Playing Hard To Get
November 02, 2005
Fifteen years after merger mania started, and despite the invasion of out-of-towners now crowding the Bay Area, these and other firms remain independent ' sometimes fiercely so.
The Grass Is Always Greener: Life As In-House Counsel
November 02, 2005
As a private practitioner, sitting at a paper-smothered desk getting rapid-fire e-mails and phone calls from multiple clients, each of whom needs something yesterday, filling out time sheets and reviewing mountains of billing, it is easy for those in private practice to envision life as an in-house attorney as the better ' or at least less stressful ' choice of career paths. This article reacts to that vision, highlights some of the different issues facing those in-house, and discusses the manner in which some of the same issues faced by all attorneys translate in an in-house environment.
Court Watch
November 01, 2005
Highlights of the latest franchising cases from around the country.
Courthouse Steps
November 01, 2005
Recently filed cases in entertainment law, straight from the steps of the Los Angeles Superior Court.
Ringtones Breed Tension Within Music Industry
November 01, 2005
By 2004, mastertones were the hot new thing. They had replaced polyphonic ringtones (multipitched tunes), which had replaced monophonic ringtones. Mastertones were compressed snippets of studio-recorded music. In order to offer them to the public, ringtone content aggregators needed to obtain both publishing clearance and permission from those who held the rights to the recordings. That meant negotiating with record companies.
Ill Wind: Selected Insurance Issues After Hurricane Katrina
November 01, 2005
By virtually any measure, Hurricane Katrina ranks as one of the worst natural disasters in American history. It will surely be months if not years before the full toll of the storm and its aftermath, including long-term effects on the Gulf Coast, are known. It is equally sure that Hurricane Katrina will spawn an array of disputes concerning insurance coverage for losses or damage caused by the storm. Indeed, barely 2 weeks after the hurricane hit land, at least two major insurance coverage lawsuits, one in Mississippi and one in Louisiana, had already been filed.
Letters of Intent to Lease: Valuable for Landlords and Tenants
November 01, 2005
Landlords and tenants occasionally ask whether they should bother to negotiate and execute a letter of intent to lease. Many wonder whether it might be more efficient to launch right into negotiating the lease itself. The investment in negotiating a letter of intent to lease will almost always pay quick dividends for landlords and tenants. The dividends may be in the form of an early discovery of a lack of agreement on an important issue that will allow the parties either to resolve it quickly or decide to terminate further negotiations and part ways. The more details sorted out during the letter of intent phase, the greater the likelihood of a smoother and successful consummation of the lease. Finding the proper balance of detail to include at the letter of intent phase is often a function of the nature and size of the transaction and the sophistication and leverage of the parties involved. This article is intended to help landlords and tenants consider what they may want to include in their letters of intent to lease.
