New England Biz Law Update

Below are summaries of important opinions affecting in-house attorneys issued by the U.S. Supreme Court, 1st and 2nd Circuits and Delaware Court of Chancery from late October 2003 through early January 2004. U.S. Supreme Court Antitrust Local Phone Company Customers ...

Employers continue to struggle with issues related to the privacy of employee medical records. Although the new federal privacy rule (Privacy Rule) under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) does not regulate businesses in their capacity ...

The practice of recruiting, and actually hiring, the most qualified candidate for a job should be one that is painstakingly undertaken by employers. When interviewing candidates, employers should pay particular attention to objective criteria such as previous work history, education ...

The Madrid Protocol. It sounds like a spy novel, but it is actually an international treaty that facilitates trademark protection in most of the world’s major economies. As of Nov. 2, 2003, the United States became one of some 60 ...

Despite two U.S. Supreme Court opinions urging Congress to do something about it and despite unprecedented efforts to fashion a legislative solution in the 108th Congress, the asbestos personal injury litigation grinds on. The litigation has driven more than 70 ...

When companies hold or plan to hold interests in subsidiaries resident in foreign jurisdictions, appropriate international tax planning is a must. Though some might argue that going abroad can give more than one headache to the client and its counselors, ...

While most in-house counsel know it's now imperative to develop a records retention policy to handle government investigations of alleged corporate wrongdoing and to prevent damaging electronic evidence seeping out in discovery, the really hard part is enforcing the policy so it actually works.

To effectively lower procurement costs and build durable supplier relationships, the author argues that ethical considerations should enter into every transaction.

The past two years have created an increasingly challenging business environment for companies with a market cap of under $200 million. In addition to new regulatory requirements, liabilities, and other legal scrutiny, these companies face fundamental market changes that are driving many to rethink the value of being public.

Whether to file a patent infringement lawsuit is ultimately a business decision of company management. When performing the required cost-benefit analysis, management often will rely heavily upon strategic input from in-house counsel. Recent media reports about enormous jury verdicts often ...