ALM Staff
&
Law Journal Newsletters
We recently were privileged to attend the annual meeting of the American Association of Law Librarians (AALL) in New Orleans. This was a fantastic chance for us to meet our readers, talk about Law Journal Newsletters and about our parent company ALM, and in general, 'meet and greet.' One thing that truly surprised me'so it stuck in my mind'was how many conference attendees were not aware that we have 23 newsletters that report on virtually every'
Features
Marcy L. Wachtel
&
Suzanne L. Stolz
In the past few years, more requests for modification of a child support obligations, either upward or downward, have been denied than granted. With regard to the cases in which an upward modification was denied, the courts have been reluctant to find that the party seeking to modify the child support obligation has established that any claimed change in circumstances was unanticipated or that the children's needs were not being met.
Features
ALM Staff
&
Law Journal Newsletters
The latest happenings.
Features
Martin M. Shenkman
Life insurance is a common issue addressed in a substantial proportion of divorces. For many clients, especially those of greater economic means, existing insurance coverage is owned by irrevocable life insurance trusts ('ILIT'). Existing ILIT arrangements too often receive inadequate attention during the course of a divorce as a result of the focus on other more significant issues, or the presumption that since the ILIT is 'irrevocable,' it cannot be tailored to address the post-divorce insurance needs. This can be a considerable mistake. In many cases, because it is assumed that an existing ILIT cannot be changed, the insurance requirements resulting from the divorce are separately addressed in a property settlement agreement ('PSA').
Features
Markus Cohen, Q.C.
On June 26, 2007, the long-awaited New Brunswick <i>Franchises Act</i> (Bill 32) received Royal Assent in the legislature. This law is now on the books, but it is not yet in force. That will happen when the Act is 'proclaimed.' Proclamation is expected following the promulgation and finalization of disclosure regulations, and is commonly done in stages: An example is Ontario's law, proclaimed in force on July 1, 2000, with the exception of the disclosure provisions, which came into force on Jan. 1, 2001.
Features
Joel R. Buckberg
The wealth-building strategy for the executive team and investors in a franchisor traditionally focused on setting the stage for one of three scenarios: a private sale to a strategic buyer; going public through an initial public offering, with a secondary offering to partially liquidate the group's investment; or establishing an enterprise with significant cash flow available for salaries, bonuses, dividends, and other emoluments of financial success. An attractive option now available is the private equity option, which involves a sale of all or the controlling share of the equity of the business to a financial buyer. This approach reorients financial exit strategy to harvest simultaneously the gain in enterprise value while positioning existing management and possibly investors to participate in future value accretion. This approach usually allows, or even compels, existing management to participate in the equity of the business going forward.
Features
Greg Ehrlich
Keep it Simple. It sounds basic and obvious, but it is easy to complicate even the most important things. And how many things are more important than growing your practice? You certainly can be a good lawyer and provide technical excellence, but how will that help you achieve your goals for financial success and job security? Will it enable you to achieve the professional status you desire? Will you command sufficient respect within your firm and among your peers?
Features
Cordell Parvin
I have always enjoyed trying to understand why some people are very successful and why others are not. Interestingly, I have found many of the most successful people also have greater fulfillment in their personal and family lives. How can this be so? Put simply, they understand both their career and life priorities, they develop a plan based on these priorities, and they use their time wisely. Most of us start our law careers with great enthusiasm and then, to borrow a phrase from a new Seth Godin book, 'we hit the dip'. This clarity of career and life priorities helps successful lawyers get through the dips.
Features
Elizabeth Anne 'Betiayn' Tursi
Once again, it is time for law firm marketing and communications departments to start thinking about their submissions for consideration to earn a spot on the coveted MLF 50 ' The Top 50 Law Firms in Marketing and Communications.
Features
Stephen M. Kramarsky
If a music file is downloaded to a computer and no one is there to play it, does it constitute a performance? This is not some question from a digital-age freshman philosophy seminar ' it was the legal issue recently facing Judge William C. Connor in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in <i>United States v. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP)</i>, 485 F.Supp.2d 438 (S.D.N.Y. 2007).
