SLAPP-Suit Protection Eyed / Would Give Shield From Being Sued for Speaking at Meetings
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By JULIAN WALKER; OLYMPIA MEOLA  A group of Henrico County residents took issue with new homes proposed for their area, and they told their supervisors so. Their opposition could cost them more than $5 million.
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Private equity firms, already under fire by politicians for their tax breaks and borrowing levels, expect their risks to escalate on yet another front -- the courtroom.
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Being a lawyer isn't really about exciting "Law and Order" courtroom drama. It's about paperwork. Lots of it.
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Tomorrow morning, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a new round of hearings continuing the debate over language in S. 1145, the Patent Reform Act of 2007. This morning, a coalition of firms ranging in stature from the Guymon, Oklahoma Chamber of Commerce to Apple, Cisco, Intel, and Microsoft urged Committee chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy (D - Vt.) to get the debate portion over with.
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By TOM GALLAGHER  For the record, I will insist that formal discussions about allegations made against me by Mayor Lionel Rivera occur in public and be open to public participation. The issues bear on matters of ethics and values of your elected officials; the people have a right to know.
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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - It's OK to use derogatory and vulgar language about your superiors in the office as long as it is done behind their backs, a Malaysian court has ruled.  The Industrial Court said a secretary at Malaysia National Insurance Bhd.
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The scandal-tagged IPO wants some respect.
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A U.S. law firm plans to file a lawsuit seeking class-action status against Sanofi-Aventis  on behalf of shareholders, alleging the pharmaceuticals group hid the side-effects of its anti-obesity drug Acomplia, French daily Les Echos reported.
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(InfoWorld) - Several people connected to the Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) board scandal have been invited to testify at a U.S. House subcommittee hearing Sept. 28 on the issue ofÂ pretexting to get confidential phone records. Patricia Dunn, chairman of HP's board, and Ann Baskins, HP's general counsel, have been invited to testify at a hearing of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee in Washington, D.C. Also invited to testify is Larry Sonsini, lead outside counsel for HP, and Ronald DeLia, managing director of Security Outsourcing Solutions Inc., a Needham, Massachusetts, corporate security company identified as having been hired by HP to investigate who on the board leaked news of a confidential strategy session to the media. HP and outside firms it hired to conduct the investigation are facingÂ possible criminal charges in California for using pretexting to surreptitiously gain access to the personal phone records of HP directors and nine journalists. Dunn has agreed to resign as chairman come January as a result of her role in the investigation, but will remain on the board. Sonsini, chairman of the law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, advised HP on the legality of its investigation of the leaks. The committee is considering federal legislation to outlaw pretexting in the U.S. and put other limits on the work of so-called data brokers who gather information for clients. Sometimes their means are duplicitous, such as impersonating an individual to gain unauthorized access to confidential records. HP is being investigated by the Attorneys General of California and Massachusetts, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Attorney's office for actions it took to investigate the board leaks that may have violated the law. Terry Lane, a spokesman for the House committee, said the witnesses have not been subpoenaed to testify but could not say what the committee might do if they declined the invitation. Although HP has said it is willing to cooperate on investigations into the pretexting case, spokesman Mike Moeller said the company would not comment specifically on whether Dunn and Baskins would accept the invitation to testify. Neither of the others responded to a request for comment. Â
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Oral arguments bring questions about whether the current legal standard, opposed by some high-tech firms, is much too permissive.
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Editor and Publisher - NEW YORK Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) on Friday introduced a federal shield law that would provide an "absolute protection" for confidential sources. The legislation is in response to a slew of recent court actions demanding reporters reveal sources.
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Some members of the House oversight committee may have violated a federal law against soliciting things of value from people with interests before the committee.
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Take a memo: Let's not kill all the lawyers just yet. They are the only defense for workers against corporate executives who would rather count their stock options than pay attention to 401(k) plans.
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Many employers believe the best way to avoid the danger of litigation is to treat soon-to-be former employees with respect even as they are being shown the door.
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Tycho:  I can really do without a lot of the corporate sniping that happens in this industry.  Plus, as a licensed demagogue, they're horning in on my territory when they say ridiculous things or make baseless verbal assaults!  I mean, I have mouths to feed.  Seriously, I have more than one mouth.
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special coverage Court ruling casts pall over software maker's customer bash. Also: How to boost employee morale?
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The case of a jet-setting tuberculosis patient might soon shift from the hospital wards to the courts. The patient, Andrew Speaker, an Atlanta personal injury attorney, could sue the federal government for being quarantined on the basis of federal regulations that some scholars see as unconstitutional.