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February 7, 2013

Legal News in Brief

Corporate Spotlight

RBS agrees to $612M penalty to settle Libor charges
Royal Bank of Scotland has agreed to settle allegations that it manipulated the London Interbank Offered Rate. The bank will pay $325 million to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, $150 million to the U.S. Justice Department and about $137 million to the U.K. Financial Services Authority. Reuters (2/6), The New York Times (tiered subscription model)/DealBook blog (2/6), Financial Times (tiered subscription model) (2/6), The Wall Street Journal (2/7)

JPMorgan emerges as the most valuable bank in America
A 1.6% increase in JPMorgan Chase's share value has brought the bank's total value to $184.9 billion, surpassing Wells Fargo's value of $184.2 billion. Some analysts say banks that invest heavily, such as JPMorgan, have more room to grow as they recover from the crisis, since they were harder hit than national banks, such as Wells Fargo. Bloomberg (2/7)

National News

Americans are pessimistic about economy, poll finds
Americans feel little optimism about the economic outlook, according to a poll by the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University. The availability of good jobs with good pay will never return or will not return for many years, 86% of participants said. The Washington Post (2/6), The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (2/7)

Legislative Dispatch

Democrats prepare bill to avert $1 trillion in cuts
Senate Democrats say they are putting final touches on legislation to prevent $1 trillion in spending cuts from taking effect March 1. Democrats say they expect Republicans to warm to the idea when layoffs and furloughs start sending federal workers home, affecting government operations. The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (2/6)

Employment Focus

Sen. Harkin: Workers deserve paid sick leave
U.S. companies and employees would benefit from a bill that would require businesses to offer paid sick leave, writes Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa. The measure would let employees earn up to seven days of time off, at an accumulation rate of one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours they work. "Workers' rights should matter to everyone, but they matter even more when you consider that your next turkey sandwich might be served with a side of the flu," Harkin writes. Politico (Washington, D.C.) (2/4)

Supreme Court and Federal Court Watch

Stryker wins $70M award in dispute over medical-device patents
Medical-device company Stryker has been awarded $70 million by a jury in a patent-infringement case against Zimmer. The jury found that Zimmer's infringement was willful. Stryker's patents involved in the case are for devices used to clean wounds during surgery. The National Law Journal (free registration) (2/6)

Professional and Business Development

4 tips for offering your opinion to the boss
Just because your boss asks for feedback doesn't mean you can dump all your gripes on her, Jennifer Winter writes. It's better to provide specific concerns that you consider critical and make sure the feedback is offered privately and professionally, she writes. TheDailyMuse.com (2/5)

Is it time to ditch your job for a new one?
If your company is in financial decline, if job stress is affecting your health or if you've lost sight of your career goals, it may be time to dust off the résumé and go job hunting, Heather Huhman writes. "Trusting yourself is essential to successfully leaving a bad employment situation. If you truly believe you'd be happier at another company or in another position, it's time to move on," she writes. GlassDoor.com (2/5)

PLI News

One of the Most Thorough Treatments of Patent Applications
How to Write a Patent Application takes the guesswork and risk out of preparing this crucial document by taking you step-by-step through the entire process.

A Dramatic Increase in the Use of Third-Party Funding Arrangements
Today's One-Hour Audio Briefing Third Party Litigation Finance: What Is It and What Are Its Implications? will address how litigation finance works, why third-party funding is so important to modern litigation, what happens when cases go bad, and more.

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