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08-31-2010 Administrative Law: David C. Duggins and Celina Romero Appellate Law: Leslie A. Benitez Corporate Law: C. Joseph Cain Employee Benefits Law: C. Joseph Cain Energy Law: David C. Duggins Environmental Law: Celina Romero Personal Injury Litigation: Kenneth J. Ferguson Product Liability Litigation: Kenneth J. Ferguson and Michael R. Klatt Tax Law: C. Joseph Cain
08-05-2010 In a closely-watched case of first impression, the New Jersey Supreme Court in Stengart v. Loving Care, Inc. decided that an employer cannot retrieve and read an employee's e-mails exchanged with her attorney through a company-issued computer via the employee's personal, password-protected, web-based e-mail account. "Despite the court determining that [the plaintiff] had a reasonable expectation of privacy in her e-mails with her attorney, that does not mean that employers cannot monitor or regulate the use of workplace computers," Casell writes. "Companies should craft clear electronic communications policies so that employees will understand what they can and cannot do."
Casell also has been selected Texas state marketing chair for the Defense Research Institute's Young Lawyers Steering Committee. The Young Lawyers Committee will hold its next annual seminar in Austin in June 2011.
05-28-2010 In a May 28 op-ed in the Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journal, Shareholder Randy Christian and Associate Jason Casell discuss the "unholy alliance" between plaintiffs' lawyers and state attorneys general, a practice pioneered by former Texas Attorney General Dan Morales in the big tobacco litigation. In these alliances, state AGs enter into contingency fee arrangements with plaintiffs' attorneys to prosecute actions on the state's behalf. These arrangements have now spread to other arenas, including financial services, environmental litigation, and general products liability. State AGs and government attorneys claim they lack the resources and expertise to pursue these types of cases without private plaintiffs' lawyers. But, as Christian and Casell discuss, the system has become corrupt, with plaintiffs' attorneys donating to AG campaigns in exchange for potential contingency windfalls for being selected to prosecute actions on the state's behalf. The California Supreme Court just heard oral argument in a case that could reverse a longstanding precedent that defense attorneys have relied on for 25 years to prevent governments from entering into contingency fee arrangements with plaintiffs' lawyers. "Attorneys representing the government are charged with seeking the public good, even if that means agreeing to injunctive relief or dropping a case without merit," the authors write. "When an attorney who is supposed to look out for the people's interests stands to profit personally from a monetary recovery, he compromises his ability to advance the public good above his own well-being. There are also serious concerns about the separation of powers among the government's branches." The authors conclude that states should follow the examples of Texas and other states that require legislative approval of large contingency fee contracts. States can also mandate that attorneys take part in a competitive bid process, impose caps on contingency fee agreements, and prohibit attorneys who contribute to AG campaigns from collaborating with those officials in litigation. "Delegating public enforcement power to private attorneys with a large financial incentive may make sense for those attorneys' pocketbooks, but it is not in the best interest of justice," Christian and Casell write. "The battle against the 'unholy alliance' must continue."
05-22-2010 Jonathan Lass, Shareholder in CTW's Intellectual Property and Technology practice group, has started a practical legal resource for entrepreneurs and small businesses. This new blog, Start-up Lawyer Blog, addresses legal issues entrepreneurs and small companies face the first days and even years of a start-up venture. Mr. Lass is a guest lecturer for the Austin Entrepreneur Network's start-up ventures class, a position he also holds at the enterpreneurship course at Texas A&M’s department of Biomedical Engineering. You can access the Start-up Lawyer Blog here.
06-20-2008 |
