Section Newsletters

Articles From Michael Todd Scott

QDRO processing costs can be allocated to individual accounts By Michael Todd Scott Employee Benefits, June 2004 On May 19, 2003, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued Field Assistance Bulletin 2003-3 to address the allocation of certain defined contribution plan expenses among participant accounts.
Illinois Supreme Court adopts rule to clarify UPL concerns for in-house counsel; Creates road-block for in-house counsel wishing to change jobs By Michael Todd Scott Corporate Law Departments, March 2004 On February 11, 2004, The Illinois Supreme Court adopted new Rule 716. This new rule clarifies the debate on whether in-house counsel who are located in Illinois, but who are not licensed in Illinois are engaged in the unauthorized practice of law.
QDRO processing costs can be allocated to individual accounts By Michael Todd Scott Corporate Law Departments, January 2004 On May 19, 2003, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued Field Assistance Bulletin 2003-3 to address the allocation of certain defined contribution plan expenses among participant accounts.
Letter from the co-editors By Michael Todd Scott Corporate Law Departments, December 2003 In this issue of The Corporate Lawyer we have two very interesting articles from the firm of Faegre & Benson.
Reinsuring employee benefit plan risks through a captive By Michael Lusk & Michael Todd Scott Corporate Law Departments, June 2003 Since the Department of Labor approved a prohibited transaction exemption for Columbia Energy Corporation in 2000, there has been an increased interest from employers in reinsuring employee benefit plan risks through their captives
Records management for Illinois insurers—What’s missing from the Illinois Supreme Court’s decision in Guillen v. Potomac Ins. Co. of Ill.? By Michael Todd Scott Corporate Law Departments, March 2003 In Guillen v. Potomac Ins. Co. of Ill. (January 24, 2003), the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that an insurance company breached its duty to defend when it refused to defend an insured against a lead-based paint personal injury action.
An employer’s guide to child support withholding in Illinois By Michael Todd Scott Corporate Law Departments, January 2003 If you have employees, eventually you will have an employee who is ordered to pay child support.
Letter from the co-editors By Michael Todd Scott Corporate Law Departments, January 2003 Welcome to the January, 2003 edition of The Corporate Lawyer. In this edition of we have two articles we hope you find valuable to your practice.
ABA House Of Delegates approves new Rule 5.5 By Michael Todd Scott Corporate Law Departments, November 2002 At its Annual Meeting in August, the ABA House of Delegates approved Report 201B of the ABA's Commission on Multijurisdictional Practice.
Twelve tips for prepping employees for deposition By Michael Todd Scott Corporate Law Departments, November 2002 Most in-house counsel will at some time have to prep an employee for deposition.
An in-house counsel’s guide to the Employee Polygraph Protection Act By Michael Todd Scott Corporate Law Departments, October 2002 You are General Counsel of a company and you receive a call from your Auditing Department.
Defining the practice (or unauthorized practice) of law By Michael Todd Scott Corporate Law Departments, August 2002 Defining what constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a tough challenge.
Letter from the co-editor By Michael Todd Scott Corporate Law Departments, July 2002 Welcome to the 2002 - ­2003 bar year and to Volume 40 of The Corporate Lawyer ! We are looking forward to another great year. If you are a returning member of the ISBA Corporate Law Departments Section, thanks for sticking with us.
Does UPL by in-house counsel really waive the attorney-client privilege? By Michael Todd Scott Commercial Banking, Collections, and Bankruptcy, March 2002 In the June 2000 issue of The Corporate Lawyer, we ran an article entitled "Unauthorized Practice of Law and In-house Counsel."
Unauthorized practice of law and in-house counsel By Michael Todd Scott Commercial Banking, Collections, and Bankruptcy, March 2002 There has been a lot of discussion lately on unauthorized practice of law (UPL) by in-house counsel.
Does UPL by in-house counsel really waive the attorney-client privilege? By Michael Todd Scott Environmental and Natural Resources Law, December 2001 In the June 2000 issue of The Corporate Lawyer, we ran an article entitled Unauthorized Practice of Law and In-house Counsel.
Unauthorized practice of law and in-house counsel By Michael Todd Scott Environmental and Natural Resources Law, December 2001 There has been a lot of discussion lately on unauthorized practice of law (UPL) by in-house counsel.
Can your company store its documents electronically? By Michael Todd Scott Corporate Law Departments, October 2001 In today's business environment more and more records are being converted to electronic records or are originally being created as electronic records.
Recent U.S. Supreme Court cases of interest to in-house counsel By Michael Todd Scott Corporate Law Departments, August 2001 Don King, as president and sole owner of his promotion company, was accused of conducting the corporation's affairs in violation of the Racketeer Influence and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).
Recent U.S. Supreme Court cases of interest to in-house counsel By Michael Todd Scott Corporate Law Departments, July 2001 In an 8-1 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that punitive damage awards must be reviewed on a de novo standard.
An in-house counsel’s guide to dealing with cybersquatters: Part II (the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act) By Michael Todd Scott Corporate Law Departments, March 2001 As we discussed in Part I of this article, ICANN's Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy is a powerful weapon in the fight against cybersquatters.
An in-house counsel’s guide to dealing with cybersquatters— part I (ICCAN’s Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy) By Michael Todd Scott Corporate Law Departments, February 2001 The Web site whatis.com, defines cybersquatting as: reserving an Internet domain name (often referred to as a "dot com" name) for the purpose of selling it later to a company that wants to use it.
U.S. Supreme Court holds that an order compelling arbitration and dismissing underlying claim is a final decision within the meaning of §16 of the Federal Arbitration Act. By Michael Todd Scott Corporate Law Departments, February 2001 On December 11, 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the case of Gree Tree Financial v. Randolph.
California law now exempts highly paid tech professionals from OT rules By Michael Todd Scott Corporate Law Departments, January 2001 Does your company have operations in California? If so you may be interested to know that a new law in California now exempts certain highly paid computer professionals, who are paid by the hour, from California's daily overtime law.
Fifth Circuit holds that a demand letter constitutes “other paper” for purposes of 28 USC § 1446(b) which requires defendant to remove to federal court on the basis of diversity jurisdiction within 30 days of receiving the letter By Michael Todd Scott Corporate Law Departments, January 2001 In Addo v. Globe Life and Accident Ins. Co., No. 99-60277 (5th Cir., Oct. 16, 2000), the Fifth Circuit addressed the issue of whether removal was timely after the defendant received a letter after the case was filed indicating that the plaintiff would seek damages exceeding $75,000.
Seventh Circuit addresses diversity jurisdiction when defendant is a member corporation By Michael Todd Scott Corporate Law Departments, December 2000 In CCC Info. Services, Inc. v. American Salvage Pool Association (ASPA), Nos. 99-3393 & 99-3565 (7th Cir. Sept. 22, 2000) the court addressed the issue of diversity jurisdiction over member corporations.
10th Circuit explains Kolstad requirements for defending Title VII actions in Cadena v. The Pacesetter Corporation, (10th Cir. 2000) By Michael Todd Scott Corporate Law Departments, November 2000 In July 1996, Pacesetter, a home improvement company which sells windows, siding, doors, and cabinets, hired Cadena to work as a telemarketer.
Ninth Circuit rules that government attorneys can speak ex parte with employees of represented companies when the employee initiates the communications. By Michael Todd Scott Corporate Law Departments, November 2000   In USA v TALAO, (9th Cir., Aug. 23, 2000), Talao owed a construction company (SLGC). In 1996, several of SLGC employees filed a complaint with the U.S. DOL alleging that SLGC did not pay the prevailing wage, required them to kickback a portion of their wages, and made false statements to the government regarding the wages earned and hours worked by the employees.
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals holds California district court has specific jurisdiction because defendant invoked NSI’s dispute resolution process against California corporation. By Michael Todd Scott Corporate Law Departments, October 2000   On August 18, 2000 the Ninth Circuit decided the case of Bancroft & Masters, Inc. v. Augusta National Inc. Plaintiff, Bancroft & Masters, Inc. (hereinafter "B&M"), is a California company that sells computer products and services in California.
An in-house counsel’s guide to the destruction of records By Michael Todd Scott Corporate Law Departments, July 2000 Every business has information that requires destruction. Some of this information is confidential and would be of interest to competitors, such as customer lists, price lists, sales statistics, drafts of bids and correspondence.

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