Expert reports are a staple in many litigated matters. A good report should clearly convey the opinion and provide sound reasoning for the basis of the opinion.
Articles Discussing The Work Of Practicing Labor And Employment Law.
Are Communications with Experts Privileged? Maybe
In general, the attorney-client privilege protects confidential communications between an attorney and her client when made for the purpose of obtaining or providing legal advice.
Read It & Weep: Missed Deadline Leads to Significant Consequences
Your friends at PL Matters aim to keep you updated regarding best practices, especially when it comes to professional obligations. However, sometimes best practices just boil down to the basics, including careful reading of court directives. AT&T recently learned this lesson the hard way. Last week, an appeals court ruled that the telecom giant will have to pay $40 million in connection with a case because its attorneys failed to read a court document.
Unintended Waiver: the “At-Issue” Exception to the AC Privilege
The attorney-client privilege, the oldest of the common law evidentiary privileges, seeks to encourage thorough and truthful communication between attorney and client. Attorneys know, however, that the privilege is not absolute. One such exception is known as the “at issue” exception, a form of implied waiver of the attorney-client and work product privileges. This form of waiver is unique because it is one which the parties, by commencing litigation that may implicate legal advice, bring on themselves. Let’s take a closer look at this often misunderstood exception to the rule.
Second, Third Circuits Tighten FLSA Pleading Standards, Challenge “Barebones” Complaints
Apologies to John Steinbeck, but in some ways, both 2013 and 2014 have been the winters of FLSA plaintiffs’ discontent on the East Coast. Last summer, the Second Circuit (which covers New York, Connecticut, and Vermont) issued a number of decisions tightening pleading standards under the Supreme Court’s decisions in Iqbal and Twombly. In one of those cases, Lundy v. Catholic Health System of Long Island, the court held that “in order to state a plausible FLSA overtime claim, a plaintiff must sufficiently allege [forty] hours of work in a given workweek as well as some uncompensated time in excess of the [forty] hours.” In Lundy and other cases, the Second Circuit affirmed dismissals because the plaintiffs had failed to provide any facts or estimates to support the number of hours they worked and had simply “rephrased” the FLSA’s requirements as factual contentions.
Federal Judge Dismisses Claim against University; Failure to Appropriately Monitor Docket Not Excusable Neglect
Executive Summary: A federal trial court in D.C. recently dismissed the Amended Complaint of a former professor at the University of the District of Columbia (“UDC” or “University”) due to his failure to timely oppose a Motion to Dismiss, finding that the plaintiff’s counsel’s reasons for the failure to timely respond to the motion did not rise to the level of “excusable neglect” under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 6(b)(1).
Five Lessons for Employers from California v. Riley
In the waning days of its current term, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously in California v. Riley that police officers generally violate the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition against unreasonable searches by conducting a warrantless search of a smartphone seized incident to an arrest. The ruling turned largely on the Supreme Court’s interpretation of a long-established exception to the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement. Although the Fourth Amendment and the relevant exception will rarely apply to private employers, the high court’s decision remains highly relevant for private employers whose workplace searches, like police searches, increasingly encounter personal smartphones, whether as part of a bring your own device program or not, and other mobile devices.
D.C. Circuit Court Upholds Attorney-Client Privilege in Internal Investigations
Internal investigations play a lead role in a company’s effective ethics and compliance program. They are one of the best ways for a company to detect, thoroughly understand, and remedy situations that may violate its code of conduct, and they provide a business-friendly solution before misconduct or non-compliance grows deeper or wider.
Court Denies Sanctions, ‘Discovery on Discovery’ Once Defendant Provides Basic Litigation Hold Details
As he promised to do in his State of the Union address, President Obama today signed an Executive Order establishing a minimum wage for federal contractors.
Attorney’s Tweet Leads to Sanctions
Tweet with caution. It only takes 140 characters for professionals to embarrass themselves or worse. Social media has many advantages.
New Case Demonstrates the Importance of Forum Selection Clauses
On November 4, 2013, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California denied a motion filed by a company to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a former Libya-based employee. This decision ended the company’s unsuccessful attempts to remove to the Libyan judicial system a complaint filed in U.S. federal courts. The ruling, and a companion decision issued two months earlier, serves as a reminder of the need to include well-crafted forum selection clauses in employment agreements, particularly in the international context.
Social Profiles