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Patti Waldmeir writes a column about US law and society, focusing mostly on intellectual property and employment law and other legal topics of interest to the business and general reader. Patti has been a columnist since 1997. Before that she was US editor of the FT, based in Washington DC.
Before coming to Washington, Patti worked extensively in Africa, covering the transition to democracy in South Africa as Johannesburg bureau chief from 1989 to 1996. She wrote a book about the South African transition, Anatomy of a Miracle, which won several prizes. Since she joined the FT in 1981 she has also worked as a Lex columnist.
Patti lives in the suburbs of Washington DC with her two small daughters. Her column appears every Wednesday.
Do you have any comments on a Patti Waldmeir column? She will be responding to FT readers in her online forum.
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Judges deal second blow to Bush
The US Supreme Court upheld a ruling that barred FBI agents from searching the legislative office of congressman William Jefferson as part of a corruption investigation
Divorce is not what it used to be
Men no longer want to pay lifetime alimony, and some states may limit payments, writes Patti Waldmeir
Death of self-rule on the internet
Ebay has taken a turn towards middle-age cynicism, though scarcely a teenager, writes Patti Waldmeir
Inertia is the better part of valour
Congress has wasted years not solving patent problems – why should lawmakers rush, writes Patti Waldmeir
Internet as legal aid
Finally lawyers are being exposed to a combined onslaught of opinion and fact, writes Patti Waldmeir
Trust Mum about clones
Cloned-food sellers should not hide the fact that their foods include cloned products, writes Patti Waldmeir
Techno-toys in court challenge
The US Supreme Court has been struggling with the notion of when patent rights are exhausted since at least 1873. A current case is crucial to the techno-toy market, writes Patti Waldmeir
Tyranny at the US water cooler
The water cooler – or its digital analogue, the company e-mail system – can be a dangerous place in election year. Talking politics can be grounds for dismissal, writes Patti Waldmeir
’Tis the season to be wary of a lawsuit
’Tis the season for employment lawyers to bombard their clients with advice on how to avoid a seasonal lawsuit claiming sexual harassment, religious discrimination or worse, writes Patti Waldmeir
How to make the best of a subprime mess
It is hardly surprising that a howl of libertarian outrage has greeted last week’s plan to rewrite the terms of thousands of American mortgages, writes Patti Waldmeir
