Trust the Leaders

Issue 21/ Spring 2008

• Multidistrict Litigation An MDL. It stands for “multidistrict litigation,” a type of legal proceeding designed to help federal courts efficiently manage many related cases filed in different jurisdictions. The federal MDL statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1407, permits the temporary transfer of federal civil lawsuits to one or more districtcourts for pretrial consolidation or coordination.
• What’s New in Employment Law? What’s New in Employment Law?

  USCIS Issues New I-9 Form
  National Defense Authorization Act Significantly Expands FMLA
  ERISA Preemption and State Law MandatesChanges in Performance-Based Compensation of Public Companies

• Anatomy of a Recall: When consumer products threaten public safety and health The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) works to protect consumers from harm caused by consumer products. These consumer products may pose fire, electrical, chemical or mechanical hazards or cause injury to children. The CPSC determines whether a product poses a hazard toconsumer safety and provides a mechanism for the voluntary recall of unsafe products. The CPSC derives its authority from the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA), which gives the CPSC authority to ban products containing hazardous substances where the issuance of warnings would beinsufficient to protect consumers.
• A Plan to Have A Plan: Does the State Water Plan Hold Water? Georgia lost its upper hand in the tri-state water wars in February when a federal court of appeals in Washington, D.C., placed the state on an equal playing field with Florida and Alabama. The court invalidated a 2003 agreement between Georgia and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which provided that 25 percent of the water in Lake Lanier would be managed as water supply for the metro Atlanta area, ruling that such a realignment of the purposes of Lake Lanier literally requires an Act of Congress.
• Building Information Modeling: What’s Ahead for Contractors Some are referring to building information modeling, or “BIM,” as “revolutionary” to the constructionindustry. This may be hype. The technology that Building Information Modeling relies upon is not new, as it has been used in the manufacturing industry for product design since the 1980s. BIM will, however, precipitate meaningful change in the construction industry as it becomes more commonly used as a method of project delivery.
• Big Hearts, Big Home John and Jeanette Murphy, of Morrow, Ga., have adopted 23 “special needs” children over the years, 17 of whom still reside with them. These children, currently ranging in age from 6 to 39, are challenged by conditions such as Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, brain damage and heart defects.
• Rockin’ Lawyer My name is Bobby Schwartz. Since 1979, I have been a lawyer in the Corporate Department of Smith, Gambrell & Russell.

  Now I am a rock star.