New England Biz Law Update

Last fall, the Department of Justice announced its renewed commitment to enforcing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. And they meant it.

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.

One day last fall, 30-year-old Scott Rodrigues arrived for work at the Massachusetts lawn and garden company that had hired him several weeks earlier, only to hear some bad news. The results of a drug test required for employment showed ...

Let’s face it, outside law firms don’t always deliver the goods. It often boils down this: Too much money for too little service. This isn’t exactly a news flash. But in-house counsel – as purchasers of legal services – should ...

Denise Choquette has joined Gilbane Building Company as senior legal counsel. Prior to joining Gilbane, Choquette was associated with Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP. As counsel at EAPD, she focused on construction cases in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. She ...

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently determined that a higher burden of proof applies to employees suing company officials for interfering with their employment status – ruling that an “actual malice” standard is required. A chief financial officer had sued ...

National employers could be affected

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 ...

The next wave in employment law ... or a misguided effort to legislate niceness?

Employer has burden of showing lack of