How To Run Your Law Firm More Like a Business
If your firm is like most law firms, your top goals include growing revenue, and in turn, increasing profitability. You've implemented practice management software, and probably even a customer relationship management (CRM) system to help you achieve those objectives.
Features
When May a Director Inspect the Company's Books and Records?
It is well settled under Section 220(d) of the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL), a director's access to corporate books and records is broader than that of stockholders. However, in contrast to the broad scope of discovery permitted in a plenary action under the Delaware Court of Chancery Rule 26, Section 220 limits inspection (even by directors) to documents and communications that fall within its more limited "contemplation of 'books and records,'" which correlates with the "summary nature of a Section 220 proceeding."
CT Bankruptcy Court Invalidates Lawsuit Funding Agreement
Lawsuit funding companies have routinely filed claims as creditors in tort plaintiffs' bankruptcy actions when the debtor has failed to repay litigation funding advances. Whether bankruptcy courts will enforce lawsuit funding agreements depends on the applicable state law.
Features
Binding Arbitration in Divorce Cases
More often than not, litigating divorce and post-divorce issues in the New Jersey Superior Court is not practical. It is unquestionable that alternative dispute resolution (ADR) venues are becoming popular and commonly used methods to resolve divorce and post-divorce issues.
Features
The Supreme Court May Limit the False Claim Act's Scope
The DOJ and whistleblowers, with the support of many courts, have become increasingly aggressive in pursuing supposed false claims for federal reimbursement under the False Claims Act (FCA). In 2015, for example, the DOJ reported 737 new FCA matters and recovered more than $3.5 billion in FCA settlements and judgments.
Court Watch
Court Declines to Issue Preliminary Injunction Notwithstanding Franchise Agreement Properly Terminated <br>Noncompetition Covenant Not Enforced Where Franchisor Will Not Open Again in Area
Columns & Departments
Landlord & Tenant
Discussion of a case in which a civil court abused its discretion by staying execution of a warrant of eviction.
Features
Cybersecurity Meets EDRM with the Cybersecurity Reference Model
Many legal technology practitioners have great familiarity with the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM). The model allows attorneys and those who support them to use a common lexicon while wrestling with the complex issues and tasks associated with the discovery process. As the legal technology industry moves deeper into commoditization, new skills, knowledge bases and technology related to security and privacy outside the traditional EDRM will increasingly become the focal point for professional development.
Features
Immediate Impact of the Repeal of Form 18 On Patent Litigation
On Dec. 1, 2015, the latest amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) became effective. The amendments include significant changes to rules governing the discovery process, especially Rules 16 and 26. But they also include a significant change to the rules governing the very first filing in any patent infringement case.
Features
10th Circuit Upholds Tax Reporting Law
Because of a controversial U.S. Supreme Court ruling from 1992, online retailers don't charge sales tax in states where they don't have a physical presence. It's a situation that traditional retailers have bemoaned for years. To their dismay, the U.S. Congress hasn't done a thing about it.
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- Protecting Innovation in the Cyber World from Patent TrollsWith trillions of dollars to keep watch over, the last thing we need is the distraction of costly litigation brought on by patent assertion entities (PAEs or "patent trolls"), companies that don't make any products but instead seek royalties by asserting their patents against those who do make products.Read More ›
- Private Equity Valuation: A Significant DecisionInsiders (and others) in the private equity business are accustomed to seeing a good deal of discussion ' academic and trade ' on the question of the appropriate methods of valuing private equity positions and securities which are otherwise illiquid. An interesting recent decision in the Southern District has been brought to our attention. The case is <i>In Re Allied Capital Corp.</i>, CCH Fed. SEC L. Rep. 92411 (US DC, S.D.N.Y., Apr. 25, 2003). Judge Lynch's decision is well written, the Judge reviewing a motion to dismiss by a business development company, Allied Capital, against a strike suit claiming that Allied's method of valuing its portfolio failed adequately to account for i) conditions at the companies themselves and ii) market conditions. The complaint appears to be, as is often the case, slap dash, content to point out that Allied revalued some of its positions, marking them down for a variety of reasons, and the stock price went down - all this, in the view of plaintiff's counsel, amounting to violations of Rule 10b-5.Read More ›
- Meet the Lawyer Working on Inclusion Rider LanguageAt the Oscars in March, Best Actress winner Frances McDormand made “inclusion rider” go viral. But Kalpana Kotagal, a partner at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll had already worked for months to write the language for such provisions. Kotagal was developing legal language for contract provisions that Hollywood's elite could use to require studios and other partners to employ diverse workers on set.Read More ›
- Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar InvestigationsThis article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.Read More ›
- The DOJ Goes Phishing: The Rise of False Claims Act Cybersecurity LitigationWhile the DOJ Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative is still in its early stages and cybersecurity regulations are evolving, whistleblower plaintiffs have already begun leveraging the FCA to pursue alleged noncompliance with government cybersecurity requirements.Read More ›