The Changing Face of Chapter 11
December 21, 2007
The face of bankruptcies in corporate America has changed multiple times since the reforms of 1978. And it's going to change once more ' probably radically ' over the coming months. This article explains.
The Ephedra Bankruptcy Cases and the Twinlab Global Settlement Model
December 21, 2007
It began a little over four years ago, in late September 2003, with a simple but urgent telephone call from pioneering ephedra plaintiffs' attorney Anne Andrews (of Orange County, CA-based Andrews & Thornton) to one of the authors. The caller asked about the impact of the then-recently filed bankruptcy of TwinLab, an ephedra weight-loss product manufacturer and a significant player in the food and vitamin supplement industry, on that company's products liability insurance policies. Four major ephedra manufacturer bankruptcies later, the situation ended on Sept. 25, 2007, when the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of California entered an order in the ephedra-related Chapter 11 bankruptcy case of Metabolife International ...
Challenging the Federal Sentencing Guidelines on Policy Grounds
December 21, 2007
The federal Sentencing Guidelines can lead to 'patently absurd' punishments in white-collar cases. United States v. Adelson, 441 F. Supp. 2d 506, 515 (S.D.N.Y. 2006) (Rakoff, J.). But judicial discretion in sentencing, strongly reaffirmed by the Supreme Court in Kimbrough v. United States, No. 06-6330 (Dec. 10, 2007), and Gall v. United States, No. 06-7949 (Dec. 10, 2007), has opened an important avenue for advocacy in business crime cases.
Bit Parts
December 21, 2007
Copyright/Joint-Authorship Test<br>DMCA Safe-Harbor Bid/Declaratory Suit<br>File-Sharing Suit/Anti-Trust Counterclaims
Attorney Fees Ruling
December 21, 2007
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York awarded attorney fees and costs under Sec. 505 of the Copyright Act to movie-studio and film-distribution defendants against a pro se plaintiff.
Counsel Concerns
December 21, 2007
Attorney as Trustee<br>Attorney Disqualification
Legal Sales & Service: Voice of the Client: CRANK IT UP!
December 21, 2007
The articles that the Legal Sales and Service Organization (LSSO) has published in a regular column for MLF the past year have focused on a variety of specific topics, like planning, alignment, and how to lead successful initiatives. But they all have one important thing in common. It is the need for law firms to really listen to their clients in order to elevate their service.
Note from the Editor: Looking Forward to 2008
December 21, 2007
By the time all of you will be reading this, we will be in a new year and a new year brings new projects and new challenges, all of which are exciting and fulfilling. Here's what we have planned for this promising new year...
Client Speak: The Red Zone Is Wide Open
December 21, 2007
Down economy. Incipient recession. Sub-prime credit crunch. Those are excuses that smart marketers don't use. They're catch-phrases that aggressive business developers never rely on. They're facts of life that do not impinge on the agendas of street-smart lawyers.
The Best of MLF 2007
December 21, 2007
In 2007, we learned a lot from myriad authors and our fabulous regular columnists. As with past practice, I am going to give our readership the pleasure of having the opportunity to enjoy reading one article from each of the past 12 months. In this issue we will feature January up to and including July. The February issue will continue highlighting one article from each of the August to December issues.
