Risk of Lawsuits Over Legal Recruiting Fees
In May, just 1 month after Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld announced Chang-Joo Kim had joined its New York office as a partner, the law firm cut a check to recruiting firm Boston Executive Search for $227,500. <br>But did it pay the right recruiter? New York search firm Sivin Tobin Associates says it sent Akin Gump a package about Kim last December, along with a term sheet. Sivin Tobin is now suing the law firm, alleging breach of an implied contract. In September, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Jane S. Solomon denied Akin Gump's motion to dismiss.
Analyzing Law Firm Business Capabilities With Heat Mapping
Law firms have been largely unable to take advantage of modern business improvement methods such as Six Sigma and the Theory of Constraints ' complex techniques often applied to manufacturing processes ' with much success. Those methodologies are measurement-based strategies that focus on process improvement and variation reduction.
Improving Management of Hard Disbursements
Improved hard-disbursements management can mean major improvements for firms' financial performance. <br>In the mid-1990s, the IRS stopped allowing lawyers to deduct as a business expense funds advanced for clients, treating their repayment as income. The agency said such advances should be treated as loans. This policy turned the nation's lawyers into bankers making interest-free loans. Last year, the AmLaw 100 firms alone reportedly advanced more than $4.5 billion in such loans.
Real-Time Collaboration Solutions Yield Major Efficiencies
Real-time collaboration (RTC) has advanced to a point where its advantages bring benefits to almost every aspect of organizational communications. For law firms, RTC makes possible new ways of working that are simple to adopt, easy to afford, require little or no CapEx and, in most cases, utilize existing computer and peripheral equipment. RTC can bring together employees, clients, trainers and others in ways that save time and overcome distance, thereby delivering measurable competitive advantage.
Recent Bankruptcy Trends
The era of 'easy money' may be coming to an end soon, as there are signs of increasing economic pressure in certain sectors of the economy. At the same time, the passage of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA), the principle provisions of which became effective in October 2005, is fundamentally changing certain aspects of the Chapter 11 process. Although no one is able to predict with certainty what will happen in the restructuring field in the near future, here are some of the signs that the bankruptcy field is about to undergo a substantial change.
Lessons Learned: Issues Exposed in the Aftermath of the Hewlett-Packard Debacle
On Sept. 5, 2006, <i>Newsweek</i> published a story about Hewlett-Packard's Chairman Patricia Dunn's use of a private investigation firm to locate the source of leaks of confidential corporate information. As the story unfolded, the public learned the following: After confidential information appeared in news publications in 2005, certain officers and certain members of the board of directors of Hewlett-Packard ('HP') authorized the launch of two investigations, the first in 2005, and the next in 2006, to locate the source of the information leaks. The basis for the investigations was that the information leaked to the press was known only to board members. Certain officers and directors collectively comprised the 'HP investigation team' in the secret investigation of the leaks to the media. In devising its plan, the HP investigation team sought the assistance of a top investigator, Ron DeLia, head of Security OutSourcing Solutions, Inc. ('SOS'), with whom Hewlett-Packard previously had worked on unrelated matters. DeLia allegedly encouraged the HP investigation team to use pretexting or 'social engineering' to obtain private cell phone and phone records of certain targeted individuals, among other things.
China's New M&A Regulation and Its Impacts on Foreign Business
On Aug. 8, 2006, China released a new rule of 'Provisions on Acquisition of Domestic Enterprises By Foreign Investors' (New Regulation). The New Regulation took effect on Sept. 8, 2006, and invalidated the 'Interim Provisions on Acquisition of Domestic Enterprises By Foreign Investors' (Old Regulation) issued on March 7, 2003. The New Regulation has drawn speculations that China is changing its policy toward foreign investors' acquisitions of its domestic companies and tightening its restrictions on foreign investments. <br>This article presents the background that gave rise to this new regulatory scheme and provides a comparative analysis of the two regulations, with a particular focus on how foreign companies doing business in China will be impacted.
Mapping Law Firm Capabilities
Not so many years ago, running a law firm was a simpler process. If you were good at legal research, drafting documents, arguing cases and attracting and advising clients, the business took care of itself. But today, managing a legal practice, particularly for large firms, is more like running a large, sophisticated, multinational business.
Managing Electronic Evidence
Discovery demands on in-house legal staff have changed drastically in recent years. Historically, complying with subpoenas and document production requests were quotidian chores for in-house legal staff. After receiving a complaint, counsel's office issued a standard 'document hold' to affected employees and directed that those involved in the case preserve their files and not destroy anything. Questions might arise, but they were manageable. What must be disclosed? What documents are privileged? How long will it take to retrieve documents from storage? How many staff hours will complying require? How much will it cost? Who bears the cost? Which discovery requests should be challenged?
Law Firms At the Top of GC Speed-Dial Lists
For the past 5 years, Corporate Counsel has conducted a survey of Fortune 250 general counsel, asking them to list their 'primary' outside counsel. This year, 93 companies provided information on their top law firms for corporate transactions, litigation, labor and employment, and intellectual property. Those companies named a total of 380 law firms.
