The National Law Journal

February 18, 2008 | National Law Journal

Microsoft Corp. was forced to face the music during a high-stakes intellectual property trial last year. A team of Kirkland & Ellis litigators persuaded a San Diego jury to award $1.538 billion to telecommunications equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent for infringement of two file-compression patents, used to play tunes in Microsoft's Windows Media Player and other MP3 devices.

By June D. Bell / Special to The National Law Journal

6 minute read

January 19, 2009 | National Law Journal

The purchasers of software typically encounter end user license agreements (EULAs) setting forth the terms for using the software. The purchasers are required to adhere to the terms of the EULA in exchange for the right to operate the software. However, what happens if the terms of the EULA conflict with the purchaser's attempt to protect its own intellectual property rights?

By Donald Steinberg and Jeffrey Lee / Special To The National Law Journal

12 minute read

April 27, 2009 | National Law Journal

The G-20's recent London Summit was not the bust that some had feared. The leaders made some progress by agreeing to tackle global financial regulation and pledging more money to the IMF. But they missed the chance to take collective, international action to stem the demise of their inextricably linked banking and financial sectors. How can intergovernmental cooperation help? The same nations that founded the World Bank could set up a banking facility, an International Fund for Revitalization and Recovery.

By Sophie Smyth / Special to the National Law Journal

5 minute read

May 19, 2008 | National Law Journal

The U.S. Supreme Court made pension history in February with its decision LaRue v. DeWolff decision. The high court held that � 502(a)(2) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 authorizes a participant in a defined contribution plan, such as a 401(k) plan, to recover money damages for fiduciary breaches that decrease the plan assets in his or her individual account. Prior to LaRue, many employees and their lawyers had assumed that an individual had to be seeking relief on behalf of the entire plan at issue — not just on behalf of his or her own interest in the plan — in order to obtain monetary relief under � 502(a)(2), which allows a participant to sue plan fiduciaries for breaching their fiduciary duties.

By Karla Grossenbacher / Special to The National Law Journal

12 minute read

August 07, 2006 | National Law Journal

Listing on foreign capital markets can provide foreign exchange for overseas expansion of the business, and listed shares can provide currency for mergers and acquisitions. However, China-based businesses seeking listings overseas face unique challenges and choices.

By Clifford Ng/Special to The National Law Journal

12 minute read

October 02, 2006 | National Law Journal

Employers may not realize that the recruiters who are assisting them may also be placing their own employees with other companies. The role of recruiters and the limits on their conduct in soliciting employees from one of their own clients has not yet received extensive judicial attention.

By Jeffrey S. Boxer/Special to The National Law Journal

10 minute read

July 24, 2006 | National Law Journal

In U.S. v. Alaska Brokerage International Inc. the government argued that statements made by an employee and co-defendant of Alaska Brokerage International Inc. (ABI) during a government interview-which ABI's counsel did not attend-could be introduced against ABI as admissions.

By Seth C. Farber, Suzanne Jaffe Bloom and Jonathan C. Crafts/Special to The National Law Journal

11 minute read

June 04, 2007 | National Law Journal

A common, but dangerous, reaction to the uncertainty of the first few years of practice is the adoption of a do-as-you�re-told- and-all-will-be-well attitude.

By Steven C. Bennett/Special to The National Law Journal

6 minute read

May 30, 2005 | National Law Journal

In the ongoing speculations about potential U.S. Supreme Court appointments, little or no attention has been paid to the transformed nature of the court's membership. The justices' backgrounds are strikingly less diverse now than at any time in the past.

By Daniel J. MeadorSpecial to The National Law Journal

6 minute read

May 26, 2008 | National Law Journal

On May 15, Lori Drew, a 49-year-old woman, was indicted by a Los Angeles federal grand jury for using a MySpace account to torment and harass a 13-year-old girl who, as a result, committed suicide. Drew was charged with violating the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The press reports almost universally questioned the propriety of using the CFAA as the basis for this prosecution. Yet, while this may be the first CFAA prosecution for cyberbullying, the statute neatly fits the facts of this crime.

By Nick Akerman / Special to The National Law Journal

5 minute read