Features

The Financial Accounting Standards Board met on Nov. 17, 2005 on the subject of the accounting impact of IRS settlements of Lease-In-Lease-Out ("LILO") and Lease-To-Service Contracts (aka "SILO"). To the surprise of the leasing industry, the FASB reached tentative conclusions that a change in the timing of cash flows requires a recalculation of the leveraged lease earnings and the lease classification should be re-examined. The recalculation of earnings results in a large, negative catch up adjustment and a positive adjustment to future earnings, but spread over the life of the lease. The lease classification issue should not be a problem.

In theory, a borrower's issuance of junior secured debt is a boon for its senior secured lender. The borrower obtains additional capital, and the claims of the junior lender against shared collateral, since "subordinated," don't diminish the senior lender's prospects for repayment. In practice, however, a senior secured lender should view proposed junior secured financing skeptically because the existence of such debt can become highly problematic for the senior lender. The key to protecting the senior lender lies in properly negotiating and documenting the intercreditor agreement with the junior lender to eliminate, or at least minimize, the myriad ways in which the junior lender's rights may, in practice, limit — or even trump — those of the senior lender.

Features

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

Features

Decisions rendered by different courts in Florida provide good news for equipment lessors doing business in this state. One case supports a lessor's early termination charges challenged in a class action, and another supports the structure of a computer equipment lease as not being subject to documentary stamp taxes.

Features

I've already lost some of you. That's great. When I can turn off 25% of my readers with just the subtitle, I know that the rest of you will be getting some actual value and not just a bunch of regurgitated, freshman-year marketing pap. Here's the one-sentence version of the article for all of you out there with adult ADHD: <br>If your firm doesn't have at least one serious blogger for every major practice and industry group, you've got clients who are, at this minute, reading a competitor's blog.

Every law firm struggles with the dilemma of how to allocate their marketing and advertising budget. Should funds be used to pay for sports tickets, a dinner at an elegant restaurant or perhaps advertisements in a newspaper or magazine? Few firms consider radio as a means to make information available to the listening public while also attempting to develop or perpetuate a brand in their community.

Features

Most attorneys have recognized the value of holding seminars and workshops at which they can make presentations on a variety of topics. The problem with these seminars is that, more often than not, the law firm is preaching to the choir. The attendees at these seminars usually come from existing clients or prospects previously identified by the firm. What law firms need to do is expose their expertise and practice groups to new prospects for their services.

Features

Law firms have a remarkable number of ways to market their expertise, almost too many at times. Most firms still utilize the more traditional avenues such as advertising, firm seminars, speaking engagements at industry events, and client newsletters. The marketing director is the one charged with handling all of these tasks and many more, often with a limited in-house staff. Whether the firm is staffed with one marketing director, a staff of marketing pros, or if the bulk of the job falls on one attorney who has expressed an interest in marketing, it is clear that the job now entails much more than it did years ago. <br>We asked a few experts for their viewpoint on how the position has changed.