Getting the Most Out of Technologies You Already Own
July 18, 2007
Drafting a document between multiple reviewers can get complicated and frustrating when the available tools aren't used properly ' or not at all. The most common tools for document collaboration in Microsoft Word are Track Changes and Comments. These features are often used incompletely or the proper use of them is misunderstood.
ALM Sold to Incisive Media
July 06, 2007
ALM, publisher of Law Journal Newsletters, The American Lawyer, Corporate Counsel, The National Law Journal and 30 other national and regional publications, will be sold to London-based Incisive Media for $630 million, according to a joint announcement July 5 by the two companies.
'Help, I Need an Attorney'
July 03, 2007
So much is written in our pages about how to capture the ideal client. About how to market to that client, how to win his or her business and, if that client represents a business in turn, how to win and keep that business too. It's a worthy ideal, especially in today's competitive law environment. All you have to do is pick up any copy of Marketing the Law Firm and our nationally known experts will'
Case Briefs
June 29, 2007
Highlights of the latest insurance cases from around the country.
Making Sense of Contra Proferentum
June 29, 2007
One traditional rule of contract interpretation is to construe contact terms in appropriate circumstances against the drafter, a concept often referred to as <i>contra proferentum</i>. This doctrine sometimes fits uncomfortably with two other views expressed by American courts. On one hand, many decisions say that insurance contracts are interpreted just like any other commercial contract. <i>See, e.g., Sims v. Mulhearn Funeral Home, Inc.</i>, ___ So.2d ___, (La. 2007); <i>Bear River Ins. Co. v. Williams</i>, 153 P.2d 798, 801 (Utah Ct. App. 2006). On the other hand, some decisions say without qualification that insurance contracts should be construed strictly against the insurer. <i>See, e.g., Carter v. Concord Gen. Mut. Ins. Co.</i>, ___ A.2d ___ (N.H. 2007); <i>Cinergy Corp. v. Associated Elec. & Gas Ins. Servs., Ltd.</i>, 865 N.E.2d 571, 574 (Ind. 2007). And sometimes a single opinion tries to express both at the same time: 'It is well settled that a <i>contract of insurance is no different from any other contract</i> and must be construed in a fair and reasonable manner, having regard to the risk and subject matter of the policy, and that special rules such as liberal construction in favor of the insured and against the insurer who drew the contract apply.' <i>In re New York Cent. Mut. Fire Ins. Co.</i>, 833 N.Y.S.2d 182, 183 (App. Div. 2007) (emphasis added).
Class Certification In Property Insurance Disputes
June 29, 2007
The 2005 hurricane season, including the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Katrina, caused estimated losses of $75 billion. The insured property damage from the five major hurricanes in 2005 reached $52.7 billion. Hurricane Katrina alone caused more property loss than had occurred in the entire prior year, posting $27.3 billion. <i>See http://insurancenews net.com/article.asp?a=top_news&id=73930</i>. In light of these unprecedented losses, a record number of lawsuits have been filed stemming from damage caused by the 2005 storms. Predictably, an equally high number of class action suits have been filed, purportedly on behalf of those affected by the storms. Despite this flurry of class action suits, the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 and its state counterparts clearly limit the use of class action suits to very specific, enumerated circumstances that simply do not include first-party insurance disputes, widespread property damage claims, or claims for bad faith and/or unfair trade practices in the adjustment of insurance claims, even where the damage was due to a common weather event.
The Devil in the Details: The Great Significance of the Jurisdiction and Choice of Law of a Contract
June 29, 2007
Choosing the jurisdiction and applicable law for disputes arising out of an insurance or reinsurance contract may be secondary to sorting out the actual terms of coverage, but the importance of the choice should not be underestimated. A good lesson in the different approaches of even mainstream insurance jurisdictions can be had by looking at the experience of the insurers embroiled in the film finance saga, which has kept banks, insurers, reinsurers, and the courts worldwide busy for the last seven years.
Sizing Up the Am Law 100
June 29, 2007
They may lament that they are the poor cousins of hedge fund managers and private equity stakeholders, but law firm partners are hardly suffering.
From Moral Partners to a Moral Firm
June 29, 2007
In March, <i>The American Lawyer</i> ran a cover story about a prestigious national law firm that found itself mired in legal and ethical problems even as it enjoyed unparalleled growth and economic success. The article asks: Are the firm's great strengths — enterprise, speed, and daring — also its great flaw?
