Toby Shute, a contributor to The Motley Fool, advised investors this week to take heed of the Alien Tort Claims Act and its impact on the reputation of multi-national corporations. Making a reference to two of ERI's major cases, he informed readers that ATCA has been used to litigate firms such as Royal Dutch Shell and Unocal for complicity in the hangings of activists and the enslavement of laborers at the hands of foreign militaries. "The punitive results of such trials have been mixed, but the risk to the reputation of a multinational firm facing an ATCA charge far outweighs any direct monetary damages," says Shute.