Trust the Leaders

Issue 19/ Summer 2007

• Handling Physical Evidence Evidence is necessary to support or defend against claims or lawsuits, and it can take many forms. Often, it is a tangible object.
• Qualifying as a Minority Business Enterprise According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2005 American Community Survey, more than 73 million Americans, or 25 percent of the U.S. population, are members of ethnic minorities. However, such individuals have been and continue to be underrepresented in the business-ownership population.
• When the Dam Breaks Data privacy compliance continues to bedevil executive management, especially chief information officers. The list of businesses and other organizations confronted with high-profile data security breaches is extensive and touches many sectors: ChoicePoint, Circuit City, the Department of Veterans Affairs, Wells Fargo, Emory University, the Georgia Technology Authority, Aetna, Hotels.com and, most recently, the retailer TJX (T.J. Maxx and Marshalls), among many others.
• Pandora’s Box The International Traffic in Arms Regulations (“ITAR”) comprise but one of many U.S. export controls with surprisingly broad reach. ITAR, implemented pursuant to the Arms Control Export Act (the “ACEA”) in furtherance of “world peace and security and foreign policy of the United States,” governs, among other things, the export of “defense articles.” ITAR defines the terms “export” and “defense article” very broadly, such that the applicability of ITAR is by no means limited to companies who manufacture and ship weapons to foreign military entities. To the contrary, under ITAR, even day-to-day activities, such as e-mailing and Internet downloading, can potentially constitute “exports,” and commonplace objects that intuitively may seem unrelated to military use, such as eye goggles and radios, will in some cases be considered “defense articles.”
• A Day in the Life of the SGR Fellow Each year, Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP selects an associate to spend three months working full time at Atlanta Legal Aid Society, Inc. as part of the firm’s ongoing commitment to providing legal services to Atlanta’s indigent population.