Features

Can A Private Citizen Perform An Official Act?
This article discusses the importance of the "official act" requirement established in McDonnell v. United States, and how its logic should lead to a parallel requirement that private citizens should not be chargeable with the commission of official acts as part of a scheme to deprive the public of honest services.
Features

Pros and Cons of Master Leases
Section 365 of the Bankruptcy Code grants debtors the ability to assume or reject any executory contract or unexpired lease. Debtors must assume or reject a lease in its entirety and are not free under Section 365 to assume only favorable provisions of a lease. Courts, however, have consistently held that they will not find a multi-property master lease to be a unitary lease merely because such properties are demised in a single document.
Features

SCOTUS Passes on Bankruptcy Law Cases, Leaving Circuit Court Splits
'Purdue Pharma' Looms Although four cases presenting important bankruptcy issues were teed up for the Supreme Court's consideration this term, the Court denied certiorari for each. Each of these petitions involve splits among the circuit courts of appeals, influencing choice of venue and the extent to which bankruptcy decisions are subject to meaningful appeal.
Features

How Should Law Firms Use Their Windfall of Profits?
After many firms experienced a highly profitable 2020 and sky-high demand levels in 2021, they found themselves with more cash than usual. While more than enough Big Law money has been lavished on associates and laterals recently, those aren't the only ways firms are spending their riches.
Features

Being Selective: How Companies May Best Protect Privilege When Cooperating With a Government Investigation
This article explores a key consideration for companies under government investigation: whether voluntary disclosure of privileged information in an effort to obtain cooperation credit waives the privilege vis-à-vis third parties in subsequent litigation.
Features

Pleading Alter Ego Liability In Commercial Lease Disputes
The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged commercial landlords to rely on various legal theories to protect their legitimate rights. As federal, state and local governments enact laws to protect tenants from evictions and/or the enforcement of personal lease guarantees, a landlord's counsel must seek avenues to press its clients' rights against any entity who may be liable for outstanding rent arrears due and owing under a commercial lease.
Features

State Attorneys General Issue Support for Bankruptcy Venue Reform Legislation
Attorneys general from 41 states, along with Puerto Rico and Guam, have issued a statement in support of legislation before Congress geared toward stopping corporations from venue-shopping bankruptcy cases.
Features

Report: Talent War Heating Up to 'Boiling Point'
Law firms are paying more for talent than ever before. But like other industries that've been hit by a so-called "Great Resignation," they're also hemorrhaging it like never before, and the result is a diminished return on investment that could reach a "boiling point" in the near future.
Features

Implications of Second Circuit Ruling on Fugitive Disentitlement
Historically, the "fugitive disentitlement" doctrine has foreclosed challenges to criminal charges by a defendant who does not physically submit to a U.S. court's jurisdiction. As a consequence, to make even threshold challenges to an indictment, a defendant who lives abroad must leave home, waive the right to oppose extradition, and risk pre-trial detention in the United States.
Features

Five Things Law Firm Leaders Need To Do As People Return to the Office
While we all look forward to returning to normal, the normal we left in early 2020 remains elusive. For those who are leading teams (such as executive committees, practice and industry groups, client teams, administrative departments, and firm committees), the struggle is more complex.
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- Coverage Issues Stemming from Dry Cleaner Contamination SuitsIn recent years, there has been a growing number of dry cleaners claiming to be "organic," "green," or "eco-friendly." While that may be true with respect to some, many dry cleaners continue to use a cleaning method involving the use of a solvent called perchloroethylene, commonly known as perc. And, there seems to be an increasing number of lawsuits stemming from environmental problems associated with historic dry cleaning operations utilizing this chemical.Read More ›
- 'Insurable Interest' and the Scope of First-Party CoverageThis article reviews the fundamental underpinnings of the concept of insurable interest, and certain recent cases that have grappled with the scope of insurable interest and have articulated a more meaningful application of the concept to claims under first-party property policies.Read More ›
- The Flight to Quality and Workplace ExperienceThat the pace of change is "accelerating" is surely an understatement. What seemed almost a near certainty a year ago — that law firms would fully and permanently embrace work-from-home — is experiencing a seeming reversal. While many firms have, in fact, embraced hybrid operations, the meaning of hybrid has evolved from "office optional," to an average required 2 days a week, to now many firms coming out with four-day work week mandates — this time, with teeth.Read More ›
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- The Powerful Impact of The Non-Foreclosure Notice of PendencyRPAPL ' 1331 and RPAPL ' 1403 Notices of Pendency are requisite elements for foreclosing a mortgage. <i>See, Chiarelli v. Kotsifos</i>, 5 A.D.3d 345 (a notice of pendency is a prerequisite to obtaining a judgment in a mortgage foreclosure action); <i>Campbell v. Smith</i>, 309 A.D.2d 581, 582 (a notice of pendency is required in a foreclosure action under RPAPL Article 13). In contrast, an ex parte CPLR Article 65 Notice of Pendency (the "Notice") is not required but it is a significant tool in an action claiming title to, or an interest in or the use or enjoyment of, another's land. The filer does not have to make a meritorious showing or post a bond. Article 65 provides mechanisms for the defendant-owner to vacate the Notice that caused an unilaterally imposed restraint on its realty. But, recent case law establishes the near futility of such efforts if the plaintiff has satisfied the minimal statutory requisites for filing the Notice.Read More ›