Mediation Before Litigation: Delaware Court's Expanded Jurisdiction Offers Remedy in Franchise Disputes
September 11, 2003
On May 29, 2003, the Governor of Delaware, Ruth Ann Minner, signed into law new legislation that may signal the willingness of courts to facilitate the resolution of disputes before the parties have passed the 'point of no return' and resorted to litigation. If the new model proposed in Delaware meets with success and is broadened and adopted by other courts, the development could be meaningful for both franchisors and franchisees, given that disputes frequently arise in franchise systems. Both would benefit from early resolution that would preserve the strength of the system and maintain the important relationships between the franchisor and the franchisee during the balance of the term of the franchise agreement.
Bits & Bytes
September 05, 2003
Bridgeway Software, Inc. has added two new e-invoicing services to enhance its eCounsel product. These new Bridgeway services offer the choice of using either secure Web transport or flexible and simple e-mail to receive invoices. Both eCounsel Cost Management services enable corporate legal departments to receive invoices electronically from law firms directly into eCounsel, reducing processing time and eliminating manual data entry.
Technology at Work: A Review of Syngence Services
September 05, 2003
Late last year, an old case was resurrected after an appeal resulted in our winning summary judgment being overturned. With the equivalent of 54 Bankers Boxes' worth of documents loaded on CDs as TIFF images without any associated indexing or coding, we were faced with the weighty task of processing those documents in a very short amount of time. The key issues were cost and functionality. We quickly needed usable data that could be manipulated, at a price acceptable to our client. Upon investigating our options regarding either manual or automated coding, we were introduced to the Syngence services by American Legal Copy ' our reprographics vendor in San Diego. We decided to give Syngence a try because their Syndex automated indexing service promised a basic database of information in a matter of days and their Synthetix-related content search feature intrigued us.
Non-disclosure Agreements in Venture Capital Transactions
September 03, 2003
Occasionally a venture fund will receive a request from a potential portfolio company for the venture fund to sign a non-disclosure agreement prior to commencement of due diligence. The proposed non-disclosure agreement would commit the venture fund to maintaining the confidentiality of the company's information disclosed to the venture fund in the course of the due diligence investigation. Entering into non-disclosure agreements could restrict the future investing and disclosing activities of the venture fund or its principals.
Around the Firms
September 03, 2003
Movement among major law firms and corporations.
Departing Partners: Duties and Pitfalls
September 03, 2003
A modern day fixture of the law firm is the revolving door. The increasing frequency with which partners leave law firms for new ones raises many issues concerning the permissibility of a withdrawing attorney's conduct regarding client/attorney solicitation, removal of client files or other documents and breach of anti-competition clauses in partnership agreements. In addition to adherence to the professional ethical rules, a partner is subject to a fiduciary duty to his firm and is thus constrained by such duty throughout the life of the partnership.
The Lateral Partner Process: Three Perspectives
September 03, 2003
According to <i>The American Lawyer</i>, fully 40% of partners in the AmLaw 200 firms will move laterally at least once as partners. This is an astonishing statistic, since lateral partner movement was virtually unheard of a generation ago. Freed from the stigma that once haunted a partner who abandoned his partnership, today's law partners tend to be pragmatists who no longer view their firms as homes for life. Instead, they see them as vehicles to drive their businesses to higher levels. In this article, we take a brief look at lateral partner recruitment from the different perspectives of the law firms, the candidates and the recruiters.
Dealing with Clash of Styles
September 01, 2003
The thing about going out and getting new business," said a partner in a large New York-based firm, "is that when you bring it in, it's one of the greatest feelings you can have!" If everyone was so motivated, if every lawyer or professional felt that way, there would be no lacking for business and a smile on the face of every firm marketing manager. Strangely enough, if such a utopia existed, there would still be potential for some sticky problems -- the solutions for which require savvy marketing management and fostering of a teamwork culture.
<b><i>Product Review</b></i> Corprasoft Legal Desktop
September 01, 2003
For a busy corporate law department, any matter management system that helps to monitor various activities and streamline the management of legal affairs is a valuable tool indeed. But what happens if you have to start from scratch in the deployment of that system? What if you have to leave the familiarity of your existing management system and convert to an entirely new platform?
