The use of a trademark in computer code words, called 'metatags,' by a competitor to boost its position in Internet searches infringes under the Lanham Trademark Act, according to the Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. But the decision, which conflicts with a Second Circuit holding, has touched off criticism that the Eleventh Circuit panel and federal courts generally don't understand the uses of metatags, and that this has resulted in rulings that muddle infringement law. <i>North American Medical Corp. v. Axiom Worldwide Inc.</i>, 522 F.3d 1211 (2008).

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As discussed in the previous two articles in this series, having the smallest possible litigation team in place and having a person with adequate litigation experience to monitor the team effectively are two important elements for any general counsel intent on keeping litigation costs in check. This is particularly so if you insist upon working under the old paradigm of paying your outside counsel on an hourly basis. But believes in adopting or least considering a different fee arrangement ' contingency. Here's why.

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Many global firms that provide transaction support services for law firms are exceedingly worried about the 2008 deal season. But is the anecdotal evidence of a drying pipeline true? A quick look at the data suggests that law and accounting firms are right to be worried about a decreased deal flow, with only a few highlights in sight.

This article is the first in a series about developing a customized scorecard for your firm's partners, specific information to include in the scorecard, tailoring it to your firm's goals, and getting partners to understand the scorecard and achieve greater success.

Corporate counsel are exercising increased bargaining power about fees and terms of employment of outside law firms. Law firms can no longer ignore the competition of the marketplace when establishing billing rates and fees. Several variations and combinations of three basic billing systems, hourly billing, fixed fee billing and contingent fee billing, follow.

Recent news and rulings of importance to your practice.

In a recent decision, the NLRB, in a 3-2 decision split along Republican/Democrat lines, held that one company's Communications Systems Policy was lawful on its face, and that the employer's discipline based on the two e-mails soliciting support for union positions was lawful, but that the disciplinary action based on the purely informative e-mail was unlawful. What does this portend?

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The SEC's Securities Offering Reform dramatically changed the landscape of registered public offerings. Issuers and underwriters would do well to take advantage of these changes while staying aware of potential fraud liability. Here's an explanation.