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What does Wednesday's False Claims Act suit against Forest Laboratories have in common with the FCA cases against Medco Health Solutions (settled in 2006 for $155 million), Bristol-Myers Squibb (settled in 2007 for $515 million), and Cephalon Inc. (settled in 2008 for $425 million)? Each featured a whistleblower named Joseph Piacentile, a nonpracticing New Jersey physician who now makes a living suing drug companies.
Thelen has identified about 240 potential former associates and staff members who could assert claims alleging that the firm violated the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act by failing to pay its employees adequate wages and vacation time in light of its Dec. 1, 2008, demise, according to new court documents. The suit claims that Thelen should have paid its employees their salaries, bonuses and other compensation during the 60 days following the announcement of its dissolution.
To avoid layoffs, many employers are instituting mandatory furloughs as a means of cutting costs during the current recession. Mandatory furloughs, which require employees to take time off without pay, are occurring more frequently in recent months across several industries and employers, including the states of California and Maryland. Littler Mendelson's Alison Hightower discusses the complicated legal issues involved in furloughs, such as the impact on salaried employees, vacation time and 401(k) plans.
The D.C. Circuit's ruling in is a cautionary tale for e-discovery counsel that highlights the importance of understanding the issues and the potential scope of EDD before entering into any type of agreement governing the future conduct of discovery in the case.
Hammonds is set to cut about 10 percent of its partnership, making it the latest top 50 U.K. law firm to react to the current economic conditions. The firm is in the process of cutting up to 20 partners from its fixed share and equity ranks. A handful of partners will also be affected by a de-equitization program being rolled out at the same time in an attempt to deal with underperformance, especially at the top of the partnership.
What should you do when confronted with possible disclosure of confidential metadata? Conversely, what should you do if you learn that confidential metadata has been disclosed? Browning Marean, a partner at DLA Piper, delves into recent e-discovery cases that may offer insight.
Australia's Slater & Gordon, the world's first publicly traded law firm, has reported a 22.4 percent increase in net profit for the six months leading up to Dec. 31. The 160-lawyer firm reported profits of $8.46 million, up from $6.9 million for the previous six-month period. S&G's revenue increased 35 percent to $50.5 million over the same time frame. The firm is reported to be looking at acquisition opportunities and expects earnings to rise into the second half of 2009.
In the constant competition for new clients, small plaintiffs firms are relying on pay-per-click marketing campaigns to increase their odds. Business models vary, with some firms using pay-per-click ads regularly, and other firms preferring more traditional marketing methods. What's more, there's disagreement over the effectiveness of pay-per-click campaigns. Some plaintiffs lawyers say they help boost targeted traffic to firm Web sites, but many say that pay-per-click can be time-consuming and expensive.
Lowenstein Sandler laid off about 8 percent of its attorneys on Thursday. The Roseland, N.J.-based law firm let go of 21 lawyers and 32 staff employees and reduced its incoming associate class size by three spots. Managing partner Gary M. Wingens said that in addition to a slowdown in clients' business activity, the firm has seen attrition slow "dramatically." A firm spokesman said the cuts were spread across various practice areas and affected offices in New Jersey and New York.
Author Anne Lamott says,"'No' is a complete sentence." When you're a junior associate facing a demanding partner at a law firm, though, saying it seems more like the path to a death sentence. How can you "be a team player," yet protect your vital interests in your own health and well-being? Do you dare say "no" during an economic recession, when you see other lawyers getting laid off? Consultant Debra L. Bruce provides five strategies for taking care of your needs while still taking care of business.
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