News Briefs
Highlights of the latest franchising news from around the country.
Court Watch
Highlights of the latest franchising cases from around the country.
Features
Managing a Franchise System When 'Game-Changers' Arise
One of the difficult balancing acts encountered by all franchise systems is between the relatively static nature of the franchise agreement and the dynamic, impossible-to-predict changes that occur in the real world. At the 34th Annual ABA Forum on Franchising, two industry veterans with perspective as senior in-house counsel spoke about how in-house counsel can identify potentially "game-changing" developments and lead their organizations' response.
U.S. Supreme Court Denies Certiorari in Iowa Tax Case
On Oct. 3, 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition for certiorari in <i>KFC Corp. v. Iowa Department of Revenue</i>. As a result, the Court has given its silent blessing to extending the "economic nexus" theory to justify states' imposition of tax obligations on out-of-state franchisors with no physical presence there.
People's Republic of China Adopts Social Security System
Law firms and their foreign attorneys working in China should ensure that they will be compliant with the latest local Social Security rules and practices to avoid noncompliance penalties.
Features
'Second Generation' Long'Term-Care Planning
In the absence of the implementation of the CLASS Act, employers who have not done so already might want to consider offering a private long-term-care insurance plan with an enrollment strategy that touches on paying for and planning for long-term care.
The Vital Signs of Firm Profitability
The ultimate objective of law firm management is to create profit for owners. It is the role of a managing partner, management committee, and CFO to understand the elements that impact profitability, identify and improve weaknesses that soften profitability, and capitalize on opportunities to enhance profitability.
2011 Law Department Compensation Benchmarking Survey
News reports about the overall U.S. economy may still be trending negative, but there is good news in the results of Corporate Counsel's 2011 Law Department Compensation Benchmarking Survey.
Ethics Considerations When Computing in the Cloud and on the Earth
Attorneys must remember that while the technology has changed, the ethics rules have not ' the same rules apply in the Cloud as on the Earth, and the benefits of technology do not come without potential ethical pitfalls.
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MOST POPULAR STORIES
- Protecting Innovation in the Cyber World from Patent TrollsWith trillions of dollars to keep watch over, the last thing we need is the distraction of costly litigation brought on by patent assertion entities (PAEs or "patent trolls"), companies that don't make any products but instead seek royalties by asserting their patents against those who do make products.Read More ›
- Risks of “Baseball Arbitration” in Resolving Real Estate Disputes“Baseball arbitration” refers to the process used in Major League Baseball in which if an eligible player's representative and the club ownership cannot reach a compensation agreement through negotiation, each party enters a final submission and during a formal hearing each side — player and management — presents its case and then the designated panel of arbitrators chooses one of the salary bids with no other result being allowed. This method has become increasingly popular even beyond the sport of baseball.Read More ›
- Private Equity Valuation: A Significant DecisionInsiders (and others) in the private equity business are accustomed to seeing a good deal of discussion ' academic and trade ' on the question of the appropriate methods of valuing private equity positions and securities which are otherwise illiquid. An interesting recent decision in the Southern District has been brought to our attention. The case is <i>In Re Allied Capital Corp.</i>, CCH Fed. SEC L. Rep. 92411 (US DC, S.D.N.Y., Apr. 25, 2003). Judge Lynch's decision is well written, the Judge reviewing a motion to dismiss by a business development company, Allied Capital, against a strike suit claiming that Allied's method of valuing its portfolio failed adequately to account for i) conditions at the companies themselves and ii) market conditions. The complaint appears to be, as is often the case, slap dash, content to point out that Allied revalued some of its positions, marking them down for a variety of reasons, and the stock price went down - all this, in the view of plaintiff's counsel, amounting to violations of Rule 10b-5.Read More ›
- The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year LaterThe DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.Read More ›
- The DOJ Goes Phishing: The Rise of False Claims Act Cybersecurity LitigationWhile the DOJ Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative is still in its early stages and cybersecurity regulations are evolving, whistleblower plaintiffs have already begun leveraging the FCA to pursue alleged noncompliance with government cybersecurity requirements.Read More ›