Publications
Kim Toomey, an associate at Wiggin and Dana, along with co-editors Michael Lockerby, Ronald Coleman and Sara Johnston, provide a summary of the most recent developments in franchise law.
Over the past decade, there has been a growing concern that plaintiffs’ lawyers increasingly filed large, national class actions in certain state court venues perceived to be very favorable to plaintiffs. These locations including Madison County, Illinois; Jefferson County, Texas; and Palm Beach County, Florida have been called everything from “magnet” jurisdictions to “magic” jurisdictions. […]
In 1998, Congress enacted the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the most sweeping amendment to copyright law since 1976. Proponents of the DMCA argue that its provisions bring copyright law into the twenty-first century, by providing important protections for internet service providers, and by creating necessary safeguards to protect the rights of copyright holders against the […]
This is my last Editor’s note and my last issue as editor-in-chief of Infrastructure have greatly enjoyed my three years as editor. I have had the opportunity to work with exceptionally dedicated Section chairs and a wonderful committee. I owe special thanks to Sue Koz, the Section’s ABA staff director and to Ray DeLong, our […]
One of the selling points of arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) is the relative finality of an award. Arbitration awards may be vacated only under limited circumstances.
Binx Bolling, the protagonist of Walker Percy’s novel The Moviegoer , was every editor-in-chief’s dream audience: “Whenever I feel bad, I go to the library and read controversial periodicals… Down I plunk myself with a liberal weekly at one of the massive tables, read it from cover to cover, nodding to myself whenever the writer […]
In our firstt two columns, we focused on the contributions to the patent profession of Judge Giles Rich and Paul Rose, respectively. As you may recall, they partnered in framing the 1952 Patent Act, working in concert with the PTO’s Pat Federico.
Antitrust practitioners generally consider themselves well-versed in key antitrust principles, cases, and developments. They freely allude to “Colgate” and “GTE Sylvania” — meaning something other than toothpaste and televisions — in their everyday conversation. To remain at the top of their trade, they make an effort to stay current on the evolution of antitrust doctrines […]
Alyssa B. Moss , an associate at Wiggin and Dana, gave a presentation to the Health Care department on the status of regulatory changes to the Medicare Program.
Depending upon which party to an employment dispute that you are representing, the tax consequences of a settlement payment are quite different. Therefore, a well-prepared attorney will be familiar not only with the tax consequences of a settlement payment to his or her client, but also the tax consequences of the same settlement payment to […]
n our last column, we considered Past President Giles Rich’s role as part of a two-person drafting team that the Patent Act of 1952. The other person on that team was a gentleman named Paul A. Rose. Mr. Rose passed away on October 29, 2004 at the ripe old age of ninety-seven.
The Hartford Courant recently reported that complaints regarding child abuse by Antonio Lasaga had been made to officials at the Hamden YMCA, but that YMCA officials failed to take any further action. Lasaga is the Yale professor awaiting sentencing on child pornography charges and awaiting trial on sexual assault charges. In the wake of this […]
The basic ingredients of a healthy franchise relationship are no mystery. Keep the lines of communication open. Manage expectations. Show respect. Provide the essential tools for staying in touch, including a useful and informative Web site, a newsletter that’s worth reading, a fun and educational annual convention, and a proactive team of field representatives. No […]
The arrival of modern technology has created unique privacy concerns for many Americans. The ability of employers and the government to use electronic means to monitor numerous aspects of employees’ jobs, especially on computer terminals, electronic mail and telephones poses unique problems. Much of this monitoring is unregulated. Some federal and state laws do provide […]
Copyright (c)2000 American Bar Association. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or downloaded or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association. During the 1990s, many prominent franchisors have […]
I want to share with you my New Year’s resolution: seek and experience “flow”. What is flow, and what does it have to do with appellate practice? At the risk of oversimplification, flow is a psychological term used to describe a positive state of consciousness a person experiences when she is so engaged in a […]
Under banners of “restoring fairness” to the system and protecting the “integrity of our markets,” the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted new rules in August addressing the selective disclosure of material, non-public information by public companies. SEC Release Nos. 33-7881, 34-43154, IC-24599 (August 10, 2000). Regulation FD (Fair Disclosure), which takes effect on October 23, […]
The proliferation of e-mail and its ever-increasing use in the workplace has provided employers with a greater ability than ever before to monitor and read the personal communications of employees. Not surprisingly, many employers do so. The American Management Association, for example, estimates that more than 38 percent of major American businesses will store and […]
Since 9/11, the public’s ability to access information in the possession of the federal and state governments has taken a beating. Government officials have directed agencies to limit access to information that has long been available to the public, often through agency websites, ostensibly to prevent that information from getting into the hands of the […]
City and county workers often are discovering technological solutions to workplace problems that are beneficial to their employers. Many of those inventions are patentable and could be valuable to the governments if properly exploited through licensing programs. However, local governments normally are not prepared to deal with valuable inventions by their employees. Corporations, universities and […]
In a long-anticipated move, the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) on March 8, 2005 published important revisions to the premerger notification rules applicable to acquisitions of interests in partnerships and other unincorporated entities, such as limited liability companies (“LLCs”), under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act of 1976 (the “HSR Act”). The amendments to the rules, […]
No matter how well you performed in law school or where you clerked, nothing can prepare you for your first days as a freshly minted lawyer. Despite all the rules, requirements and procedures that abound in litigation, much of what we do and the way we do it is the result of personal style and […]
O.K. You screwed up at trial by failing to object to testimony that was speculative, or hearsay, or unfounded opinion. Or you failed to object to an expert witness’s qualifications. To add insult to injury, the trial court (or the jury) made findings adverse to your client based on the very evidence to which you […]
Extended litigation would be bad for Microsoft, bad for other software vendors and bad for the public. From Wall Street to Main Street, Americans are consumed with speculation about Microsoft Corp’s future. This national preoccupation was spurred by Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson’s findings of fact that Microsoft has monopoly power in the market for operating […]
Wiggin and Dana proudly announces the release of the Unfair Trade Practices (Vol. 12, Connecticut Practice Series) 2006 Pocket Part. The 300 page pocket part contains an extensive discussion of the “unfairness doctrine” that is considered “must reading” for practitioners in the field. The Pocket contains a new antitrust chapter, Chapter 9, not found in […]
APPOINTMENT OF HEALTH CARE AGENT I appoint _________________________(NAME) to be my health care agent. If my attending physician determines that I am unable to understand and appreciate the nature and consequences of health care decisions and to reach and communicate an informed decision regarding treatment, my health care agent is authorized to: Convey to my […]
Many years ago, there was a television show called “You Are There.” The premise was that the show would take the viewer back to watch historic events unfolding on a real-time basis. The article in this issue on the break-up of AT&T by Gerry Connell, the chief government prosecutor (who is now the chair-elect of […]
In the previous issue of The Nonprofit Advantage, I wrote about proposals being floated by the U.S. Senate Finance Committee that will have profound effects on nonprofits if enacted into law. The proposals are sweeping, including new rules for nonprofit governance, donor-advised funds, deductibility of appreciated property, supporting organizations (such as “friends of” groups) periodic […]
Pharmaceutical companies are discovering new and more effective pharmacologic products for diagnosing, preventing and treating disease on an almost daily basis. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires manufacturers to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of these products through, among other things, the conduct of clinical trials that test the new product in human subjects.1 […]
The US Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) issued a notice on June 13, 2007, indicating that it intended to challenge the position taken by some foreign investors in real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) that a liquidating sale and distribution by a REIT is not subject to taxation under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax […]