With the passage of legislation by the U.S. Senate in March and approval by the House Judiciary Committee in April to send a similar bill to the House for a vote, changes to patent law are likely later this year.

Tagged with: May 2011 issue

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s recent opinion in Global NAPs v. Awiszus (457 Mass. 489) has garnered wide attention across the bar, from employment attorneys to legal malpractice attorneys to in-house counsel.

Tagged with: May 2011 issue

If your company is like many others, it has been using the same non-compete agreement for years with little or no changes. So far, there haven’t been any major problems and it seems to cover the bases: departing employees are ...

Tagged with: May 2011 issue

After much anticipation, the United Kingdom Ministry of Justice recently issued its long-awaited Guidance for the Bribery Act of 2010. With the act set to take effect on July 1, the guidance provides some much needed instruction on the intended ...

Tagged with: May 2011 issue

What to do when the government comes calling is a topic of frequent discussion among both in-house and outside counsel. The need to respond appropriately to a government inquiry has taken on heightened significance given the recent prosecution of a ...

Tagged with: May 2011 issue

“I imagine that right now, you’re feeling a little bit like Alice. Hmm? Tumbling down the rabbit hole?”  — Morpheus to Neo in “The Matrix” On March 22, the U.S. Supreme Court rendered a unanimous decision in the case of ...

Tagged with: May 2011 issue

An insurance company could not deny long-term disability benefits claimed by a policyholder who worked fewer hours after undergoing orthopedic surgery, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has decided.

Tagged with: May 2011 issue

Employers that improperly treat workers as independent contractors are the target of stepped-up audit and enforcement efforts by the federal government.

Tagged with: May 2011 issue

Massachusetts Superior Court judge has determined that minority shareholders of Demoulas Super Markets Inc. can sell their stock to third parties even if doing so causes the corporation to lose its favorable tax status.

Tagged with: May 2011 issue

Consumer class actions largely could be a thing of the past in New England and across the country as a result of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that gives companies broad authority to compel consumers to arbitrate their disputes individually.

Tagged with: May 2011 issue