US threatened $250K daily fine to get Yahoo to turn over users’ email information

When the U.S. government sought user information from Yahoo in 2007 about email in its customers’ accounts, the company resisted what it viewed as an unconstitutionally broad demand. But Yahoo’s challenges to the controversial National Security Agency PRISM program in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and the Foreign Intelligence Court…

Sep 12, 2014 9:55 AM CDT

9th Circuit resurrects alien tort suit claiming companies aided child slavery overseas

A federal appeals court has resurrected an alien tort suit filed by former child slaves who claim three corporations aided Ivory Coast cocoa farmers who kept children in captivity. The decision (PDF) by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacates a district court ruling dismissing the complaint…

Sep 12, 2014 5:45 AM CDT

Record $1.4B fine levied against gas company in fatal explosion and fire

A record $1.4 billion safety fine has been imposed by the California Public Utilities Commission concerning a 2010 gas pipeline rupture, explosion and fire that killed eight people, injured dozens of others and destroyed 38 homes in a San Bruno neighborhood. The penalty against Pacific Gas & Electric follows determinations…

Sep 3, 2014 11:05 AM CDT

Top state court says Wal-Mart must produce bribery probe documents to shareholders

Upholding a ruling by an influential state business court, the Delaware Supreme Court unanimously agreed Wednesday that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. must produce—for a pension trust fund that is a large shareholder—documents related to an investigation of possible bribery involving the retailer’s Mexican stores. Agreeing with the state’s Court of Chancery,…

Jul 24, 2014 9:30 PM CDT

‘Brain surgeon’ lawyering in crises isn’t enough

One of us (Paul) had the opportunity last week to speak to Richard Susskind’s conference in Scotland on the future of law, enjoying one of the great expressions from Richard: “Most clients would rather have a guardrail at the top of the hill rather than an ambulance at the bottom.”…

May 22, 2014 1:40 PM CDT

Businesses face e-discovery issues with social media

As businesses increasingly avail themselves of the benefits of social media, they might be laying legal minefields in their path if they don’t archive the ever-changing content, Computer Weekly reports. “Based on research I have conducted in the U.K. and U.S., it is clear that organizations need to take seriously…

Mar 24, 2014 11:00 AM CDT

Judge Jed Rakoff’s stance on the SEC deals draws fire, praise—and change

Oct 1, 2013 10:10 AM CDT

Dechert looks to Hollywood for marketing edge (video)

Duncan Wiggetts, a London-based partner at Dechert, talks with Bloomberg Law’s Lee Pacchia about the release of A Price Worth Paying, a new film produced by the law firm and Area 17 that highlights some of the corporate governance issues facing today’s boards. Written by Wiggetts and directed by Nick…

Aug 1, 2013 5:41 PM CDT

Anheuser-Busch is cleared to acquire Modelo after court accepts antitrust settlement

The U.S. Department of Justice and Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI) have resolved the antitrust lawsuit that threatened to derail the beer maker’s multibillion-dollar acquisition of competitor Grupo Modelo. The DOJ filed suit in January in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to block the merger, claiming it would…

Apr 25, 2013 8:05 PM CDT

Hearsay: Do you have an unusual hobby?

Mar 1, 2013 9:50 AM CST

Outsourcing Adviser: Law Firm Helps Clients Manage LPO Services

Dec 1, 2012 8:00 AM CST

Attorneys Who Represent Whistleblowers Are Helping Obama Re-election Campaign Raise Funds

Attorneys who represent whistleblowers have won some big awards in recent years, as the Obama administration cracked down on corporate fraud. Now, in an effort to keep their practice growing, they are giving back to the Democratic presidential campaign, reports the New York Times (reg. req.). As Republican nominee Mitt…

Oct 1, 2012 9:46 PM CDT

3 States Sign On to Challenge Dodd-Frank Law

Attorneys general from Michigan, Oklahoma and South Carolina have joined a lawsuit that challenges the constitutionality of the 2010 Dodd-Frank law overhauling financial oversight practices in the United States and creating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The conservative Competitive Enterprise Institute and a small bank in Texas filed the suit…

Sep 24, 2012 10:52 AM CDT

Appeals Court OKs Trustee’s $500M Suit Blaming K&L Gates for Missing Massive Fraud

A Pennsylvania appeals court has revived a bankruptcy trustee’s $500 million lawsuit against K&L Gates, finding that an Allegheny County trial court dismissed the malpractice case in error. The law firm had argued that it could not be sued by the trustee on behalf of Le-Nature’s Inc., because K&L Gates…

May 15, 2012 8:50 PM CDT

ProPublica Eyes Role of DOJ Pardon Atty in Nixing Release of First-Time Offender Serving LIfe

Even the prosecutor’s office and the sentencing judge who put Clarence Aaron behind bars for three life terms, due to his role in a cocaine deal, were in favor of an immediate commutation of his sentence, back when President George W. Bush was in office. But Aaron, a first-time offender…

May 14, 2012 8:02 PM CDT