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Prudential's law department was held up as one to emulate at the National LGBT Bar Association's Out & Proud Corporate Counsel Awards.

Employment attorneys have long focused on discrimination and harassment litigation. Few devoted time to wage and hour issues. But that's changing, and in-house counsel need to be on the lookout for liability.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has appointed Jeanette Franzel to fill a vacancy on the agency's Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

Four in-house counsel discuss how firms can get their business and what they expect from outside attorneys.

In addition to leading a team of six attorneys as general counsel of the Red Apple Group, Mr. Katsoris is a children's book author, with five books following Loukoumi the fluffy lamb. The series has sold more than 100,000 books with at least $2 of each sale benefiting charities.

In-house lawyers represent the entity that issues their paychecks, not the executives and staff. But as seen in testimony from two Penn State officials, a company's lawyers and constituents can understand the relationship differently.

As Facebook files its initial public offering paperwork with the SEC, regulators and potential investors will examine the company under a fiscal microscope and decide just how much they "like" Facebook's operational structure.

As companies contemplate moving their existing data, software, and/or infrastructure applications to a cloud service, whether public, private, or a hybrid between the two, potential traps lurk for the unwary.

A jury will never hear claims that Motorola engaged in racial profiling of its Asian American employees in order to find trade secrets thieves, or that Lemko Corporation helped an accused Chinese spy smuggle Motorola documents out of the country.

While there is no sure way for a company faced with a securities violation to ensure that it will not become the subject of a whistleblower report, there are steps corporate counsel can take to minimize the risk.

In light of the ever-increasing importance of intellectual property to not just Apple, but seemingly every modern business, CorpCounsel presents a list of last year's top 10 IP litigation wins.

The "supercommittee" general counsel, Michael Bloomquist, has taken on the GC role at the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

The general counsel of Pandora Media is an avid snowboarder, and just shredded her company's IPO.

The Wendy's Company has named R. Scott Toop as its new senior vice president, general counsel, and secretary.

American Electric Power Company, Inc., has put David Feinberg in charge of its law department.

Financial services firm Morgan Stanley has named Eric Grossman its next chief legal officer. He replaces Frank Barron, whose retirement was announced in an internal memo on Monday.

CorpCounsel.com reporter Shannon Green talks to general counsel John Cannon from Best Legal Department 2011 Finalist Wellpoint.

A speed camera was set on fire on the highway between Narbonne and Toulouse, France on Wednesday at 3:30am, La Depeche reported. Police have no idea who might be responsible for destroying the automated ticketing machine, admitting the public has not been willing to rush forward and identify the vigilantes. The area has twenty-five speed cameras and sixteen red light cameras, which are regularly attacked.

Vigilantes set fire to a speed camera in Wiehl, Germany on Thursday at 1am, according to Oberberg Aktuell. A canister of gasoline was placed on top of the device and set on fire. Only the camera lens suffered significant damage. Source

Rhode Islanders are ready to decriminalize and maybe even legalize marijuana, according to a new Public Policy Polling survey commissioned by the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP). The poll found nearly two-thirds support (65%) decriminalization and bare majority support (52%) for legalization.

[image:1 align:left]The poll comes as the state legislature ponders a pair of bills, House Bill 7092 and Senate Bill 2253, which would reduce the penalty for possession of less than an ounce of weed to a citation with a maximum $150 fine. Under current law, possession is punishable by a $500 fine and up to a year in jail.

Decriminalization had support across the political spectrum, with 73% of Democrats, 64% of Republicans, and 60% of independents in favor of the measure. In addition to political party, the poll provided cross-tabs on age and gender. In no group was there less than majority support for decriminalization. The least supportive group was voters over 65, and even 58% of them supported decriminalization.

But maybe legislators should set their sights a bit higher and go for legalization. It looks like the Rhode Island electorate is just about there already with 52% saying they supported taxing and regulating marijuana like alcohol.

Legalization won majority support among men (59%), but not women (45%); among Democrats (55%) and Republicans (54%), but not independents (49%); and among every age group except voters over 65, 55% of whom opposed it.

"As this polling demonstrates, the public is clearly aware that marijuana prohibition is failed policy and they are ready for change," said MPP legislative analyst Robert Capecchi. "The people of Rhode Island understand the need for sensible marijuana policy reform. Ending marijuana prohibition would created entire industries with hundreds of jobs, allow the government to collected needed revenue from responsible sales, and keep marijuana out of the hands of minors through thorough regulations."

The poll also asked about medical marijuana and found strong support (72%) for the state's program. Nearly as many (70%) said they wanted Gov. Lincoln Chafee (I) to implement the state's 2009 creating three nonprofit dispensaries for patients. Chafee stopped the program because of fears of federal intervention.

The Department of the Interior oversees more than 500 million acres of land through the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Bureau of Reclamation. Much of this land is productive, rich in natural resources, and popular with recreational visitors. Yet rather than generate a net return for taxpayers, the department consumes billions of dollars a year in subsidies. On DownsizingGovernment.org, Cato scholars analyze the department's spending and recommend cuts to save taxpayers $8 billion annually.

• Downsizing the Department of the Interior