News from the FDA
November 10, 2003
All the latest FDA news and information you need to know.
Selling a Law Practice: Prospects and Pitfalls
November 01, 2003
Large firms have long had well-defined methods for transferring ownership interests in a practice via "mergers," "retirements," "breakups," etc. Attorneys in larger firms have also always had mechanisms in place that provided them and their heirs with funding for the value of their individual interests in the firm. By contrast, the outright "sale" of a law practice from one attorney to another was prohibited for decades. In 1991, however, the ABA dropped its opposition. California had already permitted such sales since 1989, and more states have now followed suit; so the mechanisms for selling a practice have been developing, albeit slowly. These changes are economically vital for small-firm and sole practitioners. Many of these attorneys tend to conclude their law practice without any transfer of ownership, by just closing their office doors one day and never returning. By doing so, an attorney forgoes "cashing in" on a valuable asset that has taken many years to build. That no longer has to happen. Like their counterparts in large firms, sole and small-firm practitioners ' and their heirs ' can now reap the rewards of years of effort. This levels the economic playing field for retirement and estate planning.
Improving Law Firm Profitability Without Working Longer Hours or Raising Rates
November 01, 2003
Last month, in Part One of this article, I discussed three major approaches to enhancing law firm profitability: expanding your client base; assertively managing billing, receivables and payables; and unbundling operating costs from bills for fees. Previously, in the August 2003 edition of this newsletter, I described a fourth major profitability approach: management of alternative billing strategies. This month's article concludes my overview of profitability improvement methods by summarizing 10 more techniques.
IP News
November 01, 2003
Highlights of the latest intellectual property news and cases from around the country.
<b><i>Practice Tip</b></i>Security on the Desktop
November 01, 2003
Information security has come to play an extremely vital role in today's business environment. Whether you are a solo practitioner or an IT Director of an AmLaw 100 or 200 firm, how can you best protect your company's data from being compromised? Anyone who experienced the "Slammer Worm" attack last January or the "So Big Worm" this past August knows the astonishing speed these viruses spread across the Internet. Hundreds of thousands of networks were affected within hours of each of those outbreaks. What is even more disconcerting is that in the case of the Slammer Worm, the attack exploited a well-known vulnerability in SQL Server; one which Microsoft had already fixed in a patch six months earlier. For mid- to large-size firms, a security policy is of paramount importance in order to ensure that the most appropriate security measures have been implemented with an acceptable level of competency and consistency throughout the organization. Physical desktop security, password best practices, virus protection, software installation and e-mail best practices are a few of the subjects that would form the core of the security policy document.
Evidence Comes to Life with the Click of a Mouse
November 01, 2003
From humble beginnings in 1951 when the first blackboard was used in a courtroom, visual props have evolved in sophistication. The blackboard led to flip charts and photo enlargements, overhead projection, the playing of videotapes and now to the integration of sight and sound with electronic slide presentations. While props in the courtroom provide razzle-dazzle to keep jurors attentive, they should never be overlooked in situations such as settlement conferences, mediations and arbitrations where strict evidentiary rules do not apply.
Case Briefs
November 01, 2003
Highlights of the latest insurance cases from around the country.
Collateral Damage: The Venture Capital Outlook and Potential
November 01, 2003
Joseph Schumpeter, in a celebrated phrase, noted that capitalism depends, for its foundation and longevity, on the "animal spirits" of the entrepreneurial class in a given region. Absent the turbo charge which the entrepreneurial culture has in the past projected into the U.S. economy, we in this country are in for an indefinite slide to economic stagnation. The national balance sheet is alarming, in the vicinity of insolvency; our manufactures are increasingly non-competitive; our labor force is displacing itself in favor of, eg, China, our currency is depreciating. I often use hypothetical benchmarks called (by me) the Fidelity Index ' an assumed list of factors professional investors are wont to use when rating and distinguishing between the debt of a AAA national credit and a Third World obligor state. Absent robust growth, look at our score card on the Index ' increasing debt as a percentage of GDP and GNP; balance sheet insolvency (in legal terms, insolvency 'in the bankruptcy sense'); extraordinary spending in the military sector growing rich/poor disparity; continuing barriers to women's rights; environmental indifference; wide spread tax evasion; attempts by both the Left and Right to politicize the judiciary; elections for sale; tainted election procedures; a state highly dependent on imported capital to recycle its debt.
Cameo Clips
November 01, 2003
Recent cases in entertainment law.
Court Rulings on Industry Attorney Fees
November 01, 2003
Depending on the circumstances and the law, parties on either side of an entertainment suit may ask a court for an award of attorney fees. Following are court rulings from recent months that deal with this and related concerns. In future issues, <i>Entertainment Law & Finance</i> will report on such relevant rulings in Attorney-Fee Updates.
