College-Level Scandal Is Sadly Effective
Remember all of the bars and restaurants named the “Library” or the “Bookstore” in college. You and your classmates would charge your fun to these places because you thought your parents would pay these charges without questioning them whatsoever. It turns out that these scams are also effective in the real world. Read this quote […]
Knows Your PIK Part 2
PIK Borrowers PIK interest loans benefit borrowers when they have significant growth potential but temporary cash constraints, need to conserve cash in periods of underperformance, or face a lack of equity funding or uncertain liquidity options. These types of borrowers are not serviced by traditional banks or ABL lenders. Borrowers seeking PIK interest loans in […]
Knows Your PIK Part I
Paid-In-Kind (PIK) interest features allow borrowers to add interest to the principal of a loan versus making cash payments. This is different than traditional interest payments where borrowers pay interest in cash at regular monthly or quarterly intervals. A growing number of private market loans are being structured or amended to include PIK interest in […]
Key Considerations When Asserting or Defending Reasonable Reliance in Fraud Cases
Plaintiffs must prove that they “reasonably relied” on fraudulent misstatements of material facts to win their cases. Defendants often argue (1) the plaintiff did not sufficiently investigate the truth of the misstatements; or (2) the misstatements were so unbelievable that no reasonable person could have relied upon them. Failure to Investigate: The law does not […]
Notes on Trade Secret Litigation
WINNING! According to Lex Machina, between 2019 and 2023, trade secret plaintiffs in federal cases that went to trial won 86% of cases, which is approximately 30% higher than the success rate across all federal cases. This is particularly interesting because more trade secret cases are being filed while the number of patent infringement cases […]
Web Scraping vs. Terms of Use
Data scraping extracts and copies data from websites. Often this is done to train AI large language models. Because scraped data commonly includes user-generated content and personal information, many companies explicitly prohibit data scraping through their terms of use. This includes X (formerly Twitter) which tried to enforce its anti-scraping terms of use. X’s argument […]
Three Thoughts on Anticipated Trends in Commercial Litigation
First, even before the Supreme Court overturned the forty-year precedent that ended Chevron deference (federal agencies are given leeway throughout the regulatory process), regulatory litigation was already skyrocketing. This is a direct result of GOP nominations of judges across the judicial system, which means the litigation expenditure risk is increasingly worth the potential reward. This […]
Fiduciary Duties and AI
Pivoting to AI will have serious implications for fiduciary responsibilities. Companies, family offices, and all advisors must strike an appropriate balance between human expertise and technological advancement. It is imperative that AI users encourage critical evaluations of AI-generated results with independent human thinking. The failure to do so can be catastrophic for everyone involved. Tools […]
Common Documentation Mistakes Can Cause Serious Problems
Different forms of electronic communication result in different levels of discretion and candor–for better or worse. Therefore, employees should be trained to properly communicate to avoid ticking timebombs in litigation. Is Documentation Required? This is a fundamental question that should be ingrained into employees’ heads because every thought need not be shared in writing. This […]
Preventing Workplace Violence: Know Your State’s Laws
Workplace violence continues to increase but what does this mean? While there are no standards to determine whether “workplace violence” occurs under OSHA’s definition of the term, you should want to prevent the existence of “a workplace where the risk of violence and serious personal injury connected to workplace activities are significant enough to be […]
