The Dirty Little Secret of Law Firm Billing
May 01, 2016
<I>The Wall Street Journal's</I> recent front-page headline on billing rates tells only part of the story. "Legal Fees Cross New Mark: $1,500 an Hour," the Feb. 9 article announced before listing partner hourly rates at several big firms. But that's only part of the story.
Professional Development: Building Excitement Around Business Development
May 01, 2016
Ask lawyers what they find EXCITING about selling (it is okay to use the "sales" word) and most will say winning, followed closely by developing new relationships. On the flipside, they fear rejection and failure. Add risk aversion and low resilience to the mix and business development can feel daunting.
Section 181's Extension to Live Stage Productions Doesn't Set Clear Path for Producers, Investors
May 01, 2016
At the end of 2015, Congress passed, as part of a large tax extender bill, the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act (PATH), an extension of '181 of the Internal Revenue Code. Section 181 has been available since 2004 to permit expedited deduction of the costs of a film or TV production. Since inception, this has had several sunset provisions, each of which was extended as part of year-end extender bills. The latest for the first time has extended the availability of '181 treatment to live stage productions.
Cloud Computing Security: More Opportunity, Less Threat
May 01, 2016
If you follow the legal technology headlines you might have noticed that we've come full circle on cloud security. Rewind seven or so years, and mainstream cloud computing adoption was being thwarted by grave concerns about data security, data governance and data access. As the cloud became more pervasive in many industries globally, the legal market took note and slowly but surely more law firms went to the cloud.
Marketing Tech: Embracing IoT and Big Data Means Embracing Future Success
May 01, 2016
These days, we are continually being bombarded by one new tech concept after another ' the most current being IoT (or the Internet of Things) and Big Data. To feel secure moving our businesses forward among the onslaught of all these changes, it is necessary to simplify our understanding.
Applying the Doctrine of Incorporation by Estoppel in New York
May 01, 2016
The incorporation by estoppel doctrine is today well established in the Commercial Division. Accordingly, defendants who contract or otherwise deal with an entity as a corporation run the risk of being estopped from denying the entity's corporate existence in any action arising out of such contract or dealing.
How to Run Your Law Firm More Like a Business
May 01, 2016
If your firm is like most, your top goals include growing revenue, and in turn, increasing profitability. You've implemented practice management software, and probably even a customer relationship management (CRM) system to help you achieve those objectives. Now what?
Do Panama Papers Give Opportunity to Collect Judgment From Daddy Yankee?
May 01, 2016
Puerto Rican reggaeton megastar Daddy Yankee, whose hits include "Gasolina" and "Limbo," owes a $2.2 million judgment to a concert promoter who sued him and his booking agent in 2011. Attorneys for promoter Diego Hernan de Iraola have been trying to enforce the federal district court judgment against Daddy Yankee, by garnishing the singer's accounts in Miami, FL, and Puerto Rico. Now that Daddy Yankee has come up in news reports from the document leak at the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, de Iraola's legal team has new leads on accounts with companies linked to Ayala Rodriguez.