AttorneysEd Center

The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and most state rules, require public filing of most pleadings, motions and other litigation-related documents. What happens, however, when some part of such filings contain confidential information? Popular presenter Steve Bennett, a partner at Jones Day, addresses the ethical problems that can arise, the rules that may apply, and practical solutions to avoid or mitigate the problems. Topics include: • Background of the problem: this could happen to you • Pertinent rules / cases • Ethical issues • Best practices • Resources

In-house and outside counsel struggle to adapt their Intellectual Property strategies in a world where new media emerge constantly and old rules are difficult to enforce. Join us as Anthony F. Lo Cicero of Amster, Rothstein & Ebenstein LLP discusses the legal challenges presented by social media sites, search engines, electronic market sites, online commerce and the like and provides practical suggestions for adapting IP value to these new platforms.

The investor protection provisions of Title IX of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, H.R. 4173, 111th Cong. (2010), are bound to result in major changes in the world of securities enforcement and regulation. As a result of Dodd-Frank, which provides potentially lucrative bounties for whistleblowers, it is likely that more violations will be reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), which, in turn will be larger and more powerful. In addition to seeing its budget likely double over the next five years, the SEC will benefit from relaxed proof standards in pursuing secondary actors, expanded jurisdiction over foreign cases, the ability to obtain penalty awards in SEC administrative cases, industry-wide bars for securities professionals, and the ability to subpoena trial witnesses nationally. The SEC will also have the power to impose fiduciary standards on brokers, regulate short selling, restrict customer arbitration agreements, and engage in other

For years, employers took for granted that it is legal to monitor an employee's every keystroke on work-issued computers, phones and PDAs. With the recent surge in employee privacy claims, some state and federal courts have sided with the employee, particularly where the electronic activity involves personal, rather than business-related, matters. Join Heather Egan Sussman and Stephen Erf, partners at McDermott Will & Emery LLP, who explain the recent developments in the legal framework for this privacy debate and what it means for the American workplace, particularly in light of the Supreme Court's recent decision in Quon, in which the Court unanimously ruled that the employer could lawfully review personal messages sent on work pagers, and the New Jersey Supreme Court in Stengart, in which the Court held that an employer improperly accessed an employee’s private email messages. The program includes practical advice about when and to what extent employers

Leigh J. Martinson, Esq., a partner in McDermott Will & Emery LLP, reviews the Supreme Court’s long-awaited decision in Bilski v. Kappos, in which business methods patents barely survived, and discusses the impact of this decision on future patent litigation and prosecution. Our presenter also discusses previous 35 U.S.C. section 101 precedent, various litigation and prosecution strategies for challenging a section 101 attack, and strategies for attacking existing claims under section 101. A must program for patent practitioners, from the Celesq®-West IP Master Series.

Louis DiLorenzo, the Chair of Bond, Schoeneck & King’s Labor and Employment and Employee Benefits Practice Group, discusses sexual discrimination in the workplace and how to avoid liability for sexual discrimination claims. Part 1 of this 2-part series covers pay equity. Topics include: • Existing Statutory Protections • President Obama's Pending Legislation • Defenses to Pay Equity Claims • Most Common Mistakes in Defending Pay Differentials • Preventive Steps to Avoid Pay Equity Claims • Lessons to be Learned from the Novartis Sex Discrimination Case And join us for Avoiding Liability for Sex Discrimination—Sexual Harassment Complaints (Part 2).

Recent decisions by the Federal Circuit, including Forest Group, Inc. v. Bon Tool Co. and Pequignot v. Solo Cup Co., have reinvigorated the patent qui tam action and have opened the door to a flurry of lawsuits, most of which have been brought by parties who do not—and could not—assert any resulting injury. Join us as Anthony F. Lo Cicero of Amster, Rothstein & Ebenstein LLP discusses the new patent marking cases and suggests practical steps for companies concerned about false marking.

In Morrison, Harris Associates, Merck, Skilling and Free Enterprise, the Supreme Court handed down a series of decisions this past term impacting securities litigation. Morrison involved the so-called “foreign-cubed” cases but may ultimately impact the reach of SEC enforcement. Harris Associates centered on suits involving adviser fees, while Merck and Skilling involved potential liability in, respectively, civil securities fraud actions and white collar prosecution. Free Enterprise keyed on the viability of a key part of the Sarbanes Oxley Act, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. The Supreme Court has already accepted cases for hearing next term involving key questions such as the dividing line between primary and secondary liability and what is material when pleading a cause of action for fraud. These and other cases may shape the future of securities litigation for years to come. Join Tom Gorman of Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP as he analyzes the foregoing

The Supreme Court held in Skilling that honest services fraud under Section 1346 is defined by pre-McNally case law on bribes and kickback schemes. Whether this provides any more clarity and notice than before the Court's decision is an open question. The lengthy opinions do not define what constitutes bribery or a kick back scheme. Also left open is whether in fact a breach of fiduciary duty underlies these concepts and if so, the source of this law. Join Tom Gorman, a partner at Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP, and Frank Razzano and Jeremy Frey, both partners at Pepper Hamilton LLP, for this important program, which analyzes the High Court's honest services decision and explores key questions every practitioner must analyze when representing a client involving an honest services charge.

Achieving cooperation in discovery matters in the federal courts can be time-consuming, costly and difficult for the Courts and the parties. Join Steve Bennett, a partner at Jones Day, who offers valuable insights and suggestions for avoiding or alleviating these problems. Topics include: • Why cooperation is essential to effective e-discovery • What courts say about cooperation • The Sedona cooperation proclamation • Practical steps