Do Contractors Make the Best Firm 'Employees'?
Any personnel professional will remind us that finding the right person for a niche position is difficult at best. Carefully weighing the dictates of a job, the necessary skills and salary limitations can be a daunting task, especially in the legal field. As alternatives to "employment," there are several ideas that warrant a discussion.
The Impact of the Patent Exhaustion and Implied License Doctrines on License Negotiations
Nothing should be left to chance when drafting patent licenses. Indeed, the parties on both sides of the transaction have a keen interest in eliminating ambiguities. This is particularly true with respect to the scope of the license grant. The licensor must be reasonably assured that it has not inadvertently given away more than what was bargained for. On the other side, the licensee must be reasonably assured that it may use the patent as it intended without being sued for infringement.
Methods for Securing Against Tenant Defaults
Security deposits are an age-old form of security for the performance of the tenant's obligations under a lease. In the simplest of transactions, the tenant deposits a fund with the landlord to be used to protect the landlord against the economic consequences of a tenant's default. The amount of the fund is the product of negotiations and usually involves a multiple of the monthly rent payable under the lease. In more sophisticated commercial transactions with other than the most creditworthy of tenants, the landlord wants the tenant to deposit a substantial sum, perhaps a multiple of the yearly rent payable under the lease, especially if the landlord pays for substantial tenant improvements. <p><i>Part Two of a Two-Part Series</i>
Comply or Die: Corporate Record Keeping in a Digital World
Although compliance is generally thought of in a regulatory sense, every corporation that could be involved in litigation needs to consider the implications of how and what information is stored. In a sense, heavily regulated industries such as health care, securities, banking, and commodities are in a better position since the specifics of record keeping are set out in great detail. All industries that interact with the government can assume that their time will come. Other corporations may not discover whether they are adequately preserving information until they are faced with a discovery request. In either event, failure to comply can have dire financial consequences.
Case Briefs
Highlights of the latest insurance cases from around the country.
Risk Management Review: A CFO's Approach
Set aside some quiet time every year to think through your insurance and risk management programs with someone knowledgeable in the field. Law firm administrators are mostly not insurance experts, and unless there is some crisis, tend not to give this area the attention it needs. Crisis time may be too late.
Corporate Investigations: Their Hidden Traps ' and How to Avoid Them
This is the first in a two-part series on how to conduct corporate investigations for corporate counsel. Corporate counsel face a myriad of challenges when conducting or overseeing an internal workplace investigation. From ethical issues to potential third-party liability, the pitfalls are everywhere. New responsibilities and risks under Sarbanes-Oxley make the job even more daunting for counsel in publicly held firms. However, with advanced planning, there are ways to conduct a workplace investigation that may prevent it from coming back to haunt you.
