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Breaking Up with Clients
Every year or so, divorce lawyer Alton Abramowitz does something that would make many a lawyer lose sleep: He breaks up with a client. He would rather not show clients the door, but, he says, their unrealistic expectations sometimes leave him with no other choice. For instance? “People who walk into a lawyer's office and expect to get revenge or punish spouses,” says Abramowitz, a partner in Sheresky Aronson & Mayefsky and co-chair of the New York County Lawyers' Association matrimonial law section. Or clients who “expect you to identify with their anger and feed on their anger.” Then there are clients who become incensed because they see Abramowitz “chatting in the hallway with the wife's lawyer.”
In these situations, Abramowitz reminds clients that “matrimonial clients are not married to their lawyers,” he says. “I've said, 'If you're that unhappy with the way I'm conducting the case, find another lawyer,'” recalls Abramowitz. But, as counselors know first-hand, breaking up can be hard to do — especially if the client doesn't want to find other counsel. For clients who refuse to seek another attorney, Abramowitz says he asks the court to relieve him.
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs
The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.
Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations
This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.