Brad Reid

A recent decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit is a reminder that a trade secret may be lost if the owner fails to take reasonable precautions to protect it (Fail-Safe, LLC v. A.O. Smith Corp.). Inventors, and other owners of intellectual property,...

On Monday, April 30 the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review a Ninth Circuit decision that allowed an inmate to sue the Los Angeles County Sheriff for injuries received while confined, under a theory of "deliberate indifference." While technically not establishing a precedent, Supreme Court watchers tend to...

In an opinion that indicates the need to revise U.S. federal intellectual property theft statutes, the Second Circuit reversed a jury's theft convictions under the National Stolen Property Act and the Economic Espionage Act (U.S. v. Aleynikov). Proprietary computer source code was taken by a computer...

A significant preliminary issue in any suit against governmental bodies is the application of sovereign immunity. Sovereign immunity, historically phrased as the king can do no wrong, early became a part of the U.S. legal system. Governments may only allow suits to proceed against themselves by some affirmative action (waiver)...

The oral argument of two combined cases (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services v. Florida and National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius) before the Supreme Court concerning the "Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act of 2010" focuses national attention on the powers possessed by the Supreme Court....

Conventional wisdom says to be careful what you sign. Of course this is true, but a very recent decision by the federal Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit once again illustrates that how you sign documents may be crucial in imposing liability (Bonnant v. Merrill Lynch). While the technical...

The U.S. District Court in Colorado recently held that Miami Nations' tribal sovereign immunity applied to both governmental and commercial activities (Colorado v. Cash Advance). Consequently, business subdivisions of federally recognized tribes are immune from administrative subpoenas issued by the Colorado Attorney General's Office in an investigation of payday lending....

The traditional for-profit corporation requires directors and officers to make decisions that maximize shareholders' profit while the traditional nonprofit corporation lacks shareholders and accumulates income to fulfill stated charitable or educational purposes. The very recently developed "Benefit Corporation" -- in 2010 Maryland had the first legislation -- combines...

A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, Golan v. Holder, upheld federal legislative section 514 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act that removed works from the U.S. public domain. This is a logical result of a series of treaties stretching back to 1886. It is clear from this decision that the...

Recently the Arkansas Supreme Court reversed a capital murder conviction in part because a juror disobeyed specific instructions not to tweet (Dimas-Martinez v. Arkansas). One of the tweets was: /Convicted-Arkansas-murderer-Erickson-Di." target="_hplink">"Choices to be made. Hearts to be broken. We each define the great line." After being questioned concerning that...

Morality has been a part of contract law for ages in the history of western civilization. At one time it was believed that contracts were made in the presence of God and consequently certain moral standards were implicit in creating and executing the agreement. While this view has faded, there...

While shareholders are the owners of a corporation, in everyday actions the board of directors and officers manage the business. If a shareholder disagrees with the action or inaction of the board, it is possible to sue the directors in a "derivative action to enforce a right that...

News reports have spread concerning the Motion to Dismiss granted on December first by Central District of California federal District Judge A. Howard Matz that overturns the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act convictions of Lindsey Manufacturing Company, Keith E. Lindsey, and Steven K. Lee. The important lesson for all is that...

Recent commentary has considered the legal and social implications of a corporation being considered a "person." An interesting aspect of contemporary capitalism is the ability to create legal entities that have a separate existence from owners and managers. The British East India Company, chartered in 1600, is an early...

A recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, In re Lemington Home for the Aged, is a reminder to nonprofit corporation directors to act carefully and honestly. This case resulted from an action by unsecured creditors (creditors without collateral) in the context of a...

Margaret Heffernan's recent book, Willful Blindness: Why We Ignore the Obvious at Our Peril, states that she "first encountered the idea of willful blindness when [she] read the transcript of the trial of Jeffrey Skilling and Kenneth Lay" and read the willful blindness jury instruction. She explores the many reasons...

A recent Department of Labor news release stated that a financial institution was ordered to reinstate a fired employee and pay him $930,000 for violating the whistle-blower protection provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). It may appear to the casual reader that redress for violations is certain and profitable. However,...

James B. Stewart's recent book, Tangled Webs, How False Statements are Undermining America: From Martha Stewart to Bernie Madoff, focuses on the disastrous consequences of lying and the importance of truth in the judicial process.

Stewart suggests that perjury is increasing and is a difficult crime to prosecute...

Joby Warrick's book "The Triple Agent" contains some lessons for business leaders in his non-fiction account of a CIA intelligence operation. An Al-Qaeda supporter who was thought to have been turned against that organization became a suicide bomber against his handlers, killing or seriously wounding numerous individuals in a face-to-face...