BRC Blog

Between a Facebook and a Hard Place

Alexander R. Cohen — Fri, 18 May 2012 20:53:59 +0000

As various state legislatures work on legislation banning employers from demanding access to prospective and actual employees' social networking profiles, an employment lawyer raises a question: If an employee posts something that raises a harassment issue, will the employer whose hands are

FBI Investigating Chase's Loss

Alexander R. Cohen — Fri, 18 May 2012 19:58:01 +0000

The FBI is investigating JPMorganChase's $2 billion loss, but law professor and New York Times blogger Peter J. Henning points out that this doesn't actually mean the FBI thinks it has a lot of reason to expect to find a crime. After all, it's only starting an investigation -- the point of which is to find out what happened.

Rejecting Public Ownership

Alexander R. Cohen — Fri, 18 May 2012 19:24:09 +0000

Business creators and investors are increasingly choosing not to take their companies public, says the Economist, and one reason is regulation, with its associated risks and costs:

Who's in Danger from the STOCK Act?

Alexander R. Cohen — Fri, 18 May 2012 18:37:30 +0000

Last month, President Obama signed a law to prohibit members of Congress from committing insider trading using information gleaned from their jobs. But a securities lawyer has a warning for the private sector: The statute could be even more dangerous to private individuals than to Congressmen.

What Is "Smuggling"?

Alexander R. Cohen — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:34:50 +0000

Here's a curious press release from a U.S. attorney's office:

More specifically, defendant Hung Lam pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to traffic and smuggle children’s products, including toys, containing banned hazardous substances, such as lead and small parts, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371, and one count of trafficking in counterfeit goods, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2320. ...

Equal Opportunity and Criminal Records

Alexander R. Cohen — Thu, 17 May 2012 18:57:11 +0000

Yesterday I mentioned that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission limits the use of criminal background checks in hiring. Here's a clarification from a law firm.

A Warning to Student Entrepreneurs

Alexander R. Cohen — Thu, 17 May 2012 17:14:31 +0000

Trying to start a business as a student can lead to lawsuits by your university -- or even, perhaps, to the chain gang, warns soon-to-be law professor Brian Love:

Tape OK'd as Gupta Trial Looms

Alexander R. Cohen — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:38:07 +0000

Next week, Rajat Gupta, former CEO of McKinsey & Co. and board member at Goldman Sachs, goes on trial, charged with leaking information about Goldman to stock trader Raj Rajaratnam.

Jed Rakoff, the federal judge presiding in the case, ruled that prosecutors may use a wiretap recording of Gupta talking to Rajaratnam in their opening arguments, the Associated Press reports.

NY Prosecutors to Business Lawyers: We Want Information

Alexander R. Cohen — Thu, 17 May 2012 14:15:26 +0000

At a conference on white-collar crime also addressed by Manhattan's chief federal prosecutor, New York's top state prosecutor urged business lawyers to tip off the government about possible legal violations: "You operate in a world where you may learn of facts that are appropriate for investigation, from scams directed at the public or the government, to wrongful conduct in the financial sector," state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said, according to the New York Law Journal.

Making a Hotel Pay for Murder

Alexander R. Cohen — Wed, 16 May 2012 20:43:17 +0000

An Indiana hotel employee committed murder and the jury said the hotel was 2 percent responsible. (It also said the victim was 1 percent responsible.) Ninety-seven percent of the responsibility, of course, belonged to the murderer. So the hotel was to be liable for 2 percent of the damages.

The appellate court rejected this limitation, primarily for technical legal reasons that may or may not have been sound. But then it said: