Movers & Shakers
News about lawyers and law firms in the franchising industry.
Media & Communications Corner: A Profile of Heather Bock, Chief Professional Development Office, Howrey, LLP
When Howrey decided to fill its Chief Professional Development Officer position with a professional in the field, instead of with a partner as had been the norm, it turned to Heather Bock. With a PhD in Organizational Behavior, training experience at Accenture, and human resources consulting experience with Fortune 500 companies, Heather was the ideal candidate to help the firm align its attorneys' skills with its business strategy.
Features
Courageous Leadership
A 1999 Notre Dame study stated that 'lawyers suffer from depression, anxiety, hostility, paranoia, social alienation and isolation, obsessive-compulsiveness, and interpersonal sensitivity at alarming rates.' Lawyers topped the list (of 104 professions studied), suffering from (major depression disorders) at a rate 3.6 times higher than non-lawyers who shared their key socio-demographic traits. How can we change this?
Features
News Briefs
Highlights of the latest franchising news from around the country.
Features
Op Ed
Editor-in-Chief Elizabeth Anne "Betiayn" Tursi poses a provocative and important question in this thought-provoking editorial.
Features
Court Watch
Highlights of the latest franchising cases from around the country.
New Franchise Disclosure Guidelines Coming Soon from FTC
On Jan. 29, Dale E. Cantone, Deputy Securities Commissioner of the State of Maryland and Chair of the Franchise and Business Opportunity Committee/ Project Group of the North American Securities Administrators Association, Inc. ('NASAA') since 1996, provided his unique perspective on developments in the regulation of franchise sales to the Franchise & Distribution Law Committee of the Maryland State Bar Association. Cantone said the FTC has signaled that it expects to issue its long-awaited Compliance Guides during March 2008.
Litigating with the EEOC
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has a statutory obligation to conciliate in good faith with employers prior to initiating litigation. This is a well-known obligation, but it is not always carried out in a manner that is fair to employers. In recent years, employers have become increasingly frustrated with the EEOC's approach to conciliation, particularly where it seems that the EEOC is more concerned with pursuing litigation than with attempting to eliminate alleged discriminatory practices voluntarily through conciliation.
Protecting Personal Data in Franchise Systems: New Notification Laws
Over the past four years, 38 states have enacted laws mandating consumer notifications if there is a theft of personal data from a company's computers. The Federal Trade Commission ('FTC') has brought enforcement actions against companies for not properly protecting sensitive personal data. These state and federal laws are in addition to general privacy laws and policies that require advanced disclosures to those giving personal information. How can a franchisor or multi-state franchisee comply with 38 state laws and with the FTC determinations? This article provides an overview of how to reduce potential liability.
Arbitration Under Duress
The use of mandatory arbitration provisions in employment contracts has grown in recent years as employers seek to avoid what is perceived as 'time-consuming' and 'costly' litigation in state or federal courts. Of course, whether or not arbitration actually saves time or money is an issue open for debate. One only has to receive the pre-hearing invoice from three panelists at $500 per hour to question the latter benefit.
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MOST POPULAR STORIES
- Disconnect Between In-House and Outside Counsel'Disconnect Between In-House and Outside Counsel is a continuation of the discussion of client expectations and the disconnect that often occurs. And although the outside attorneys should be pursuing how inside-counsel actually think, inside counsel should make an effort to impart this information without waiting to be asked.Read More ›
- Divorce Lawyers' Obligation to ChildrenDo divorce lawyers have an obligation to disclose client confidences when it is in the best interests of the client's child to do so? The short answer of the rules of professional responsibility is 'no' because a 'yes' answer is deemed to be fundamentally inconsistent with the premises of the adversary system in which the divorce lawyer functions. The longer answer is that the rules encourage ' but do not require ' a divorce lawyer to counsel the client to authorize the disclosure because it is in the best interests of both parent and child.Read More ›
- Upping the Legal Training AnteWomble Carlyle's technology training and online learning programs were in need of an upgrade. Unprecedented firm growth, heightened emphasis on developing lawyers' core technology competencies, and a need to streamline and automate existing e-learning processes led the firm to initiate a fundamental shift.Read More ›
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