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Understanding and Litigating Forum Selection Clauses

Michael Duncan April 12, 2016

In business transactions, drafters often include certain “boilerplate” terms within the transaction documents, including forum selection or venue clauses. These provisions typically attempt to mandate the location where any litigation arising from the transaction must occur. However, when not clearly drafted, these provisions can lead to the initial stages of litigation becoming consumed in a battle over where the case

Trademark Trivia: These Laws Are Obscure, The Marks Are Not

Z. Peter Sawicki and James L. Young April 2, 2016

Seventy years ago, Congress agreed on comprehensive federal trademark legislation that, for the most part, still exists today. This 1946 law is commonly referred to as the Lanham Act See 15 USC 1051. Collectively, we’ve been practicing trademark law for about as long as this statute is old, but it’s important to know that the Lanham Act is not the

Top Whistleblower Protections & Impact on California’s Employment Landscape

Stephen Danz April 1, 2016

Whistleblowing continues to be one of the fastest growing and grossing areas of law. In addition to the financial incentive for whistleblowers, laws are constantly added to fuel the field’s meteoric growth. In 2015, the U.S. Justice Department reported that it settled False Claims Act (FCA) cases with over 450 hospitals for more than $250 million related to improper billing

Seeking Asylum: Effects of the Immigration and Nationality Act

Alan Diamante April 1, 2016

The human right to seek asylum from persecution is fundamental. The controlling international convention on refugee law is the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Optional Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees. The United States committed to protecting refugees in 1967 when it enacted legislation to incorporate the Optional Protocol’s key provisions. In 1996,

The Putative Father Registry: An Update

Kara North March 8, 2016

Over the course of the last few years, Utah’s adoption laws have regularly made headlines, but not for the reasons one would hope. Nationally, Utah has become an infamous forum for non-resident birth mothers in search of adoptive families, often without the knowledge or consent of the putative father. Utah, not unlike many other states, does not recognize the interests

Whose Fault Is It When A Patient Falls In The Hospital?

Kay Van Wey March 7, 2016

A potential client appears in your office with a familiar story… An aging, but relatively healthy mother lived with her daughter when she had to be admitted into the hospital for an illness. Her daughter remained by her side 24/7. Her mother was due to be released soon and the nurses encouraged the daughter to go home, take a shower,

Lowering Conflict in Paying for Higher Education: How Divorce Impacts the College-Bound Child

Kathleen Newman March 7, 2016

One of the unspoken problems in divorce today is the financial impact it has on adult or soon-to-be adult children, assuming that the adult child is not disabled. In Minnesota, a person is considered an adult when they reach the age of 18. Minn. Stat. §645.451 subd. 3. Under the divorce statutes, however, financial support for a child continues until

The Merits of Patent Ownership

Z. Peter Sawicki and James L. Young March 7, 2016

Your client calls to tell you they’ve developed this extraordinary new product concept and wonders how it can be protected (i.e., how can we keep competitors from offering the same thing?). You realize right away that this might be achieved by patent protection, but what possible value, exactly, does a patent provide? Exclusion Owning a patent doesn’t confer the patent

Personal Property Leases in Chapter 11s: What Are You Entitled to Recover?

Cameron Lallier March 7, 2016

The United States Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Eighth Circuit recently provided guidance regarding the proper analysis and valuation of a personal property lessor’s administrative expense claim in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding in a case of first impression in Minnesota. Attorneys representing debtors and creditors alike should take note as the decision establishes a timetable with significant evidentiary and

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