Firms: What Is Your Brand Saying About You?
Big changes bring big challenges for marketing. The current generation of legal marketer is experienced in serving clients who want more. Now we have to create a service that provides more with less. What can we rely on to help us do this? Our brand.
Some Highlights of The Recently Enacted Stimulus Bill
On Feb. 17, 2009, President Obama signed into law the $800 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the "Act"). This legislation contains many important tax-breaks and enhancements that can benefit law firms and their clients, as well as individual attorneys and staff members and their families.
Parting Friends?
Perhaps the most troubling decision for any partnership's management committee is the determination to force partners from the partnership. This article examines what law firms can do to assist their partners as they show them the door.
A Fresh Look at Pro Bono
In a perfect world, attorneys and firms would choose to make commitments to pro bono matters because it's the right thing to do, and it enables those who have to give to those who don't. Ours is not a perfect world and 2009 is certainly not a perfect year. But if we are looking for silver linings, pro bono seems ready made.
Downsizing the Right Way
This first part in a two-part series deals with the primary legal risks of a "downsizing" event at your firm.
How to Identify a Non-Statutory Insider
Recently, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the lower courts' rulings that a public company was an insider of another non-affiliated public company and was therefore required to return a $188.2 million payment made over four months before the debtor's bankruptcy filing. This decision, illustrates how critical it is for lenders and vendors to conform their conduct toward troubled companies so as to reduce their risk of being deemed non-statutory insiders.
Counseling Franchises During the Recession
These are extremely trying times for all businesses, including franchisors, seeking to survive through this recession. It is imperative that franchisors demonstrate leadership in preserving their franchise systems, but fault lines undoubtedly will emerge. In this environment, much pressure will fall on the shoulders of franchisor's counsel to guide clients to achieve their goals.
Media & Communications Corner: Upgrade Your Communications Tools for Free
A host of free Web applications are surprisingly effective in helping law firms from solo practitioners to large firm in-house PR and marketing staff, stay on top of the game. The trick is knowing which tools out there are worth your time. Here are the applications that made our top 24 list.
Op Ed
Ms. Tursi: "It's time for you to seat your CMOs at the management table ' if they are not there already. It's time for partners to understand that these individuals are not just employees."
Corporate Criminal Liability
In January, the Second Circuit affirmed the conviction of Ionia Management S.A. (Ionia) for criminal acts of its non-management employees. While the affirmance of a conviction is commonplace, what set this appeal apart is that the Association of Corporate Counsel, the Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, and other prestigious amici supported Ionia's argument that the Second Circuit should revisit its long-standing rule that a company can be held criminally liable for acts of even low-level employees.
