News Not All Good For Google ' Or Its Advertisers
June 28, 2005
Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you always should." Never has that saying had more meaning than when it comes to Internet advertising. True, this new avenue for advertising has helped some companies exponentially increase their business, but the methods for "re-directing" prospective customers have come under great scrutiny by the courts in the last 6 months. Recent decisions warn that keyword advertising through paid placements such as "Sponsored" or "Featured" ads could lead you directly to the defendant's table in federal court.
Negotiating Parking Privileges in Commercial Leases: What Every Tenant Should Know
June 28, 2005
Parking privileges are often essential to the businesses of commercial tenants. Given this proposition, it is surprising that many commercial tenants and their legal counsel often overlook important parking issues in favor of what may appear to be more pressing legal and economic issues in the lease negotiation process. This is unfortunate, as inadequate or ambiguous parking provisions can: 1) lead to costly legal battles, 2) harm a tenant's business, and 3) cause the deterioration of the landlord-tenant relationship.
Perils Of Unfunded Obligations: 4 Key Questions
June 28, 2005
As summarized by <i>A&FP</i> Board member Bill Brennan of Altman Weil, Inc. an "unfunded retirement program" is essentially a promise to pay partners a retirement benefit in the future from the firm's future profits. About 24% of law firms have an unfunded retirement plan (down from 57% in 1990), according to the <i>2005 Retirement and Withdrawal Survey for Private Law Firms</i>, prepared by Altman Weil, Inc. In about 15 years over 30,000 lawyers will be retiring each year. To the extent these partners must be paid retirement benefits from the then-current profits of their respective law firms, those firms unprepared for this potentially huge financial liability will be at risk, and some may not survive.
Unfunded Plans: A More Upbeat View
June 28, 2005
Readers of the accompanying roundtable discussion may find themselves wondering if there's currently anything good to say about unfunded retirement plan obligations. About the only glimmer of hope was the allusion by one discussant (Bill Brennan) to "rare situations" where such plans might be required. <br>Here to speak up for such exceptional situations is Jeff Stevenson, Managing Director of Chicago Consulting Actuaries
Preliminary Injunctions in Patent Litigation
June 28, 2005
Motions for preliminary injunctions have become effective weapons in patent infringement litigation. One of the most important benefits to a patentee is quick relief, since a motion for preliminary injunction may be heard within weeks after a patent lawsuit is filed. Preliminary injunctions may also promote settlement, since if the injunction is granted, the effect can be devastating to a defendant. If the accused device or method is a central part of the defendant's business, an injunction may ruin the defendant financially. On the other hand, if the motion for preliminary injunction fails, a defendant may be much less willing to settle, since the defendant's invalidity and/or non-infringement positions may have been bolstered by denial of the preliminary injunction, not to mention the fact that the defendant's success was likely obtained at significant expense.
Database Security Breaches: Legal Liability
June 28, 2005
The recent report of a possible compromise of information among as many as 40 million MasterCard customers demonstrated in frightening clarity the potential for digital data breaches as more and more information is stored and manipulated electronically by more and more people. For many companies, the issue has an impact on operations and marketing, quite aside from the dangers of potential legal liability. <br>More than ever, e-commerce firms are vulnerable to such problems and would do well to heed counsel's advice to take steps to avoid compromises and legal liability.
Better Safe Than Sorry
June 28, 2005
Information technology has become an invaluable business tool around the world. With it, businesses ' the traditional kind and those that operate over wires (and wirelessly) ' including law firms are able to increase efficiency and lower costs. After all, information technology is the gateway to one of the e-commerce sector's most important assets: Information. <br>But what happens when information cannot be trusted? When it is vulnerable and exposed to Internet threats? When information is secure, it is trustworthy; anything less than that, and it simply loses its value.
Avoid Contract Traps
June 28, 2005
e-Commerce veterans may think they know how to read a business contract, and for most contracts, they're right, because checking what has been typed onto a preprinted form ' the price, deliverables and delivery date ' is usually enough to know. <br>But the provisions of tech contracts that really affect success may not be so obvious. Contract boilerplates often hide traps for the uninitiated. Merely reading the language specifically added to a form may not reveal the actual risks lurking in the contract.
Paper Intake Forms Are 'So Yesterday'
June 27, 2005
Well it's about time. The days of filling out paper forms, and sending them through the office mail to only then have someone re-key them into a computer are gone. Double entry of information and paper forms are a waste of valuable time and money. Some law firms tend to be inefficient, thinking that a little inefficiency helps increase billable hours. We'll save that discussion for another time. Internal staff inefficiency is another story; this is hard cost, non-billable and is definitely money to a partner.
