The Unauthorized Practice Of Law: A Bottomless Ethics Pothole
The unauthorized practice of law (UPL) issue is the modern law firm's ultimate bottomless ethics pothole. In today's world, common sense would seem to dictate that a Maryland lawyer could close a complex commercial transaction for a Maryland client in foreign jurisdictions like Florida or New York. The fact that more than a few states would disagree with this proposition is what makes the UPL issue the bottomless pothole that it is.
The Mutual Fund Scandals: What's A Plan Sponsor To Do?
There is an industry-wide epidemic amongst mutual funds of both insider trading and market timing to the diminution of the ordinary stakeholder, including defined contribution plan account balances. Late trading is the clearly illegal practice of placing orders after the day's close at 4 p.m., and market timing is the disruptive (but not necessarily illegal) practice of trading quickly in-and-out of a fund. <br>This article is intended to assist plan fiduciaries (<i>eg</i>, law firms sponsors of pension plans and law firm clients) regarding how to behave in a fiduciarily appropriate manner.
The Cost of Cooperation
Cooperation with government investigators has long been important for companies under the specter of an investigation. Under current agency policies and practices of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and relevant provisions of the Sentencing Guidelines for Organizational Offenders, a "cooperative" corporation can realize substantial reductions in penalties or even avoid an enforcement action altogether. Seaboard Corporation in 2001 and HomeStore, Inc. in 2002 are excellent examples -- both were able to avoid SEC enforcement actions because of the extent and nature of their cooperation with investigators. The multi-million dollar question is what will be defined as "cooperation."
Prosecutions for Violation of Export Controls on Dual-Use Items
Since 9/11, the government has stepped up the enforcement of laws and regulations relating to the control of exports, especially so-called "dual-use" items that have both military and non-military applications. Department of Commerce policy "seeks to keep terrorists and other criminals from possessing sensitive technologies -- in essence, to prevent export violations before they occur," according to Julie L. Myers, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement.
Courthouse Steps
Recently filed cases in entertainment law, straight from the steps of the Los Angeles Superior Court.
Legal Sales Conference Is First Of Its Kind
The inaugural "Raindance" conference of the Legal Sales and Service Organization took place in Boston in June. It marked the first time ever that there was a critical mass of people to hold a conference devoted sales and business development in law.
Clients: To Whom Do They Belong?
The answer is: nobody. <br>When a partner leaves a law firm, the parties have to allocate various partnership rights, assets and other interests. They may allocate most of these interests in any way that they choose. They may not, however, allocate clients - perhaps the most valuable of partnership "assets." The client alone decides whether to remain a client of the firm, to leave with the departing partner or to choose another attorney. Law firms and departing partners have an ethical obligation to handle these situations in a way that is consistent with the principle of client choice.
