Jennifer H Rearden

February 19, 2014 | Delaware Business Court Insider

In an international, interdependent economy where multinational corporations abound, countries and states vie to serve in the coveted income-generating role of "domicile," in part by passing laws that are attractive to businesses. Delaware has distinguished itself as the leading forum of choice for incorporation in the United States, with more than one million domiciliaries, including the majority of all publicly traded companies in the United States and roughly 64 percent of the Fortune 500.

By Jennifer H. Rearden and Sharon I. Grysman

6 minute read

December 27, 2012 | Delaware Business Court Insider

In Brookstone Partners Acquisition XVI v. Tanus , C.A. No. 7533-VCN, (Del. Ch. Nov. 20, 2012), Vice Chancellor John W. Noble, on the defendants' motion and citing the long-standing McWane doctrine, stayed a later-filed Chancery Court action in favor of a first-filed Texas proceeding. In concluding that principles of comity and judicial efficiency favored a stay, the court reaffirmed a long line of cases that have inexorably prioritized first-filed actions in other jurisdictions in order to prevent duplication of efforts and potentially conflicting results. In addition, the court left its own mark on the McWane framework, making clear that application of that doctrine is appropriate even where one of the parties may have engaged in defensive forum shopping.

By Jennifer H. Rearden and Sharon I. Grysman

5 minute read

October 29, 2009 | Corporate Counsel

The Sedona Conference Cooperation Proclamation asks: Can't we all just get along? On the theory overzealous e-discovery costs too much and yields too little, the Proclamation aims to curb the knee-jerk, counterproductive aggression sometimes exhibited by counsel in pretrial litigation.

By Jennifer H. Rearden and Farrah Pepper

11 minute read

March 22, 2010 | New York Law Journal

Jennifer H. Rearden, a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, and Farrah Pepper, of counsel at the firm, write: In 2007, Columbia Pictures v. Bunnell sent shockwaves through the legal community with its conclusion that "ephemeral data" with a temporary life span was discoverable electronically stored information. In hindsight, it can be said that the immediate post-Bunnell concerns were somewhat reminiscent of the old fable of Chicken Little, who loudly proclaimed to one and all that "the sky is falling" after a mere acorn had hit his head. As the case law on this subject is still developing, however, it may not yet be safe to stop scanning the sky for cascading objects.

By Jennifer H. Rearden and Farrah Pepper

14 minute read

October 27, 2009 | New York Law Journal

Jennifer H. Rearden, a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, and Farrah Pepper, a senior associate at the firm, write: The impact of The Sedona Conference Cooperation Proclamation, which aims to curb the knee-jerk and often counterproductive aggression sometimes exhibited by counsel in discovery, probably will not be fully understood for some time. As of Jan. 1, 2009, 44 judges around the country had endorsed the Cooperation Proclamation. At last count, however, this number had grown to nearly 100 judges from coast to coast, at both the federal and state levels. Therein lies its heft and its ticket out of the dustbin of utopian history. Moreover, a number of judges have already cited the Cooperation Proclamation in their opinions, including several of the signatories themselves. From these opinions, a few early trends can be identified.

By Jennifer H. Rearden and Farrah Pepper

11 minute read