Avoiding Contracts That Make You Sick
September 26, 2007
Even sophisticated companies expose themselves needlessly to contract disputes. The author says that from representing them in litigation, that might have been avoided or shortened if only they had inserted one of his "top ten prophylactics" for avoiding "contractually transmitted disease.
Current Trends in IPOs
September 26, 2007
In 2007, Mergermarket was commissioned by Nixon Peabody LLP to conduct 'IPO Executive Insights 2007,' a survey of senior corporate executives (CEOs and CFOs) of 100 companies that had undertaken an IPO in the past three years (the 'Survey'). The Survey was designed to provide insights into key IPO market trends and issues related to the process of going public in the current regulatory environment that emerged after the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 ('SOX').
Exploring the Outer Limits of ' 363(f) Clearance
September 26, 2007
Bankruptcy offers an attractive platform for the sale of assets because it is injected with a statutory prerogative allowing for the clearance of third- party interests. Specifically, ' 363(f) of the Bankruptcy Code permits the sale of bankruptcy estate property 'free and clear of any interest [of any other entity] in such property' provided that certain conditions are satisfied. Notwithstanding that grant of authority, however, the Bankruptcy Code does not specifically define the phrase 'any interest in such property' or otherwise specify the scope of interests that the phrase is intended to cover.
The Gavel Falls
September 26, 2007
The use of bankruptcy to protect an individual's home from foreclosure is sufficiently commonplace that practitioners would be well advised to understand the foreclosure process in their state and, in particular, when that process will be deemed completed for purposes of section 1322. This article explains why.
Riding the Fulcrum Seesaw
September 26, 2007
Troubled businesses also may have turned to the distressed debt market instead of filing for bankruptcy protection due to recent changes to the Bankruptcy Code, which made bankruptcy a more complicated, expensive and uncertain alternative. As a result, when the next wave of Chapter 11 filings comes, hedge funds and other distressed debt investors will act to protect their unique interests and strategies, which will bring new dynamics to bankruptcy cases.
EXPLAINING THE INSIDER/OUTSIDER DISCONNECT
September 21, 2007
Our last column explored the disconnect between how in-house and outside counsel view the work of the latter. The reader will recall that in a recent survey, 62% of law firms gave themselves an "A" for overall performance during the past 3 years. Only 19% of in-house counsel scored them that high. There are a few possible explanations. 1. The in-house sector radically changed its value proposition in the year or so separating the surveys. 2. Radically different…
IN-HOUSE DISCONNECT Cont'd.
September 11, 2007
Recent surveys telescope shifting client priorities. For example, INSIDE COUNSEL'S "18th Annual Survey of General Counsel," published in July, 2007, shows a multi-level disconnect. On the one hand, there is the predicatble synapse between in-house and outside perceptions of 68% of outside counsel believe the level of service they provide has improved over the past five years, while only 29% of in-house counsel agree. Law firms are self-delusional, according to these data, as 62% gave…
Federal Judge Strikes Part of Patriot Act
September 06, 2007
According to the Associated Press, a federal judge in New York struck down parts of the revised USA Patriot Act on Sept. 6, saying investigators must have a court's approval before they can order Internet providers to turn over records without telling customers.
