Schlumberger Faces Bribery Probe – WSJ.com http://bit.ly/95gUSH #ediscovery
Schlumberger Faces Bribery Probe – WSJ.com http://bit.ly/95gUSH #ediscovery
October 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Feds Introducing BigPharma to FCPA – Law Blog – WSJ
October 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Lanny Breuer, the head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, told drug-company executives last year that investigating foreign bribery in the industry would be one of his priorities over the next several years.
Looks like he’s staying true to his word.
On Tuesday, the WSJ’s Michael Rothfeld reports that federal investigators are looking at ways that drug makers could be paying bribes overseas to boost sales and speed approvals.
Big companies—including Merck, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb and GlaxoSmithKline —in recent months have disclosed they are being investigated for possible violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the now ubiquitous 1977 law that makes it illegal for companies whose stock is traded in the U.S. to bribe government officials in other countries to get business.
The companies said they are cooperating with the government, with several adding that the investigation is industry-wide and broader than their companies specifically. So far, none of the companies has been accused of wrongdoing, and the investigation ultimately may not result in charges.
The investigation is targeting transactions in Brazil, China, Germany, Italy, Poland, Russia and Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter said.
And the Largest Law Firm in the World is . . . * – Law Blog – WSJ
October 2, 2010 By Leave a Comment
A simple question: Which law firm is the largest in the world?
* Of course, the answer depends on the metrics used. But in regard to gross revenue, in 2010, there’s a new name on top: Baker & McKenzie.
The news comes courtesy of the American Lawyer’s “Global 100″ issue, which ranks the largest firms by gross revenue. (The Global 100, which typically runs in the magazine’s October issue, isn’t to be confused with the “AmLaw 100,” which runs in the May issue and ranks the largest firms in the U.S., by revenue.)
Baker & McKenzie tops the pack, with gross revenues in 2009 of $2.104 billion. The firm edged out Skadden, which took home $2.100 billion in 2009. (Skadden, it might be noted, has twice the revenue per lawyer of Baker.)
The rest of the top 10: 3) Clifford Chance ($1.875 billion); 4) Linklaters ($1.853 billion); 5) Latham & Watkins ($1.821 billion); 6) Freshfields ($1.787 billion); 7) Allen & Overy ($1.645 billion); 
Jones Day ($1.520 billion); 9) Kirkland & Ellis ($1.428 billion); 10) Sidley Austin ($1.357 billion).
via And the Largest Law Firm in the World is . . . * – Law Blog – WSJ.
Twitter’s Promoted Tweets Sell for $100K and Up – NYTimes.com
September 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Twitter is now selling its Promoted Tweets for $100,000, according to an article in this morning’s Wall St. Journal. Promoted Tweets, which allow companies to buy the top spot on Twitter’s search results page, is just one of the microblogging network’s new advertising initiatives as of late. The idea behind these digital ads is that the service allows companies to associate themselves with a certain trend or keyword. For example, launch partner Starbucks bought their brand name so that anyone searching Twitter for “starbucks” would see an advertisement for the coffee company at the top of the results page.
But while $100,000 is a lot of money to most, Twitter’s Promoted Tweets and its other initiative, Promoted Trends, are experimental, largely unproven and not worth the investment – at least that’s what several advertisers and marketers cited by the WSJ claimed. Their feelings on that matter, however, may soon change thanks to plans Twitter has in store for its ads service.
via Twitter’s Promoted Tweets Sell for $100K and Up – NYTimes.com.
Intel Looks to Protect More Than Computers – WSJ.com
August 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Intel Corp.’s deal for McAfee Inc. envisions using hardware to accelerate antivirus and security software to help the chip giant move into new devices and markets.
The companies said Thursday the combination will allow them to modify future Intel microprocessors to add security features into the brains of machines. It’s a venerable idea in security circles that has so far made little headway in consumer products.
Their partnership makes possible specially enhanced chips that could help encrypt data faster to protect email privacy and help authenticate the identity of users before they boot up portable devices or tap into corporate …
Hello, RICO! The Latest Headache to Hit BP – Law Blog – WSJ
June 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Besides a raft of personal injury suits and the economic claims against BP, a new genre of suits is now emerging: the civil racketeering suit.
Last week Daniel Becnel, Richard Arsenault and an array of other attorneys filed in the Western District of Louisiana a federal RICO suit against BP and Transocean. Click here for the complaint.
A RICO suit filed on Monday is far more narrow in focus, targeting BP’s claims process. The suit filed in the Southern District of Alabama has accused three entities — BP, a catastrophe contractor that apparently is helping BP administer claims and a property management company — of fraudulent practices in helping claimants seek recourse under funds set aside via the Oil Pollution Act.
via Hello, RICO! The Latest Headache to Hit BP – Law Blog – WSJ.
Dukes v Wal-Mart Stores | Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion| Judge Michael D. Hawkins
April 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment
In Advance of the Senate Hearing, Eyes Turn to Emails | WSJ
April 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment
On Tuesday, all eyes will be on Capitol Hill, where members of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations will presumably throw a fusillade of questions toward leaders of Goldman Sachs, as well as Fabrice Tourre, the trader at the center of the SEC’s lawsuit against the bank.
The big news this weekend revolved around a batch of emails penned by Tourre. Many of the emails were sent by Tourre to girlfriends that revealed doubts about some mortgage securities issued by the company and an occasionally dismissive attitude toward the investors buying them. Click here for the WSJ story on the emails.
So why did Goldman release these emails? According to the WSJ, there was widespread speculation that Goldman was seeking to make more-senior executives who also are caught in an uncomfortable political and public-relations spotlight look better by comparison to the 31-year-old trader.
“Although the emails are unfortunate and embarrassing to the firm, we have consistently said and continue to say Tourre did nothing improper in connection to the transaction,” a Goldman spokesman said Sunday. Tourre’s lawyers didn’t respond to requests for comment.
It’s an interesting line for Goldman to walk: to distance itself from Tourre a little bit, but not too much. In other words, he may have been young and a bit brash, but he did nothing wrong.
via In Advance of the Senate Hearing, Eyes Turn to Emails – Law Blog – WSJ.
SEC, DOJ Join Bribery Investigation Involving Hewlett-Packard – Law Blog – WSJ
April 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment
It’s not exactly like the Justice Department or Securities & Exchange Commission to stand by and watch European regulators conduct a sizable bribery investigation of a high-profile U.S. company. It’s like asking a child to stand still after a pinata’s been smashed open.
So we weren’t exactly surprised to find out that on Thursday that, mere hours after we’d written up news of the European bribery investigation of Hewlett-Packard, word broke that U.S. authorities were also looking into the matter, focusing chiefly on whether H-P violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Click here for the WSJ story, from David Crawford and Dionne Searcey.
German prosecutors have centered their inquiry into the suspected bribes on one current and two former H-P senior executives, according to German court records and people familiar with the probe. Those under investigation include a former head of H-P’s sales operations in Russia and the former Soviet Union.
via SEC, DOJ Join Bribery Investigation Involving Hewlett-Packard – Law Blog – WSJ.
Next Stop on FCPA Train: China? – WSJ
April 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment
There seemingly is no limit to where the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act — the U.S. law that bars companies from bribing foreign officials — can take us.
On Tuesday we turned to China, where Avon Products, the beauty products company based in New York, is investigating its operations. Here’s the WSJ story and LB posts on FCPA matters.
The company has suspended three top executives in its China unit amid an internal investigation into alleged bribery that began in China and, according to story, now involves a dozen or more countries. A fourth suspended employee was a senior executive in New York who was Avon’s head of internal audit until the middle of last year, WSJ reported.
Avon’s China unit wouldn’t make the executives available to comment or discuss their alleged activities. The New York executive couldn’t be reached for comment.
The possible wrongdoing under investigation includes the alleged purchase of trips to France, New York, Canada and Hawaii for Chinese government officials with ties to Avon’s business, according to WSJ.
via Next Stop on FCPA Train: China? – Law Blog – WSJ.
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