Whistleblowers are employees who report the misconduct or illegal activity of another employee or higher up. Many whistleblowers make their reports anonymously to avoid any retaliation from their employer. Whistleblowing is a legally protected activity through the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Employees are generally encouraged to report activity they believe is illegal to people who can properly address the activity and take the appropriate measures. Despite these protections, sometimes whistleblowers do suffer negative consequences from reporting misconduct. These can include termination, demotion, po ..read more

The United States Supreme Court made big news in 2021 when it recognized "name, image and likeness" rights for college athletes. That decision has been a gamechanger in college sports. It is also important to know, however, that more than half the states have passed laws recognizing at the state level a person's "right of publicity." This is an intellectual property right that allows someone to control the commercial use of their name, image and likeness. Louisiana is one of the states with such protections, having passed the Allen Toussaint Legacy Act in 2022. What is the right of publicity ..read more

Fraud is a deceptive act or omission of facts where a person causes harm by seeking an unfair advantage, typically for financial gain. Fraud is handled differently in criminal and civil court proceedings, relating to state and federal criminal statutes, burden of proof requirements and potential consequences. In some cases, there can be both criminal and civil liability. But in other cases, there can be civil liability but not criminal liability. Defining criminal and civil fraud cases Fraud charges can result in a broad range of offenses, including financial crimes involving insurance policie ..read more

Most business disputes can be hashed out one way or another, thereby protecting the business, others threaten not just the business’s viability but also your own financial well-being. This is often seen when a director or executive breaches their fiduciary duty, which can cost you and your business a large sum of money and damage your business’s reputation among clients and the public. To right the ship in these circumstances, you’re probably going to have to take legal action. That might sound simple enough, but these cases are usually highly complex and full of legal challenges and nuances ..read more

ChatGPT burst onto the public scene just recently, but it has already garnered significant attention. The artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot is just one of many AIs that can create written content, computer code and even images based on a short series of user prompts. These AIs develop their ability to create things based on exposure to millions of documents, strings of code, photographs and other data that was created by humans. The AI analyzes all of the data it is exposed to and learns how to create similar outputs. This has created significant controversy. Are AIs scraping content from t ..read more

In general, Louisiana and the federal government support competition. In theory, competition spurs innovation, keeps costs down and promotes other benefits for consumers. But this pro-competition approach doesn't mean that anything goes in the marketplace. There are times when certain acts of competition go too far. This can hurt both consumers and businesses. Louisiana law These are the policy considerations behind state and federal laws against unfair competition and unfair trade practices.  These types of laws first came about hundreds of years ago, and eventually led to the creation o ..read more

A semitrailer truck can weigh more than 80,000 pounds when fully loaded. Most passenger cars weigh less than 3,000 pounds. By looking at these numbers, you get a pretty good idea of why truck accidents are so dangerous. Any collision between these two types of vehicles can very easily lead to catastrophic injuries for the occupants of the passenger car, even in cases where the truck escapes with hardly a scratch. Here are some more numbers to consider: According to the nonprofit National Safety Council, 5,700 large trucks were involved in fatal collisions in 2021, capping a 10% increase over t ..read more

When a business is exposed to complex litigation, the stakes can be extremely high - particularly when individuals are part of a lawsuit. One of the primary benefits of incorporation is that the structure shields officers and directors from personal liability arising from actions related to their corporate duties. That said, there are various circumstances under which these same individuals could be liable for negligence or financially harmful omissions. For instance, individual officers and directors can be a party to a lawsuit if the case involves allegations of: Intentional participation i ..read more

A fiduciary owes a duty of personal loyalty and trust toward the person he or she represents. Fiduciaries are obligated by law to act solely in their clients’ best interest and to avoid any conflicts of interest – including personal conflicts. You should be able to trust a fiduciary to responsibly act in your interest. There are many examples of fiduciaries in society. Lawyers are fiduciaries. Others include trustees, personal representatives, certain members of limited liability companies and agents who are hired to represent sports and media figures. What happens when a fiduciary doesn’t act ..read more

Business disputes can take a while to sort out. In fact, some complex cases can take years to resolve. While you and your business certainly need sound legal representation as you try to negotiate settlement in your case, the issues aren’t necessarily resolved once an agreement is reached. This was recently seen with a Alfasigma, a Louisiana-based medical foods provider that creates meals with nutritional value aimed at those suffering from certain medical conditions. Alfasigma, which has ties to the Swiss giant Nestle, reached a settlement agreement with a pharmaceutical company in 2014 after ..read more