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How Much Can Bankruptcy Lawyers' Fees Be Raised in the Final Application?
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali approved nearly all of the final fee requests for law firms and other consultants working on the massive Pacific Gas &amp; Electric Co. bankruptcy. <br>Montali's OK puts the final tally for more than 3 years' worth of work at about $450 million to $475 million, according to an accounting by the Office of the U.S. Trustee. Of the total, about $100 million goes to law firms representing the utility in different capacities. <br>That makes the case one of the most expensive bankruptcy matters ' if not the most expensive ' in the history of the Northern District of California.
An Orderly CFO Succession
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
A&amp;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
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
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
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?
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
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
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?
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.

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  • The 'Sophisticated Insured' Defense
    A majority of courts consider the <i>contra proferentem</i> doctrine to be a pillar of insurance law. The doctrine requires ambiguous terms in an insurance policy to be construed against the insurer and in favor of coverage for the insured. A prominent rationale behind the doctrine is that insurance policies are usually standard-form contracts drafted entirely by insurers.
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  • Abandoned and Unused Cables: A Hidden Liability Under the 2002 National Electric Code
    In an effort to minimize the release of toxic gasses from cables in the event of fire, the 2002 version of the National Electric Code ("NEC"), promulgated by the National Fire Protection Association, sets forth new guidelines requiring that abandoned cables must be removed from buildings unless they are located in metal raceways or tagged "For Future Use." While the NEC is not, in itself, binding law, most jurisdictions in the United States adopt the NEC by reference in their state or local building and fire codes. Thus, noncompliance with the recent NEC guidelines will likely mean that a building is in violation of a building or fire code. If so, the building owner may also be in breach of agreements with tenants and lenders and may be jeopardizing its fire insurance coverage. Even in jurisdictions where the 2002 NEC has not been adopted, it may be argued that the guidelines represent the standard of reasonable care and could result in tort liability for the landlord if toxic gasses from abandoned cables are emitted in a fire. With these potential liabilities in mind, this article discusses: 1) how to address the abandoned wires and cables currently located within the risers, ceilings and other areas of properties, and 2) additional considerations in the placement and removal of telecommunications cables going forward.
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