Kavitha Gupta's blog

The Contract Said What? Buffering Employees from Contract Risk By Spiwe L. Jefferson  |  2017-May-30   After issuing communications training and killing text messages that created contractual obligations for the company, our fictitious legal team at Sunderland Manufacturing thought they addressed their last issue at the intersection of employee behavior and litigation risk. Unfortunately, more problems point to a different area of risk worse than the last.   "B arry, we have a problem,” said Jason Parks to Barry Miles, deputy general counsel of Sunderland Manufacturing. Jason was Sunderland’s trial counsel, discussing a multi-million dollar wrongful death suit by the estate of a plaintiff who allegedly died when his Sunderland pacemaker failed. “Did our pacemaker malfunction?” Barry inquired. “No,” said Jason. “Did we fail to instruct the hospital on its use?” Barry asked. “N...

Supreme Court rules on special judges' power under Prevention of Corruption Act Newsletters May 30 2017 | Contributed by Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co Introduction In a recent judgment rendered in HCL Infosystem Ltd v CBI, (1) the Supreme Court dealt with the question of whether a special judge designated to deal with cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 is empowered to try offences which do not fall within the act. This question arose in the context of an investigation into the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) scam. In the case at hand, the Supreme Court held that the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 applies to trials before a special judge and that there is no prejudice to a trial before a special judge duly appointed to oversee cases that fall under the Prevention of Corruption Act if the object of doing so is to try connected cases before the same court. Facts The NRHM, an initiative undertaken b...

The Global Reach of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Holland & Hart LLP prev next USA May 25 2017 The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) remains one of the most important legal and compliance risks for companies engaged in international business. Holland & Hart is often asked by our internationally-based clients and prospective clients the extent to which the FCPA applies to them, if their only touch-point with the U.S. is through listing on an exchange or the trading of American Depository Receipts (ADRs). The FCPA can and has been applied to entities whose ADRs are listed in the U.S. Companies with U.S.-listed ADRs should refresh their foreign bribery compliance policies, procedures, and training; proactively assess and address potential foreign bribery risks; and promptly and appropriately investigate and address potential FCPA concerns. Overview of the FCPA The FCPA prohibits the actual or attempted bribery of non-U...

Cyber-insurance, privacy and data security newsletter – May 2017 Newsletters May 23 2017 | Contributed by DAC Beachcroft Cyber threat "significant and growing" A recent report by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and National Crime Agency (NCA) (the "NCA Report") described the cyber-threat to UK business as "significant and growing". 65% of large UK firms detected a cyber security breach in the past year according to the government's Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2016 (the "Cyber Survey"). Against this background, cyber security combined with effective risk management, is a key priority for businesses in 2017. Three factors contribute to this increased threat of cyber-attacks. First, the Internet of Things (IoT) and the progression towards an ever increasing number of internet connected devices provides hackers with more attack vectors than ever before. Secondly, hackers are learnin...

Consequences of failure to meet data security obligations Newsletters April 04 2017 | Contributed by ELIG, Attorneys-at-Law Introduction Under the Data Protection Law, data controllers must take all necessary technical and administrative measures to ensure an adequate level of security to: prevent unlawful processing of and access to personal data; and safeguard personal data. A data controller should provide the required supervision within his or her own institution or agency or outsource this service to an independent third party to ensure compliance with the Data Protection Law. Data controllers and parties processing data cannot disclose this data to other parties or use it for any purpose that violates the Data Protection Law. This obligation continues after the persons who engage in the processing of personal data leave office. Notification of breach If processed personal data is unlawfully obtained by others, the data con...