Welcome back to our Top 10 in Law Blogs! This week our legal bloggers had two clear events on their minds: the midterm elections, and Halloween. Posts on those topics ranged from Anthony J. Eppert’s piece on ghost revenue, to Sarah E. Merkle’s review of how to determine the legality of a ballot vote, to Brian McGinnis’s discussion of state voting leave laws. Though Halloween has now passed, there’s sure to be more coverage of the election in next week’s Top 10, too.
Marijuana in the Midterms – By Meghan Brennan: Cannabis is a hot topic in the news. On October 17, 2018, our friends to the north made headlines when cannabis was officially legalized for adult use. As the November 6 midterm elections draw closer in the United States, we’ve compiled a round-up of ballot initiatives across the country that will ask voters to weigh in on a variety of marijuana and industrial hemp initiatives. View Full Post
Ads will be Required to Disclose Prices for Rx Drugs – By Lawrence J. Tabas, Esq. and Alina Chuklin, Esq.: Ever since the FDA approved advertisements for prescription drugs on television, pharmaceutical companies have been heavily relying on them and collectively represent the third highest spender of any industry in national TV advertising. Despite the rapidly developing alternative media platforms, TV drug marketing is still thriving, as pharma companies generally target the 65-plus population that still watches live television. View Full Post
Compensation Governance: Is Ghost Revenue Real? – By Anthony J. Eppert: Keeping with this evening’s Halloween spirit, members of Board of Directors and Compensation Committees should be aware of an allegation that is currently floating within the ominous fog – that some executives of publicly-traded issuers are trick-or-treating with “ghost revenue.” Kidding aside, the allegation (or potential allegation) is that some executive officers are using ghost revenue (i.e., deferred revenue) in order to satisfy otherwise unattainable non-GAAP performance metrics. View Full Post
Demands to Pull Attack Ads in the Closing Days of the Election – What is a Station to Do? – By David Oxenford: As we approach Election Day, the political ads seem to be getting more and more frequent, and often more and more nasty. We provided this overview of what a station should do when it gets an attack ad two years ago, and the ads have not become kinder in the intervening period, so we will publish it again (with a few revisions). View Full Post
How to Decide If a Ballot Vote is Legal – By Sarah E. Merkle: If you’re a teller charged with counting ballots, we all hope that you can, at a minimum, . . . count. But let’s be clear – we also hope you know a few other very important details about balloting too – like how to determine which votes are legal and which are not. Parliamentary procedure to the rescue. View Full Post
Pensions through a crystal ball – By Matthew Giles: The benefit of hindsight is a wonderful thing. The benefits of a fully functional crystal ball to see the future would be much better. All pensions lawyers (and scheme actuaries) would add it to their gift list! I will attempt to take a look at the pensions related announcements in Monday’s budget from a future (perhaps optimistic) vantage point. View Full Post
Don’t let your spooktacular event turn into a hobgoblins’ horror show – By News Desk: It’s not unusual for children to be warned against eating too much candy less they suffer a tummy ache. But tonight of all nights, adults and children need to beware of potential dangers lurking among their treats.Basic food safety tips for trick-or-treaters are similar to those applicable to every other day of the year, but there is one longtime Halloween favorite that can cause more than an upset stomach — black licorice. View Full Post
Protecting the Right to Vote – By Shelina Kurwa, Seth Fiur and Jason Madden: On November 5th and 6th, Proskauer will host over 150 volunteer lawyers in its New York office to support election protection efforts with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Responsible for the largest non-partisan voter protection endeavor in the country, the Lawyers’ Committee is dedicated to ensuring that all voters—regardless of political belief or affiliation—have an equal opportunity to participate in the political process. Every election season, Proskauer runs one of the call centers, helping to field a portion of the many thousands of phone calls received by the Election Protection hotline: 866-Our-Vote. View Full Post
How to Keep Your Company’s Trade Secret Protections from Being a Halloween Fright Night – By Robert B. Milligan: Have trade secret protections. Built into the definition of a trade secret is the requirement to have reasonable secrecy measures. Companies that do not use non-disclosure agreements with their employees can be at a tremendous disadvantage if they decide to litigate against former employees for trade secret misappropriation. Well thought out policies, procedures, and agreements are a must to have defensible trade secret protections. View Full Post
Have You Reviewed Your State’s Voting Leave Laws? – By Brian McGinnis: Today is Tuesday, October 30th, 2018, marking less than a full calendar week until the polls open across the country for the 2018 elections. (This, of course, doesn’t include the many states that offer some form of early voting.) And while “midterm” elections such as this year’s have historically seen lower turnout, a mix of polling, analysis, and reporting suggests that the November 6th election will see particularly strong voter interest. View Full Post