Surviving the Retail Shift
<b><i>Looking Ahead: Lessons Learned.</i></b><p><i><b>Part Five of a Five-Part Series.</i></b><p>As Mark Twain quipped, "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated." So too is the reported retail "apocalypse" and "death" of the shopping center. In fact, U.S. retailers opened 1,326 more locations in 2017 than they closed. When restaurants are added to the mix, there were a total of 4,080 new openings in 2017 and another 5,050 openings planned this year.
Development
Analysis of a case in which a moratorium was invalidated.
<i>Online Extra:</i><br>Social Media: Questions of Admissibility And Ethics
Social media evidence can be acquired both informally — through an attorney's own investigation or from the client — or more formally through the use of discovery and the rules of discovery. While each gives rise to practical and ethical issues, this section will focus on informal methods of acquisition.
In the Courts
Analysis of a case involving an embezzling attorney.
Genetic Labeling: Legal Uncertainty for Pharma Product Liability
The FDA's recent approval of 23andMe's direct-to-consumer genetic test to identify genes associated with 10 common diseases and disorders could result in a widespread expansion of patients armed with individualized health information. This expansion of genetic information in the hands of consumers potentially impacts regulatory and litigation issues for pharmaceutical companies.
Do Mergers Increase Profitability?
<b><i>The Numbers Say Yes, But Not for the Reasons Many May Think</b></i><p>Conventional wisdom has it that mergers enhance profitability through increased revenues and reduced costs. However, the numbers contradict this view: post-merger revenues are lower relative to competitor firms than are the sum of the predecessor firms' revenues, and costs per lawyer increase markedly.
