Around the Firms
August 28, 2003
Movement among major law firms and corporations.
Understanding the Rights and Obligations Of Your Military Reservist Employees
August 28, 2003
Last month, the authors provided background on the Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) and employee entitlements under the Act. This month, analysis of the Act concludes with a look at reemployment rights upon the employees' return and USERRA's effect on other laws.
Multi-State Firms Take Advantage of Illinois' Limited Liability
August 28, 2003
Effective July 1, 2003, pursuant to rules recently adopted by the Illinois Supreme Court, law firms with Illinois offices will be able to practice as limited liability partnerships (LLPs). In addition, co-owners of law firms organized as limited liability legal entities (ie, as members of LLPs or limited liability companies (LLCs), or as shareholders of professional corporations (PCs)) will be able to avoid exposure to vicarious liability for malpractice committed by other lawyers in their firms, if their firms meet and maintain specified minimum amounts of malpractice insurance or other proof of financial responsibility.
Are Law Firm 'Partners' Really 'Employees'?
August 28, 2003
Law firm management often assumes that some attorneys, such as partners, shareholders and of counsels, are not covered by various civil rights statutes, <i>eg</i>, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). As firms which have been sued by such attorneys or which have faced broad Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) investigations have learned, however, such assumptions are often not well founded.
Bye Bye Billables?
August 19, 2003
The concept of value-based fees for legal services is generating a steady buzz in the legal marketplace. Debate, discussion, reports and articles abound as attorneys and their law firms try to figure out if there is a better compensation model than the billable hour.
Taking the Fifth in Document Production
August 18, 2003
This is part two of a two part article. Clients subpoenaed by the government or private litigants rarely want to disclose their documents. They reflexively assert that it is all personal, confidential or proprietary. However, they are often surprised to learn that most documents are not protected from disclosure by the Fifth Amendment privilege. There is an entire body of case law that narrowly restricts the protection of the Fifth Amendment privilege in document production, which can be a trap for the unwary.
'Up-the-Ladder' Responsibilities Clarified by Sarbanes-Oxley
August 16, 2003
As discussed on page 1 of this newsletter, the SEC recently issued 'Standards of Professional Conduct' for attorneys representing issuers before the SEC ' a new rule mandated by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. <i>See</i> 15 U.S.C. ' 7201 <i>et. seq.</i> The Standards clarify an attorney's 'up-the-ladder' corporate reporting responsibilities imposed by the Act. 17 C.F.R. ' 205.
How to Extinguish a Lessee's Possessory Interest
August 15, 2003
The ability of a trustee to sell bankruptcy estate assets free and clear of competing interests in the property has long been recognized as one of the most important advantages of a bankruptcy filing as a vehicle for restructuring a debtor's balance sheet and generating value. Still, section 363(f) of the Bankruptcy Code, which delineates the circumstances under which an asset can be sold free and clear of 'any interest in such property,' has generated a fair amount of controversy. This is so because the statute itself does not define 'interest.'
Enron Probe Examines Firms' Roles
August 13, 2003
The Enron examiner is back. And a few law firms can't be too happy about it. R. Neal Batson, the court-appointed examiner investigating the exotic financing schemes that contributed to the Enron Corp.'s bankruptcy, publicly released his much-anticipated second report on March 5.
