China’s World Trade Organization (WTO) accession agreement includes two safeguards that allow WTO members, under certain conditions, to restrict the quantity of imports specifically from China. One safeguard—limited to textile and apparel products— has been used by both the United States and the European Union in recent years.

The tender offer is an acquisition structure frequently identified with hostile takeover bids because it does not require a negotiated acquisition agreement approved by the target's board of directors.

A new law has been enacted in Mexico that has significantly changed the provisions of Article 142 of the Mexican Industrial Property Law locally known as MIPL, which is the primary law specifically governing franchising in Mexico. By decree published on January 25, 2006, which became effective January 26, 2006, Article 142 now not only sets forth the broad parameters for disclosure and possible registration of Franchise Agreements in Mexico, but includes relationship law elements that were previ

The 2004 session of the Maryland General Assembly yielded several changes to Maryland law that we believe will be of particular interest to our corporate clients. Chapters 556 and 557 of the 2004 Maryland Laws (House Bill 297 and Senate Bill 187, respectively) address the taxation of transactions with related non-Maryland parties. Chapter 516 (House Bill 737) effects several changes to the Maryland General Corporation Law (MGCL). Governor Ehrlich permitted Chapters 556 and 557 to become law with

In the first court decision to interpret Regulation FD, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, on September 1, 2005, dismissed the SEC’s complaint against Siebel Systems, Inc. and two of the company’s senior executives.

This October, the New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, handed down a decision that will have broad implications for franchising nationwide. In Carvel Corp. v. Noonan, the Court of Appeals held that in order to sustain a valid tort claim for intentional interference with prospective economic business relations, in the absence of some independent illegal act or malicious motive, the plaintiff must demonstrate that the defendant engaged in egregious misconduct.

On October 1, 2004, the highest court in Massachusetts, the Supreme Judicial Court, handed down a ruling in an important case for franchisors, <i>Boulanger v. Dunkin’ Donuts Incorporated,</i> 815 N.E. 2d 572 (Mass. 2004).

When a party contests the enforceability of an agreement containing an arbitration clause, should the issue be determined by an arbitrator or a court?

Officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told industry representatives last week that the agency plans to soon issue final regulations for implementing the SAFETY Act. Based on DHS statements, it appears the final regulations will include substantial changes to the application and approval process by which Homeland Security contractors obtain the SAFETY Act's broad liability protections for anti-terrorism technologies. See Homeland Security Client Alert, "Analysis of the SAFE

On Thursday, March 4, 2004, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), proposed guidelines for clarifying the meaning of a job "applicant" The new guidelines are a result of the thousands of unsolicited resumes received by employers and recruiters via the Internet and related electronic data-processing technology from jo

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has recently published two proposed guidelines which, if made final, will significantly change the landscape for evaluating whether the compensation practices of government contractors comply with Executive Order 11246.

A divided Supreme Court upheld most of the key provisions of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) in a nearly 300-page decision handed down on December 10, 2003. The outcome is seen as a significant victory for campaign reform advocates.

On July 20, 2004, a federal district court in New York issued a lengthy and detailed opinion sanctioning UBS Warburg LLC for failing to ensure that all relevant electronic information was preserved in connection with a lawsuit brought against the company by a former equities trader, Laura Zubulake, alleging gender discrimination, failure to promote, and retaliation under federal, state, and city law.

Last week, substantially all of the outside directors of the two companies most closely associated with corporate scandal - WorldCom and Enron - agreed to settle the securities class action cases involving those companies. Significantly, most of the directors agreed to contribute their personal funds to the settlements, in excess of the contributions from their respective directors and officers insurance policies.