The National Law Journal
A federal jury recently acquitted chemical products company W.R. Grace and three of its former executives on charges that they knowingly distributed asbestos at a former vermiculite mine in Libby, Mont. David Krakoff, co-leader of the white-collar defense practice in the Washington office of Mayer Brown, represented Harry Eschenbach, the former director of health and safety for the company's industrial chemicals group. He talked to The National Law Journal about how the case turned in W.R. Grace's favor.
The National Law Journal
How a company responds to a legal crisis will be used by the public, competitors, judges and public officials to take measure of the company. Without a cogent plan for coordinating legal and public relations strategies, calamity is possible and opportunity may be lost, says attorney George J. Terwilliger III. Lawyers and communications specialists working together can ensure that the company's message is effectively drawn and distributed and that the company's legal and reputational objectives can be reached.
IP Law & Business
Honeywell International sued eight LCD-panel manufacturers in 2006, alleging that the companies infringe its patent that covers a method of reducing flicker on such displays. Seven defendants settled. The only one to hang on: a small Taiwanese company called Novatek whose gambit paid off when it won summary judgment of non-infringement. The most interesting facet of the case is Honeywell's decision to embrace a business model that has been complained about loudly in some corners of corporate America.
New York Law Journal
In a recent case of first impression, the 3rd Circuit held that when the relationship between a debtor and a creditor is sufficiently close to suggest that transactions were not conducted at arm's length, the creditor may be considered a "non-statutory insider" for purposes of applying a one-year period for recovery of preferential transfers before the filing of a bankruptcy petition. Attorneys Brad Eric Scheler and Alan N. Resnick discuss the lessons to be learned from this ruling.
Corporate Counsel
Your company has just been served with a 30(b)(6) deposition notice under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and it is your job to respond to the notice and determine who will testify on behalf of the corporation. Is there anything you can do to ensure that your company puts its best foot forward at the deposition? The answer is yes, say attorneys Lori L. Pines and Ardith Bronson, who offer strategies for selecting and preparing witnesses to participate in these depositions.
The Recorder
As the make-or-break patent trial between Tivo Inc. and EchoStar Corp. got under way in Marshall, Texas, Tivo's top brass had an idea: Let's buy a cow. Tivo's lawyer bid on and won the Grand Champion Steer -- the most prized farm animal at the Farm City Week auction. Did buying the animal help Tivo win? Companies look for every possible advantage when they head down to the small towns of the Eastern District of Texas, but not everyone thinks friendly community gestures are the best strategy.
The National Law Journal
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom has agreed to return $375,000 in legal fees that retailer The Sharper Image Corp. paid it shortly before the company filed for bankruptcy. In its Delaware bankruptcy case, TSIC Inc. claimed that Skadden should return $1 million in fees paid to the law firm in the 90 days before the bankruptcy filing. The court approved a $375,000 cash settlement on Monday.
The Legal Intelligencer
Limited resources can inspire corporate legal departments to think creatively and invest in programs that save money, effectively utilize in-house counsel and improve customer service. Alternative dispute resolution, as opposed to litigation, is one way that a corporation can save money, says Chaton T. Turner, an assistant counsel in the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's corporate legal department, which uses mediation to resolve certain disputes and grievances that patients have with the system.
New York Law Journal
In a recent ruling, a New York appellate court came down in favor of finality of judgments and rejected an employer's appeal seeking to correct a blatant error in a ruling which allowed an injured worker to recover directly against his employer in contravention of New York's Workers' Compensation Law. Attorney Joseph D'Ambrosio discusses the lessons to be learned from the decision.
