It was prosecutor vindication time at the California Supreme Court in May. In unanimous rulings authored by Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar, the state high court held that the Second District Court of Appeal erred when it ordered three deputy district attorneys removed from separate cases each was handling. The ruling chastised the Second District's Ventura branch for failing to grant appropriate deference to a trial court judge's decision that no disqualifying conflict existed for Santa Barbara County prosecutors Joyce Dudley and Ronald Zonen.

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Cash cannot be realized until clients understand the benefits they have received from the lawyer's services — and agree to pay the bill. The key is to understand and convey value to the client, expressed in clear and understandable terms.

Richard L. Gabriel, the lead attorney for the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in its copyright-infringement suits against individuals over the file-sharing of music, has been appointed to the Colorado Court of Appeals.

A bankruptcy judge slammed a New York law firm for putting its own desire to be paid above the interests of its hip-hop publishing client in a Chapter 11 proceeding. In a stinging 38-page decision, Southern District of New York Bankruptcy Judge Arthur J. Gonzalez denied Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf any compensation for its work on the bankruptcy of hip-hop media company Source Enterprises Inc.

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The California Court of Appeal, Second District, decided that the term 'Purchaser' in an agreement for 'Walt Disney Productions' to purchase rights in the novel 'Who Censored Roger Rabbit?' and its characters didn't apply to Disney's subsidiaries.

One could argue that the concept of the '360-degree deal' harkens back to the record business of the 1950s and 1960s. Then, labels would commonly provide integrated A&R, publishing, management and promotional services to their artists, as well as put them out on tours with their label mates. But today's 360 deals are substantially different. Generally, a 360 deal has a label participating in revenue streams outside of its traditional business of manufacturing and distributing recordings.

I think the 10-year deal that concert-industry giant Live Nation just closed with Jay-Z is brilliant. It builds on Live Nation's groundbreaking deal with Madonna and reinforces its unique position to make these deals profitable.

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The billable hours lost each month to attrition stand to impact a firm's bottom line unless firm managers counteract this trickle with affirmative measures.