Alternative Fees
The diversity of AFA approaches and objectives can divide consumers and providers of legal services, and magnify the law firm-client communication challenges presented by movement away from an entrenched business model.
Going Out on Your Own?
The economic turmoil of the past two years has had a dramatic impact on those of us who chose a career in the private practice of law. For many attorneys, these conditions have created an ideal time to strike out on their own and fulfill a dream of becoming a solo practitioner. For others, substantial layoffs at large firms and hiring freezes throughout the legal profession have teamed up to leave them with no other choice but to make a go of hanging out their own shingle.
e-Getting Your Back
Science tells us that most of an iceberg is hidden beneath the surface of the ocean. e-Commerce law tells us the same thing about Web-site development: The "Web front" that shoppers see can be dwarfed by the hidden, or invisible, "back office" ' the contracts, negotiations and software that make e-commerce Web sites possible. Yet it is that back office that can be the difference between a profitable site and one, like a true iceberg, that is merely adrift and fraught with potential hazards.
The Medicare Secondary Payer Statute
On Jan. 1, 2010, extensive new Medicare reporting obligations took effect. They apply to insurance companies and other businesses, including product liability and toxic tort defendants that make payments to Medicare beneficiaries as a result of verdicts or settlements resolving liability claims.
Economic Stimulus and False Claims Act Liability
Setting aside the contentious issue of whether stimulus activities are good for the economy at large, it is important that applicants for, and recipients of, stimulus funds realize that participation in these programs could result not only in significant benefits, but also in exposure to legal liability.
Electronic Privacy in the Workplace
Electronic privacy in the workplace is already a tangled subject, with only a few sure footholds for employers. The Supreme Court's upcoming ruling in <i>Ontario v. Quon</i> will hopefully provide some unifying guidance in this developing area of the law.
DE Chancery Court Won't Dismiss Action Seeking Dissolution of a Deadlocked Joint Venture
Unsuccessful 50/50 joint ventures often lead to disputes between the partners and, in some cases, may produce noteworthy judicial decisions. Such is the case with <i>Lola Cars International Limited v. Krohn Racing, LLC, et al.</i> in which the Delaware Court of Chancery recently refused to dismiss claims arising out of a deadlocked joint venture structured as a limited liability company ("LLC"),
Hedonic Damages
Despite repeated stakes through the heart of hedonic damages testimony ' studies showing that the theory is unreliable, new evidence showing that the basis for such testimony in injury cases is nonexistent, and numerous successful motions-in-limine barring such testimony ' the economic hedonists are still with us.
