5 Legal Stories to Read This Weekend (And a Video to Boot!)
For your weekend reading, five news items that stood out this week, as covered by some of the smartest lawyers at work today. But first a video accompaniment - Lee Pacchia, on the week’s top news via Bloomberg Law:
1. Supreme Court Says No to Chevron Appeal
The Supreme Court has written the latest chapter in the ongoing dispute over surface water contamination in the Amazon Rainforest caused by Texaco in the 1970s and 1980s (Chevron acquired Texaco in 2001). Chevron asked the high court to take on its appeal of an $18 billion judgment against the oil giant awarded by an Ecuadorian judge in early 2011. The Supremes denied Chevron’s request. (Lewis and Roca)
2. Congressional lame duck session could get ugly
Law firm King & Spalding has taken a look at what Congress’ “lame duck” session – after the November elections and before the holiday break – might look like. Obviously, a lot depends on how the Senate and House races go, but from King & Spalding’s perspective, one thing is clear: whether Romney or Obama wins at the polls, it won’t be pretty getting legislation through Congress. (King & Spalding)
3. Cyberattacks on US banks are real (and really scary)
Think your money’s safe in the bank? It may not be. The FBI is warning banks and other financial institutions that cyber criminals are trying to penetrate bank security, primarily through the use of spam and phishing emails to gain access. And denial of service attacks on the three largest U.S. banks in late September are thought to have originated in Iran. Time to invest in a home safe? (Proskauer) (Mintz Levin) (BuckleySandler)
4. Mexico enacts anti-corruption law
Mexico’s answer to the FCPA, la Ley Federal Anticorrupción en Contrataciones Públicas (Federal Law Against Corruption in Public Procurement) went into effect this summer, and it will soon be put to the test. A Ministry of Public Administration investigation has revealed irregularities in the purchase of more than $115 million of computer equipment by the country’s state-owned electric utility. (Morgan Lewis)
In a related story, the U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office published this week tougher new guidelines for enforcing the U.K Bribery Act. (Corporate Law Report)
5. Employers: new background check rules go into effect on January 1
After the first of the year, employers will need to provide job applicants and employees with the new Fair Credit Reporting Act “Summary of Rights” form before running any form of credit check. The changes are minor – the main difference is to notify recipients that they should direct queries on FCRA rights to the Consumer Financial Reporting Bureau, not the FTC as is the case today. All the same, it’s a deadline you won’t want to miss (McNees Wallace & Nurick) (XpertHR) (Snell & Wilmer) (Proskauer) (Littler)
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