New England Biz Law Update

As 2007 gears up, some intellectual property trends and hot issues are emerging across the country. The author describes some of the leading issues in-house counsel should know.

The Northeast Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel started off the year with two great programs for our members. The Jan. 24 seminar – entitled “Seismic Shift: Groundbreaking Changes in Patent Development, Licensing, and Protection – Key Concepts for ...

Congressional

If you’re like most in-house counsel, controlling legal costs is the cause of most of your sleepless nights. Outsourcing legal work can be a very attractive option. Outsourcing offshore is a cost-effective option for companies that have ongoing needs to ...

The perception that a “culture of waiver” has permeated the ranks of federal prosecutors has triggered a full-scale push back, prompting proposed federal legislation that would block the Department of Justice from routinely seeking materials protected by attorney-client privilege or work product doctrines.

Non-legal business advice offered by a corporation’s in-house counsel was not protected by the attorney-client privilege, a Rhode Island Superior Court judge recently ruled in a case of first impression. The corporate defendants argued documents sought by the plaintiffs in ...

With electronic discovery now a fact of life in the federal courts following rule changes that took effect in December 2006, state courts will not be far behind in providing guidelines on discovery of electronically stored information.

New proposed guidelines from federal securities regulators should ease the costs and burdens of complying with the auditing requirements under Sarbanes-Oxley. The new guidelines recently issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission focus on the integrity of corporate managers and the most risky aspects of a company’s financial reports.

A corporate officer cannot challenge grand jury questions regarding an allegedly privileged conversation between himself and corporate counsel, the 1st Circuit recently ruled. The officer argued he had standing to assert the corporation’s attorney-client privilege, but the 1st Circuit disagreed, ...

Washington politicos are tussling over how far federal prosecutors can go in getting companies to waive the attorney-client and work product privileges as part of criminal investigations. For now, it would appear in-house lawyers have momentum on their side as ...