An Orderly CFO Succession
September 29, 2004
When I announced my intention to retire from a 25-plus year career as CFO at an AmLaw 200 law firm, the firm began a process to search for and select a replacement. Because I had been with the firm for such a long time, we took the opportunity to start more or less from square one in determining what the firm wanted in a CFO. I had evolved my position from that of Controller as the firm grew, and its management and its needs changed.
Law Firm Political Contributions: Why And How
September 29, 2004
A&FP got lucky this summer when I sought an expert to advise our readers on law firm political contributions. Not only did Kurt Salisbury help me recruit his Arent Fox colleague Craig Engle, but he agreed to perform the interview on my behalf. Our readers thus gain not only the perspective of a major firm's PAC Director but also the perspective of the same firm's CFO.
Hefty Fees: Lawyers Get a Taste
September 29, 2004
The California State Bar is throwing open the door to out-of-state lawyers, but strict conditions and high costs have some worried about tripping over the welcome mat.
Practice Tip: Using Rules To Organize Your Outlook Inbox
September 28, 2004
How often have you been faced with the challenge of locating an important e-mail message in an impossible sea of an unorganized Inbox? Where is that meeting again? What is that date again? If you are like most of us, you give up before the search has begun because the volume of messages makes locating one, a daunting if not impossible task ' "I'll never find the message in this mess."<br>Outlook provides you with the ability to create rules or alerts to manage and organize your Inbox.
The Perfect Conversion Utility for All Your PDFs: ABBYY PDF Transformer
September 28, 2004
For many of today's leading law firms PDF (Portable Document Format) files are the way to send their documents over the Internet, thus keeping a handle on others not changing the work product from what was sent! But many times, while there is a need to keep the formatting, as well as the layout and look of a document, there also may come a time when the need exists to convert a PDF file into an editable file format. <br>Many times I have found the necessity to be able to unlock and reposition and/or repurposing information from a PDF file. The question is how do we achieve that goal?
Controlling The Information Flood: Are You Ready To Wade In These Waters?
September 28, 2004
When talking about the Internet, we are usually confronted with a good news/bad news situation. The good news is that the volume of information readily accessible via the Internet continues to grow exponentially. The bad news is that the overwhelming volume of Internet sources and content makes finding relevant information inefficient and often frustrating. The challenge is to find the proverbial needles in this ever-expanding haystack, which some sources say is expanding by 20 million pages per day.
The Wizards Of Ozmosys
September 28, 2004
In my more than 20 years as a librarian, I've seen many changes in formats and methods of delivery of publications; paper, microforms, and CD-ROMS. The Internet, of course, has become the medium of choice for many publishers and organizations, replacing paper with digital delivery of daily news and newsletters. But just like their paper relatives, it takes time to slog through a bunch of Web pages and e-mails each morning ' and time is generally at a premium for most of us. How do you make this task easier?
Law Firms Focus On Internal Systems
September 28, 2004
Law firms are starting to spend on technology again, focusing on projects that will help the enterprise run more smoothly and efficiently. Not that many years ago, before the economic downturn, firms were toying with Web-based systems to manage client relationships and other newfangled ideas. In the lean years, those projects fell by the wayside, and firms show no signs of reviving them anytime soon. <br>The central theme of the ninth annual survey conducted by Legal Tech's sibling publication AmLaw Tech, is simple: Firms are making roof repairs rather than remodeling the kitchen.
Citywide Internet Access?
September 28, 2004
Talk about technology becoming more accessible. The City of Philadelphia is considering turning its entire expanse of 135 square miles into the world's largest wireless Internet zone. For approximately $10 million, small transmitters would be placed around the city. Each transmitter, probably placed on the top of lampposts, would then be capable of communicating with a computer-networking card. It would be the City's goal to offer the service either for free, or at costs far lower than those charged by commercial providers.
Forum Selection Clauses
September 28, 2004
The U.S. Supreme Court has long recognized that forum selection clauses are enforceable. These clauses have become "boilerplate" in all types of commercial contracts, since today's business reality requires that companies transact business with each other in multiple legal jurisdictions. Of course, once a dispute does arise, the selected forum is often more convenient and desirable for one party than the other. So the case law is replete with decisions on whether and to what extent these clauses are enforceable.<br>So how do you make your forum selection stick?
