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Your Best Precedent Is Unpublished: Now What?
Imagine counsel representing litigants before a court. An attorney for one party takes a position on the issue. The court responds that, in a previously filed pleading, counsel had taken the opposite position on behalf of his or her client. The attorney responds, “No, Your Honor, that was an 'unpublished' filing. Not only am I not bound by it, in this jurisdiction, you are not even permitted to bring that unpublished filing to my attention.”
The court would likely hold the attorney in contempt or sanction him or her for frivolous conduct. Yet, courts often do this to litigants and counsel by filing an overwhelming majority of their opinions ' including lengthy, important ones ' as unpublished decisions. These are not binding precedent and, in many jurisdictions, litigants and counsel are prohibited from even revealing the existence of these prior decisions to the court.
Where Decisions Go to Die
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
The Stranger to the Deed Rule
In 1987, a unanimous Court of Appeals reaffirmed the vitality of the "stranger to the deed" rule, which holds that if a grantor executes a deed to a grantee purporting to create an easement in a third party, the easement is invalid. Daniello v. Wagner, decided by the Second Department on November 29th, makes it clear that not all grantors (or their lawyers) have received the Court of Appeals' message, suggesting that the rule needs re-examination.
Legal Possession: What Does It Mean?
Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.