Commercial Leases and the Law of Electronic Transactions
May 01, 2017
Over the past 20 years, the rise of email as a generally-accepted medium of business communication has prompted the law to allow certain contracts, including leases, to be entered into electronically, without a handwritten signature. This article addresses recent developments and the present state of the law with respect to commercial leasing and electronic media.
Support Animals As an Accommodation for Persons with Disabilities
May 01, 2017
With increasing frequency, requests for emotional-support and service animals in housing lead to disputes under the Federal, State and City Discrimination Laws that protect the disabled. The requests are often mishandled by either the housing provider, the disabled person or both.
Supreme Court Rules on Design of a Useful Article
May 01, 2017
Fashion, furniture, and other design-oriented companies will take note of the Supreme Court's recent decision in <i>Star Athletica, L.L.C. v. Varsity Brands, Inc.</i>, which resolved a division among the federal circuits on the issue of the separability of designs of useful articles under the Copyright Act.
Financing and Leasing Technology Is a Strategic Advantage
May 01, 2017
Advances in technology and software are being made at an increasingly rapid pace. As a result, IT hardware obsolescence cycles are shrinking too. This period of exponential improvement with which we are all now familiar has shown time and again that there will continue to be breakthroughs in technology that deliver better, less expensive, and/or more robust products. How are you equipping your firm to succeed both in the present day and into the future?
Would <b><i>Jevic</i></b> Have Come Out Differently with Gorsuch?
May 01, 2017
In <I>Jevic</I>, the members of SCOTUS — sans Neil Gorsuch, who had not yet been confirmed — declined the invitation to "upend" the absolute priority scheme. The question presented: "Can a bankruptcy court approve a structured dismissal that provides for distributions that do not follow ordinary priority rules without the affected creditors' consent?" SCOTUS's answer: a resounding "No." Would Gorsuch have changed that?
State of the Industry: e-Discovery and Cybersecurity
April 02, 2017
<b><i>Part One of a Three-Part Article</b></i><p>There are stark differences between e-discovery and cybersecurity, most notably that cybersecurity, as an avenue of career opportunity and responsibility, is much, much bigger. An examination of the current state of both industries coupled with a deep dive into the history of e-discovery will offer a prophetic look at the likely hiring patterns, job availability, compensation trends, and industry maturation of the cybersecurity vertical over the next decade.
Are Pharmacy Benefit Managers' Cost-Containment Claims a Shell Game?
April 02, 2017
In today's political climate, one of the hottest topics is the rising cost of healthcare and drugs. Following the last election, all industries should anticipate change, especially in healthcare. While much of the focus is currently on whether the Affordable Care Act will be repealed, one of the areas the government continues to scrutinize is costs.
