Highlights of the latest franchising cases from around the country.

Features

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.

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.

Who's doing what; who's going where.

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

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 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.

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.