A recent article in the New York Times paints a picture of two very different experiences of medical school and working in medical fields; those who experience microaggressions and those who don’t even see them. The article was written by Dr. VJ Periyakoil (@palliator) who has been working on Stanford University’s Project Respect, which is […]
Business
Why the CEO of McDonald’s Stepped Down
McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook recently stepped down from his position in the company after a company investigation found he had been in a relationship described as “consensual” with an employee. Specific details of the relationship, including the employee’s name, are not public, but Easterbrook has admitted the relationship was a mistake and unprofessional in official […]
JUUL Continues to Be a Problem
A recent development in JUUL’s legal history is a new lawsuit from a former employee. The employee is suing due to their wrongful firing after they raised concerns over contaminated JUUL pod shipments. The shipments, which went out earlier in 2019, contained millions of contaminated pods. Despite knowing of the condition of the products, […]
PG&E’s Liability
Recent California news cycles have thoroughly covered how the top utility company of the state, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) has been preemptively shutting power off to millions of homes in an attempt to reduce fire risks. If you’ve been following the news, you’ll also know that half of California is currently on fire. This […]
Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors Come to a Head
Trouble started brewing last week when Anheuser-Busch accused its rival beer company MillerCoors of stealing trade secrets for their most popular beers, Bud Light and Michelob Ultra. The relationship first soured when MC filed a lawsuit against Anheuser-Busch for misleading marketing when Anheuser-Busch suggested that their beers were made without corn syrup back in March. […]
Why the $50 Billion Opioid Settlement is Laughably Small
The years-long legal battle with pharmaceutical companies regarding their part in the ongoing opioid epidemic might be coming to a head today, as the top six companies being held accountable negotiate a potential settlement. Should that settlement be agreed upon, it’s estimated to reach close to $50 billion. But given the damage opioids have done […]
Will U.S. Truck Safety Improve Under the Trump Administration?
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is under heavy industry pressure to relax or eliminate a number of safety regulations.
Shame on you Judge Rakoff: Slamming the Courthouse Door on Investors Who Were Sold “Crap” and “Pigs” by Deutsche Bank
Judge Rakoff agreed with Deutsche Bank and dismissed two investor lawsuits involving the sale of residential mortgage backed securities the bank internally referred to as “crap,” “pigs,” and generally “horrible.” And “crap” they were, as we all know now (and it appears that Deutsche Bank knew before they sold them to investors). The mortgages were […]
The SOPA legal fight and the politicization of the tech community
The cutting-edge tech community has long maintained a distance from both national and local politics. Instead, a sort of techno-libertarianism has characterized the politic leanings of those who have developed the internet culture and the programs and technologies we use it today. But the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), a wide-reaching bill introduced by Rep. […]
International Sanctions, OFAC and the butterfly effect: Why US foreign policy matters in unexpected ways
Part of what I hope to get at in contributing here to Groupblawg is to talk about legal issues that affect businesses internationally. Especially interesting to me, either because I’m a geek or a Greek, are the decisions and events that have unexpected and far-reaching side effects– let’s call them legal “butterflies”. The US sanctioning […]