Perkins Coie’s Post

If you're interested in keeping tabs on the cosmetics and personal care products industries, join our webinar on July 24th during which Jasmine Wetherell, Tommy Tobin, and I will discuss regulatory updates and litigation trends in the first half of 2024. Bonus for lawyers = we'll also be offering CLE credit! ⚖️ #cosmeticslaw #personalcareproducts #regulatoryaffairs #litigation #webinar #CLE

Precedents come from weird origins. Lawyers live for precedents! Australia’s common law system operates on the back of precedent. It is the higher courts’ interpretation of a statute that gives us guidance. These precedents interpret the legislation for us, and should create consistency. For lawyers, it saves us from thinking. What is unknown and not used today is the power of the Supreme Court to create new law. The common law is designed to allow the court to create courses of action to protect the innocent. The most memorable is ‘duty of care’. Interestingly enough, some of these precedents emerge from the strangest of cases. ‘Duty of care’ is one of these situations. In 1932, the House of Lords in England brought down their decision in Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] AC 562. Lord Atkin became the grandfather of ‘duty of care’. This was where negligence was created, and professional negligence finds its roots. The case included a poor innocent snail. Mrs Donoghue had gone into a store on an extremely hot day. Mrs Donoghue bought a bottle of ginger beer and sculled half of it before leaving the shop. She poured the rest of it into a glass when she got outside, only to discover the remains of a decomposed snail. This caused some form of reaction culminating in Mrs Donoghue suffering brain damage. The courts created the neighbour principle that stated that all of us must take reasonable steps to avoid harm that we can reasonably foresee that we can cause to another. A logical test! If we can anticipate a harm, we must do something about it. As noted above, this has been the basis of the majority of litigation cases over the past 90 years. Yes, it has been bastardized by subsequent cases. But it set a new standard. I understand that, Coca Cola pins a summary of this case on the wall of their factory in Darwin. Lax bottling standards have led to small snakes and lizards being found in the Coca Cola bottle. I really don’t understand why they are concerned. I would have thought that Coca Cola would disintegrate them so no one would even know if they swallowed them!

Retail Week's General Counsel Summit is the industry’s leading networking event for legal leaders to share how they are approaching seismic transformations in retail. If you are one of the many legal leaders representing the retailers attending today's event we would love to demonstrate how we can help you make significant savings on your external legal spend. Please comment below to set up a meeting. https://hubs.la/Q02Cc3mG0 #reatilweek #generalcounsel #generalcousnelsummit #legalops

🛍️ Struggling to remember a long grocery list? Miller's Law says humans can only hold 7 items in their memory. Keep lists short! 😰 Confused by complex designs? Miller's Law recommends grouping elements into smaller chunks for better understanding. 📝 Got hundreds of tasks? Miller's Law suggests breaking them into smaller groups of 5-9 items for better management. 🧠 Too many options? Miller's Law! Categorize functions into chunks of 5-9 to make it user-friendly.

I have written to my MP Sarah Dines (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Home Office) to stress how vital it is that #MartynsLaw is enacted at the earliest opportunity. Please could I ask all my friends and colleagues in security and emergency planning to do the same. Details of how to do so are in Figen Murray OBE's post below.

Check out this LLC Formation Process Map for Delaware on Practical Guidance!

Interesting to note this legal case involving “Freestyle” drink dispensers. Thanks to my time at The Nerdery , I became well versed in their use. One bit of advice I passed along to my wife, “Keep it Simple”. That is, don’t try to mix 5 or 6 flavors to create the perfect concoction. I’ve often wondered how much of the stuff gets poured down the drain after people mix nasty tasting combinations. Anyway, since becoming visually impaired - if I am using a Freestyle machine on my own - I typically keep it even simpler than usual, as I have difficulty reading all of the smaller touchscreen buttons. I generally stick with a base selection with no add-ins. Asking an employee for assistance has never been a consideration. Typically, when with my wife, she will dispense my selection thus avoiding spills, overeager customers behind me, etc. #accessibility #quenchmythirst #lowvision #visuallyimpaired

Our latest episode is out! Conrad Saam and Argyrios Tsakalakis talk: Mindful Gifting Resolutions Past and Future And a shout to Ben Glass and Brian Glass for their Great Legal Marketing, LLC print newsletter. #legalmarketing

Please do check out the most recent edition of Commercially Minded which is aimed at consumer law and contracts! The current edition contains an article in relation to managing consumer disputes written by yours truly, along with other very useful and interesting content! #hcrlaw #consumerlaw #contractlaw #legaladvice

📚 Understanding California's Law of Contract: Common Law v. UCC 📚 There are two legal frameworks: 1) the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), and 2) Common law. Common Law: Common law governs contracts for services, real estate, employment, and other transactions not covered by the UCC. Uniform Commercial Code (UCC): The UCC is a comprehensive set of laws governing commercial transactions, including the "sale of goods", leases, negotiable instruments, and secured transactions. In California, both common law and the UCC play important roles in contract law, depending on the nature of the transaction. Understanding the distinctions between these two legal frameworks is essential for businesses, legal professionals, and individuals engaged in commercial transactions. Let's consider an example: We all love partying and hanging out with our friends, Let's imagine we have decided to enjoy "noodles". Noodles come as dry noodle packets that can be cooked by adding hot water in two minutes, they can also be ordered at a restaurant. When noodles are in packet form they are goods; When we go to the restaurant and order cooked noodles, they are "services". This is my understanding. Open for fair criticism. Comment for better reach! Have a good time! Happy learning 😊 #ContractLaw #UCC #CommonLaw #CaliforniaLegal