Resolving the Enigma of Law Firm Leadership
When a firm finds itself in the midst of a management crisis, the place to begin to search for the source of the problem is at the top of the management hierarchy. This may not be a popular notion or an easy task. The purpose is not to find fault. The point is that an organization does not simply evolve. It must be built in an orderly manner. The values that are important to a firm have to be defined and centrally organized. The responsibility for these goals must be keyed to an organizational factor, whether this is a committee or an individual.
Financial & Practice Management Upgrades: Squire, Sanders & Dempsey Up Close
Since firm attorneys are placed strategically in key global markets, and support staff and firm leaders are spread out among the global office network, it has always been paramount to have not only reliable, but also current, technology to keep everyone connected, ensure seamless business operations and enable firm attorneys to focus on their clients.
More Bad News for Structured Finance?
While politicians scramble to preserve <i>Fannie Mae</i> and <i>Freddie Mac</i>, more trouble for financial markets looms on the horizon. Proposed changes to accounting rules for securitization vehicles could decrease the significant role of structured finance in providing the liquidity that sustained recent economic expansion.
Equitable Subordination Still Requires Proof of Harm
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed a bankruptcy court's equitable subordination order on June 20, 2008. ccording to the court, subordination of the insiders' secured claims was "inappropriate" because the bankruptcy trustee had failed to show that the defendant insiders' "loans to the debtor harmed either the debtor or the general creditors." This article discusses the repercussions of that ruling.
New York Strengthens Wage Laws
In light of recent aggressive enforcement efforts of New York's Labor Laws by both the New York State Attorney General's Office and the New York State Department of Labor ("NYSDOL"), prudent employers should consider the effect of these new enactments on their pay and leave practices and take action to ensure compliance.
Partnering Requires Careful Balancing
Law partnerships are fragile, volatile enterprises that can easily become unglued, regardless of how careful the partners were at the outset or how financially successful they become.
Credit Applications
Although credit applications assist lessors in making these credit decisions, the lessor should make sure that it avoids the pitfalls of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act ('ECOA') and that the financial information it obtains through the credit application is stored appropriately to avoid liability under various state laws regulating the storage of private financial information. This article discusses the components of a good credit application, the requirements of the ECOA, and the best practices for storing private financial information.
<b><i>In The Spotlight: </b></i>Strategies in Tenant Office Lease Renewal Negotiations
As tenants reconsider and update office space needs, it is imperative that they proactively develop a strong renewal/relocation negotiation strategy to maximize their future rights and benefits. Unfortunately, many tenants wait too long to focus on space needs and assume their lease will be renewed on reasonable terms. If a tenant waits until its notice period is upon it before it assesses its needs and develops a strategy or looks at the renewal rights in its current lease, it may become a 'captive tenant' forced to negotiate from a weakened position in the market.
DIY-ing to e-Plan
Professional services requiring insight and judgment ' and application of sophisticated expertise on a case-by-case basis ' seemed immune to the e-commerce onslaught. After all, no one wants to trust the future welfare of one's family and affairs to a device that makes the phrase 'computer problem' a redundancy. And why would people who need to spend thousands of dollars on estate planning even think about trusting an online service just to save a few dollars ' even if only to pass on post-mortem thoughts from the grave?
GCs Bristle at Proposed Disclosure Rules
Accounting rule adjustments rarely elicit even a yawn from the legal community. But changes proposed by the Financial Accounting Standards Board that would force public companies to disclose more about the risks of litigation have caused a howl of protest among general counsel and corporate and defense lawyers.
