Planning For The Inevitable
February 28, 2006
People who negotiate tech deals and draft contracts for legal or other services ' such as partnerships and the instruments that monitor them and give them teeth ' must remember one constant in today's ever-changing world: The technology we depend on every day often does not work. <br>As a result, the traditional wisdom, "failing to plan is planning to fail," has been transformed into a rule of thumb for the tech sector: "plan for failure." Firms that do not explicitly anticipate systems failure run the risk of being unprepared for a catastrophe
Another Kind Of Room With A View
February 28, 2006
Ramping up for document-review is a challenging prospect, requiring a firm to react quickly and aggressively, depending on the requirements of the case. The timeline for reviews can be extremely long, requiring attorneys to spend months sifting through information or very short, at times requiring firms to use contract attorneys to scale up to several times their original staffs' size to meet deadlines. <br>Vendors are offering off-site document-review rooms (DRRs) more frequently for customers who see the value these resources provide, and the DRR market is expanding.
<i>Caveat Emptor</i> in the Purchase of New York Real Estate
February 28, 2006
Under New York law, the doctrine of <i>caveat emptor</i>, or buyer beware, applies to the purchase and sale of real property. <i>Stambovsky v. Ackley</i>, 169 AD2d 254, 257. Under this doctrine, which has undergone some recent modifications, the seller of real property is under no duty to speak (<i>ie</i>, make certain disclosures to the purchaser) concerning the condition of the property when the parties deal at arms' length. <i>Id</i>. Mere silence on the part of the seller concerning a defective or otherwise undesirable condition of the property, without some act or conduct that deceived the purchaser, does not amount to conduct that is actionable as a fraud.
The Whens and Whys of Asserting Fifth Amendment Privileges
February 27, 2006
The Fifth Amendment's protection against self-incrimination is one of the foundational rights of the America justice system. It provides that "no person ... shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself." It protects witnesses from what Justice Field called the "cruel trilemma of self-accusation, perjury, or contempt." <i>Brown v. Walker</i>, 161 U.S. 591, 637 (1896) (Field, J., dissenting). In this post-Enron era of corporate prosecutions, it is critical that corporate insiders understand the scope of the Fifth Amendment's protection.
Creditors Take Heed
February 27, 2006
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in <i>Hefta v. Official Comm. of Unsecured Creditors</i> (<i>In re Am. Classic Voyages Co.</i>), 405 F.3d 127 (3d Cir. 2005), recently addressed the issue of whether informal proofs of claim may satisfy a creditor's obligation to file a proof of claim under Rules 3001 and 5005 of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure. The court held that a letter sent by the creditor's attorney to the debtor's claims agent stating that the creditor had sustained a workplace injury and had a claim against the debtor did not qualify as a proof of claim to satisfy Bankruptcy Rules 3001 and 5005. The court held that the bankruptcy court properly denied the employee's motion for relief from the automatic stay to prosecute his claim and the motion to file a late claim.
Quarterly State Compliance Review
February 27, 2006
At one time corporate attorneys had one type of statutory business entity to worry about -- the corporation. Now there is also the LLC, LP, LLP, LLLP and others. The statutes authorizing and governing these business entities are continually being amended by the state legislatures and interpreted by the courts. This edition of the Quarterly State Compliance Review looks at some amendments that went into effect, and court decisions that were issued, during the last 3 months.
Law Firm Bankruptcies
February 03, 2006
With globalization and the increasing number of mergers; with the opening of more branch offices by the national firms; and with record number of lawyers leaving law firms, competition in the legal profession has become more intense and cutthroat. As a result, are there more law firm bankruptcies on the horizon? If so, what are the ramifications? What procedures must be followed? The goal of this article is to provide an overview of the basic issues likely to surface in a law firm bankruptcy case.
<b>Commentary:</b> 'Cloaking' Information and the Marketplace for Lateral Associates
February 03, 2006
Last spring ,i>The National Law Journal</i> reported that firms are taking steps to make it harder for headhunters to poach associates, primarily by removing information about associates from their Web sites ' information as basic as direct-dial numbers, e-mail addresses and biographical or practice-group data. More recently, <i>Law Firm, Inc.</i> reported that only four of the top 10 firms deserved an "A" for the completeness of associate information on their Web sites (see, www.lawfirminc.com/texts/0505/dls0505.html). The first question this raises is simply whether "cloaking" associate information has any effect; and the second, more interesting, question is whether firms' cloaking associates - but not partners - tells us anything about how the market for lateral associates differs in structure and function from the market for lateral partners.
The Management Side of Sales Pursuits
February 03, 2006
In an increasingly competitive legal services market, where clients are less loyal to their law firms and law firms are competing for business, there is a growing need for law firms to be systematic and disciplined in their approach to business development. Marketing departments are increasingly retooling themselves with client service, business development and sales functions. Attorneys, marketing and sales staff need to work increasingly closely as a team taking on non-traditional roles to ensure continuity in pursuit of business from first contact through the pitching and closing of business.
Introducing The Roth 401(k)
February 03, 2006
Nine years ago, Congress introduced a new savings tool for investors called the Roth IRA. This new version of an Individual Retirement Account was named after the Senator that was instrumental in its creation, and it offered substantial tax advantages to persons seeking to save for retirement. Effective Jan. 1, 2006, legislation extended the tax advantages of the Roth IRA to include 401(k) plans. The "Roth 401(k)" creates a new option for law firms offering 401(k) plans to partners and employees, and gives participants the opportunity to accumulate significant tax-free wealth during their lifetime.
