Neiman Marcus is the latest company to raise eyebrows with a generous performance- and retention-based compensation plan for a group of executives at a time when the company itself is fighting for survival. In July, investors, furloughed employees and bankruptcy trustee Henry Hobbs howled at the prospect of a $10 million compensation package for the high-end retailer’s CEO and a
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Unexpected Consequences from the Pandemic Shutdown – A Spike in Whistleblower Complaints
By Joe Ahmad
There’s a curious byproduct from the COVID-19 economic crisis and business shutdown – a sharp increase in SEC whistleblower complaints and lawsuits filed by workers against employers. From mid-March to mid-May, the SEC reported approximately 4,000 whistleblower complaints, a 35…
Texas Appellate Court Goes the Extra Mile (literally) in Non-Compete Dispute, Expands Geographic Scope of Injunction
By mary
An appellate ruling from the Dallas Fifth Court of Appeals in January is an important read for those who closely follow Texas non-compete litigation. The opinion in Richard Gehrke and Pacific Companies Inc. v Merritt Hawkins and Associates is a rare example…
Harassment Skeletons in McDonald’s Closet Hasten CEO Steve Easterbrook Downfall
By Joe Ahmad
Even by today’s standards of board oversight in the #MeToo era, the speed of McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook’s fall was breathtaking. In just four short years at the helm, Easterbrook was credited with nearly doubling the company’s share price and…
Treatment of Trump-Ukraine Informer Could Have Chilling Effect on Corporate Whistleblowers
By Joe Ahmad
Whistleblowers have a variety of understandable reasons for bravely coming forward – but winning a popularity contest is rarely one of them. After all, they are typically corporate or government insiders alleging fraud and wrongdoing, which tends to render them vulnerable…
As Patent Litigation Wanes, Businesses Increasingly Turn to Trade Secret Law to Protect Digital Assets
By Joe Ahmad
The popular dating app platform Tinder and its parent company Match recently succeeded in having a patent infringement lawsuit tossed. Like many companies accused of infringement today, it accomplished this by going on the offensive and challenging the fundamental validity…