The New Realities of California's Domestic Partnership Law
In late 2003, the California legislature enacted Assembly Bill 205 (A.B.205), a bill that has transformed the legal lives of more same-sex couples than perhaps any other legislation, either in the United States or in any other jurisdiction. The language of the legislation was utterly simple: As of Jan. 1, 2005, every California-registered domestic partner is subject to nearly all of the state-based rights and obligations that apply to married spouses in California. More than 28,000 couples had already registered by the end of 2004, and even though the law allowed either partner to unilaterally terminate the partnership prior to Jan. 1, 2005 to avoid the effects of the new law, fewer than 1500 couples actually terminated their partnership.
California Superior Court Changes Debate on Marriage
[Author's note: The opinion in this case is a tentative one. At press time, the parties had until March 25 to provide comments to the court, and a final hearing was scheduled for March 30. However, the parties could offer comments only on "drafting and other similar matters," and could not "reargue the substance of the matters decided." Follow-up will be provided here on our Web site and in print if the decision is significantly altered.]
Practice Tip: Using PowerPoint to Make Winning Presentations
Successful and interesting presentations are a challenge, but they are not impossible to achieve. They require a lot of planning and forethought, but the rewards (an educated, entertained, persuaded and engaged audience) make it well worth the effort. One of the most effective and powerful tools available for effective presentations is Microsoft's PowerPoint.
Technology Safety Nets
Protecting essential business information in the event of a terrorist attack or other unexpected threat is a priority that tops most business agendas today ' not just in the legal industry but across all business sectors. The uncertainties that exist in this precarious security environment are forcing technology executive to develop innovative approaches to protecting systems and data to ensure that their business can not only continue in the event of a wide-scale disruption, but also thrive. <br>At Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, LLP, our answer to this overriding business concern is our proprietary information management and protection solution.
NextClient.com: The Future for Law Firm Web sites!
During the American Bar Association GP/Solo Section meeting in Beverly Hills this past October, I happened to be talking to a colleague who was busy on his laptop. When I asked him what he was working on, he told me he was in the process of updating his Web site. I knew he was not a "techie" by any stretch so I became intrigued. I asked him how he was able to work on his Web site at all, let alone make updates while away from the office. He then showed me a solution he found that allowed him to choose and launch a custom Web site in minutes, and then update it from anywhere he could connect to the Internet.
Document Change Management
Legal and corporate governance processes all have one thing in common: They generate large volumes of documents. Teams of professionals must produce most of these documents. The teams may be in multiple locations, and the members may have diverse responsibilities and skills. All of them must provide their input in a timely way, often influenced by one another's contributions. Someone must pull all of the input together to complete the document under strict deadline pressure. And there frequently are multiple approval steps; final approval cannot be given until all input is provided, comments considered, and several round of changes made and signed off on. <br>In other words, the success of the team generating the document depends on the ability of its members to collaborate quickly and effectively. The burden of all this administrative give and take is enormous. But the issue of collaboration is more visible now that the pressure to document compliance with complex regulations has been extended across all industries by way of Sarbanes-Oxley. Now it's everyone's problem.
E-mail, Instant Messaging and Voice-mail
Electronic communication has been a productivity boon in nearly every industry. E-mail, voice-mail, and the latest favorite, instant messaging (IM), enable workers to communicate at the pace and level of interaction they need. Unfortunately, the more digital messages workers exchange, the more risk companies face from electronic information that could prove damaging during litigation.
Falling Stock Prices?
Open any major newspaper over the last few months and you will find a surprising number of articles detailing the significant drop in a public company's stock price in mere hours or days after the disclosure that the company has been civilly sued, be it a class action, securities fraud case, or harassment suit. The decline in a company's stock price following the disclosure of a pending lawsuit is not by any means new. Yet, the speed and extent of the decline in a company's stock appears to have greatly accelerated in recent years. As a result, public companies are now faced with a growing number of lawsuits geared principally at obtaining a speedy settlement by leveraging the lawsuit's potential impact on a company's stock value.
Employers Beware
It is a sad but true fact that employers are accused of discrimination on an almost daily basis. While most of these claims are without merit, it is critical that employers take them seriously and caution managers and supervisors that treating the complainer differently or more harshly because of the complaint is a recipe for disaster.
Identity Theft: The Next Corporate Liability Wave?
The nation's fastest growing crime, identity theft, is combining with greater corporate accumulation of personal data, increasingly vocal consumer anger and new state and federal laws to create significant new legal, financial and reputation risk for many companies.
