AROUND THE FIRMS
October 02, 2003
Former Attorney Cannot Sue Counsel Who Takes Over a Case. US District Judge Berle M. Schiller of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania presented a seven-page opinion declaring that because a lawyer's withdrawal from a case severs the attorney-client relationship, an attorney who then assumes the case and obtains a settlement cannot be subjected to a lawsuit for part of the fee; nor can the new attorney be sued for intervention in the former lawyer's relationship. Frederick v. Davitt, No. 02-8263. Also, after discovering their contingent fee agreement's ubiquitously worded arbitration clause, which called for any fee debate's mediation, Judge Schiller dismissed the former attorneys' claims against the client.
Time to Reflect and Plan
October 02, 2003
Management teams in law firms have a big job ahead. Namely, staying ahead of the competition, providing value added to clients, identifying team leaders and providing appropriate training for those leaders, assessing current service offerings and building differentiation into those offerings. In sum, there is a lot on management teams' plates, to say the least.
Partner Evaluations Improve Firm Performance
October 02, 2003
Associates and partners have different attitudes about certain things. One is regarding evaluations. Associates generally want feedback and evaluations on their work and performance. In fact, they usually complain if they are not receiving them. On the other hand, partners in many firms resist or even resent being evaluated, although it's often the initial step in determining a partner's compensation.
Just A Joke: The Parody Defense In Domain Name Cases
October 02, 2003
When should a third party be able to incorporate a trademark in a domain name as a form of parody? Historically the question of parody has more often been raised in copyright infringement cases where the defendant concedes that he has used a copyrighted work, but has done so in order to make a social criticism or comment. Generally courts will examine such claims by looking at whether the amount of the copyrighted work taken was no more than necessary to conjure up the original in the mind of the targeted audience and whether the parody was commenting on the copyrighted work or merely using the creativity of another to make a statement about some unrelated topic or issue. <i>See eg, Elsmere Music, Inc v. National Broadcasting Co.</i>, 482 F. Supp. 741, 747 (S.D.N.Y. 1980), aff'd, 623 F.2d 252 (2d Cir. 1980) (finding Saturday Night Live's use of 'I Love Sodom' to be protected parody of 'I Love New York').
The Battle over Mold: Report from the Front
October 02, 2003
Over the last 2 years, there has been an explosion in lawsuits by owners of residential and commercial properties seeking compensation for the cost of remediating mold-related damage. Mold has become the new 'tort du jour' in the construction industry. With the rise in mold claims, homeowners and owners of commercial property have scurried to review their first-party property insurance policies to determine whether they are insured for such damage.
CASE BRIEFS
October 02, 2003
Highlights of the latest insurance cases from around the country.
What You Need to Know About EPLI
October 02, 2003
Even one relatively simple single-plaintiff employment discrimination lawsuit may result in substantial losses, which can be devastating for small- to mid-sized employers, particularly if punitive damages are awarded. And the legal expenses of defending such a lawsuit, even if successful, may be just as costly as losing the court battle. Moreover, the number of discrimination cases remains on the rise ' sexual harassment charges alone jumped nearly 50% from 1992 to 2001.
An Unexpected Evidentiary Battleground: The 'Causation' Element in Consumer Protection Claims
October 01, 2003
Ordinarily, the focus in a product liability case is on the defendant-manufacturer's duty to design and manufacture a safe and useful product and to warn adequately of any risks associated with its use. But an interesting and unexpected battleground can arise from a tag-a-along consumer protection claim. Here is the scenario: Plaintiff, in an individual action, sues defendant-manufacturer for injuries allegedly sustained in connection with the use of defendant's product. Plaintiff sues under traditional product liability theories as well as under the state's consumer protection statute, which proscribes deceptive and misleading trade practices. In particular, plaintiff alleges a consumer fraud has occurred because she has been injured by a product that, she claims, had been sold in connection with deceptive sales practices; in this case, certain allegedly false or misleading advertisements.
Leadership Transition in a Law Firm
October 01, 2003
How does a law firm transition leadership from the founders or the current set of leaders to the next generation of leaders? There are three models of transition: King to Prince, CEO with credibility to COO with credibility and accepted founder/leader to people who should become leaders. Obviously the last model is the most difficult to execute. The approach for this transition model is also applicable to the first two. The King to Prince will probably not make the transition because benevolent despotisms crash if the Prince has not gone through a credibility building process. The CEO to the COO assumes the COO has gone through the process outlined below.
Warning Signs: How to Spot Partner Dissatisfaction and What to Do About It
October 01, 2003
By no means do the economic stability and steady growth of a legal practice ensure harmony in the partner ranks or, for that matter, the contentment of any single lawyer. Managing partners who breathe too easily when reassuring revenue or profit numbers get posted may endanger their firms by ignoring tell-tale signs of disharmony. Law firms have been known to go out of business amid strong financials just as precipitously as when those numbers tumble. Remember Shea & Gould?
