Strategically Manage Occupancy Costs to Increase Law Firm Profitability
Aside from payroll, real estate costs are a large law firm's most significant expense. Even under the best circumstances, such expenditures — sometimes called occupancy costs — consume 8% to 10% of the typical large firm's annual revenue. These costs are not confined to rent; many firms finance millions of dollars worth of expenses associated with the construction of their space.
Is Your Client A Spammer?
We've covered the CAN SPAM Act fairly extensively from a "what is it" type of perspective. In this article, Board of Editors member Jonathan Bick provides some practical advice on how to advise those clients who want to send marketing e-mails lawfully (it just doesn't seem right to say "spam lawfully.
Working At Home, And At Play
Constant connectivity creates pressure to work around-the-clock, wherever you may be. After all, the Net is always on ' and open for business.<br>However, as the traditional office becomes less important ' because technology lets work shift location with the workers ' will the legal rules for the workplace also follow?
Publish or Perish!
As anyone who has attended a four-year university can attest, "publish or perish" is the mantra for budding academics looking to secure the permanent, and virtually untouchable, position of tenured faculty. In modern academia, many have eschewed that thought ' claiming that it places too great an emphasis on research and not enough on actual teaching. <br>However, more and more lawyers are beginning to grasp the thought that its time for them to take the baton from their academic colleagues ' as the pressures of law firm consolidation and the necessity to stand out in a crowded field demand an aggressive visibility and communications strategy.
The Attorney's Bookshelf
As practicing attorneys, we struggle to keep abreast of developments in the law. Most likely, we cannot, in addition to this research and study, find the time to keep up with psychological research and analysis regarding divorcing and separating families. In order for family law practitioners to advance their understanding of the emotional side of divorce, child custody and the other baggage that comes along with family legal problems, a few choice reading and reference materials can go a long way. Here are a few books I've found indispensable for this task.
Legal Defensibility of e-Signatures Tested In Simulated Trial
On June 17, the law firm of Lord, Bissell & Brook LLP, along with electronic-signature firm DocuSign Inc. and sponsors, staged a 2-hour mock trial to demonstrate the unique issues that a challenge to electronically signed documents presents.
Tort Liability of Out-of-Possession Landlords
<i>Ingargiola v. Waheguru Management, Inc.</i>, decided recently by the Second Department, revisited a question that has long engendered confusion in the New York courts: What liability does a landlord bear for personal injuries suffered in leased premises? <i>Ingargiola</i> also presented a related question: What steps can a landlord take to reduce exposure for any liability the landlord would otherwise bear? This article explores those issues.
