Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%
Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
Law Firm Clients Defeat Bankruptcy Trustees in New York Court of Appeals
The New York Court of Appeals, on July 1, 2014, in response to questions certified by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, held that “pending hourly fee matters are not [a dissolved law firm's] 'property' or 'unfinished business'” under New York's Partnership Law. In re Thelen LLP, _________ N.Y.3d _________, 2014 N.Y. LEXIS 1577, *1 (July 1, 2014). See In re Thelen LLP , 213 F.3d 213, 216 (2d Cir. 2013). A federal district court had applied California law to reach the same conclusion in a similar case three weeks earlier. In re Heller Ehrman, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 81087, *2 (N.D. Cal. June 11, 2014) (“A law firm ' and its attorneys ' do not own the matters on which they perform their legal services. Their clients do.”)
The bankruptcy trustees of two dissolved law firms (Thelen LLP and Coudert Brothers) raised the issue when they sought to recover profits that other law firms had earned on hourly fee matters brought to those firms by departing Thelen and Coudert partners. According to the trustees: 1) pending hourly fee matters that were taken to the new firms were Thelen and Coudert property; and 2) the new firms had to account for their earnings on those matters. As The Wall Street Journal noted on July 7, 2014, the trustees were trying to “claw back money earned on pending matters for the benefit of [the dissolved firms'] creditors.”
Relevance to Clients
This premium content is locked for Entertainment Law & Finance subscribers only
ENJOY UNLIMITED ACCESS TO THE SINGLE SOURCE OF OBJECTIVE LEGAL ANALYSIS, PRACTICAL INSIGHTS, AND NEWS IN ENTERTAINMENT LAW.
- Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
- Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
- Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts
Already a have an account? Sign In Now Log In Now
For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
Legal Possession: What Does It Mean?
Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.
Removing Restrictive Covenants In New York
In Rockwell v. Despart, the New York Supreme Court, Third Department, recently revisited a recurring question: When may a landowner seek judicial removal of a covenant restricting use of her land?