New England Biz Law Update

Rhode Island verdict triggers wave of litigation

James Wallace, partner in a 270-lawyer Washington, D.C. firm, never used to get calls from potential plaintiffs. But now he gets them almost every day. That’s because in March 2006, Wallace’s first venture into plaintiffs’ work at Wiley Rein resulted ...

On April 30, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its long-awaited decision regarding the “obviousness” standard for assessing the validity of patents, and in somewhat of a surprise, the ruling’s impact will be far less than many predicted.

The scenario is all too familiar. After two years of toiling in the laboratory vineyards, an emerging-growth technology company is preparing to consummate a venture capital financing, but the investors demand that managers and critical employees sign non-competition and non-solicitation ...

The U.S. Supreme Court’s January 2007 decision in Medimmune clarifying the power of federal courts to hear patent licensing disputes has already had an immediate and dramatic impact. In two decisions issued at the end of March, Sandisk v. ST ...

More than 200 public companies are now embroiled in Securities and Exchange Commission and company-initiated investigations, as well as private litigation. Aside from the accounting impact, what impact will Sarbanes-Oxley and litigation have on past option violations and future option ...

Retaining high-performing employees may require creative compensation packages.

If you love golf but have never attended a professional tournament, you’re really missing out. There is nothing quite like watching the greatest players in the world in person as they amaze you with their brilliance — and also prove ...

The U. S. Patent and Trademark Office recently announced sweeping procedural changes that, if enacted, will significantly change the practice of patent law and require an increase in resources in-house counsel allocates to such matters. The new package of rules ...

In the context of enforcing non-competition agreements and other restrictive employment covenants, Massachusetts courts have struggled with the question: “whose goodwill is it, anyway?” The results have not always proven consistent.