In 2005, the Superior Court of Rhode Island held that '44112 of Title 49 of the U.S. Code did not protect the owner and lessor of an aircraft from vicarious liability for negligence of a lessee of the aircraft. Coleman v. Windham Aviation Inc. In light of the decision in Windham (and others discussed below), owners, lessors, of aircraft must be aware of the possibility that a state court may very well impose vicarious liability.
Highlights of the latest commercial leasing cases from around the country.
The broker provision of a lease should acknowledge the broker or brokers entitled to compensation and provide representations that the parties have not worked with any other broker in connection with the lease. Typically, the parties also agree to indemnify each other for violating these representations.
When we are hired to begin a new search, the very first thing we hear from our clients' mouths is 'Ideally, we would like someone with X years in law firm marketing.' If you analyze the AmLaw 100 law firms, which combined have more than 2000 marketing professionals, coupled with the fact that at any moment there are more than 100 open positions nationwide, there are more jobs than qualified professionals to meet these needs. So, how do employers find the 'right' talent for their firm in this competitive environment? How do the people with law firm marketing experience find the 'right' firm, since they are in high demand by every firm? Below we have outlined some tips for those who are hiring and those looking to be hired.
Not to be left behind, the legal community is actively engaged in the ever-expanding blogoshpere. With more than 1000 active legal blogs on the Web, firms and attorneys recognize the value of blogs as unique marketing and business development tools. However, for a blog to be beneficial, it must distinguish itself from the diluted market through creativity, consistency, and a strategic media plan.
Trusts and estates law is replete with special rules, or exceptions to the general rules, designed to recognize and protect the financial side of the marriage partnership. What happens, however, when husbands or wives decide that they no longer wish to be married? Once the decision is made to end the marriage, one spouse usually wishes to minimize any benefits that the other spouse could obtain from the estate.
Consider all the critical information that would vanish if a key employee of your business died suddenly, and others had to locate that information.
The legal risks associated with operating an online business are largely hidden to many people who are lured by the dream of making their fortunes with the apparent ease of opening a virtual storefront.
The misappropriation theory of insider trading, which was first recognized by the Supreme Court in United States v. O'Hagan, 521 U.S. 642 (1997), establishes liability for individuals who are not typical 'insiders' of companies and also appears to offer such defendants a specific defense to insider trading charges. The O'Hagan Court based the misappropriation theory on a duty owed by the defendant to the source of non-public material information, rather than to the shareholders of the company whose stock was being traded. Because a defendant prosecuted under the misappropriation theory had a duty only to his source, the Court explained that a defendant's disclosure to the source of information prior to trading or tipping could neutralize the acts of deception necessary for a securities fraud claim.
Litigation involving asbestos, which was used for decades as a fire retardant in many products, has littered the legal landscape for years. Several major companies have over the course of the last several years filed for bankruptcy as a result of the onslaught of this litigation. Since the 1980s, many asbestos manufacturers, including Johns Manville, declared bankruptcy under the weight of liability payouts. To date, an estimated 85 companies have filed for bankruptcy claiming asbestos liabilities as the cause. A Rand Institute for Civil Justice report indicates that more than 730,000 asbestos claims have been filed since the early 1970s. Roughly 200,000 claims are still pending in state and federal courts nationwide. Estimates predict that up to 2.4 million claims still may be filed before asbestos litigation finally runs its course.
