Perhaps you are considering finding employment at a new company or already have a new job offer and remember that the employment agreement you have with your current or recent employer includes a non-compete clause. What is a non-compete agreement? Does this mean you...
In an important recent decision in the Business Litigation Session of the Massachusetts Superior Court, Judge Kenneth W. Salinger rejected Merrimack College's attempt to hold its auditor KPMG, LLP liable for its failure to discover an employee's fraud. In Merrimack...
Authorized by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the "CFPB") is an agency of the United States government that regulates banks, credit unions, debt collectors, and many other sectors of the American...
I attended a recent Federal Bar Association breakfast that was hosted by a thoughtful member of the federal bench in Massachusetts. He raised an important question about juror comprehension: Should each juror have a personal copy of the Court's jury instructions and...
Communications between a client and a lawyer for the purpose of seeking or providing legal advice are generally confidential and neither the client nor the lawyer can be compelled to disclose them. The protection that applies to such communications is called the...
In the recent case of Fitzgerald v. The Chateau Restaurant Corp., No. 14-01990-J, 2016 WL 344155 (Mass. Sup. Ct. Jan. 4, 2016), a former manager at The Chateau Burlington and The Chateau Andover restaurants filed a putative class action against parent company The...
I recently participated in a panel discussion for a mediation course at a local law school. A well-known full time mediator and a U.S. federal magistrate judge who regularly conducts mediations in the federal court were with me. A highly engaged class of law students...
Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 93A, § 2 ("Chapter 93A") states: "Unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce are hereby declared unlawful." From that simple statement, numerous acts and practices...
Articles XII and XV of the Massachusetts Constitution guarantee the right to a trial by jury, but the choice of whether to exercise that right is a strategic decision that often depends upon the facts and circumstances of a case. A case where the judge serves as...
Suffolk Superior Court in Boston is home to an innovative session called the Business Litigation Session, commonly abbreviated as "BLS". Brought about by the advocacy of administrative judges, civil litigators, and leaders in the business community, the BLS has served...
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