Cynthia Cordes’s article, “Human trafficking: Corporate responsibility for modern day slavery” appeared in the May issue of the St. Louis Lawyer, a Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis publication.

Cynthia leads the firm’s Human Trafficking Pro Bono Legal Clinic. As an assistant U.S. attorney, she became the first federal prosecutor in the United States to charge the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) against an international human trafficking enterprise. She was the first to investigate and prosecute the newly enacted fraud in foreign labor contracting statute. Cynthia also broke new ground by utilizing the Trafficking Victims Protection Act to prosecute the demand for trafficking. She has prosecuted more human-trafficking cases than any other assistant U.S. attorney in the country.

In its 1984 decision in Hansome, the Missouri Supreme Court required an “exclusive causal connection” between the employee’s exercise of rights under the workers’ compensation statute and the adverse action the employee challenged.  No more.  Today, the Missouri Supreme Court swept Hansome aside and concluded the employee need only show that his exercise of rights under the workers’ compensation statute was a “contributing factor” to the adverse action. 

Yesterday a panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals held the Conflict Minerals Rules’ requirement that a company that issues stock disclose if its products are not “DRC conflict free” violated the First Amendment.

In an effort to de-finance parties engaged in violence and human-rights abuses related to the extraction of gold, tantalum, tin, and tungsten—so-called “conflict minerals”—from Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congress, through rules promulgated by the Securities Exchange Commission, required companies to disclose not “DRC conflict free” in reports filed with the SEC and on the company’s website if they determine upon due diligence that their products contain such minerals.  On appeal of the district court’s ruling in National Association of Manufacturers v. Securities and Exchange Comm’n upholding the law, the Association challenged the SEC’s disclosure requirement as unconstitutionally compelling speech in violation of the First Amendment.

Joe Nassif published an article, “Should Fish Wear Helmets?” in the April 2014 edition of the ABA Section of Environment, Energy and Resources’ Environmental Enforcement and Crimes Committee Newsletter.

In the course of trying an environmental criminal case, one would not think the answer to the above question would be significant to whether a

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The United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc. v. Buck, which revolves around whether activities are “integral and indispensable” (and so compensable) or “preliminary or postliminary” (and so not). Integrity Staffing provides warehouse workers on a contract basis to its clients. The employees in question filled orders for retail goods.

Corporations conducting internal investigations need to be wary that information learned and materials generated in the course of these investigations may later fall into the hands of adversaries in litigation.

A recent decision by a federal district court, United States ex rel. Barko v. Halliburton Co., 4 F.Supp.3d 161 (D.D.C., 2014)., demonstrates this pitfall.

Husch Blackwell is proud to announce that Partner Cynthia Cordes is one of Kansas City’s 2014 Influential Women.  Read the KC Business Magazine profile. Cynthia leads the firm’s Human Trafficking Pro Bono Legal Clinic. As an assistant U.S. attorney, she became the first federal prosecutor in the United States to charge the Racketeer Influenced and…