transformation as more of our finances have been brought online. Growth in digital banking accelerated during the COVID-19 lockdowns out of necessity, but this added convenience led to a new set of ...
Read More »No actual controversy over employee’s noncompete
A media company salesperson has failed in her bid for a declaration that her noncompete with her former employer is invalid. The defendant employer was entitled to summary disposition because there was no actual controversy over whether the agreement could ...
Read More »Discipline and discharge: Best practices for avoiding costly litigation
Disciplining and terminating employees are realities of doing business, but by adhering to certain practices, employers can help reduce the risk of costly litigation. Discipline or termination (often referred to as “adverse employment actions”) can give rise to allegations of ...
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