Author Archives: Zehava Brickner

New Book! Attorney-Client Privilege Answer Book 2015

attorney client answer bookPractising Law Institute (PLI) has announced the release of their newest title, Attorney-Client Privilege Answer Book 2015.

Attorney-Client Privilege Answer Book 2015 provides, in a Q&A format, clear answers to the questions that attorneys grapple with on a regular basis as to what is, or is not, covered by the attorney-client privilege. As the bounds of the attorney-client privilege are narrower and less clear than many lawyers —and most clients — believe them to be, Attorney-Client Privilege Answer Book clarifies, and provides practical examples, of what is covered. It also discusses how the attorney-client privilege differs from related legal concepts such as the work-product doctrine and the lawyer’s professional duty to preserve client confidences.

Attorney-Client Privilege Answer Book answers such questions as:

  • How does the attorney-client privilege, which assures the confidentiality of client communication, coordinate with the fundamental tenet of the judicial system — to seek the truth?
  • How does the court decide which body of law applies to the privilege issue being decided?
  • When is an attorney acting as an attorney in a specific matter, as opposed to providing, for instance, simple business advice?
  • Who is a client — for purposes of invoking the privilege? And if the client is not a person, which employees of the business may communicate with the attorney on behalf of the client?
  • What is a communication that is protected? And what kinds of communications are not protected?
  • Since only communications intended to be confidential are protected, when have courts not found the necessary intention to keep a communication secret?

If you’d like to order Attorney-Client Privilege Answer Book, please email the PLI Library Help Desk or call 877-900-5291.

PLI Discover PLUS – Highlights Search Tips

PLI Discover PLUS allows you to easily manage your documents with eReader functionality.  Here’s a quick video on how to highlight text on PLUS.  Make sure to check out the rest of our videos on the PLI Librarian YouTube channel!

We will continue to add instructional videos to this channel, so stay tuned for more! And if you have any suggestions on search tips videos you would like to see, please contact the PLI Library Help Desk .

What’s New in Corporate & Securities Law?

1095Health Care Mergers and Acquisitions Answer Book is a new PLI title that Discover PLUS subscribers have access to!

PLI Answer Books are written in a question and answer style format, and a great secondary sources to start your research.  Health Care Mergers and Acquisitions Answer Book offers readers guidance on multiple legal and practical issues dealing with health care merger and acquisition transactions.

Impact of the Patent Cliff

A “patent cliff” refers to a period of time during which a number of popular, name-brand drugs lose patent protection.  AstraZeneca’s acquisition of Ardea Biosciences is one example of a patent-cliff-driven transaction.  By acquiring Ardea, AstraZeneca expanded its pipeline of small-molecule drug candidates.  To get more information on this patent-cliff transaction, PLI Discover PLUS subscribers can search AstraZeneca, or go directly to Current Trends in Health Care M&A.

Impact of Health Care Reform

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was a U.S. health care reform statute enacted in 2010, and has impacted health care investors.  Some industry observers have indicated that an overall uptick in M&A deal flow will be a result of health care reform.  To learn more about health care reform, and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, PLI Discover PLUS subscribers can search “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” /s “health care reform” or read about it in Health Care Mergers and Acquisitions Answer Book, Impact of Health Care Reform Legislation on Health Care Transactions.

 

Free One Hour Briefing on Ethical Issues in Limited Scope Representation

October 21, 2014, 1:00p.m. –  2:00p.m. (E.D.T)

Limited scope representation, also known as unbundling, is a way to connect lawyers needing work to clients needing affordable or pro bono legal assistance. It allows the lawyer and the client to agree in advance that the lawyer will undertake certain tasks, such as drafting pleadings or appearing at a contested hearing, and the client will represent him or herself for other parts of the case. This is a valuable tool in increasing access to justice and improving the workings of the court system. It does, however, raise some unique ethical issues that need to be addressed.

As part of the ABA’s National Celebrate Pro Bono Week, please join Toby J. Rothschild, retired general counsel of the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, for a free one-hour briefing on how to safely practice limited scope representation.

Topics to be addressed include:

  • What is limited scope representation?
  • What are the ethical issues that can arise in a limited scope engagement?
  • How can you avoid the ethical pitfalls and provide high quality representation In a limited scope engagement?

Register now and don’t miss this important free briefing!

PLI Course Handbooks Published in September 2014

Listed below are the PLI Course Handbooks published in September 2014:

Corporate & Securities

Employment

Estates & Trusts

Intellectual Property

Litigation

Tax

If you have any questions or would like to order a title, please email the PLI Library Relations Department or call 877-900-5291.

PLI Treatises Updated in September 2014

In September 2014, PLI updated the following Treatises:

If you are on standing order for any of these titles, the releases have already been shipped. If you would like to place an order, please email PLI Library Help Desk or call 877-900-5291.

Free One Hour Briefing on U.S. Sanctions Relating to the Unrest in Ukraine: Compliance Challenges

October 9, 2014, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. (E.D.T.)

The United States began by imposing sanctions on persons and entities associated with the unrest in the Ukraine, but the sanctions have been expanded to target broader segments of the Russian economy with the adoption of new sectoral sanctions. Please join Stephan E. Becker of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP and Corinne A. Goldstein of Covington & Burling LLP for a discussion of topics including:

  • The scope of the U.S. sanctions administered by the Treasury and Commerce Departments
  • The implementation of sectoral sanctions on the Russian financial, defense and oil & gas sectors
  • Recent expansions of the sanctions and potential future changes

Register now and don’t miss this important free briefing!

Free One Hour Briefing on What’s Going on at the SEC and PCAOB – What You Need to Know Now

October 8, 2014, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. (E.D.T.)

Both the SEC’s Division of Corporation and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board are engaged in major projects that may significantly change the public company disclosures about financial results, controls and audits. A panel including a PCAOB Board Member, the Chief Accountant of the SEC Corp Fin Division and a former SEC Chief Accountant who now serves on two audit committees, along with leading legal and audit firm partners who counsel clients on disclosure and financial reporting issues will provide a lively One-Hour briefing on the developments you need to know about now.

Topics will include:

  • The SEC’s major disclosure review project, now underway
  • Latest SEC staff and PCAOB guidance on financial reporting and accounting issues, including revenue recognition
  • The current status of PCAOB initiatives to reform the auditor reporting model, to evaluate its going concern standard in light of a recent FASB going concern standard, to provide guidance on fair value auditing and other topics
  • PCAOB’s audit committee outreach efforts
  • Possible rulemaking in the next six months, including audit committee reporting
  • The impact of all of this on audit committees and those who advise them

Moderator:

John F. Olson, Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP

Panel:

Michael J. Gallagher, Managing Partner, Assurance Quality, PricewaterhouseCoopers

Linda L. Griggs, Partner, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP

Jay D. Hanson, Board Member, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board

Mark Kronforst, Chief Accountant, Division of Corporation Finance, United States Securities and Exchange Commission

Donald T. Nicolaisen, Independent Director, Morgan Stanley, MGIC Investment Corp., Verizon, Zurich Insurance Group

Register now and don’t miss this important free briefing!