New York partner Lee G. Dunst is the author of "The blame game," [PDF] published in the July 31, 2008 issue of Legal Week. Reprinted with permission, © 2008, Legal Week.
July 31, 2008
On July 30, 2008, the House of Representatives voted 424-1 in favor of a bill that would impose stricter regulations on consumer products, including children's products, that contain certain chemicals.
July 31, 2008
Yesterday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") approved the issuance of an interpretive release regarding the application of the federal securities laws to information posted on public company websites. The release will update interpretive guidance provided by the SEC in 2000 in light of advances in technology and increasing demand from investors for interactive, up-to-date sources of information. The SEC's guidance is intended to encourage increased use of websites to disseminate information to investors, as well as more innovative and creative means of electronic dissemination such as interactive shareholder forums and blogs.
July 31, 2008
On Friday, July 25, 2008, the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in the Department of Homeland Security proposed significant changes in the rules that it applies to determine the country of origin for a variety of purposes, including the country of origin marking rules that generally require that all imported articles (or their containers) be marked with their country of origin.
July 30, 2008
Most jurisdictions have at least some requirement that parties to disputes must disclose relevant documents to their opposing parties. England is no exception. Disclosure is normally provided subject to obligations on the opposing party to (i) keep such documents confidential and (ii) not use such documents for any purpose other than the proceedings for which the documents are disclosed (non-use obligations). Non-use obligations, naturally, apply both to the parties to the dispute and to their legal advisers. Generally, they are well understood and cause no difficulties. However, questions can sometimes arise as to whether, like conflicts of interest, they can prevent a client from instructing its lawyer of choice.A common situation where such a
July 30, 2008
On July 17, 2008, Washington, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty signed legislation that would prohibit unsolicited commercial e-mail, commonly known as "spam." Although forty states as well as the federal government already regulate spam, spam has increased to the point that it now constitutes roughly 80% of all email traffic.
July 29, 2008
The United States Department of State, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (“DDTC”) recently amended Section 122.3 of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (“ITAR”) (22 C.F.R.
July 29, 2008
The United States Department of Defense ("DoD") has issued an interim rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement ("DFARS") Parts 204, 235, and 252 to address contractor requirements to comply with export control laws and regulations when performing DoD contracts.
July 25, 2008
On July 22, 2008, the California Court of Appeal issued a published decision in Brinker Restaurant Corporation v. Superior Court of San Diego County, holding that while California employers must make timely meal periods available to employees and may not impede, discourage or dissuade employees from taking meal periods, employers are not obligated to police their workforce to ensure that employees take meal periods.
July 25, 2008
On July 22, 2008, Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law Bill 1409. Bill 1409 amends Section 1501 of the California Corporations Code to better accommodate the SEC’s e-proxy rules by allowing annual report delivery in California to be satisfied if a corporation with an outstanding class of securities registered under the Securities Exchange Act complies with certain federal regulations relating to Internet availability of an annual report, referred to as the e-proxy rules.
July 24, 2008
A few days ago, the German legislature adopted the Risk Limitation Act (Risikobegrenzungsgesetz, the "Act") aimed at the limitation of perceived risks deriving from financial investors.
July 22, 2008
On July 13, 2008, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that its Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.
July 15, 2008
The European Court of Justice's ("ECJ") 10 July 2008 Sony BMG judgment should halt the rise of the Statement of Objection-less Phase II merger investigation.
July 14, 2008
Faced with continuing Congressional interest in legislation aimed at preventing federal prosecutors and other enforcement attorneys from seeking privileged information, the Justice Department has announced that it will again revise its policy regarding the investigation and prosecution of business organizations. The DOJ's proposals will restrict the ability of federal prosecutors to seek privileged information from companies, and will have an immediate impact on the ways in which businesses cooperate with government investigations. The current Principles of Federal Prosecution of Business Organizations, outlined in the "McNulty Memo," have been the focus of Congressional and public criticism, and Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter has spear-headed legislation ai
July 11, 2008
In a widely reported decision, Quon v. Arch Wireless Operating and Co., the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently addressed issues of importance to employers concerning privacy and electronic communications.
July 10, 2008
Los Angeles Partner Jeffrey D. Dintzer and Associate San Francisco Jason B. Stavers are authors of "CERCLA and Its 'Yellow Brick Road' to Cleaning Up Hazardous Substances" [PDF] published in the July 10, 2008 of the Toxics Law Reporter.© 2008 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.
July 10, 2008
With the continued spotlight on executive compensation, and with companies in the mortgage and finance industries facing ongoing challenges in the months ahead, the subject of recouping, or "clawing back," executive compensation in the event of financial statement errors is likely to remain a focal point for boards of directors. Moreover, in the past several years, institutional shareholders and governance activists have focused on clawback provisions as a significant corporate governance and executive compensation issue.
July 9, 2008
Trade associations need to take care. There has been a long history of the European Commission fining trade associations as well as their members where an infringement of EC competition law has been found.
July 9, 2008
The frenetic pace of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA") enforcement set in 2007 has carried through the first half of 2008. Mid-year prosecutions are up – substantially so – from last year's record-setting totals. And corporate disclosures and media reports of ongoing investigations evidence that this trend of continually increasing enforcement is here to stay for the near future. This client update provides an overview of the FCPA and other foreign bribery enforcement activities during the first half of 2008, a discussion of the trends we see from that activity, and practical guidance to help companies avoid or limit liability under these laws. A collection of Gibson Dunn's publications on the FCPA, including prior enforcement updates and more in-
July 7, 2008
Dallas partner M. Sean Royall and Washington, D.C. associate Adam J. Di Vincenzo are the authors of "The FTC's N-Data Consent Order: A Missed Opportunity To Clarify Antitrust in Standard Setting" [PDF] published in the Summer 2008 issue of ABA's Antitrust.Reprinted with permission from Antitrust, Vol.
July 7, 2008