By nature, lawyers tend to be reactive and we are trained to respond to crisis and/or problems. So, it takes a lot of work to develop proactive skills so that we can help our clients avoid problems such as large customer disputes or worse (the dreaded class action). Over time, we have noticed common themes … Continue Reading
Regular readers know that a good part of my practice deals with the use of “post-employment restrictions” to prevent former employees from using, selling or distributing a company’s most valuable assets – its intellectual property. In one of my first blog posts on this site, I commented that the “explosion” of litigation in this area … Continue Reading
Readers of this space may recall my recent posts highlighting court and legislative changes to employment laws, regulations and policies affecting manufacturers. See e.g. “‘Manufacturing’ Law: Courts Also Move to Fill the Void,” “INTERESTING UPDATE: ‘Manufacturing’ Law: Courts Join the States to Fill the Void,” and “The DOL Seeks to Change the Tide.” While … Continue Reading
Some manufacturers may interpret the “Epic Fail” of Congress to repeal the Affordable Care Act as a sign of stability in the labor and employment landscape. After all, one thing which the new Administration and Congressional Republicans had in common was their seven-year pledge to repeal “Obamacare.” When compared to the divergent views on other … Continue Reading
I am a really big fan of the NPR radio show, “Car Talk,” where two Boston auto mechanics took callers’ questions and tried to answer them. Since the November 8 election, I have freely adapted one of their signature phrases – I call it the “Manufacturers’ Lawyers’ Shrug.” Basically, when I attend any event and … Continue Reading
Last month, I gave a presentation to manufacturers and distributors throughout the United States on Conflict Minerals Laws. The program was sponsored by the United States Department of Commerce. These laws attempt to curb the acquisition of certain minerals from a certain part of Africa that are believed to support regional conflicts. Here are some … Continue Reading
The New Year holiday is barely over and 2015 has delivered its first significant development affecting manufacturers and their labor unions. On January 26, 2015, in M&G Polymers U.S.A. v. Tackett, a unanimous United States Supreme Court took the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to the woodshed with the wholesale repudiation of its thirty-year old … Continue Reading
It is our annual tradition at the beginning of each year to report on significant issues that face manufacturers/distributors in the year ahead. Two weeks ago, Matt reported on significant issues in the labor/employment arena. Last week, Pam reported on Environmental, Health and Safefy (EH&S) issues. To round out the series, I’ll be writing about … Continue Reading
The approaching holidays may have put Congress, the National Labor Relations Board and the United States Supreme Court in the “gift-giving” mood. In the last week, three significant developments occurred which may radically affect manufacturers in 2015. On December 11, in Purple Communications, a divided National Labor Relations Board ruled that employees had a statutory … Continue Reading
Earlier this year, I wrote about efforts to reform the patent system to curtail abuses by “patent trolls.” Patent trolls do not manufacture anything. Rather, they often buy up patents and then bring lawsuits against businesses seeking to extract licensing fees. Last week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported on its blog that it had settled a … Continue Reading
Last week, I had the privilege of speaking at ACI’s 2nd Annual Consumer Products Regulation & Litigation Conference in Chicago. During the conference, I moderated a panel of in-house attorneys that worked at General Electric, Williams-Sonoma, Deere & Co., and Nordstrom. One of the issues that always comes up at conferences involving litigation is “e-discovery.” For … Continue Reading
The words “manufacturer” and “innovation” often go together like “peanut butter” and “jelly.” Many manufacturers spend years developing processes and products that they then must protect by using the legal system such as through obtaining patents, trademarks, etc. Over the past several years, many manufacturers have learned that there are entities in the marketplace known as “patent … Continue Reading
From a corporate compliance/litigation perspective, my watchlist includes 3-D printing (“additive manufacturing”) and the rise of consumer class actions particularly in the area of food and beverage and nutritional/dietary supplements and the impact those cases might have on all manufacturers and distributors. 3-D Printing / Additive Manufacturing: Almost every day, I see some sort of article … Continue Reading
The Manufacturing Law Blog provides timely commentary on issues of importance to manufacturers and distributors. Contributors from the law firm of Robinson & Cole LLP are corporate compliance and litigation attorney, Jeff White; environmental, health and safety attorney, Pam Elkow; and labor and employment attorney, Nicole Bernabo. As Part II of our U.S. Supreme Court roundup, this … Continue Reading
California’s legislature has moved closer to approving a measure that may significantly curb lawsuits filed against manufacturers and distributors under California Proposition 65 (“Prop. 65”). A California assemblyman, Mike Gatto, has spearheaded an effort to pass an amendment to Prop. 65 that would allow a manufacturer or distributor to avoid both lawsuits and governmental enforcement … Continue Reading
One of the most significant news stories I read in 2012 was an article published by The New York Times in August, which described the efforts of lawyers who took on the “Big Tobacco” companies to find a new target in the business community. As the news article explains, these lawyers have now set their … Continue Reading
For many months, I had been thinking about creating a blog that would focus on legal and related business issues that are facing manufacturers and distributors both within our firm’s northeast region footprint and through the country. Although there are thousands of bloggers out there, few, if any, are focused on legal issues that face … Continue Reading
