Jaffe Legal News Service - Articles for PublicationThe Jaffe Legal News Service (JLNS) is a free, weekly email tipsheet sent to reporters and editors who either cover the legal industry or who rely on legal experts as part of their reporting. It is a way for law firms to put their news and the expertise of their attorneys in front of more than 850 members of the media who have opted in to receive the feed and see it as a valuable source for story ideas and analysis of legal topics.Genetic Evidence Pushing the Boundaries of Toxic Tort Law- (Found June 24, 2008 ) Over the past decade, genetic testing has revolutionized the practice of criminal law — and now seems poised to do the same for toxic tort litigation. "It is too soon to tell how far these advances will carry the law of toxic torts, but the changes have already begun," says Anthony Hopp, a defense litigator with Wildman Harrold LLP (Chicago) who focuses his practice on toxic tort matters. "It is now possible to test plaintiffs for unique genetic susceptibility to the effects of toxic...http://www.jlns.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Home.ShowArticleDetail&ArticleID=7142&Sec... Back To The Basics: The True Value of Durable Power of Attorney for Property- (Found June 24, 2008 ) The Durable Power of Attorney for Property (DPAP) is one of the most overlooked pieces of an estate plan, but it is also one of the most useful and essential tools. The main purpose of a DPAP is to allow an individual to appoint someone as his agent to manage his financial assets in the event he becomes physically or emotionally incapacitated. While the two most common methods for dealing with a disabled person's assets are guardianship and the use of a funded revocable trust, a DPAP can be...http://www.jlns.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Home.ShowArticleDetail&ArticleID=7700&Sec... International Arbitration Rules Should Promote Efficiency, Best Practices- (Found June 24, 2008 ) International businesses are continuing to arbitrate the vast majority of their international disputes in this intensifying global marketplace. There are, perhaps, twenty or so competing sets of rules that can be applied to arbitrations on the international level. "A best practice approach to the rules of arbitration on the global level is essential to ensure efficiency and continued growth of this important dispute resolution process", says Robert B. Davidson, a full-time arbitrator and...http://www.jlns.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Home.ShowArticleDetail&ArticleID=7517&Sec... Is Arbitration Becoming Too Much Like Litigation- (Found June 24, 2008 ) As arbitration has grown from a little-used alternative to litigating smaller matters, to a tool now regularly used to settle disputes of $100 million or more, many wonder what implications this growth has for its future. "All this growth has brought us to a real crossroads in the life of large-case arbitration. What lies in arbitration's future is completely dependent on how well we deal with a highly significant result of this growth — the ever-increasing complaint that arbitration is...http://www.jlns.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Home.ShowArticleDetail&ArticleID=7473&Sec... DE Court of Chancery Weighs in on Private Equity MBOs- (Found June 24, 2008 ) With the recent spate of private equity acquisitions in which the target company's senior management is often so closely involved — it was only a matter of time before the courts were asked to weigh in on how these deals work. "The Delaware Court of Chancery has lately issued a series of decisions that confront the special conflicts and resulting fiduciary issues that frequently arise with private equity MBOs," says Donald J. Wolfe, Jr., a partner in the Corporate Litigation Practice...http://www.jlns.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Home.ShowArticleDetail&ArticleID=7348&Sec... New Evidentiary Burden Could Strain Class Action System- (Found June 24, 2008 ) A recent decision by the Second Circuit, welcomed by the defense bar, heightens the evidentiary standard plaintiffs must satisfy in order for a court to certify a putative class of investors. While this ruling appears to be a victory for the defense bar, some plaintiff's lawyers have noted a potential silver lining: Because class certification is becoming entwined with the merits, plaintiffs now feel justified in asking for — and possibly getting — merit-based discovery in...http://www.jlns.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Home.ShowArticleDetail&ArticleID=7271&Sec... Litigating Biotech Patents in Europe- (Found June 24, 2008 ) Europe presents a challenging litigation environment, both legal and procedural, with respect to biotech patents. Proposed changes could also profoundly impact the filing strategies used by companies in Europe. "The most fundamental of these changes are the establishment of a Community Patent as well as an integrated patent litigation system, with both perhaps moving forward in 2008," say Matthew Royle, Gareth Morgan and Simon Cohen, attorneys with Taylor Wessing (London). Given that, if either.http://www.jlns.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Home.ShowArticleDetail&ArticleID=7272&Sec... A Year Removed from Landmark Antitrust Ruling, Are New Rules for Sherman Act Claims Really Working- (Found June 24, 2008 ) Nearly one year has passed since the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Twombly, limiting plaintiffs' ability to bring speculative antitrust claims than at lead to expensive discovery and ultimately, antitrust litigation, by announcing a new pleading threshold for claims under Section 1 of the Sherman Act. "At the time of the decision, many speculated that the Court's decision would provide antitrust defendants with an important tool with which to secure the dismissal of.http://www.jlns.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Home.ShowArticleDetail&ArticleID=7273&Sec... Canadian Patent Office Modulates Position on Signal Patents- (Found June 24, 2008 ) May be sign of things to comeThe Canadian Patent Office (CPO) has recently changed its position regarding the patentability of electromagnetic and acoustic signals, in a move that may be a sign it is further limiting its view of what new technologies embody patentable subject matter. "The CPO has stated that electromagnetic and acoustic signals are forms of energy, do not contain matter and therefore do not constitute patentable subject matter. Further, the Patent Office elaborates that signals.http://www.jlns.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Home.ShowArticleDetail&ArticleID=7274&Sec... Arbitration Clauses: Not Always a No-Brainer- (Found June 24, 2008 ) When negotiating the terms of commercial contracts, companies frequently assume they should include standard arbitration clauses with language about fee-shifting and how arbiters will be chosen as a matter of course. "After all, what business wants to invite costly, time-consuming litigation in the event it gets into a dispute This is savings with the stroke of a pen, right Not always," says Brian H. Corcoran, a litigation partner at Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP (Washington). In fact,...http://www.jlns.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Home.ShowArticleDetail&ArticleID=5944&Sec... |
