The Duty of Good Faith in Franchise Agreements in European Civil Law
December 31, 2013
The duty of good faith seeks to deliver a degree of equilibrium to the inherent tension within the franchise relationship between the desire of both parties to obtain the best commercial deal for themselves and a need to have a good ongoing commercial relationship based upon a modicum of mutual trust. It is currently a topic of considerable interest in the United States as a number of states consider enacting legislation imposing a duty of good faith.
E-mails and Privilege for In-House Counsel
December 31, 2013
Courts employ a heightened standard when companies attempt to shield their employee'in-house lawyer communications under the attorney-client privilege. The dominant reason for this scrutiny is the recognition that employees often involve in-house counsel in business and legal-related conversations, forcing courts to scrutinize whether the putatively privileged communication pertained to legal or business advice.
Interest on Distributive Awards
December 31, 2013
Interest on distributive awards is an important ' and at times overlooked ' aspect of matrimonial practice. When a matrimonial action becomes protracted, an award of prejudgment interest, measured from the date of commencement of the action, may be substantial, especially if the award is at the statutory rate of 9%.
Reconsidering the Special Facts Exception
December 31, 2013
Special facts is a court-created equitable doctrine that allows a land use applicant to avoid the impact of a change of zone enacted while the application is pending, by showing significant governmental delay of the application together with proof that but for the delay, the landowner would have been able to vest in its use before the zoning was changed. In November 2013, the Court of Appeals decided <i>Rocky Point</i>, a case that the plaintiff (represented by the author) hoped would not only allow it to prevail, but would also clarify the special facts doctrine.
Office 365 Cloud Computing
December 31, 2013
The world is getting smaller as technology changes enable us to share documents with those on the other side of the globe. When sharing documents "in the cloud" it is possible to see real-time updates when using the Microsoft 365 Office Web Apps. As most legal documents are created in Word, this column will focus on the Word Web App.
Legal Spending Trends
December 31, 2013
Recently, the LexisNexis CounselLink division published a study of the spending patterns of corporate legal departments. The study unveiled macro-economic trends about the shifting spending habits from the largest category of law firms to those that are "Large Enough." The basis of the analysis was two million invoices, covering 300,000 matters, which were valued at more than $10 billion in legal fees.
Are You Blawging, Or Flawging?
December 31, 2013
Lots of attorneys are being told that they need to start blogging (or "blawging", as many attorneys refer to it). From a marketing perspective, this advice makes a lot of sense. There's an old advertising adage, credited to David Ogilvy from the pre-"Mad Man" days of advertising, that when it comes to big-ticket purchases, "long copy sells."
Case Notes
December 31, 2013
MA Federal Court Holds 'Economic Loss Doctrine' Does Not Bar Claim for Breach of Implied Warranty
How Legal Services Can Maintain Profitability in a Shifting Landscape
December 31, 2013
Since the 2008 economic downturn, the U.S. legal market has undergone a permanent restructuring. With huge firms collapsing due to crippling debt, we see that legal services firms are no longer untouchable. The legal environment has become increasingly challenging as competition has increased, demand for legal services has remained flat, and firms are being forced to adopt more efficient, cost-effective and strategic business models.
