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.
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.
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.
<b>Professional Development University:</b> CLE For The Soul
February 03, 2006
With civility and ethics at the top of lawyers' agendas, it at times seems to some to be a fragile balancing act as the need to zealously advocate for one's client and keep the practice profitable in a very populated profession can bring one close to the ethical bright line. In fact, the inception of the continuing legal education mandate in many states came on the heels of ethics breaches that were grievous enough to demand that ethics, professionalism, and general professional development be mandated. Out of crisis did come opportunity.
<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.
Internet Access In Public Libraries
February 03, 2006
The law and communications advances ' and the boundaries of current technology ' sometimes combine to slow or otherwise impinge to some degree on commerce of all kinds, including e-commerce, and even the publicly accessed commerce of ideas in the at-large forum of discussion that forms such a solid and critical foundation for democracy.
When Technology Doesn't Work
February 03, 2006
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, just as Floridians must plan for hurricanes in August ' and New Orleans must now be prepared for potential dike breaches.
New Privacy Laws Restricting Use Of Social Security Numbers
February 03, 2006
e-Commerce businesses must be particularly careful about how consumer information is collected and used, and whether such practices comply with the varying state laws ' especially considering that their Internet-based business more than likely reaches consumers in all 50 states.
The Document Destruction Policy
February 03, 2006
Corporate management ' at traditional high-rise bricks-and-mortar enterprises and at e-commerce undertakings ' is afraid these days of destroying documents, and that's certainly easy to understand in the current climate of tightened regulation and increased use of technology for discovery. <br>Also, for some sectors, the rise in use of electronic commerce adds a dimension to the need for oversight of document management, as documents are deleted and moved among various parties electronically.
