Adventures in Modern Marketing
September 01, 2006
A few months ago, I was having dinner with an acquaintance, a world-famous professor at one of the most eminent business schools, who asked me: 'What's a blog?'
Practice Tip: Demystifying Document Assembly
September 01, 2006
The phrase document assembly can refer to the automated process of creating a simple letter from a letter template to a more complex series of interview questions that assemble a multi-page document, complete with content that is ready to deliver. The industry definition refers to compiling documents from a re-pository of stored paragraphs, clauses and document packages that are selected based on interview responses. Document assembly products provide users with marked improvements in turnaround time, consistency, accuracy and quality.
Trial Looms in Web Porn Law Fight
September 01, 2006
A court battle over Congress' attempts to protect children from pornography on the Internet will soon be ripe for trial. After nearly 8 years of litigation challenging the constitutionality of the Child Online Protection Act (COPA) ' including two trips to the U.S. Supreme Court ' the plaintiffs have won a handful of significant rulings on key discovery disputes.
Electronic Communications Policies
September 01, 2006
An Electronic Communications Policy (ECP) is an internal publication for employees outlining a firm's Internet, computer and electronic assets guidelines with the objective of minimizing business risks. Along with saving employees time, such publications can improve employee morale, prevent employee-management disagreements and even keep users out of court.
Internet Voting Waiting to Bloom
September 01, 2006
Two years ago, the Pentagon was poised to have 100,000 members of the military stationed overseas vote in federal elections over the Internet. The government canceled the plan, however, after it grew concerned it would not be possible to prevent hackers from affecting the results, that it could not examine the privately owned proprietary software that was to be used, and that there would not be a database of those who voted that it could check after the election. Nonetheless, online voting seems to be slowly gaining in popularity.
Commentary: Viewing Law Blogs As a Vast Amicus Brief
September 01, 2006
Given the continued proliferation of law-related Weblogs, including blogs written by law professors and attorneys with expertise in various substantive areas of the law, one frequently finds on the Internet a robust and insightful discussion of cases pending before the courts for resolution. What should judges do if, while visiting the legal blogosphere, they encounter discussions about how pending cases ought to be decided?
The Anonymous Lawyer Goes Pro Bloggo Publico
September 01, 2006
A recent Harvard law graduate, first-time author and cause c'l'bre Jeremy Blachman is riding high, but not, as one might expect, as a highly sought U.S. Supreme Court clerk or caffeine-addled associate at a premiere New York law firm. Blachman eschewed the law in favor of a purely creative pursuit: writing an anonymous blog (eponymously known as the 'Anonymous Lawyer' at www.anonymouslawyer.blogspot.com) detailing the fictionalized travails of a narcissistic partner in a big firm who makes The Devil Wears Prada boss Miranda Priestly look like Mr. Bean. Following a feature article in The New York Times, Blachman's notoriety skyrocketed. Apropos of his blogging cynosure, Blachman participated in the following colloquy with IL&S Editor-in-Chief, Sam Fineman, strictly through e-mail so as not to curtail billable possibilities. Blachman reflects on his book, his life and blogdom.
IP News
September 01, 2006
Highlights of the latest intellectual property news from around the country.
Film Industry Faces Complex Issues in Move to Gain Digital Revenues
September 01, 2006
Like other sectors of the entertainment industry, the film industry is looking to the digital age for new revenue streams. Even with digital-piracy concerns, film studios are positioning themselves to capitalize on Internet sales of their products. This summer, for example, motion pictures from several major studios and key independent providers became available on CinemaNow for downloading and copying by consumers for DVD-machine play. In the following interview ' conducted by Entertainment Law & Finance Editor-in-Chief, Stan Soocher ' George A. Cooke, a law partner in the New York office of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, discusses distribution of motion pictures in the digital age.
