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Law.com - In-House Counsel
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Rutgers GC Sounds the Call for Diversity
Rutgers University GC Jonathan Alger has built a reputation as a legal expert on affirmative action and an ardent champion of diversity. He also has a long-standing interest in employment law. As Alger recently told in-house lawyers at a seminar, their companies' new employees may request accommodations on a smorgasbord of issues: mental conditions, religious beliefs, sexual orientation and emotional well-being. "These are the claims that are coming your way," he warned, "if they haven't already."
Bringing 'Foreign-Cubed' Actions in American Courts
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a recent case of first impression, considered whether a securities fraud complaint brought by foreign plaintiffs against foreign issuers based on foreign stock purchases -- a set of circumstances sometimes dubbed a "foreign-cubed securities case" -- could be heard by a U.S. federal court. The answer provided by the 2nd Circuit: under the right circumstances, yes. Chadbourne & Parke's Douglas R. Jensen analyzes the ruling.
Pay Proves GCs Are Part of Elite Club
A review of the compensation of Southeastern chief legal officers who are listed among the top five highest-paid executives in their public companies' most recent SEC filings reveals an average total package in the neighborhood of a million dollars. As the economy spirals downward, GCs may fare better than their law firm counterparts, but Robert T. Graff, managing partner of legal search firm Major, Lindsey & Africa, says, "I think the numbers next year will look pretty different."
New Business Targeting Patent Trolls Signs IBM and Cisco
When IP lawyer and entrepreneur John Amster launched RPX Corp. as the cure-all for patent trolls in September, the industry was skeptical about how it would work. The new business is catering to the frustration that big tech companies have with what they derogatorily label "patent trolls." Amster says his company will charge members an annual fee and in return RPX will buy dangerous patents off the street and give their members a license. So far RPX has signed up two companies to its program: IBM and Cisco.
Justice Department Issues New Antitrust Guidelines
Just in time for the holidays, the U.S. Department of Justice has released a new model leniency letter for companies that want to avoid being criminally prosecuted for antitrust violations. But the companies may not be so thankful. In the letter, the government tightens up its amnesty program for corporations and individuals. Deputy assistant attorney general for antitrust Scott Hammond calls the changes "clarifications," made "to clear up any perceived ambiguities."
Secretive IP Holder Funds Tech Acquisition
When Novafora announced last week that it was buying Transmeta for $255.6 million in cash, it seemed like a straightforward deal. But it turns out that the giant, secretive patent holding company Intellectual Ventures is putting $11.6 million into the venture, regulatory filings by Transmeta indicate. The deal gives a fleeting glimpse into what exactly IV is doing -- a matter of keen interest to many big tech companies in Silicon Valley that are wary of the company's powerful patent portfolio.
Lots of Revenue Rides on New Tessera GC
General counsel are often in the background. But Bernard Cassidy will be front and center as the new GC at Tessera. That's because the San Jose, Calif., company lives and dies by licensing and litigating its patents. Last year, Tessera brought in $159 million, or 81 percent of its total revenue, from royalties and licensing. The semiconductor packaging company is currently suing a whole host of companies for patent infringement both in district court and before the International Trade Commission.
A Punishment to Fit the Crime
Judges often feel constrained by federal sentencing guidelines. But this fall a federal district court judge in Brooklyn came up with a different way of determining punishment -- by looking at sentences in comparable cases. Judge Frederic Block decided that the length of a sentence should be proportionate to the amount of losses caused by a crime. The result was that Block sentenced Lennox Parris and Lester Parris to five years in jail each. The government had been asking for 30-years-to-life.
In BAE Probe, U.S. Steps In Where Brits Fear to Tread
When the British government dropped a bribery probe of BAE Systems, Europe's largest military defense contractor had a major management shake-up, including the hiring of new GC Philip Bramwell who is leading the company's reform efforts. So why have the Americans jumped into the fray? The Justice Department won't comment -- indeed, a wall of silence has come down across the department about the BAE case. And Bramwell says he can't talk about the probe. But sources and court records suggest several reasons.

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