First and Second Liens
April 27, 2006
One of the leading issues currently faced by bankruptcy practitioners can be found in the frequently recurring disputes between first and second lienholders ' an issue that was recently addressed in the context of a ' 363 sale. In <i>Contrarian Funds, LLC v. Westpoint Stevens, Inc.</i> (<i>In re Westpoint Stevens, Inc.</i>), 333 B.R. 30 (S.D.N.Y. 2005), the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (the District Court) reversed a ' 363(b) sale order (Sale Order) of the bankruptcy court on the grounds that the Sale Order authorized an in-kind distribution of equities ' rather than cash ' to first lien holders outside the Chapter 11 plan confirmation process.
The Basics of Hiring A Contract Attorney
April 27, 2006
Law firms use contract attorneys to aid in large-scale document reviews such as those often required in e-discovery, and for mergers, internal audits and other matters that require an influx of temporary help. Of course, the subject matter involved in these wide-ranging projects varies, which makes contractors an ideal solution for dynamic business. If a project requires that attorneys or other workers who are or may be involved have a specific background, then law firms, or the agencies they hire, may well be better positioned using temporary workers who also may be making a specialty of the work required, such as the search, classification and other specific functions required in e-discovery. And often, projects require only a general legal background, which makes finding candidates far easier. But whatever the situation that demands looking for short-term or long-term employees ' for staff positions or contract work ' firms should consider the key factors when hiring contract attorneys.
Litigation Support Software: Own or Lease on Demand
April 27, 2006
Think back just 6 or 7 years to the approaching end of the millennium. If the woes of Y2K planning held the primary focus for IT leaders and litigation support professionals alike, the lofty promises about how to become an 'instant ASP' and 'deliver applications, with unmatched levels of security, speed, and availability, in a fully managed and integrated environment' ran a close second. <br>Although it took a bit longer than the optimists originally forecast, the 'buzz' from the 1990s ' the promise of more affordable, more accessible, on-demand software delivery (paying others to host, maintain, and upgrade applications under an umbrella of guaranteed uptime) continues to gain market acceptance, now under a new name, 'Software as a Service' (SaaS).
The Value of Partnership
April 26, 2006
When someone becomes an equity partner in a law firm, he or she becomes an owner of an institution that has a substantial value ' certainly greater value than is demonstrated on a cash basis balance sheet. Yet the majority of U.S. law firms admit partners with little or no requirement that they make a purchase of the firm's capital assets.
Patents No Longer Carry a Presumption Of Market Power in Tying Cases
April 26, 2006
The United States Supreme Court's recent decision in <i>Illinois Tools Works v. Independent Ink</i> reversed almost 50 years of precedent holding that the owner of a patent was presumed to have market power in patent-related tying cases brought under the Sherman Act. The Court noted that Congressional amendments to the patent code explicitly finding that tying was not a per se patent misuse, coupled by the widely accepted view in academia that patents did not inherently lead to market power, had so eroded the legal doctrine supporting the presumption of market power in patent-related tying cases, that a new rule was appropriate. The Court held that in all future tying cases, the plaintiff must allege and prove that the defendant has actual market power in the tying product ' the mere existence of a patent is no longer sufficient.
Clearing Up Executive Compensation
April 26, 2006
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published its proposal to revamp the rules governing the disclosure of executive and director compensation on Jan. 27, 2006. The proposed rules stand to significantly alter the compensation disclosure requirements applicable to registration statements, proxy statements, annual reports and Form 8-Ks, and are intended to ensure that investors receive disclosure that is 'clearer and more complete.' The regulations are the first attempt at a major overhaul of compensation disclosure since 1992 and were proposed in response to the widespread criticism that the current disclosure requirements do not engender a complete and accurate description of executive pay packages. <br>The proposal, to adapt the old saying, combines something old, something new and something borrowed.
News Briefs
April 19, 2006
Recent rulings of importance to you and your practice.
A Notice Does Not Notify Unless It Can Be Understood
April 19, 2006
The office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, along with the Ontario Bar Association's Privacy and Health Law sections and the Ontario Dental Association, spearheaded a team to develop short notices for the province's new Personal Health Information Protection Act ('PHIPA'), which launched the products earlier in June 2005.
New Guidance on Whistleblower Hotlines in the EU
April 19, 2006
Congress enacted the Sarbanes-Oxley Act ('SOX') in 2002 in response to a series of corporate scandals that diluted confidence in the U.S. financial markets. The law was intended to improve the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures and financial statements and to enhance the ethical standards and accountability of companies that are publicly traded on U.S. stock exchanges. Last year, a conflict arose between SOX's mandate that audit committees of public companies establish whistleblower hotlines on the one hand, and data protection laws in the Member States of the European Union ('EU') on the other.
