U.S. Census Bureau estimates of e-commerce are in for the second quarter of the year, with indications that although the increase over the first quarter, and the second quarter of 2006, are relatively modest, the wired-transaction (and wireless-transaction) sector continues to grow.

Highlights of the latest equipment leasing news from around the country.

Features

No company, bricks-and-mortar or e-based, is immune to crisis ' so no company should be without some kind of plan to communicate in the midst of that crisis. Organizations with good plans in place will weather crises far better than those that have none ' or those whose principles believe that not communicating will insulate them in some way from the effects of the crisis.

Features

The U.S. Supreme Court has often declared that the bankruptcy court is a place strictly reserved for 'honest debtors.' And while that connotes individuals, there is no escaping the implication that it is just as applicable to businesses that should only be seeking to advance legitimate ends via the bankruptcy process. Yet, an even more direct admonition to all who may file a bankruptcy case is the requirement of 'good faith,' a concept general enough to be adaptable, but strict enough to require entrants to come into the proceedings with the proverbial 'clean hands.'

Features

It's an apparent contradiction, or maybe an irony, but it's a fact that e-commerce merchants, like their medieval predecessors, often use their own lex mercatoria, or merchant law, in lieu of traditional law. Online marketplace managers, like those who managed medieval fairs, regularly require participants to change their behavior or face banishment. Medieval merchants resolved difficulties in accord with notions of fair dealing rather than invoking a specific body of substantive principles. As an anachronistic consequently, e-commerce participants might find that the substantive law of merchants is applicable to e-commerce, and e-commerce counsel may, in some instances, want to recommend that clients take this tack.

Features

For years, e-commerce writers have distinguished the 'bad, old bricks-and-mortar' world from the 'new and improved' e-commerce economy. But recently, the marketing, purchase and sale of real estate have all begun to join online.

An overview of recent equipment leasing cases.

Issues inherent to private label lease transactions present an additional layer of complexity to the already challenging area of equipment leasing. The fact that the identity of the real owner of a lease has not been disclosed to the lessee, and that the owner is usually relying on third parties to service and collect the lease, introduces an additional element of risk to the transaction that may surpass the credit risk present in any transaction. As is often the case, careful drafting of the underlying documents dramatically enhances the likelihood of the successful resolution of a defaulted lease. Thoughtful documentation of the transaction from the outset, and conscientious monitoring of both the lessee and the assignor or entity servicing the lease, if they are distinct, is critical to successful portfolio management. This article highlights some of the issues that cause complexity in the private label lease transaction and suggests drafting ideas and litigation strategies that will minimize the additional pitfalls that can arise out of the complexity.