IFA Legal Symposium Tackles Wide Range of Issues
May 29, 2008
Rarely has the International Franchise Association ('IFA') Legal Symposium, come at a busier time for the franchise industry, as a wide range of legal and business issues are generating change at a rapid rate. The conference, which was held on May 12-13 in Washington, DC, addressed everything from green business practices to new disclosure regulations, and the protection of marks on the Internet to states' efforts to expand their ability to tax franchise activity.
It Takes More Than A Shingle to Be a Good e-Commerce Attorney
May 28, 2008
If you've grabbed the brass ring ' or you want to prepare to ' don't rest on your laurels too long. Experienced e-commerce counsel warn colleagues not to let the ever-shifting world of e-commerce catch them unaware. Traits of effective e-commerce counsel, culled from a cadre of some of these experts, follow.
Managing Practice Group Profitability
May 28, 2008
Managers can no longer ignore the performance of individual practices, hoping problems will correct themselves. Firms everywhere are venturing into various types of reporting and 'profit center accounting,' typically based on the performance of individual practice groups and even specific clients. However, they take a variety of approaches to these analyses, and the differences can cause severely different analytic outcomes.
Focusing on Issues In Artist/Label 360-Degree Deals
May 28, 2008
One could argue that the concept of the '360-degree deal' harkens back to the record business of the 1950s and 1960s. Then, labels would commonly provide integrated A&R, publishing, management and promotional services to their artists, as well as put them out on tours with their label mates. But today's 360 deals are substantially different. Generally, a 360 deal has a label participating in revenue streams outside of its traditional business of manufacturing and distributing recordings.
Making It Run Isn't Running It
May 28, 2008
A favorite story about this is the lawyer who once said to me that if you're smart enough to be a lawyer, you're smart enough to do your own advertising. True, I said. And if you're smart enough to be a lawyer, you're smart enough to be a nuclear physicist ' but it doesn't make you one." Here's what managing is ' and is not.
The Place to Network: Blow That Curve!
May 28, 2008
Remember those kids in high school who blew the bell curve ' the overachievers? Those were the ones who asked for extra credit projects even when the rest of us were up to our eyebrows in the standard work requirements. Well, some of them grew up to be high-powered associates at law firms! Here's how to be one of them.
In the Spotlight: Preparing Form Leases for Mixed-Use Projects
May 27, 2008
As the construction of mixed-use projects continues to grow across the nation and globally, all parties involved must understand the dynamics of the project in which they are involved and how best to structure the relationships among the several parties, which will generally have divergent interests. The building block for this relationship will likely be a form lease.
<b>BREAKING NEWS:</b> CA Marriage Ruling Makes History
May 15, 2008
On a blast-furnace of a day when normally chilly San Francisco hit 96 degrees, the California Supreme Court enhanced its reputation as a trail-blazing institution on May 15 by giving gays and lesbians the right to marry. 'The California Constitution,' Chief Justice Ronald George wrote in the 4-3 ruling, 'properly must be interpreted to guarantee this basic civil right to all Californians, whether gay or heterosexual, and to same-sex couples as well as to opposite-sex couples.'
What's Going On Here?
May 05, 2008
We often tout customer/client service in our newsletters, particularly Marketing the Law Firm and Law Firm Partnership & Benefits Report, but in many other titles as well. Now and again I worry that we are over-pushing the concept; that maybe we should step back, because we all know that customer service is the backbone of every law firm, right? Apparently not.
