How the States Govern the News Media - A Survey of Selected Jurisdictions

This article examines the statutory and decisional law of California, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, New York and Texas to determine the similarities and differences of their laws regarding defamation, invasion of privacy, cameras in the courtroom, shield laws (reporter\u27s privilege), broadcast of recorded conversations, publication of pilfered documents, open records legislation, and open meetings legislation

The Uncertain Status of Post-Employment Non-Compete Covenants in Texas

A post-employment non-compete covenant is an agreement by an employee that, after termination of employment he or she will not compete with his or her former employer-usually within a specified geographic area and for a specified period of time. Such covenants are standard parts of many employment contracts. Under the long standing common law of contracts, non-compete covenants are generally suspect as restraints of trade. Post-employment non-compete covenants also bear a strong presumption of unfairness because of the superior bargaining power almost invariably wielded by the employer. Nevertheless most jurisdictions, including Texas, have traditionally enforced post-employment non-compete covenants within the constraints of the reasonableness test described below. Recently, however, courts in several jurisdictions have begun to view non-compete covenants with increasing disfavor. Indeed, the opinions in two recent cases decided by the Supreme Court of Texas cast serious doubt upon the continuing viability of such covenants in Texas. Unfortunately, both opinions are flawed in their reasoning and confused in their application of the law. Therefore, their predictive value is unclear. The purpose of this article is to (1) identify the policy issues and conflicting interests; (2) describe the common law rules generally applied in most U.S. jurisdictions and examples of some statutory efforts to resolve the dilemma; (3) describe and critique the relevant Texas law as it existed prior to the two most recent cases; and (4) discuss these cases against the above-described background

Bound to Arbitrate

When can arbitration be compelled by a party who did not sign the agreement containing the arbitration provision? This question was raised recently in a well-publicized and ongoing San Francisco Superior Court lawsuit alleging gender bias and discrimination at the Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers

How the States Govern the News Media - A Survey of Selected Jurisdictions

This article examines the statutory and decisional law of California, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, New York and Texas to determine the similarities and differences of their laws regarding defamation, invasion of privacy, cameras in the courtroom, shield laws (reporter\u27s privilege), broadcast of recorded conversations, publication of pilfered documents, open records legislation, and open meetings legislation

Impractibility, Mutual Mistake and Related Contractual Bases for Equitably Adjusting the External Debt of Sub-Saharan Africa

At the end of 1988, the combined external indebtedness of the third world\u27 (referred to below as less developed countries or LDCs ) was estimated at nearly $1.3 trillion.2 In the same year, the United Nations agency United Nations International Childrens\u27 Emergency Fund ( UNICEF ) attributed the deaths of 650,000 children in LDCs to re-duction in basic living standards caused by diversion of resources to servicing external debt.3 Some experts say prospects for solving this huge and growing problem are actually growing worse due to debt fatigue

Validity of Post-Employment Non-Compete Covenants in Broadcast News Employment Contracts

This Article discusses whether, and to what extent, a broad-cast news employee may be bound by a contractual provision that purportedly relinquishes his right to contract subsequently for other employment. Specifically, this Article dis-cusses the applicable law of selected jurisdictions, critiques the rationale most often used in defending these covenants ( uniqueness of employee services ), reports the results of a survey regarding industry practices, and discusses the distinctions between legal enforceability and practical enforcement. Finally, this Article proposes changes in the law, including abandonment of the unique services rationale and adoption of specialized standards by which the validity of such contract provisions should be tested