Partnership in Troubled Economic Times
It is vitally important that partners examine the culture of their firm before making "blanket" modifications to the partnership structure/admission practices simply to satisfy the current, and perhaps short-term, economic issues.
Is the Hourly Rate Dead?
Beyond the daily headlines of layoffs and reductions in force, the current Recession/"Depression" has made another impact on the legal profession: raising more questions about the viability of the billable hour.
Pension Funding: A Program to Maximize Pension Growth and Limit Volatility
When a Pension is addressing its liabilities and assets, it is important that it present a simple, straightforward way to fund for the future for its participants in a meaningful and effective manner. The volatility of the markets since 2007 has increased demands on the Pensions, as an uneasy balance of influences and the Pension Protection Act of 2006 have required increasing funding levels to meet mandated levels.
Location, Location, Location
Today, no business starts without planning its Web site and online strategy. But is the same attention given to the choice of the Web site host as to the more exciting aspects of the site design? For example, you should not choose your host on price alone, as a commodity purchase. Instead, you should consider other factors, just as in choosing any vendor or business partner.
e-Commerce Best Practices
This article addresses how e-commerce companies can get a handle on managing organizational information, and outlines processes for retaining and managing key business information that could be salient in legal proceedings, regulatory matters or compliance issues.
Investigating the Theft of Trade Secrets
A dangerous fact of life in today's financial firms is the threat of high-tech espionage, particularly theft of intellectual property by employees. However carefully the computer code is protected, there are always employees who need access to update, run and maintain it. And these binary crown jewels can be stolen with the click of a mouse.
New Bumps and Tolls Along the Road to FCPA Settlements
Foreign Corruption Practices Act (FCPA) is no exception settlements have moved from hundreds of thousands of dollars in the early 2000s to hundreds of millions in 2008. But the rise of anti-corruption enforcement overseas brings new tasks for counsel in FCPA investigations.
Retailer Transparency and Landlord Agility
Shopping center and store landlords have been rudely surprised by the speed and breadth of their tenants' downward spiral in the economic implosion of the past year. But the damage might have been mitigated by corrective measures taken earlier in the cycle.
Planning Realistically In a Time of Economic Distress
How to Avoid Destroying Your Firm's Future By Arbitrary Expense Cutting and Obsolete Planning Techniques There is a wonderful old Russian folk tale about the family in a sled being chased by ferocious wolves. To slow down the wolves, thinking to protect the remaining family members, they threw children overboard. That story comes to mind as we watch law firms, chased by the wolves of a depressing economy, decimate their firms by furloughing or firing staff, deferring'
