In a given year, the average American teenager and young adult will spend 868 hours (36 days) online. Roughly 20 percent of this time is spent IM (IM). One recent study showed that of the 24 million U.S. teens that go online, one in five, or about 5 million, considers IM their primary means of communicating with their friends. Why are so may young Americans hooked on this technology? What can the American business man or woman learn from his/her son or daughter? If IM is such an important form of private communication in America, is there room for it in the American workplace? Can IM be an efficient and profitable means of conducting business? Or is IM just another type of electronic communication gadget along with e-mail, voice mail, paging, Blackberries, and cellular?

Glenn M. Farnet recently won a significant products liability victory for Black & Decker (U.S.) Inc., in the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. While using a pneumatic brad nailer, the plaintiff was blinded in one eye after a nail ricocheted off of the work surface. The district court granted Black & Decker’s summary judgment motion on the ground that the plaintiff did not satisfy his burden of proving the “risk/utility” element of a defective design claim under the Louisiana Product Liability Act. The United States Fifth Circuit affirmed the ruling.

In December of 2004, Congress amended the Uniform Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act (USERRA) 38 USC §§ 4301, et seq. The recent amendment (38 USC § 4334) requires that employers provide eligible employees with notice of their rights, benefits, and obligations under USERRA. The notice requirement can be met by posting a notice where…

On February 3, 2005, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) responded to two issues raised in petitions for reconsideration filed in response to EPA’s rule to implement the 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). See, 70 Fed. Reg. 5593. The federal agency also proposed to revise two aspects of the implementation rule first…

A recent decision of the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Clara Patrick versus Tom Ridge, Secretary, Department of Homeland Security, No. 04-10194 (December 2004) shows how a lack Of “sufficient clarity” in articulating a reason for an employment decision can sometimes negatively impact an employer.

The employee in this case advanced charges of age discrimination and retaliation arising out of the employer’s refusal to promote her to a supervisory position for which she had applied. The district court had earlier dismissed the claims pursuant to a motion for summary judgment filed by the defendants. The Court of Appeals, however, reversed the dismissal and at the same time provided employers with a good reminder about the need to be able to articulate “specifics” in certain situations. The district court ruled (and the defendants did not challenge on appeal) that the employee succeeded
in making out a prima facie case for both age discrimination and retaliation.

Business executives who face commercial lawsuits as plaintiffs or defendants understand the effect litigation has on a business. The following article addresses seven important issues that savvy business owners should be aware of – in the boardroom and in the courtroom – when it comes to commercial litigation.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently issued Phase II of the Final Regulations to implement and enforce the federal physician self-referral law (otherwise known as the “Stark Law”). The Stark Law generally affects all business relationships between physicians and other health care providers. Physician practices should review all aspects of their business…