Tag Archives: risk

Help with employment termination investigations – new case Jameson v. PG&E

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See, Jameson v. Pacific Gas and Electric Company, California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, October 5, 2017, Case A147515

In relevant part, plaintiff employee claimed that PG&E fired him in breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, that he would not be fired for other than good cause, and in retaliation. PG&E countered that it was an at-will employment, and that in the alternative that PG&E had good cause and that its investigation established good case. Plaintiff employee further claimed that PG&E’s investigation was inadequate and that the investigator, who was an attorney, failed to interview all of the identified witnesses or sufficiently consider plaintiff employee’s arguments and evidence. See below clip from the court’s opinion.

Of course, whether or not the investigation was sufficient and appropriately performed by a competent and qualified person will vary and depend on the facts and circumstances of each case and investigation.

David Tate, Esq.

With respect to the sufficiency of the investigation, in relevant part, the court held:

Jameson v. PG&E - employment termination investigation case 11042017-1

Audit Committee Survey Discussion – Corporate Board Member – Video

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The following is another worthwhile video from Corporate Board Member, discussing their audit committee survey results, Click Here For Video.

Enjoy, Dave Tate, Esq. (San Francisco)

How to make your third-party provider a true partner – article from Inside Counsel

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An article worthwhile reading, from Inside Counsel, How to make your third-party provider a true partner (and the importance of that relationship), for article link Click Here.

Dave Tate, Esq. (San Francisco)

Witnesses, Don’t Get Too Comfortable – post from the Persuasive Litigator

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Another good discussion from the Persuasive Litigator (good for witnesses and public speakers in general about dealing with the stress of testifying), Witnesses, Don’t Get Too Comfortable, Click Here For Article.

Enjoy, Dave Tate, Esq. (San Francisco)

Introducing risk management to the board (and executives)

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Two blog post links, discussing introducing risk management to the board, and I added “and executives.”  The initial link is to a discussion by John Fraser; the second link is to a discussion by Norman Marks commenting about Mr. Fraser’s discussion.

Discussion by John Fraser, Click Here.

Discussion by Norman Marks, Click Here.

And a follow-up blog post by Norman, Why it makes sense to consider GRC, Click Here.

Also interesting, but not discussed in detail here, new guideline requirements enacted for offshore drilling operations: train/instruct employees and contractors about safety, injury and environmental risk/uncertainty management, risk/uncertainty management is ongoing all the time 24/7, all employees and contractors can/should report any situation that presents safety, injury or environmental risk or danger, evaluate risks (e.g., likelihood of occurrence and possible resulting injury or damage) and design and implement risk/uncertainty plans and processes, have those plans and processes audited to determine sufficiency and need to modify and improve, appoint people who are unilaterally authorized to stop operations at anytime when they deem appropriate, etc.  Sounds good to me.  I support drilling; I have also previously written about the need for improved risk/uncertainty management, and safety and risk/uncertainty management cooperation and collaboration between operators and operations.  Also good stuff for boards to oversee.

Dave Tate, Esq. (San Francisco)

Focus on internal audit – the path to excellence – from a Norman Marks post

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If you’re an executive officer, or a director, or involved in internal audit, governance, risk/uncertainty management or audit committee activities, click on the following link for another interesting and worthwhile post by Norman Marks about the path to excellence in internal audit, and please also read the informed comments below the article, Click Here For Article.

In some respects internal audit continues to search for respect and appreciation.  It is internal audit that must sell itself and its value to executive management, the board, audit and risk committees and professionals, shareholders, governance professionals, and other stakeholders.

Thanks for listening, Dave Tate, Esq. (San Francisco).

GCs using social media to select law firms, video from Bloomberg Law . . . .

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The following video from Bloomberg Law discusses general counsel using social media to select law firms.  My thoughts on the topic.  Social/business media are here to stay.  Each firm needs to determine its approach based on its practice mix and resources that it will commit to the effort.  As with any marketing, there are no guarantees of success.  Some efforts will be viewed successful.  Others won’t.  Strategy should be reviewed and changed as prudent.  Consider the efforts from a ROI viewpoint – but you still need to determine how you will calculate ROI.  New social/business media opportunities are developing regularly.  Overall, any firm that does not evaluate and implement a program that works for that firm is missing an opportunity, and eventually sooner or later will fall behind the competition.  And, lawyers also must be involved in both the design/strategy and the effort – this isn’t something that you can simply assign.

Dave Tate, Esq., (San Francisco)

Click Here To View Video.

Predictive coding – a worthwhile overview article from JD Supra

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The following is a worthwhile article from JD Supra, On Predictive Coding – A JD Supra e-Discovery Reader, Click Here For Article.

Dave Tate, Esq. (San Francisco)

Rental history sharing could trigger Fair Credit Reporting Act – More difficult for plaintiffs to obtain class certification – The new mortgage foreclosure formalism . . .

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From my real estate law blog, http://taterealestatelaw.com:

The following is a potpourri of timely relevant real property legal news.

FTC warns data brokers that provide tenant rental histories they may be subject to Fair Credit Reporting Act –

From the FTC website, Click Here For Link:

“The Federal Trade Commission has warned the operators of six websites that share information about consumers’ rental histories with landlords that they may be subject to the requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
The letters inform the recipients that if they meet certain criteria, namely collecting information on tenants and their rental history and providing that information to landlords so they can make judgments about renting to those tenants, they are considered credit reporting agencies and are subject to certain legal requirements.
Among the requirements cited in the letter are the companies’ obligation to protect the privacy of tenants whose information they collect, including ensuring that those requesting information about tenants have a legitimate reason to acquire it. The letter reminds the companies of their obligation to ensure that the information they provide is accurate, to give consumers a copy of the information about them on request, and to allow consumers to dispute information they believe is inaccurate. The letters also note that the companies must notify landlords of their requirements if they use the data to deny housing to a tenant, and to notify the sources of their information of the requirement that they provide accurate information.”

More difficult for plaintiffs to obtain class certification –

Comcast Corp. v. Behrend, 569 U.S. __ (2013)

In an important case for defense counsels’ toolbox, the U.S. Supreme Court has recently held in Comcast Corp. v. Behrend that before a class can be certified in a class action suit the trial court must undertake a rigorous analysis to determine that the requirements for class certification have been met which might also require the court to address the underlying merits of the case. More particularly, the Court held that the trial court did not address the fact that the plaintiffs’ damages model and related expert witness testimony could not distinguish damages between the various liability theories.

New [Mortgage Foreclosure] Formalism in the Aftermath of the Housing Crisis –

Click on the following link if you are interested in a discussion about the “new” (or return to) formal mortgage foreclosure procedures in the aftermath of the housing crisis, Click Here For Paper.

Enjoy,

Dave Tate, Esq. (San Francisco)