Commercial
Amazon Fires Its Lobbying Law Firms in Washington
News
The change comes after passage of the tax overhaul bill last year and in the face of new challenges in the age of President Donald Trump, reports Bloomberg Politics.
Judge Dismisses Exxon’s Lawsuit, Letting Multi-State Fraud Investigation Continue
News
A U.S. district judge in New York on Thursday dismissed Exxon’s lawsuit claiming officials in New York and Massachusetts conspired with environmental groups in planning the securities-fraud probe.
Barclays Wins Its DOJ Gamble With $2 Billion Mortgage Settlement
News
Two former executives at the bank also settled Thursday and agreed to pay $2 million to resolve claims without admitting wrongdoing.
Know Before You Bid on Contract Opportunities
On-Demand
PilieroMazza PLLC has posted an on-demand video discussing how businesses can proactively get out in front of pre-bid issues and avoid missteps.
An Indemnity Agreement Means What it Says
Insight
Parties can write an agreement to indemnify one another against claims they later assert against each other. To do so, the parties must expressly and specifically state that intention, writes Charles Sartain of Gray Reed.
The Buy American Act and Trade Agreements Act: Understanding Federal Domestic Preference Requirements
On-Demand
PilieroMazza has posted an on-demand webinar discussing compliance with new laws requiring or providing a preference for the purchase of goods, products, or materials produced in the United States.
Insiders Think That Facebook Will Never Be the Same After the Cambridge Analytica Scandal
News
Just a couple of days into the Cambridge crisis, Facebook’s stock has dropped by more than 20 points, which has led its market capitalization to fall by tens of billions of dollars, reports Vanity Fair.
AT&T Wants to Buy Time Warner To ‘Weaponize’ Its Content, Government Says in Antitrust Trial
News
In opening arguments, Justice Department lawyer Craig Conrath said AT&T could use Time Warner’s content as a weapon against competitors that rely on the programming.
Judge Stunned by Ex-Rolls-Royce Counsel Switching Sides in Litigation
News
Rolls-Royce’s former in-house counsel switched sides to sue Rolls-Royce for allegedly reusing defective airplane parts, according to a Bloomberg report.
Contract Law in the Age of IoT
Insight
With the Internet of Things (IoT), tech is making contracts more and more difficult to analyze, according to IoT Business News.
Paying the Price: The Pitfalls of Ineffective Liability Waivers
Insight
Hellmuth & Johnson lawyers Micheal D. Howard and Jason S. Raether describe a recent case involving a fitness studio that demonstrates how a poorly drafted waiver can be as effective as having no waiver at all.
Considerations for Vendor Contracts
Insight
As the number of vendors that businesses engage with rises, so does the need for a greater contractual understanding of vendor agreements among businesses, CIOs, IT departments, and general counsels alike, according to Foster Swift Collins & Smith.
Whistleblower Says Walmart, Eyeing Amazon, Cheated on E-Commerce
News
The former executive alleges various wrongdoing, including the mislabeling of products, enabling Walmart to charge excessive sales commissions, and failure to properly process customer returns, enabling it to boost results, reports Reuters.
Dallas Judge Denies Toyota Request to Seal Safety, Product Defect Documents
News
District Court Judge Dale Tillery said that it is in the public interest to keep such documents open for review because they detail issues involving public health and safety.
Houston Trial Lawyer Courtney Ervin Joins Hicks Thomas as a Partner
News
Trial lawyer Courtney Ervin has joined commercial litigation boutique Hicks Thomas LLP, the firm announced.
Global Warming Public Nuisance Actions Will Stay in Federal Court
News
The cities claim that the companies, despite knowing of the risks associated with climate change and global warming, continued to produce and sell their products to the public that uses fossil fuels.
Webinar: Data Privacy: The Current Legal Landscape
Webinar
Troutman Sanders speakers will cover the ongoing evolution of the legal landscape for data-based products, so that organizations can continue to succeed in their development of data-based products.
Supreme Court to Clarify Applicability of Arbitration Act to Transportation Contracts
Insight
The case will be important for in-house and private transactional attorneys who draft contracts with transportation sector independent contractors, as well as litigators handling employee misclassification cases, according to Holland & Knight.
Berkshire’s National Indemnity Ordered to Pay $43 Million for Asbestos Settlement
News
National Indemnity provided general liability insurance to the state at the time of the alleged exposure, but it had argued those insurance policies didn’t cover the asbestos-related claims, according to MarketWatch.
Negotiating a Data Processing Contract
Insight
Watch out for services with terms longer than the other services in the agreement and ensure that any added services terminate at the same time as the master agreement, advises Fredrikson & Byron.
