Can A Private Citizen Perform An Official Act?
December 01, 2021
This article discusses the importance of the "official act" requirement established in McDonnell v. United States, and how its logic should lead to a parallel requirement that private citizens should not be chargeable with the commission of official acts as part of a scheme to deprive the public of honest services.
Pros and Cons of Master Leases
December 01, 2021
Section 365 of the Bankruptcy Code grants debtors the ability to assume or reject any executory contract or unexpired lease. Debtors must assume or reject a lease in its entirety and are not free under Section 365 to assume only favorable provisions of a lease. Courts, however, have consistently held that they will not find a multi-property master lease to be a unitary lease merely because such properties are demised in a single document.
SCOTUS Passes on Bankruptcy Law Cases, Leaving Circuit Court Splits
December 01, 2021
'Purdue Pharma' Looms
Although four cases presenting important bankruptcy issues were teed up for the Supreme Court's consideration this term, the Court denied certiorari for each. Each of these petitions involve splits among the circuit courts of appeals, influencing choice of venue and the extent to which bankruptcy decisions are subject to meaningful appeal.
How Should Law Firms Use Their Windfall of Profits?
December 01, 2021
After many firms experienced a highly profitable 2020 and sky-high demand levels in 2021, they found themselves with more cash than usual. While more than enough Big Law money has been lavished on associates and laterals recently, those aren't the only ways firms are spending their riches.
Pleading Alter Ego Liability In Commercial Lease Disputes
December 01, 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged commercial landlords to rely on various legal theories to protect their legitimate rights. As federal, state and local governments enact laws to protect tenants from evictions and/or the enforcement of personal lease guarantees, a landlord's counsel must seek avenues to press its clients' rights against any entity who may be liable for outstanding rent arrears due and owing under a commercial lease.
Report: Talent War Heating Up to 'Boiling Point'
December 01, 2021
Law firms are paying more for talent than ever before. But like other industries that've been hit by a so-called "Great Resignation," they're also hemorrhaging it like never before, and the result is a diminished return on investment that could reach a "boiling point" in the near future.
Implications of Second Circuit Ruling on Fugitive Disentitlement
December 01, 2021
Historically, the "fugitive disentitlement" doctrine has foreclosed challenges to criminal charges by a defendant who does not physically submit to a U.S. court's jurisdiction. As a consequence, to make even threshold challenges to an indictment, a defendant who lives abroad must leave home, waive the right to oppose extradition, and risk pre-trial detention in the United States.
Five Things Law Firm Leaders Need To Do As People Return to the Office
December 01, 2021
While we all look forward to returning to normal, the normal we left in early 2020 remains elusive. For those who are leading teams (such as executive committees, practice and industry groups, client teams, administrative departments, and firm committees), the struggle is more complex.
