The Court of Appeals of Wisconsin agreed with the Wisconsin Department of Revenue that concerts by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (MSO) were "entertainment events" subject to a 5% state sales tax under Wis. Stat. '77.52(2)(a)(2).
Valuation of a sponsorship opportunity is much more art than science and it is important that a lawyer involved in the negotiation of a sponsorship agreement understand how the various factors interrelate. While this article focuses on the factors affecting the valuation of a sponsorship opportunity with a NASCAR race team, most of the factors can be applied to sponsorship opportunities in other sports as well.
Recent decisions have assaulted continuations on several fronts. Because of a new requirement to rescind claim scope disclaimers, it will be easier to avoid infringement of continuations, and because of strengthening enablement and written description requirements, more continuations will be invalidated on those grounds and on prior art grounds when priority claims are more easily broken. Consequently, care should be taken in the preparation and prosecution of any patent application claiming priority to another application.
<i>In re TS Tech</i> and, to a lesser extent for patent cases, <i>In re Volkswagen of Am., Inc.</i>, have changed the landscape of ' 1404(a) cases in the Fifth Circuit. Patent cases that once would not have been transferred out of the Fifth Circuit may now be transferred based on <i>TS Tech.</i>
Recent decisions have begun to fill in the gaps left by <i>In re Seagate Technology, LLC.</i> They suggest that a competent opinion is still an effective defense to a willfulness charge, and that a jury may consider a defendant's failure to obtain an opinion when determining the defendant's intent for purposes of willfulness and inducement. Also, legitimate trial defenses may be sufficient to establish that a defendant's actions at the time of infringement were not "objectively reckless.
A young, dynamic partner is rapidly building a practice. She is active, visible, and well connected in the market. She aggressively pursues business opportunities. She is known for her keen intellect, is highly respected, and her work is first rate. Clients regularly comment on her ability to seamlessly blend pragmatic legal and business advice that advances their agendas in very positive ways. Other firms have periodically made runs at her beginning around her mid- to-senior associate years, but she began her career here and feels much attached to the firm.
As pressure on pricing continues, Big Law firms are buying (or building) analytics technology and hiring pricing specialists ' people who use market data, internal firm data and economics/pricing experience to ensure that firms are smart about bidding on work. The mission: Educate clients about the value the firm brings, while making sure to charge enough to make a profit.
The ability of bankruptcy estate professionals to obtain payment for defending their fee applications has been severely curtailed with the United States Supreme Court's decision of <I>Baker Botts L.L.P. v. ASARCO LLC.</I> But such a limitation is inappropriate.
Ever wonder how outside counsel is selected? Their decision making process is often complex, involving multiple concerns and pressures. Lawyers and marketing professionals need to identify what they are up against and how to improve the selection challenges. We will be focusing on these components for several weeks.
When corporate legal and IT departments deploy new enterprise software, migrating legacy data into the new system is usually one of the larger challenges faced. When it comes to e-discovery software, this challenge is exasperated as matter information may be contained in legacy systems or in a collection of spreadsheets or other ad hoc tools.
