Features

Second Circuit Affirms Slashing of Unreasonable Fees In Dismissed Involuntary Bankruptcy Case
An involuntary bankruptcy petition is a limited, risky remedy for both creditors' counsel and debtor's counsel. The fee problems encountered by counsel for the petitioners and the putative debtor in this case provide a cautionary tale.
Features

Economic Stability Could Lead to Significant Increase In CRE Activity In 2024
Before deal activity in the commercial real estate lending sector can approach anywhere close to returning to its 2021 highs, many commercial real estate borrowers, investors and lenders will look for stable interest rates — either a cessation of rate hikes, or, at the very least, a clear ceiling.
Features

Top 5 Questions When It Comes to Strategically Growing Your Business With LinkedIn
When working with clients, we see a lot of common questions about using LinkedIn for strategic growth. Many people and companies are on this platform, and many are looking for answers on using it to its full potential. Here are some of the top questions that clients ask when it comes to leveraging LinkedIn for marketing.
Features

Mass. Appeals Court Holds That Email to Landlord Constituted 'Effective Notice' to Prevent Automatic Lease Renewal
Despite a provision in a commercial lease that prohibited electronic notice, the Massachusetts Appeals Court sided with a tenant in holding that an email to its landlord constituted effective notice to opt out of an automatic five-year lease extension.
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Development
Court Reserves Decision Pending Further Proceedings When ZBA Produced Inadequate Findings of Fact to Support Variance Grant Landmark Designation Upheld Despite Town's Failure to Call Public Hearing Within Code's Time Limit
Features

9th Circuit Bases Attorney Fees On What Class-Action Clients Get In Hand
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit made clear its view — that class-action plaintiffs' lawyers generally should not be awarded fees that exceed the amount their clients get from a settlement — as the court struck down a $1.7 million fee award in which a copyright plaintiffs' class received less than $53,000 in an infringement dispute settlement.
Features

Should Foreign Companies Face Lanham Act Sanctions for Trademark Infringement Occurring Abroad?
The U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether the federal Lanham Act should be interpreted so broadly that domestic companies can leverage it to bar trademark infringement by — and seek significant damage awards against — foreign entities operating almost entirely overseas.
Features

Midsize Firms Outpace Am Law 200 In Key Growth Metrics
While many of the country's largest law firms contend with financial volatility that has resulted in financial declines and workforce overcapacity, the 20 midsize firms included in the Am Law 200 outperformed the 2023 Am Law Second Hundred in key financial metrics.
Features

Despite Rhetoric On Individual Accountability, Recent FCPA Enforcement Has Targeted Entities
With ample bravado, in recent years the FCPA unit of the DOJ and the SEC have proclaimed that holding individuals accountable for foreign bribery schemes is of "critical importance," with the FCPA saying "it is unambiguously this department's first priority" to prosecute individuals in corporate criminal matters. Reviewing the enforcement record, however, one sees that the volume of FCPA enforcement activity with respect to individuals has steadily declined in the last three years.
Features

Second Circuit Sets Up Seven-Factor Test for Third-Party Releases In Bankruptcy Cases
The Second Circuit had a tough call to make in the Purdue Pharmacy bankruptcy appeal: What to do about the release given to the Sackler families who had agreed to contribute $5.5 to $6 billion to Purdue's reorganization plan but were not themselves in bankruptcy.
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