LJN Newsletters

Attorneys are making too much money litigating disputes between commercial landlords and tenants. Even the most frequently used 'standard form' leases permit tenants to stall and strangle property owners. Moreover, these same leases leave tenants without proper recourse when property owners fail to follow written commitments. Instead of blaming the judicial system, a judge, a landlord, or tenant ' to paraphrase Shakespeare ' it is time that we practitioners recognize that the fault is not in our stars but in our leases. Because they are the enforcement provision in a commercial lease, default clauses must be revised and developed to better meet the needs of landlords and tenants under the judicial system.

National rulings you need to know.

Recent key rulings.

A recent decision of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia limited the reach of the 'reverse false claims' provision of the civil False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. ' 3730(a)(7). This opinion, if followed by other courts, will reduce the risk of civil False Claims Act liability for companies accused of failing to self-report regulatory violations in settings where self-disclosure is required.

The recent indictment of the securities class-action powerhouse Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman and two of its named partners has been the topic of much recent discussion, centering on the law firm's notable refusal to waive the attorney-client privilege during the government investigation, which likely contributed to the government's decision to indict the firm. But the indictment is also notable as the latest high-profile use of the federal mail and wire fraud statutes to combat private-sector corruption.

What are the legal liabilities a company faces when someone '' an employee or outsider '' breaches the company's security and accesses employee or customer confidential information? More than half the states have legislation addressing this problem. This article focuses on federal statutes that expose companies to potential civil and criminal liability for failing to take adequate steps to prevent the theft.

Recent rulings of interest to you and your practice.

Priorities are the alchemist's stone of the Bankruptcy Code ' they have the power to turn worthless claims into pots of gold. Without priority status, unsecured claims typically receive little or no distributions from the bankruptcy estate. When these claims fall within one of the statutory priorities of ' 507(a) of the Bankruptcy Code, however, they often lead to significant distributions ' sometimes even payment in full. What often separates the 'haves' from the 'have-nots' in the bankruptcy arena is the ability to fit one's claim into the finite list of priorities set forth in ' 507(a).