Behavioral Finance
October 28, 2010
Behavioral Finance is a practical and pragmatic way of conceptualizing the social, cognitive, and emotional factors that influence financial decisions during a divorce.
<B><i>Practice Notes:</b></i> DMX General Counsel
October 28, 2010
When Christopher S. Harrison first joined DMX Inc. in 2005 as vice president of business affairs, he says the new-employee paperwork required by the company was a good omen. He says he signed a waiver that he would not complain about offensive lyrics in the music playing in the office. "I knew I had made the right decision," says Harrison, now general counsel of DMX, an Austin, TX-based music provider to retailers, restaurants, hotels and other businesses. "We have music, different kinds of music, playing in pretty much everybody's office all the time," says Harrison, a fan of hip-hop and classic rock.
Avoiding Physician Liability for Off-Label Use of Drugs and Devices
October 28, 2010
The increased level of enforcement activity by the FDA has focused the attention of consumers and the plaintiffs' bar on the increased frequency with which physicians prescribe FDA-approved drugs and medical devices for unapproved uses. Plaintiffs' attorneys increasingly choose to name prescribing physicians in their products liability suits as co-defendants, pleading both medical malpractice and other associated tort claims against these physicians, and often premising such claims upon the decision to prescribe for a so-called "off-label" or unapproved use. Thus, the continuing expansion of off-label uses of drugs and devices has led to numerous potential legal minefields for the prescribing physicians.
Authors, Agents and Publishers Seek to Carve Out Their Rights in Electronic-Book Formats
October 27, 2010
The rapid growth in e-book sales and the increasing number of options available to authors for digital distribution of their works are altering the traditional business model of print publishers. The size of the authors' shares and traditional publishers' shares (if any) of e-book sales revenues may depend on where the Digital Distributors obtain their rights to sell e-books: from traditional print publishers, which of necessity are becoming increasingly focused on e-book sales, from new publishers specializing in e-books, or even from the authors themselves.
e-Commerce Retailing Continues Its Quarterly Return
October 27, 2010
e-Commerce spending in the second quarter was up an estimated full $1 billion from the first quarter, or $39.7 billion, the Census Bureau notes in preliminary figures ' a 2.6% rise for April through June, a gain of 1.5% from the first quarter and a healthy increase of 14% from the second quarter of last year.
Lessons from Twitter's Settlement with the FTC
October 27, 2010
The recent announcement that social-networking phenomenon Twitter has agreed to settle FTC charges that Twitter engaged in inadequate privacy and information-security practices illustrates some simple mistakes social media and other online companies can make.
When the Virtual Storefront Is the Home Front
October 27, 2010
One of the virtues of e-commerce has always been its low barrier to entry. For little investment of time or money, anyone can set up shop online, whether selling advice or widgets. But can something so easily accomplished really be a business? Will an entrepreneur run something out of her spare bedroom the same way as if she had venture capitalists peering over her shoulders, demanding a business plan, financial statements, budgets, marketing plans and everything that a bricks-and-mortar retailer has (except the expense of leasing space)? If not, she may treat it as just another hobby, something to handle in her free time.
Provisions of the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010
October 27, 2010
President Obama signed into law the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act (SBJC) of 2010 on Sept. 27. More than $12 billion in tax incentives and relief provisions that are contained in the Act will directly or indirectly affect law firms, partners, their staffs and their clients.
Social Media Marketing
October 27, 2010
There are good reasons to believe that social media represents the next frontier in effective legal marketing, and many competitors have already hit the ground running. What do you need to know?
Who Is Dealing With Social Media Policies?
October 27, 2010
Survey results show that 38% of the 1,700 respondents didn't know who was dealing with social media in their company. The remaining answers were spread across human resources, compliance, marketing, and, at the bottom of the list, the legal department. And while 84% say companies should have policies in place to address social media risks, only 35% say they do have them. But the risks of social media ' legal and reputational ' are real, and companies need to deal with them.
