Archive for February, 2016
Intellectual Property in Government Contracts – Landmines Abound
Article
Intellectual property is often a company’s most valuable asset, and for companies with federal government customers, following the government’s rules can mean the difference between maximizing and losing value in newly developed IP, reports McGuireWoods in a legal alert.
Reflections on the BLM’s Proposed Methane and Waste Reduction Rule
Article
An article on Van Ness Feldman’s website examines key legal and policy changes in the proposed federal methane and waste reduction rule for oil and gas production on public and tribal lands.
How to Ensure That an Agreement to Negotiate in Good Faith is Enforceable
Article
If you really want an agreement to negotiate in good faith to be enforceable, you have to be precise in how you describe what the parties will and will not do going forward, writes Shep Davidson.
Watch Your LOIs and MOUs and ‘Agreements to Agree’
Article
If you are working with a third party on a term sheet, letter of intent or memorandum of understanding (an “LOI”) on what you view as a non-binding basis, make sure to say so explicitly in the LOI, advises Perry Patterson of Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney.
Morgan Stanley to Pay $3.2B Penalty in Securities Deal
NEWS
Morgan Stanley will pay a $2.6 billion penalty to resolve claims related to Morgan Stanley’s marketing, sale and issuance of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), the Justice Department reported Thursday.
SEC Will Only Target Directors in Egregious Cases
NEWS
An SEC official sought to allay concerns voiced by corporations and their lawyers about the SEC enforcement cases against corporate directors and other gatekeepers, such as compliance officers, who may try to fix compliance problems and find themselves entangled in an agency investigation
Former GC Gets 18 Months for Stealing $2.6m From Company Account
NEWS
The former in-house counsel of an Ocean County, New Jersey-based home health care company was sentenced Thursday to 18 months in prison for using his attorney trust account to steal more than $2.6 million from his employer.
Dallas Medical Products Company ThermoTek Wins $9.6 Million in Fraud Case
NEWS
U.S. District Judge Sidney Fitzwater has entered a judgment of $9.6 million for medical products manufacturer ThermoTek Inc. after a jury found that a competitor fraudulently obtained the company’s business information for a series of physical therapy machines.
Practical Tips for Using Outside Counsel Guidelines
Article
Outside counsel guidelines provide a great opportunity for legal departments to hone in on what processes need to be communicated to external law firms as well as helping to drive adoption of the processes, both internally and externally. Here are some practical tips for developing or fine tuning these documents.
What Lawyers Can Bring to the Governance Structure
Article
Boards of directors have traditionally been the bastions of CEOs, where business experience was paramount. But modern challenges to corporations suggest business-oriented attorneys – particularly those with GC experience – provide essential value and perspective
Be Wary of Certain ISV and Embedded Software Agreements
Article
Vendors considering royalty ISV or other embedding agreements need to scrutinize the terms of such agreements and carefully consider whether they are willing and capable of satisfying all of the obligations those agreements typically entail.
The Life of a White Collar Fugitive Not All It’s Cracked Up to Be
Article
Walter Pavlo tells the story of once-fugitive Lawrence “Larry” Hartman, a Columbia Law School graduate who once thought himself a king of penny stocks.
Pennsylvania Lawyer Convicted in Insider Trading
NEWS
A former partner at the law firm Fox Rothschild was found guilty on Friday of engaging in insider trading after learning that a client at his law firm was about to announce a merger, according to a Reuters report.
Ex-President of Truck Stop Company Indicted in Alleged Rebate Scam
NEWS
The former president of Pilot Flying J, the $31 billion truck stop company run by the family of Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, has been indicted in connection to a rebate fraud scheme, reports The Tennessean.
When a Consultant Starts Work Before Signing the Agreement
Article
An article by Dennis Crouch in the Patentlyo.com blog looks at the TriReme v. AngioScore federal circuit court ruling about the ownership of potential patent rights.
As Noncompete Agreement Use Expands, Backlash Grows
Article
Noncompete agreements are becoming boilerplate in employment contracts, and for employees, there’s nothing good about them, writes Patrick Thibodeau in ComputerWorld.
Fortune 500 General Counsel David Black Joins Carrington Coleman
NEWS
Former Fortune 500 general counsel David W. Black has joined Dallas-based Carrington, Coleman, Sloman & Blumenthal, LLP as a partner working in corporate transaction and counseling services.
David J. Beck Honored by Litigation Section of State Bar of Texas
NEWS
David J. Beck of Houston, partner in Beck Redden LLP, was recently honored by the Litigation Section of the State Bar of Texas with the Luther (Luke) H. Soules III Award.
Thomson Reuters Introduces Practice Point
NEWS
Thomson Reuters has unveiled Practice Point, which it calls “an innovative solution that delivers the most relevant content and tools for a given task or legal issue.”
SpringCM Achieves Platinum Status in Salesforce Partner Program
NEWS
SpringCM, a document and contract management solution for Salesforce customers, has announced that it has been named a Salesforce Platinum Cloud Alliance partner.
