Posts on ‘September 18th, 2009’

Obviousness is a killer weapon for a defense lawyer in a patent infringement case. If he or she can prove that the patent in question is “obvious” (that is, not inventive and not worthy of a patent), the case can be tossed once and for all. But should juries be weighing in on whether a patent is obvious? An amicus brief in a case with Supreme Court aspirations makes the argument that judges should be the one deciding the issue, not the jury.

MetLife and the 8.6 million-member plaintiff class that is suing the insurance giant have completed a final round of briefing over a judge’s last-minute disqualification of Debevoise & Plimpton as MetLife’s trial counsel. The parties’ briefs lay factual contentions on plaintiffs’ claim that Debevoise must be disqualified under the attorney-witness rule because there is a likelihood four Debevoise lawyers’ testimony will be adverse to MetLife. The class seeks $8 billion on a claim alleging a misleading MetLife prospectus.

One year after Lehman Brothers collapsed, the law firms that relied on it for significant billables are still adjusting to a marketplace with one fewer player. For some of the firms that served as Lehman’s outside counsel, the work goes on in bankruptcy court. Yet in the past year, firms have been chasing their old contacts at Lehman who have scattered to other financial institutions. The competition is heating up as Lehman’s former firms vie for work performed by other banks’ long-time outside counsel.

A key message at an event held this week in conjunction with the latest “50 Best Law Firms for Women” survey from Working Mother magazine is that the economic downturn is a blessing in disguise for women. But is that true? Nearly a year after the full force of the financial crisis hit, we’re still wondering whether law firms are on the brink of revolutionizing the workplace, or whether the status quo reigns. It’s not clear that more lawyers working reduced schedules signals meaningful change.

Increasingly, browse-wrap “terms of use” agreements are replacing click-wrap agreements. Enforceable browse-wrap agreements have two factors in common: First, they include sufficient notice of the terms; second, the actions of the Internet user clearly manifest acceptance of the terms.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s attempt to claw back more than $4 million in compensation from the former CEO of an auto parts retailer raises “constitutional questions of the gravest magnitude,” the defense argues in a motion to dismiss. The defense argues that the SEC’s interpretation of Section 304 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is unprecedented and conflicts with previous cases the commission has brought against corporate executives under the statute.

Kent Roberts, the ex-general counsel of McAfee, has sued his former employer for defamation, invasion of privacy and malicious prosecution. Roberts, who was acquitted of fraud last year, is accusing McAfee of making him the scapegoat in the company’s stock option backdating scandal. What’s more, he accuses the company’s outside lawyers at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and Howrey of helping to frame him through a campaign called “Project Shield,” designed to shift attention away from McAfee’s board and its then-CEO.