Employers Beware
March 17, 2005
It is a sad but true fact that employers are accused of discrimination on an almost daily basis. While most of these claims are without merit, it is critical that employers take them seriously and caution managers and supervisors that treating the complainer differently or more harshly because of the complaint is a recipe for disaster.
Mandatory Arbitration for Employee Benefits Disputes
March 17, 2005
Thanks to the well-publicized rising cost of litigation and the growing availability of alternative dispute resolution options, mandatory arbitration provisions are more popular than ever among would-be litigants. The employee benefits realm is no exception. <br>Indeed, there is a trend toward using arbitration in the benefits context that is fueled by a growing sense among practitioners that a well-crafted policy mandating arbitration of employee benefits disputes can be a useful tool to save an employer time and money.
Letter from the Editor
February 24, 2005
This month in our regular issue of Marketing The Law Firm we have an article written by one of my favorite Board members Mike Hodes, the Managing Director…
Corporate Governance
February 24, 2005
Recent amendments to the Organizational Sentencing Guidelines make several significant changes to the provisions concerning corporate compliance programs, and reinforce broader shifts taking place in the field of corporate governance. Just as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act imposes additional duties on corporate boards for the integrity of a company's financial controls, the new guidelines seek to make boards responsible for promoting the effectiveness of a corporation's legal and ethical controls. Boards of directors must assume responsibility for the effectiveness of compliance programs, which now encompass not only criminal laws but also ethics and corporate culture.
Executive Compensation: Are You In Compliance?
February 24, 2005
What does the in-house lawyer need to be doing today to be prepared for the upcoming Proxy Statement season and to ensure that his client's deferred compensation plans and agreements are in compliance with (or exempt, <i>ie</i>, grandfathered, from) IRC '409A?
Litigation Update: Supercharging Legacy Databases
February 24, 2005
Corporations and law firms who manage large ongoing and mission-critical litigation, such as toxic tort or products liability cases, are supercharging the databases they rely on to track and manage the facts and documents in those cases. They are adding full text and linguistic pattern searching capabilities to enable them to gain better command and mastery of the facts and the documents in the case. It is, after all, difficult to have command and mastery of facts or documents you can't find, or to see relationships or patterns in documents you've never before reviewed as a group. Not only are the new databases more effective, but the costs of supercharging them are often offset by savings from avoiding the ongoing costs of the legacy databases.
'Get The Coach On The Phone!'
January 28, 2005
No part of a legal education teaches attorneys how to supervise support staff, or their fellow attorneys. The future of any law firm is highly dependent upon a firm's ability to attract, hire, train, and retain the best talent. One of the primary reasons that attorneys leave their places of employment is an unsatisfactory relationship between the lawyer and his or her supervisor. How many of us have watched senior attorneys hold on to aspects of their work that would offer a junior person a great opportunity for development? <br>Coaching can help attorney supervisors assess and evaluate their supervisory style, to determine how to fill voids in their employment management education, to encourage better results from their associates, and to create working teams that best meet clients' needs.
Significant Changes in Delaware Business Laws
January 26, 2005
Effective July 1, 2004, the Delaware General Assembly adopted significant amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law, the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act, and the Delaware Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act as part of its periodic amendments to these Acts for the purpose of keeping them current and maintaining their preeminence among U.S. business laws. <br>This article summarizes the most pertinent of those changes.
Executive Deferred Compensation: The Game Has Changed
January 26, 2005
Recent corporate scandals have cast a harsh light on executive compensation practices ' including deferred compensation plans benefiting officers, directors and high-level executives. As part of the American Jobs Creation Act signed by President Bush on Oct. 22, 2004, Congress added Section 409A to the Internal Revenue Code. Section 409A imposes numerous restrictions on non-qualified deferred compensation plans (NQDCs) and will introduce a new compliance regime in the executive compensation arena.
Intellectual Property Audits: An Eye-P Opening Experience
January 26, 2005
In the business world, risks are commonplace and an inherent part of doing business. The goal of any business, however, is to minimize the risks that it faces ' in the most efficient manner, using the minimum amount of resources. One of the keys to running an efficient and effective business is knowing how to manage risks in the context of the overall business strategy. In the IP arena, risks management is also possible, and it begins with the IP Audit.
