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Counsel Fees: A Tipping Point
The recent decision in Sykes v. Sykes, 41 Misc.3d 1061 (Sup. Ct. N.Y. Cty. 2013), sent shock waves reverberating throughout the New York matrimonial bar for its direction that during the pendency of a divorce litigation, the less monied spouse may be required to use a portion of her share of the marital estate to pay her legal fees, rather than continue to have such fees paid by the wealthier spouse. The court's rationale in Sykes , as more fully detailed herein, was that because the wife was receiving significant pendente lite maintenance and child support, unless she was responsible for her own counsel fees, she had no incentive to resolve or move the case forward due to her lack of “skin in the game.”
As a result of the decision in Sykes , matrimonial practitioners are left contemplating when a court might apply this principal of “skin in the game.” This article addresses when and why a case may reach the tipping point that pushes it over the equal playing field presumption inherent in Domestic Relations Law (DRL) ' 237 to the “skin in the game” analysis, as described in Sykes . As will be explained, this different approach appears to depend largely on several factors, including the length of the action, the animosity between the parties, the parties' separate property assets, the legal fees the monied spouse has already paid, and the marital assets at issue.
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations
This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.
How AI Has Affected PR
When we consider how the use of AI affects legal PR and communications, we have to look at it as an industrywide global phenomenon. A recent online conference provided an overview of the latest AI trends in public relations, and specifically, the impact of AI on communications. Here are some of the key points and takeaways from several of the speakers, who provided current best practices, tips, concerns and case studies.
The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs
The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.