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Chapter 472 of New York's Laws of 2008, signed into law on Aug. 5, is complex legislation, imposing obligations on lenders making certain types of loans to natural persons on the security of one-to-four-family dwellings. Michael J. Berey, general counsel at First American Title Insurance Co., identifies certain provisions of Chapter 472 that should be considered when certain loan title insurance policy endorsements are requested and when a mortgage covered by the legislation is being foreclosed.

The Department of Justice's yearlong study of the state of competition and monopoly law has produced conclusions that may be put to the test in the department's analysis of objections to the Yahoo-Google ad sharing deal. The report was the result of joint hearings between the DOJ and the Federal Trade Commission, but oddly, the FTC did not sign on to the final report. One item that caught the eye of antitrust lawyers has been a dispute within the antitrust bar about use of the profit-sacrifice test.

As the hot, young clean-tech industry matures, companies are hiring and searching for general counsel that have the hard-to-come-by blend of energy business and startup lawyer skills. Ausra Inc., a solar company in Palo Alto, Calif., recently hired energy-industry veteran Debra Olson as its first general counsel. "We are all migrating toward this -- it's a phenomenal opportunity, it's a tremendous career," said Olson, who previously worked at Calpine and a wind-energy company.

Two-and-a-half years after the stock option backdating scandal first rained down on Silicon Valley's legal establishment, the first -- and so far the only -- lawyer to face criminal charges goes before a jury this week. From the Justice Department's point of view, though, the case against former McAfee Inc. GC Kent Roberts has little to do with backdating, or with any legal advice Roberts did or didn't give. Rather, the government seeks to narrow Roberts' trial to a simple larceny.

Climate change is receiving much attention in legal circles, particularly as it pertains to corporate governance and disclosures. Shareholders of publicly traded companies are demanding that boards of directors address how climate change issues will impact the companies. Attorneys Jean McCreary, Ruth H. Silman and Richard Cogen review recent developments and suggest practices that may assist companies in making mandatory or voluntary disclosures.

Ten hours before openings in the government's stock option case against former McAfee general counsel Kent Roberts, attorneys on both sides got a surprise: a set of previously undisclosed e-mails. That puts corporate lawyers in the difficult position of trying to explain the slip-up without violating attorney-client privilege or incurring criminal penalties. Judge Marilyn Hall Patel demanded that lawyers from McAfee, Howrey and Wilson Sonsini offer explanations on Thursday.

Corporate general counsel expect increased company risk management and more regulatory enforcement in the wake of collapsing financial institutions, such as Fannie Mae, Lehman Brothers and American International Group. State government regulatory oversight will rise with more attorney general probes, and federal oversight will expand in step with the next presidential administration, said some general counsel attending the Argyle Executive Forum in Chicago this week.