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Features

<i>Clause & Effect</i><b>Interpreting 'Preliminary' Joint Venture Agreements</b> Image

<i>Clause & Effect</i><b>Interpreting 'Preliminary' Joint Venture Agreements</b>

Stan Soocher

Celebrities and entertainment entities may enter into joint venture agreements for projects with other parties to obtain funding and/or administrative support. The joint venture may begin with an initial letter agreement between the parties, though there are specific elements that must be included to make the letter agreement binding.

Leadership Transition in a Law Firm Image

Leadership Transition in a Law Firm

William C. Cobb

How does a law firm transition leadership from the founders or the current set of leaders to the next generation of leaders? There are three models of transition: King to Prince, CEO with credibility to COO with credibility and accepted founder/leader to people who should become leaders. Obviously the last model is the most difficult to execute. The approach for this transition model is also applicable to the first two. The King to Prince will probably not make the transition because benevolent despotisms crash if the Prince has not gone through a credibility building process. The CEO to the COO assumes the COO has gone through the process outlined below.

Do Contractors Make the Best Firm 'Employees'? Image

Do Contractors Make the Best Firm 'Employees'?

Paula Campbell

Any personnel professional will remind us that finding the right person for a niche position is difficult at best. Carefully weighing the dictates of a job, the necessary skills and salary limitations can be a daunting task, especially in the legal field. As alternatives to "employment," there are several ideas that warrant a discussion.

Warning Signs: How to Spot Partner Dissatisfaction and What to Do About It Image

Warning Signs: How to Spot Partner Dissatisfaction and What to Do About It

Joel A. Rose

By no means do the economic stability and steady growth of a legal practice ensure harmony in the partner ranks or, for that matter, the contentment of any single lawyer. Managing partners who breathe too easily when reassuring revenue or profit numbers get posted may endanger their firms by ignoring tell-tale signs of disharmony. Law firms have been known to go out of business amid strong financials just as precipitously as when those numbers tumble. Remember Shea &amp; Gould?

Around the Firms Image

Around the Firms

Teri Zucker

Attorney movement among major law firms and corporations.

Features

News Briefs Image

News Briefs

ALM Staff & Law Journal Newsletters

Highlights of the latest franchising news from around the country.

How UK Franchisors Protect Their Trade Secrets Image

How UK Franchisors Protect Their Trade Secrets

Mark Abell & Graeme Payne

As in the United States, franchisors in the United Kingdom usually invest in protecting their brand by way of trademark registrations, usually a Community Trade Mark (CTM). However, although they spend a considerable amount of time, money, and resources developing their customer databases and refining their business methodologies and know-how (and detailing this in the franchise Operations Manual, to which their franchisees and employees are given access), U.S. franchisors rarely seem to devote the same resources to protecting these trade secrets in the United Kingdom.

Features

The Role of Motive in Franchise Termination Cases Image

The Role of Motive in Franchise Termination Cases

Craig R. Tractenberg

Should the franchisor's motive in a franchise termination case ever become the central issue? Some courts answer that seeking the true reason for termination is the target inquiry, as if a franchisor could not have a mixed motive for termination. The question turns the trial into a search as to whether the franchisor has breached an implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing which augments the terms of a written franchise agreement. Often the outcome depends on where in the life of the franchise relationship the dispute arises. At the end of the relationship, courts considering the propriety of termination and nonrenewal often treat the role of good faith and fair dealing differently than when, for example, reviewing whether the franchisor imposed unreasonable standards of performance.

Features

Court Watch Image

Court Watch

Susan H. Morton & David W. Oppenheim

Highlights of the latest franchising cases from around the country.

Features

Book Review: Noteworthy 'Intangibles' and the Obviousness of 'Unseen Wealth' Image

Book Review: Noteworthy 'Intangibles' and the Obviousness of 'Unseen Wealth'

Devin S. Morgan

The book "Intangibles" is largely one of policy, but is not without its practical lessons. Baruch Lev's book is a worthwhile read for anyone interested in the management of intangible assets ("intangibles"), such as patents, know-how, and relationships. The book addresses the full scope of intangibles and may be too broad to be of interest to some patent practitioners. However, the book includes interesting observations and supporting data that will reward the practitioner willing to take a broad view of patents and their place in the business world.

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