Corporate Law

Report: Law Prof, Other Critics Complain About DOJ Approach to ‘Too Big to Jail’ Bank Crimes

A record settlement of $1.9 billion with HSBC that was announced earlier this month as result of a federal money-laundering probe against the United Kingdom-based bank was hailed by some as a sign that the justice system is working. But others don’t see much benefit in the pact with a…

Dec 18, 2012 7:04 PM CST

Personal Internet Use on Workplace Computers Could Be a Crime, Profs Say in Law Review Article

Despite workplace policies that may technically prohibit employees from using on-the-job computers for Web browsing or other personal purposes, many routinely do so. But violating such rules doesn’t simply create a potential for issues with an employer, two professors say in an upcoming American Business Law Journal article. It could…

Dec 12, 2012 5:11 PM CST

2 Leading Lawyers Face Unusual Ethics Case re Claimed Conflict in Representing Corp. and Workers

Two leading corporate lawyers in Portland, Ore., are awaiting the results in an unusual legal ethics case, pursued a decade after the fact, concerning a claimed conflict in their representation of a corporate client and its employees in a securities matter. Barnes H. Ellis, 72, a retired partner of Stoel…

Dec 5, 2012 11:05 PM CST

First-Class Action: Inaugural Case Draws Settlement Offers for Legal Newbie

Jonathan Jaffe has worked thousands of hours on a single case and hasn’t yet earned a cent. And he may never. But he’s certainly made a name for himself. The 2009 University of San Francisco School of Law grad took on the behemoth Facebook in a class action over the…

Dec 1, 2012 8:50 AM CST

Outsourcing Adviser: Law Firm Helps Clients Manage LPO Services

Yuson & Irvine is betting U.S. companies could use a little help navigating the increasingly thorny world of legal process outsourcing. The boutique law firm, which specializes in helping clients wring efficiencies from their legal operations, launched a practice dedicated to LPO management in June. Services range from assistance selecting…

Dec 1, 2012 8:00 AM CST

United Sues Over Customer Complaint Website Design; Operator Calls Blog an Obvious Parody

A major airline has sued a Canadian engineering professor in his home country, contending that the 15-year-old website on which he compiles customer and employee complaints violates its intellectual property rights and worker privacy. United Continental Holdings only sued after owner Jeremy Cooperstock reworked his untied.com blog in April to…

Nov 29, 2012 5:20 PM CST

Attorney Who Gave Up City Job for Kids Forms ‘Top Brain’ Law Firm With Other Stay-at-Home Moms

A former London lawyer who gave up a lucrative legal job in the global financial center after she had her first child is now challenging the traditional idea that skilled corporate attorneys have to work at traditional BigLaw firms if they want a challenging legal career. Eve King joined with…

Nov 27, 2012 7:03 PM CST

Can We Talk? At Bankruptcy Judge’s Urging, Hostess and Union Agree to a Mediation Session

At the urging of a federal judge in charge of the company’s bankruptcy case, Hostess Brands Inc. and the union representing one of its largest groups of workers have agreed to mediate in an effort to prevent the total liquidation of the bakery goods company, which is particularly known for…

Nov 19, 2012 10:45 PM CST

Alito Defends Citizens United, Says Opponents’ Bumper Stickers Are Pithy but Misguided

Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. says opponents of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision have waged a successful public relations campaign, even if their point is misguided. Opponents have targeted Citizens United for its holding that corporations have a First Amendment right to expressly support political candidates with independent spending.…

Nov 19, 2012 2:35 PM CST

Ex-Mayer Brown Partner Joseph Collins Guilty on 7 Counts in Case re Fraud By Former Refco Execs

An ex-partner of Mayer Brown was found guilty Friday by a federal jury in Manhattan of seven of the 10 counts he faced for allegedly helping then-executives of the Refco Inc. commodities brokerage perpetrate a $2.4 billion fraud on investors. Joseph Collins was convicted of conspiracy, securities and wire fraud…

Nov 16, 2012 9:33 PM CST

Stanford Receiver Sues Greenberg and Hunton Firms, Says Lawyer’s Work Helped $7B Ponzi Scheme

A court-appointed receiver representing victims of a $7 billion Ponzi scheme for which former billionaire R. Allen Stanford is now serving a 110-year prison term has sued two well-known law firms. In a federal suit filed Thursday in Dallas that seeks class action status, receiver Ralph Janvey and several individual…

Nov 16, 2012 5:37 PM CST

Federal Judge: Goodyear, Lawyers Must Pay Plaintiff’s Legal Fees, Provide Sanctions Order to Others

Finding that a major corporation and two lawyers representing the company blatantly ignored or evaded their discovery obligations and comparing a hard-fought products liability action to the endless Jarndyce and Jarndyce case described in Charles Dickens’ Bleak House, a federal judge in Arizona has ordered Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co.…

Nov 16, 2012 3:45 PM CST

Del. High Court Detours from Opinion to Chastise Chief Chancery Judge Known for ‘Legendary’ Asides

Delaware’s high court took a few pages in an opinion issued this week to take the outspoken chief judge of the state’s Court of Chancery to task for using a ruling to express his “world views.” The court said Chancellor Leo Strine should restrict his views to more appropriate platforms,…

Nov 8, 2012 7:30 PM CST

Gasoline in NYC Area Hits $8 a Gallon on Craigslist; Officials Investigate

In the wake of fuel shortages related to Hurricane Sandy, some enterprising individuals are reportedly offering gasoline at $8 per gallon on Craigslist. But is that legal? The jury apparently is still out on that question in New York, where a spokeswoman for the office of Attorney General Eric T.…

Nov 6, 2012 6:36 PM CST

Sportswear Maker Claims Doping Scandal Was Mismanaged, Costing It $2M in Damages

A lawyer for sportswear maker Skins International Trading has sent a letter to cycling’s governing body claiming mismanagement of the Lance Armstrong doping scandal has cost the company more than $2 million in damages. The letter by Swiss-based lawyer Cedric Aguet says the scandal harmed the sport and Skins, an…

Nov 6, 2012 4:41 PM CST