2000 Articles

10th Circuit explains Kolstad requirements for defending Title VII actions in Cadena v. The Pacesetter Corporation, (10th Cir. 2000) By Michael Todd Scott November 2000 In July 1996, Pacesetter, a home improvement company which sells windows, siding, doors, and cabinets, hired Cadena to work as a telemarketer.

7th Circuit rejects the “magic-words” approach when determining whether a Rule 68 offer is unambiguous By Michael Todd Scott February 2000 In Norby v. Anchor Hocking Packaging Company, 98-4161 & 99-1146 (Dec. 2, 1999), a suit was filed by a sales representative for breach of contract and statutory violations.

California Supreme Court approves mandatory predispute agreements to arbitrate statutory and other employment discrimination disputes By Michael L. Wolframi & Matthew J. Saley December 2000 In a broad endorsement of predispute agreements to arbitrate employment claims, the California Supreme Court ruled in Armendariz v. Foundation Health Psychcare Services, Inc. that antidiscrimination claims brought under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) are arbitrable pursuant to a mandatory predispute arbitration agreement if the arbitration agreement permits an employee to vindicate his or her statutory rights.

Citizens’ suits are alive and well By Dixie Lee Peterson & Thomas D. Dupo September 2000 Until 1972, water pollution was regulated by looking at the quality of the receiving stream, not the source of the discharges. In enacting the Clean Water Act ("CWA"), Congress shifted the focus from water quality standards to direct limitations on the discharge of pollutants into the receiving waters.

Civil conspiracy—alive and well in Illinois By Frank M. Grenard May 2000 The Civil Conspiracy theory as it relates to corporate interactions is a mixture of criminal law, antitrust principals and a mistrust of trade information sharing

The Complete Guide to Mergers and Acquisitions June 2000 Although there are a record number of mergers and acquisitions taking place, far too many fall short of their financial and strategic goals.

Complying with the State Gift Ban Act By Thomas R. Bearrows February 2000 The State Gift Ban Act became effective January 1, 1999. Its primary focus is to prevent persons inside state government and related entities from being influenced improperly by those outside state government (i.e., private industry).

Corporate compliance/voluntary disclosure or “how to keep your corporate board and officers out of jail and reduce civil judgment exposure” November 2000 Illinois State Bar Association Corporate Law Departments ("CLD") Section and American Corporate Counsel Association Chicago Chapter ("ACCA") Continuing Legal Education Program Where: The Drake Hotel, 140 E. Walton Pl., Chicago, IL, When: Friday January 19, 2001. 7:45am - 4:30pm Cost: Prior to October 31, 2000: $120 per person for non-ISBA or non-ACCA members

Crisis communications: A mathematical formula for killing rumors By Helio Fred Garcia December 2000 Every organization, whether a law firm, a corporation, a non-profit, or government, at some time or other faces a crisis that includes rumors.

The darker side of corporate compliance programs: A wolf in sheep’s clothing? By Jim McGrath August 2000 The federal sentencing guidelines provide reduced sentences for corporations with effective corporate compliance programs.

D.C. circuit strikes down U.S. EPA’s periodic monitoring guidance By Eric E. Boyd October 2000 In Appalachian Power Company, et al. v. EPA, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit struck down the U.S. EPA's periodic monitoring guidance. The court found that the Agency promulgated the guidance without following proper rulemaking requirements.

Does UPL by in-house counsel really waiver the attorney-client privilege? October 2000 In the June 2000 issue of The Corporate Lawyer, we ran an article entitledUnauthorized Practice of Law and In-house Counsel. That article stated that "many in-house counsel are grappling with the fear that engaging in the unauthorized practice of law may put their client at risk of losing attorney-client privilege arguments during litigation."

Electronic signatures: John Hancock won’t be forgotten anytime soon By Jon Wallack & Eric Handler September 2000 Will your children know the name John Hancock? Ever since he signed the Declaration of Independence, Hancock's name has been synonymous with ink signatures.

Employers beware: The NLRB is watching your e-mail By Charles I. Cohen & Mona C. Zeiberg September 2000 "Business-only." These two words are at the center of attention when examining whether a company's e-mail and Internet policy runs afoul of the National Labor Relations Act

Federal ADEA litigation just became easier for the petitioner under Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing, Inc.: prima facie case plus pretext usually wins By Jeffrey D. Lester August 2000 A recent Supreme Court unanimously agreed that direct evidence of age discrimination in addition to proving pretext on the part of the employer is not necessary to sustain a claim of discrimination in a disciplinary firing, at least not in reference to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA).

Fifth District holds that corporation not liable for employee’s alienation-of-affection actions By Michael Todd Scott May 2000 In Hargan v. Southwestern Electric Cooperative, Inc., No. 5-99-0010 (5th Dist. 3/2/00), the plaintiff appealed from the trial court's dismissal of his second amended complaint for alienation of affection. The Fifth District affirmed.

How “evergreen” are your contracts? By Lee Ann Conti November 2000 Do you sometimes use automatic renewal clauses in contracts so they will be renewable until cancelled (i.e., "evergreen"), without a lot of follow up or bother? If so, you should know about 815 ILCS 601/1 et seq. (2000), the Automatic Contract Renewal Act, recently added to Chapter 815, which deals with various types of business transactions.

Illinois Appellate Court adopts the Adverse Domination Doctrine By Michael Todd Scott May 2000 In Lease Resolution Corp. v. Larney, No 1-98-2569 (9/23/99), plaintiffs, the successor general partner of a limited partnership and the limited partnership, appeal from the dismissal of their complaint.

Illinois Appellate Court holds that Consumer Fraud Statute does not apply to non-Illinois consumers By Michael Todd Scott May 2000 In Oliveira v. Amoco Oil Co., No 4-98-0199 (4th Dist, 2/9/00), the plaintiff filed a complaint against Amoco seeking certification of a nationwide class of all purchasers of Amoco premium gasoline.

Illinois expands admissibility for expert testimony on causation By Dixie Lee Peterson October 2000 Four families sued Central Illinois Public Service Corporation in Illinois state court for nuisance and negligence. After an extended trial, the jury awarded the families a total of $3.2 million to compensate them for their small children developing a cancerous condition known as neuroblastoma.

An in-house counsel’s guide to the destruction of records By Michael Todd Scott 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.

Letter from the editor December 2000 Welcome to the sixth edition of the Corporate Lawyer for the 2000-2001 bar year. I want to once again remind you that it is still not too late to sign up for the Corporate Law Department's January CLE program "Corporate Compliance/Voluntary Disclosure."

Letter from the editor November 2000 Welcome to the fifth edition of the Corporate Lawyer for the 2000-2001 bar year. I want to once again remind you that it is still not too late to sign up for the Corporate Law Department's January CLE program "Corporate Compliance/ Voluntary Disclosure."

Letter from the editor October 2000 Welcome to the fourth edition of the Corporate Lawyer for the 2000-2001 bar year. I wanted to take a moment to remind you that it is still not too late to sign up for the Corporate Law Department's January CLE program "Corporate Compliance/Voluntary Disclosure."

Letter from the editor September 2000 We are still looking for readers who would like to contribute articles for publication. This is a great opportunity for our members to get involved in the ISBA and specifically the Corporate Law Departments Section.

Letter from the editor August 2000 Welcome to the second newsletter for the 20002001 year. In this issue of the newsletter we have two articles from two of our section council members.

Letter from the editor July 2000 Welcome to the first newsletter for the 20002001 year (Volume 38). We have big plans for the newsletter once again this year. If you remember, starting with Volume 36 (19981999), the Corporate Law Departments Section Council decided to increase the number of issues of The Corporate Lawyer to five issues per year.

Letter from the editor June 2000 Have you ever wanted to be a published writer? If so, The Corporate Lawyerhas the perfect opportunity for you. We are looking for people interested in writing articles for future issues of The Corporate Lawyer.

Letter from the editor May 2000 Have you ever wanted to be a published writer? If so, The Corporate Lawyer has the perfect opportunity for you.

Letter from the editor February 2000 Have you ever wanted to be a published writer? If so, The Corporate Lawyer has the perfect opportunity for you. We are looking for people interested in writing articles for future issues of The Corporate Lawyer.