Enlarging the Scope of Disaster Plans
October 03, 2005
Considering how much damage can result from something as innocuous as a faulty sprinkler system, it may be understandable that many law firm disaster planners previously gave their first attention to common threats, and then never got around to considering large-scale disasters.<br>Some firms were convinced as a result of 9/11 that such a patchwork of miscellaneous point solutions was inadequate. For other firms, Hurricane Katrina should drive that point home. While we can't expect disaster plans to protect our firms from all possible risks, we should expand our planning perspective to include more catastrophic scenarios.
Progress in Automated Benchmarking
October 03, 2005
Law firm strategic and operational planners commonly use data from periodic law firm surveys to "benchmark" their own firms' performance. Many law firms now also employ business intelligence (BI) technology to extract more value from their internally collected financial data. Recently, interest has grown in a convergence of these two capabilities: using BI software to combine internal and external data streams, making benchmarking more standardized, sophisticated and reliable.
<b>Basics Revisited:</b> Investing Your Lump Sum Without Taking Your Lumps
October 03, 2005
Many of our specialist readers are so involved in financial intricacies that it may be difficult for them to answer questions on investment basics from non-initiates. Jim Berliner's clear explanations should be useful not only in advising professionals who earn a large fee but also for any firm member or client who is faced with a major investment decision.
Australian Court Finds For Music Company
October 03, 2005
Justice Murray Rutledge Wilcox of the Federal Court held that certain defendants associated with Sharman Networks were liable for "authorization" of copyright infringement as a result of having distributed the Kazaa file-sharing software. <br>Notwithstanding substantial differences between the legal systems and copyright jurisprudence in Australia and the United States, <i>Grokster</i> and <i>Sharman</i> demonstrate remarkable similarities in analysis.
Substance Over Style As a Winning Combination
October 03, 2005
It is unfortunate that firms do not fully understand or appreciate the importance of marketing and communications, but nevertheless continue to throw money at their programs without analyzing their needs. The firms that made the list were chosen on the basis of their accomplishments and not as much about their staffing or budgets. While these aspects were taken into consideration, the number of staffers and the budgets did not affect the final listing. Some firms actually do quite a bit more with less staff and less money. As a veteran of law firm marketing and communications, I felt extremely confident in including these firms because I know what they are about and I know their people. The valuation of all the firms is reflective of programs that are differentiators in the world of law firms and in many ways mirror Corporate America's marketing programs. <br>Some of the more important aspects of several marketing and communications programs that struck a chord as having well thought-out and meaningful programs that provide a glimpse into the substance over style world of law firm marketing and communications programs.
<b>Op Ed</b> Extreme Makeover: Law Firm Edition
October 03, 2005
While doing my research for the MLF 50, there was a moment in time when it suddenly became clear to me that, for the most part, law firm management still doesn't understand marketing and what it can ' and more importantly cannot ' do for a firm. When it comes to marketing, lawyers are still in the "everyone else is doing it so we better do it too" mode. Without regard to actually making a concerted effort to understand marketing, the unfinished agenda of law firm marketing programs spills out on to the streets and are left at the curb of every city and town in the United States. <br>Let's face facts. There may be 50 firms that are doing some great things that will impact their respective firms; but in reality, most marketing programs are doomed to fail because of the lack of commitment and vision on the part of the partnership and the management of law firms.
Trends in Corporate Fraud Enforcement
October 03, 2005
For high-profile defendants, timing is everything. In 1989, former junk bond king Michael Milken was indicted on RICO violations, stock manipulation and insider trading. After Milken pleaded guilty to securities, mail and tax fraud and market manipulation, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison, with anticipated actual service of 40 months. Due to cooperation and good behavior, Milken emerged from prison after serving less than 2 years, with a personal fortune in place. He has remained a power broker in financial and charitable circles since his release. In 2005, former WorldCom, Inc. CEO Bernard Ebbers was indicted for conspiracy, securities fraud and filing false statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) after WorldCom announced that it had overstated earnings. After a New York jury found Ebbers guilty, Judge Barbara Jones sentenced 63-year-old- Ebbers -- a first-time violator -- to 25 years in prison, of which he must serve at least 21.
The KPMG Tax Shelter Prosecutions
October 03, 2005
On Aug. 29, 2005, the Department of Justice, the IRS and KPMG LLP (KPMG) announced that an agreement had been reached with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York resolving the Grand Jury investigation into tax shelters designed, developed and sold by KPMG from 1996 to 2002 and related conduct. The settlement also resolved the IRS's examination of these activities. KPMG and the government entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA), pursuant to which KPMG acknowledged responsibility for engaging in a massive tax fraud conspiracy that generated at least $11 billion in fraudulent tax losses, which cost the government at least $2.5 billion in evaded taxes.
