U.S. antitrust enforcement, once the impetus for numerous foreign blocking statutes, now epitomizes the type of global cooperation necessary for effective law enforcement. But the past six years offer potent counterexamples that highlight the dangers of unilateralism and disrespect for foreign sovereignty ' some relatively minor, others far more consequential.
While the duty of lawyers representing financial institutions in the U.S. is almost solely toward their clients, in the EU, lawyers have affirmative obligations to report suspected money-laundering activity to government authorities. In other words, lawyers may be involuntarily conscripted as enforcement agents or 'gatekeepers' at the institutions they represent. American lawyers in the European offices of U.S.-based 'international' law firms are not exempt.
As the construction of mixed-use projects continues to grow across the nation and globally, all parties involved must understand the dynamics of the project in which they are involved and how best to structure the relationships among the several parties, which will generally have divergent interests. The building block for this relationship will likely be a form lease.
As the wave of litigation related to subprime defaults builds momentum, the people and institutions targeted by that litigation are looking to their insurers for reimbursement of the costs of defending those actions and any resulting liabilities.
For companies of all sizes, the decisions made in the boardroom will affect how they operate and may ultimately determine success or failure. Whether in response to legislation or good business sense, the use of forensic accountants at the boardroom level will become more prevalent as management responds to the pressures for establishing controls aimed at preventing fraud.
There is no doubt that current economic conditions are more challenging and unpredictable than ever. Those organizations that can muster the courage and the fortitude for incremental change can make huge strides in enhancing their agility and competitive advantage, particularly in times when the going gets tough for everyone.
It was no surprise to find an increased number of franchisors at the International Franchise Expo in Washington, DC, in April, and to find them determined to prosper even when the U.S. and world economies are struggling.
The filing of a complaint by a Pennsylvania lawyer against the operators of an online virtual world, and last year's decision by a Pennsylvania federal district court in that case, Bragg v. Linden Research Inc., has generated a great deal of interest in the media and among lawyers, as well as in the virtual world community. The attention has gone well beyond that which the decision would have garnered if it had not involved a virtual world and virtual property, given that it simply found an arbitration clause in a terms-of-service agreement to be unconscionable and therefore unenforceable. It is clear, however, that the case reflects the growth of real-life litigation over virtual-world property. Undoubtedly, as participation in virtual worlds increases, real-life lawsuits will be growing in number, too.
Despite the positive economic conditions and the demand for international brands, the Indian legal framework still raises some barriers to international business. The Indian government has the delicate task of balancing what is perceived to be in the interest of local businesses and those of foreign investors.
In LaRue v. Dewolff, Boberg & Associates, Inc., the U.S. Supreme Court has officially recognized that the times have changed for retirement plans.
