Stock Trading Injunctions in Chapter11
January 30, 2007
The implementation of restrictions on stock and/or claims trading has become almost routine in large Chapter 11 cases involving public companies on the basis that such restrictions are vital to prevent forfeiture of favorable tax attributes that can be triggered by a change in control. Continued reliance on stock trading injunctions as a means of preserving net operating loss carry forwards, however, may be problematic, after the controversial ruling handed down in 2005 by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in <i>In re UAL Corp.</i>, 412 F.3d 775 (7th Cir. 2005).
Pension Plan Protection Act Leaves Door Open
January 30, 2007
Legacy costs, the common term for worker pension and health care benefits negotiated in past collective bargaining agreements, are rising at a rapid pace ' driven by weak projected returns on pension portfolios, strong growth in health care costs and aging baby boomers tipping the scale between the number of workers supporting each retiree.
Bankruptcy Court Demolishes Baseless Lender Liability Complaint
January 30, 2007
A Delaware bankruptcy court held on Nov. 16 that a secured lender with a $128 million claim could credit bid at a judicial sale of a Chapter 11 debtor's assets, after dismissing the expansive complaint filed against the lender by the creditors' committee in the debtor's case (claims for recharacterization of debt as equity; equitable subordination; breach of fiduciary duty; invalid loans; voidable liens; and preference liability).
LawPort for SharePoint Provides Immediate Access to Information
January 26, 2007
Greenebaum Doll & McDonald, PLLC, is a business and commercial law firm with eight offices nationwide with approximately 180 attorneys. There are six practice groups serving clients locally, nationally and internationally in numerous industries. Much of this is credited to the firm's commitment to facilitating the flow of information. The firm's standing priority has been to provide client benefits through efficient information management and the application of Web technologies and collaborative systems.
DMS Matter-Centric Architecture Update: One Year Later
January 26, 2007
Modern Document Management Systems (DMS) provide ways of creating structures for organizing content that go beyond old-fashioned 'folders.' 'WorkSpaces' can contain folders (static containers for content) and stored searches (dynamic, predefined ways of finding current content that meets specific search criteria) organized under 'Tabs.' Security and metadata (document-specific profile information) can be assigned to different levels of the structure, and lower levels can be set to 'inherit' higher-level security and metadata values.<br>In a law firm environment, it is natural, considering the way matters are handled and taking into account important business processes (including new matter opening procedures and records management requirements), that each matter be allocated a WorkSpace ' leading to the 'Matter-Centric' architectural paradigm.
Document Assembly Automation
January 26, 2007
When an attorney is creating work product, a document assembly product is in order. It's the perfect tool to bring together needed information that is otherwise often stored in incongruent systems such as document management systems, other documents and Internet resource sites. Attorneys and legal staff need to leverage a firm's library of past work, while eliminating the frustrating tasks of endless cutting and pasting and hunting for source documents.<br>However, without a document assembly application, the law firm's clients are paying billable attorney hours to search for the information they need.
The Bleeding Edge of Change: Getting Control of Client Files
January 26, 2007
Lawyers are not necessarily known for being cutting-edge adopters of technology, particularly those in small- to medium-sized firms. In fact, it's more of a bleeding edge, as lawyers in all size firms are being painfully thrust into using sophisticated technology solutions to manage cases along with all the attendant print and electronic records. A comprehensive and reliable enterprise-wide electronic records management system is critical for tracking, storing and retrieving client files to reduce ethical, malpractice and compliance risks for law firms.
The Dirty Secret of Document Review
January 26, 2007
When it comes to e-discovery document review, one discovers something surprising and a bit scandalous: The average document review contains many bad review calls.
e-Discovery Case Law: The Cost of Poor Practices
January 26, 2007
For years, consulting firms that provide services during technology migrations have touted the ability to protect corporations from the risks of not upgrading their systems. In the late 1990s, these warnings focused on bugs that could be initiated in 2000 with the date change (remember the Y2K bug?).<br>Today, discovery and computer-forensics consultants are similar to those consultants of a decade ago in that they try to warn clients about the need to correctly preserve information, and respond to litigation and regulatory requests conscientiously. Years of warnings and millions of dollars in court-imposed sanctions later, corporations are seriously considering how to mitigate poor data-discovery project-management risks, missing electronically stored information and lost evidence.
