Features
News Briefs
Highlights of the latest franchising news from around the country.
Court Watch
Highlights of the latest franchising cases from around the country.
CPSC Poised to Implement Online Product Hazard Database
The CPSC is posed to unveil its own online reporting system and public database of actual and potential product hazards. Unless the CPSC implements adequate safeguards, information disseminated through the new online database may be wholly unverified.
Features
Attributes of Successful Managing Partners
Hardly a week passes without receiving information about a new publication or seminar about law office management. However, information is not readily available about what specifically managing partners and members of management committees should do to coalesce their partners, associates and staff into a well-managed and informed organization.
Features
The Alvord Decision: Why Periodic Review of Insurance Policies Is a Must for Franchisors
Franchisors, like other businesses, should periodically review their insurance policies to make certain that they understand the scope of their existing coverage and to identify (and remedy) any significant gaps in that coverage.
Features
Change As a Management and Marketing Tool
In this economic environment, the word "change" looms large in professional services dialogue. Professions can be fairly rigid and resistant to innovation. But the times seem to have accelerated the need for new ideas and structures to cope with new economic and social problems and opportunities.
Mac's Shell Service, Inc. v. Shell Oil Products: Looking for the Practical Answer
Even though franchising represents a significant part of the commercial activity in the United States and the U.S. Supreme Court regularly considers legal issues pertaining to commerce, it's rare for the Court to hear a case that is directly related to franchising. But such a rarity took place on Jan. 19, 2010, in <i>Mac's Shell Service Inc. v. Shell Oil Products Co.</i> Craig R. Tractenberg, a partner at Nixon Peabody LLP, was in attendance, and he describes the oral argument.
Alternative Fees
The desire among senior corporate counsel and management to control costs has pushed consideration of alternative fee arrangements (AFAs) to the forefront. Some estimates suggest that within five years, as much as half the Am Law 200 revenue might come from AFAs.
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MOST POPULAR STORIES
- The 'Sophisticated Insured' DefenseA majority of courts consider the <i>contra proferentem</i> doctrine to be a pillar of insurance law. The doctrine requires ambiguous terms in an insurance policy to be construed against the insurer and in favor of coverage for the insured. A prominent rationale behind the doctrine is that insurance policies are usually standard-form contracts drafted entirely by insurers.Read More ›
- The Brave New World of Cybersecurity Due Diligence in Mergers and Acquisitions: Pitfalls and OpportunitiesLike poorly-behaved school children, new technologies and intellectual property (IP) are increasingly disrupting the M&A establishment. Cybersecurity has become the latest disruptive newcomer to the M&A party.Read More ›
- A Lawyer's System for Active ReadingActive reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.Read More ›
- Abandoned and Unused Cables: A Hidden Liability Under the 2002 National Electric CodeIn an effort to minimize the release of toxic gasses from cables in the event of fire, the 2002 version of the National Electric Code ("NEC"), promulgated by the National Fire Protection Association, sets forth new guidelines requiring that abandoned cables must be removed from buildings unless they are located in metal raceways or tagged "For Future Use." While the NEC is not, in itself, binding law, most jurisdictions in the United States adopt the NEC by reference in their state or local building and fire codes. Thus, noncompliance with the recent NEC guidelines will likely mean that a building is in violation of a building or fire code. If so, the building owner may also be in breach of agreements with tenants and lenders and may be jeopardizing its fire insurance coverage. Even in jurisdictions where the 2002 NEC has not been adopted, it may be argued that the guidelines represent the standard of reasonable care and could result in tort liability for the landlord if toxic gasses from abandoned cables are emitted in a fire. With these potential liabilities in mind, this article discusses: 1) how to address the abandoned wires and cables currently located within the risers, ceilings and other areas of properties, and 2) additional considerations in the placement and removal of telecommunications cables going forward.Read More ›
- The New York Uniform Commercial Code Comes of AgeParties in large non-consumer transactions with no connection whatsoever to New York often choose its law to govern their transactions, and New York statutes permit them to do so. What most people do not know is that the New York Uniform Commercial Code is outdated.Read More ›