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?
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.
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.
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 United States v. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), 485 F.Supp.2d 438 (S.D.N.Y. 2007).
Hardly a day goes by without major media attention to global warming and the need to develop and invest in sources of alternative energy. Legislation to encourage investment in renewable energy has bipartisan support. Tax legislation passed in 2005 and 2006 extended the renewable energy production tax credit and the energy investment tax credit to facilities placed in service before Jan. 1, 2009. Further extension and expansion of these credits is expected from the current Congress. The extension of the tax credits, the adoption of minimum alternative energy requirements by many states, and greater public and political support for alternative energy resources have increased interest in the development and financing of wind, biomass, geothermal, and solar facilities. An active financing market has developed.
Part One of this article discussed the EEOC's plans to implement its new Systemic Discrimination Initiative, describing what the initiative is, why it is important and the first two steps in the implementation: identifying systemic cases early and often, and involving lawyers from the start. The conclusion discusses the next four steps in the EEOC's plans, and what employers can expect.
During the past year, we witnessed a marked increase in the number of law firms, both large and small, which are finding that their existing unfunded retirement plans are becoming significant, disruptive forces. The underlying problem created by these plans is that the plans result in current income being diverted to former partners, thereby reducing the compensation of the remaining active partners. Today, the combination of an expected spike in retirements related to the baby boom generation and, for many firms, greatly increased benefit exposure due to sharp increases in firm profitability that is factored into the value of retiree benefits, stand ready to test the financial viability of even the strongest firms.
The liability of an Internet service provider is one of the topics that has been vigorously disputed and discussed in Germany. And given the lack of borders in cyberspace, the outcome could impact e-commerce vendors in the United States and elsewhere.
While the market is swimming with innovative and highly leveraged financial transactions, and many parties are enjoying sizeable gains, some of those involved in these enterprises ultimately will become insolvent. A fraction of these insolvencies will result from fraudulent investment schemes perpetrated by multiple parties acting in concert for their mutual benefit. Innocent victims, including creditors and investors, will bear the financial brunt of the insolvencies, and will be eager to recover from all parties that participated in the fraud.
The Fourth Circuit, on June 15, 2007, affirmed the dismissal of a Chapter 11 reorganization petition filed by a tenant debtor in a commercial lease dispute. Maryland Port Administration v. Premier Automotive Services, Incorporated (In re Premier Automotive Services, Incorporated). As the Court of Appeals explained, the tenant had filed its Chapter 11 petition 'in order to forestall eviction on an obviously expired lease ' to prevent the [lessor] from evicting the debtor from the [lessor's] property,' seeking to tie up the landlord 'in endless, fruitless litigation.' According to the court, the Chapter 11 filing here 'demonstrate[s], unfortunately, how the good and useful ends of the bankruptcy process can be badly abused.'
