LJN Newsletters

In the recently decided AWG Leasing Trust case, No. 1:07-CV-857 (N.D. Ohio 2008), a federal district court found against a taxpayer that engaged in a cross-border sale-leaseback of a waste-to-energy facility located in Germany. Herein is a discussion of the case and its aftermath.

Last month, the author discussed what a corporate social responsibility (CSR) program entails and how the key to creating a successful CSR program is to establish stakeholder value across the board. This followup article explains the seven steps to be taken in establishing such a coordinated CSR program.

High-quality work for existing clients is the most important and most appreciated selling tool there is. For that reason, the common terminology of "client retention" is inadequate. Here's why.

The marketing and business development department exists to serve ' we are the service arm of a service business. Our clients are both internal (the firm) and external (the firm's clients). The things we do and they way we do them affect ourselves, the firm and our clients, so we must care about our processes."

Interviews with senior associates and individuals in their first or second year of partnership (particularly equity partnership) reveal that they frequently face a number of surprises ' even shocks ' when they enter their new, long-desired status. Here's what to do.

Accustomed to manning the ramparts in defense of its landlord client's form of lease, it is always a bit unsettling for a landlord's lawyer to be advised by its client that "for this national tenant, we must work from the tenant's form of lease." Suddenly, instead of engaging in the familiar determination of which of the tenant's requested lease revisions are acceptable to the landlord, the lawyer is faced with determining which essential provisions of a lease from landlord's perspective are either entirely or substantially missing from the tenant's form of lease and then negotiating to include such provisions.

Both Labor Law '240(1) and '241(6) impose a nondelegable duty on property owners to provide specified protections to workers. This duty exists regardless of whether or not the owner controlled, directed, or supervised the work. As the courts have repeatedly observed, the imposition of this duty protects workers, by placing ultimate responsibility for their safety upon owners and contractors, instead of on the workers themselves.

Planning staff of municipalities often view developers with a degree of suspicion, while developers tend to see municipalities as roadblocks ' or, at the very least, speed bumps ' when it comes to building projects. Developers respond to market forces and pursue the rewards of capitalism, while municipalities are concerned about infrastructure issues and meeting the long-term needs of their citizens.