The Virtual Taxman Cometh?
November 28, 2006
In <i>South Park</i>'s 147th episode, 'Make Love, Not Warcraft,' Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny dedicate weeks of their lives playing World of Warcraft, determined to defeat a rogue player who keeps killing their online characters. Just when it appears that the boys will be defeated by this online evildoer, World of Warcraft executives rush in and deliver the Sword of a Thousand Truths, a superpowerful magical weapon that allows the boys to win their battle and carry the day. <br>But, wait, was that a taxable event?
Non-Traditional Sources of Electronic Data in Investigations
November 28, 2006
On the first of this month, the long-discussed and much-awaited amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) were scheduled to go into effect. This issue and the changes to the rules affect most particularly counsel advising clients in e-discovery matters, but e-discovery and the treatment of information and communications ' before discovery is developed or consider, or before lawsuits are filed ' are issues critical to e-commerce, and that will become more important as this segment of the economy grows, for businesses and for law firms.<br>This article describes how non-traditional sources of electronic data may provide important evidence in investigations. These data sources, including instant messaging (IM), voice mail, Web-based e-mail and sales-management systems, present unique challenges in terms of procuring and analyzing raw data.
Understanding and Utilizing Percentage Rent Provisions
November 28, 2006
As retailers like to say, 'The three most important factors in retailing are location, location, location.' The real value of a retail lease, however, resides in the volume of sales produced at the location; therefore, the provider of the location — namely, the landlord — is a key player in the retailer's success. That is why percentage rent has developed in retail leases as a way by which the landlord that provides a successful location might share to some degree in that success.
Protecting Legal Data
November 28, 2006
In today's environment of well-deserved hypersensitivity to corporate compliance as mandated by the SEC and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX), the thought of unauthorized parties viewing or altering privileged corporate records should strike fear in the heart of any corporate compliance officer. That threat can quickly evolve into a reality if your corporation's law department implements an electronic invoicing and matter management system in an application service provider (ASP) environment.
Economic Considerations in Law Firm Blogging
November 28, 2006
According to studies cited by TechnoLawyer, approximately 80,000 new Web logs (blogs) launch every day, including dozens of law-related blogs (blawgs). A dedicated blogger myself (www.lawbizblog.com), I have found the experience to be a powerful form of marketing communication that continually connects me to actual and potential clients in ways I never anticipated.<br>Before members of your firm enter this technological brave new world, however, they should give due weight to the economic benefits and consequences of blogging. Here are some points worth considering.
Managing the New Company Thief
November 17, 2006
It used to be that an employee desiring to steal $2 million from your company would have a hard time doing so unnoticed. Today, that employee can do so undetected while having a casual conversation with you in the office.
Outsourcing to India
November 17, 2006
As a growing number of companies seek more centralized and less expensive methods of processing information, they are turning to offshore outsourcing to fulfill many of their business and human resources processes. Given India's success in building a significant share of the offshore business process outsourcing ('BPO') market, a significant portion of the data is now being processed in India. Recently, there have been allegations that call center employees based in India have stolen data outsourced to Indian service providers. Regardless of whether these allegations represent a trend or are just dramatic headlines, there have been concerns raised about the security of data held by Indian service providers, and the remedies that non-Indian companies may have in India in the event of a breach, either to seek recourse against the offender or to prevent the misuse of data. This article describes some of the remedies that are available to companies to deal with and prevent the misuse of data in India.
Offshore Outsourcing: Protecting Privacy A World Away
November 17, 2006
Business Process Outsourcing ('BPO') to offshore service pro-viders has become an integral part of the global economy, finding particular success in the financial services, health care, and IT industries. To cite just a few examples, an estimated 400,000 American IRS tax returns were prepared in India last year, while as much as 30% of all medical transcription is now done overseas. Studies confirm that offshore BPO will not only continue to grow, but accelerate in the years to come. One study projects that by 2010, the world's 100 largest financial institutions will move $400 billion of their cost base offshore, saving an average of just under $1.5 billion annually each. The same survey also forecasts that by 2010 more than 20% of the financial industry's global cost base will have gone offshore.
The Government: Both a Problem and a Solution on Security Breaches
November 17, 2006
As private entities in virtually all industries have faced private data security breach challenges, we also are seeing the parallel rise of security breaches involving government entities. These recent breaches — led by the enormous publicity surrounding the Veterans' Administration loss/theft of a laptop containing the personal information of more than 26 million veterans — have focused attention on the government as both the collector of enormous amounts of personal information and the source of many security problems. With this new attention, the government needs to redouble its efforts to improve overall security and focus leadership attention on developing best practices that can both protect against government breaches and provide useful information to private sector entities facing the same challenges.
Right of Publicity Decisions
November 02, 2006
Right of Publicity/Statute of Limitations<br>Right of Publicity, Collective Bargaining Agreements/Venue Transfer
