European Community Trademark: Two Tracks, One Destination
August 09, 2004
In late June 2004, the European Community acceded to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Madrid Protocol on the international registration of trademarks. This development is likely to have a long-standing effect for U.S. trademark owners who wish to obtain trademark protection in the European Community. Indeed, since the inception of the European Community Trademark (CTM) system, U.S. applicants have positioned themselves as leaders in filing new CTM applications. According to recent statistics of the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM), U.S. trademark owners filed approximately 90,000 CTM applications, which constitutes close to 25% of all applications filed. For comparison, the second and third places taken by Germany and the United Kingdom, with 62,000 and 47,000 applications, respectively, are markedly behind the United States in CTM filings.
Online Contracts
August 09, 2004
Nearly 2 years have passed since the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in <i>Specht v. Netscape Comm. Corp.</i> threw what some thought was a large monkey wrench into online contract formation. The practical effect of the decision, however, has not been as significant as had been feared, and businesses operating in cyberspace continue to successfully reach online agreements with end users and customers. <br>As a close reading of the Specht ruling and other decisions make clear, "clickwrap" and other online agreements that meet certain basic requirements for contract formation are, indeed, enforceable.
Bit Parts
August 02, 2004
Recent developments in entertainment law.
Courthouse Steps
August 02, 2004
Recently filed cases in entertainment law, straight from the steps of the Los Angeles Superior Court.
Partner Compensation: Striking a Balance
August 02, 2004
Partner compensation is invariably the topic of most interest in every law firm. It is also a topic that involves the most fervent debate and encompasses the most varied points of view.
Basics Revisited: Evaluating The Profitability Of New Work
August 02, 2004
Your 50-attorney firm has been operating slightly under capacity; there is not enough work to keep all attorneys billing their standard hours. A prospect would like to engage the firm to handle all its litigation, which would mean a substantial number of guaranteed billable hours. Good news, right? This company, however, wants to negotiate a discounted rate and also wants specific partners to handle the work. Your initial instinct tells you to take on the work to keep the firm at maximum capacity. But will it be profitable in the long run? Should you take on the work? How can you decide?
The Success Of Demand-Driven Training
August 02, 2004
Consultant David Maister has observed: "Training is a great last step but a pathetic first step. It is sensible to make training available when the professionals are already convinced that they need a new skill, but you can't change people by first putting on a training program." <br>Jenkens & Gilchrist, a 500+ attorney national law firm with nine offices from New York to Los Angeles, has proven Maister right with our Women's Marketing Group. Now in its second year, the Group had its genesis with a female attorney who saw the need for business development mentoring and better communication among her peers throughout the firm. Her idea, developed with the support of a key Board member and with my help as an in-house marketing professional, has expanded to include a quarterly series of firm-wide videoconference meetings for female partners and associates, related business development activities, and an Intranet Marketing Library that we help the attorneys grow themselves.
A Haven For Straight Talk: <b>A Firm Foundation</b>
August 02, 2004
You can't sell legal service the way you sell doughnuts or shoes. But after we get done talking about how different the business of law is, let me suggest that we look at the goals, measurement practices and process management issues that marketing addresses in other industries.
The 'Best Of' Women in Law Programs
August 02, 2004
This is the second half of the article that appeared in our special July/August Women and Diversity issue. Women in Law initiatives and programs are not a new phenomenon. Many firms nationwide have programs that afford their women attorneys business development, mentoring and career counseling. In writing this article, we spoke to ten different firms (see insert which lists the firms in the order in which they are profiled in this article) to learn the how's and why's of their women's initiatives. In Part 2 we have profiled the last five firms.
Publish or Perish!
August 02, 2004
As anyone who has attended a four-year university can attest, "publish or perish" is the mantra for budding academics looking to secure the permanent, and virtually untouchable, position of tenured faculty. In modern academia, many have eschewed that thought ' claiming that it places too great an emphasis on research and not enough on actual teaching. <br>However, more and more lawyers are beginning to grasp the thought that its time for them to take the baton from their academic colleagues ' as the pressures of law firm consolidation and the necessity to stand out in a crowded field demand an aggressive visibility and communications strategy.
