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A recent case in the Federal District Court for the District of Maine offers in-house counsel and others providing employment law advice to corporate clients with a lesson in what not to do when faced with an employee suffering from a mental health disability and seeking leave for hospitalization as an accommodation.

The highly publicized accounting scandals at Enron, WorldCom and other large corporations have prompted a concerted legislative and regulatory response from Congress, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the national securities exchanges. While there has been little in the way of legislative reaction at the state level, several recent court decisions reflect that state corporate law is not immune from the impact of these scandals. Using existing judicial doctrine, but applying it in a fashion that appears to indicate an increasing toughness with respect to corporate directors and officers who do not live up to their obligations, the judiciary has turned up the heat on corporate fiduciaries.

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Making the most of your law department talent calls for the utmost in managerial ability. This series has offered some ideas for how to do so. This article discusses three controversial practices: forced rankings, telecommuting and job sharing.

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Recent developments of interest to corporate counsel.

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Subtenants that sublease space in buildings where parking is made available by the prime landlord for an additional charge should make the proper arrangements with the prime landlord prior to the execution of the sublease in order to ensure that such parking is available as of the commencement of the sublease and will remain available during the term of the sublease.

Highlights of the latest commercial leasing cases from around the country.

A common restrictive covenant in shopping center leases is the so-called "radius restriction," a lease provision that prohibits a tenant from opening a competing establishment within a proscribed distance from the present location. Typically, a radius restriction goes hand in hand with a percentage rent provision, which allows the landlord to participate in the tenant's gross sales after a certain threshold or "break point" is achieved.

Part One of a Two-Part Series. This two-part article describes some of the strategies that a landlord might utilize to protect itself from the impact of a tenant default or bankruptcy as it structures leasing transactions. The realization that landlords have become more security conscious will cause tenants to prepare themselves better to structure a deal that will accommodate the landlord's needs with the least possible burden.<p><i>Part One of a Two-Part Series</i>