Features
Internet Music Stream vs. Download
If a music file is downloaded to a computer and no one is there to play it, does it constitute a performance? This is not some question from a digital-age freshman philosophy seminar ' it was the legal issue recently facing Judge William C. Connor in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in <i>United States v. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP)</i>, 485 F.Supp.2d 438 (S.D.N.Y. 2007).
Features
Lease Financing of Solar Power
Hardly a day goes by without major media attention to global warming and the need to develop and invest in sources of alternative energy. Legislation to encourage investment in renewable energy has bipartisan support. Tax legislation passed in 2005 and 2006 extended the renewable energy production tax credit and the energy investment tax credit to facilities placed in service before Jan. 1, 2009. Further extension and expansion of these credits is expected from the current Congress. The extension of the tax credits, the adoption of minimum alternative energy requirements by many states, and greater public and political support for alternative energy resources have increased interest in the development and financing of wind, biomass, geothermal, and solar facilities. An active financing market has developed.
Features
EEOC Thinking Big
Part One of this article discussed the EEOC's plans to implement its new Systemic Discrimination Initiative, describing what the initiative is, why it is important and the first two steps in the implementation: identifying systemic cases early and often, and involving lawyers from the start. The conclusion discusses the next four steps in the EEOC's plans, and what employers can expect.
Features
Unfunded Retirement Plans: An Ongoing Problem
During the past year, we witnessed a marked increase in the number of law firms, both large and small, which are finding that their existing unfunded retirement plans are becoming significant, disruptive forces. The underlying problem created by these plans is that the plans result in current income being diverted to former partners, thereby reducing the compensation of the remaining active partners. Today, the combination of an expected spike in retirements related to the baby boom generation and, for many firms, greatly increased benefit exposure due to sharp increases in firm profitability that is factored into the value of retiree benefits, stand ready to test the financial viability of even the strongest firms.
Features
Internet Service Provider Liability
The liability of an Internet service provider is one of the topics that has been vigorously disputed and discussed in Germany. And given the lack of borders in cyberspace, the outcome could impact e-commerce vendors in the United States and elsewhere.
Features
Insolvencies Created By Bad Actors
While the market is swimming with innovative and highly leveraged financial transactions, and many parties are enjoying sizeable gains, some of those involved in these enterprises ultimately will become insolvent. A fraction of these insolvencies will result from fraudulent investment schemes perpetrated by multiple parties acting in concert for their mutual benefit. Innocent victims, including creditors and investors, will bear the financial brunt of the insolvencies, and will be eager to recover from all parties that participated in the fraud.
Features
Fourth Circuit Affirms Chapter 11 Dismissal
The Fourth Circuit, on June 15, 2007, affirmed the dismissal of a Chapter 11 reorganization petition filed by a tenant debtor in a commercial lease dispute. <i>Maryland Port Administration v. Premier Automotive Services, Incorporated (In re Premier Automotive Services, Incorporated).</i> As the Court of Appeals explained, the tenant had filed its Chapter 11 petition 'in order to forestall eviction on an obviously expired lease ' to prevent the [lessor] from evicting the debtor from the [lessor's] property,' seeking to tie up the landlord 'in endless, fruitless litigation.' According to the court, the Chapter 11 filing here 'demonstrate[s], unfortunately, how the good and useful ends of the bankruptcy process can be badly abused.'
ALM Sold to Incisive Media
ALM, publisher of Law Journal Newsletters, The American Lawyer, Corporate Counsel, The National Law Journal and 30 other national and regional publications, will be sold to London-based Incisive Media for $630 million, according to a joint announcement July 5 by the two companies.
'Help, I Need an Attorney'
So much is written in our pages about how to capture the ideal client. About how to market to that client, how to win his or her business and, if that client represents a business in turn, how to win and keep that business too. It's a worthy ideal, especially in today's competitive law environment. All you have to do is pick up any copy of Marketing the Law Firm and our nationally known experts will'
Features
Practice Building Skills: Building the Ideal Business Development Plan
Many attorneys ask us, 'What is the ideal prospecting plan for attorneys? Can't my associates and younger partners just follow our top rainmakers for a few days and then just do what they do?' These are two of the initial questions that we hear when we begin working with law firms. Many attorneys assume that there is an easy magic formula for developing new clients, and if they can just get their hands on this secret formula their business development problems will be solved forever. Unfortunately, our experience tells us that a 'one-size-fits-all' magic formula for success does not exist.
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