Dismantling the 'Great Wall' of Risk: The Key to Turning Lease Financing into a Mainstream Financial Product in China
March 29, 2006
A growing number of lessors exhibiting cautious optimism are slowly, but successfully, knocking down the 'great wall' that separates them from turning lease financing into a mainstream financial product in China. Investing in the Chinese leasing market can be a sound decision for lessors whose customers are asking for leases there; who can effectively manage the risks; and who are equipped to deal with major differences between the United States and China, which include language, culture, and the number and nature of business regulations.
e-Commerce Changes Everything ' Again
March 29, 2006
e-Commerce Web sites' only constant is change. They must nimbly adjust prices and offerings on the fly to meet market conditions and customer profiles. And those aren't all of these sites' ongoing change requirements.<br>One thing that doesn't change, however, is their reliance on data ' customer preferences as well as transaction information. Although e-commerce Web sites are an inherently transient medium, that data is as worthy of preservation as a treasure map or share certificate of old, because, in many ways, it is worth more than money.<br>For these firms, a record-keeping and record-retention policy seem to be electronic oxymorons, as much as an 'inexpensive lawyer' or 'friendly litigation' may seem to many people The controlled destruction of records typically associated with such policies in the post-Enron and Arthur Andersen era appears to fly in the face of the needs and realities of e-commerce, as much as do traditional notions of photocopying and saving every paper business record.
The Basics Of Hiring A Contract Attorney
March 29, 2006
Law firms use contract attorneys to aid in large-scale document reviews such as those often required in e-discovery, and for mergers, internal audits and other matters that require an influx of temporary help. Of course, the subject matter involved in these wide-ranging projects varies, which makes contractors an ideal solution for dynamic business. If a project requires that attorneys or other workers who are or may be involved have a specific background, then law firms, or the agencies they hire, may well be better positioned using temporary workers who also may be making a specialty of the work required. And often, projects require only a general legal background, which makes finding candidates far easier. But whatever the situation that demands looking for short-term or long-term employees ' for staff positions or contract work ' firms should consider the key factors when hiring contract attorneys.
Avoiding Boilerplate Traps in Commercial Leases
March 29, 2006
Last month, Part One of this article provided tips by Christopher A. Jones and Scott A. Weinberg. This part discusses other possibly problematic lease provisions regarding the name/address of the building, rules and regulations, legal fees and expenses, and the sale/exchange and assignment of the lease by the landlord.
Dashboarding for Performance Management
March 29, 2006
Law firm managers seeking graphic insights for business monitoring and quantitative decision support have much to gain from Wayne W. Eckerson's new book Performance Dashboards: Measuring, Monitoring, and Managing Your Business (2006: John Wiley & Sons). In this article, I'll review some of Eckerson's ideas that seem highly applicable to large law firms, and add a few thoughts of my own.
Risk Management: What Your Firm May be Missing
March 29, 2006
In today's increasingly complex and regulated business environment, hundreds of different risks threaten law firms. While some of them can lead to malpractice claims that could destroy a firm's reputation and finances, others can be physically or operationally devastating.<br>Before a firm can begin to manage risk, it is important to define risk. In my many conversations with managing partners, executive directors or law firm CFOs, they all generally seem to think of risk in terms of insurance (malpractice, workers comp, business interruption, etc). While I agree this is one area of risk, the overall definition of risk is much broader. Risk is the potential for any issue to negatively affect an entity's ability to meet its objectives.
CPSC Gets Aggressive About Failure to Report
March 29, 2006
In the last few years, the compliance staff of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has sought a number of significant civil penalties for failure to report or for late reporting. It is instructive to look at recent civil penalty cases to see what is important to the CPSC staff in assessing the appropriateness and level of penalties. First, however, let's examine the reporting requirements.
Looking Ahead To The 2006 Proxy Season
March 28, 2006
As the 2006 proxy season gets underway, shareholder activism shows no signs of slowing. Over the last few years, high-profile corporate scandals and news stories about executive excess and corporate waste have compelled many investors to seek ' or demand ' a more active role in corporate governance matters of the companies they own. Now that most companies have implemented the changes required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the stock exchanges, the agenda of the shareholder activist is changing.
'Improper Benefit' Key To SEC Policy
March 28, 2006
On January 4, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox announced the SEC's unanimously adopted policy on the use of the its enforcement powers to impose monetary penalties on public companies for securities law violations. According to the policy, when deciding whether to impose fines, the SEC will focus on whether a corporation's violation provided an improper benefit to the company and its shareholders. If so, the SEC will be inclined to seek fines to deter future conduct. Conversely, the SEC will be less likely to pursue fines in cases where they would result in further harm to shareholders already injured by a corporation's actions. This article examines the new SEC policy regarding fines and its implications for corporations and shareholders.
Ideal Case Management Implementation
March 28, 2006
Legal case management software is a valuable tool that law firms use to efficiently manage legal cases. However, while the application provides attorneys with a convenient method of effectively managing client and case information, there is a clear disconnect in many law firms that occurs at the point of implementation.
