Our committee focuses on issues facing litigators with broad commercial practices, including substantive areas such as bankruptcy, creditors rights, professional liability, and trade secret law, and procedural matters such as e-discovery, privilege, ADR, and international litigation.

In Institutional Investors Group v. Avaya, Inc., 564 F.3d 242 (3d Cir. 2009), the Third Circuit addressed the requirements for pleading scienter under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act (PSLRA) in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in Telltabs, Inc. v. Makor Issues & Rights, Ltd., 551 U.S. 308 (2007).

As Truth in Lending Act (TILA) claims continue to proliferate as a result of the housing and credit crises, the federal appellate courts are being called upon more and more to interpret borrowers’ rights and remedies. A trio of circuit courts, the Third, Eighth, and Ninth, have each recently issued important decisions interpreting TILA.

In January the First Circuit decided United States v. Textron, Inc., 553 F.3d 87. Though nominally a tax enforcement decision, its holding affects work-product privilege waiver doctrine broadly in general administrative, civil and criminal litigation. Due to flaws in the decision’s reasoning, it has been vacated and scheduled for reargument en banc.