Legal Industry News

Scrushy Files for Release From Prison, But Still Faces Huge Judgment

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010
Source: WSJ.com: Law Blog - WSJ.com The U.S. Supreme Court's honest-services opinion is several weeks old now. But the full impact of the justices' ruling in Skilling v. United States, in which they narrowed the reach of the criminal honest-services statute, has yet to be felt. One beneficiary of the ruling could be Richard Scrushy, the former high-flying HealthSouth Corp. chairman, convicted in 2006 on bribery charges.

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Lawyer Takes Plea in Case Over His Hardball Litigation Tactics, Will Be Disbarred

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010
Source: ABA Journal Top Stories A 42-year-old California lawyer has agreed to plead no contest to one of three felonies he faced after allegedly filing a civil suit against a witness in a stalking case in which his client was a defendant to dissuade the woman from testifying. In exchange, the other two charges against Sean Erenstoft—who was also accused in an indictment of offering to drop the civil case if the witness testified favorably—will be dropped, reports the Los Angeles Times' L.A. Now blog. He will be disbarred but can apply for reinstatement in five years. His sentence also requires him to complete 100… Read the rest of the...

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Meet Judge Judy Sheindlin, Accidental Celebrity Paid $45M to Work 52 Days a Year

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010
Source: ABA Journal Top Stories When Judith Sheindlin agreed in 1993 to allow a reporter for the Los Angeles Times to sit quietly in the back of the New York courtroom in which she worked as a $120,000-a-year judge on family law matters, she thought he planned to report on a case. Instead, he profiled the hardworking, no-nonsense "Judge Judy" who is now a household name among daytime television watchers who tune in to see her tell it like it is to those who appear before her. The LA Times piece led to a 60 Minutes interview, and Hollywood offers soon followed. Today, in her… Read the rest of the...

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Cravath Plans to Boost Marketing Dept.

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010
Source: ABA Journal Top Stories How competitive is the legal economy right now? Competitive enough that one of the most renowned New York-based corporate law firms has decided it needs to boost its marketing department, reports American Lawyer in an article reprinted in New York Lawyer (reg. req.). The article, which relies on anonymous sources, says the firm is planning as many as four new hires. They will apparently help firm lawyers develop more business, enhance Cravath's media exposure and speed conflicts-checking and other research intended to make partners aware as soon as possible of relevant background concerning new matters. Two of the positions reportedly… Read the rest of the...

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Obscene or Not Obscene? In D.C. Federal Court, That is the Question

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010
Source: WSJ.com: Law Blog - WSJ.com An unusual criminal trial began on Tuesday in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. The defendant, John Stagliano, is a producer of pornographic films. The charges against Stagliano: two DVDs and a movie trailer he made violate federal obscenity law.

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Common Misconceptions about Accident Lawsuits in Vancouver

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010
Source: SettlementBoard.com I don't need an attorney: I can just pursue my claims on my own: Any type of litigation that involves insurance companies and financial settlements will have a great number of factors to consider. It can be hard for one person to keep it all in perspective. Additionally it can be hard for you to [...] Read the rest of the...

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Vote on Kagan Delayed by a Week; Will the NRA Get Involved?

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010
Source: WSJ.com: Law Blog - WSJ.com kaganThe Senate Judiciary Committee vote on Elena Kagan was originally slated to take place on Tuesday, but Republicans on the committee asked to delay the vote for a week. So the new date appears to be July 20. And what will Republican members of the committee do with that extra week? After all, it appears that the Democrats will have enough votes to push Kagan through now -- and that's likely to be the case next week. According to this piece by Politico's Josh Gerstein, Republicans will use the time partly to look into the issue of whether Kagan will recuse herself from any court cases challenging the health care reform legislation passed earlier this year if she became a justice. But also on the GOP agenda: peel away a few votes from Democratic senators. According to Gerstein, despite that Kagan's confirmation looks probable, the GOP is trying to weaken the Obama administration by keeping her total vote down. And "the White House is pushing back, trying to boost the likely margin of victory." Writes Gerstein: That means red-state Democratic senators who are up for reelection in the near future, such as Blanche Lincoln...

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Medical Malpractice

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010
Source: SettlementBoard.com Learning that a loved one has been abused or neglected at a nursing home facility can cause immense grief and anger. However, a team of knowledgeable attorneys can help your family find justice and receive compensation. Contact the experienced Iowa personal injury law firm of Eells & Tronvold Law Offices, PLC today for a free initial consultation Read the rest of the...

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Reverse Mergers For Chinese Companies. "I’m Your Pusherman"

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010
Source: China Law Blog

I'm your mamma

I'm your daddy

I'm that nigga in the alley

I'm your doctor

when in need

want some coke?

have some weed

You know me

I'm your friend

your main man

thick and thin

I'm your pusher man

I'm your pusher man

From the song, Pusherman, by Curtis Mayfield, (click here to listen)

Every few months I get a call from a lawyer or an "investment broker" telling me of the great riches that await me for referring them China securities work.  These people are always with firms of which I am not familiar and though they usually do not come right out and say it, they are pitching me on reverse mergers. I tell them if I hear of anything "up their alley," I will let them know.  

I never really do hear of Chinese companies doing reverse mergers for pretty much the same reason I do not hear of crack deals going down: I generally try to avoid those sorts of things.

Peter Fuhrman of The China Private Equity Blog recently did a post entitled, "The Reverse Merger Minefield,"appropriately slamming China reverse mergers, 

According to Fuhrman, 380 Chinese companies have executed reverse mergers in the US since 2005 and almost all did so "as...

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Are Established Meal Periods Of Under 30 Minutes FLSA "Hours Worked"?

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010
Source: Federal Employment Law Articles Our July 5 post prompted a question about whether an established meal period of less than 30 minutes must be considered worktime under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. The answer is, "Not necessarily".

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A Review of the Supreme Court’s 2009 – 2010 Term.

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010
Source: Federal Employment Law Articles As the United States Supreme Court’s 2009-2010 term drew to a close, commentators remarked on the evolution of the Roberts Court. Justice Roberts continued to emerge as a key figure this term, as he was a member of the majority 92 percent of the time, more than any other justice. While his majority percentage may suggest to some a willingness to comprise with his more liberal colleagues on certain issues, he also clearly demonstrated firm convictions on important issues such as campaign finance and gun rights, which yielded some the most highly publicized decisions of the term. Indeed, the Court’s ruling in the Citizens United case, which invalidated legislation imposing limits on corporate spending in elections, has led some commentators to conclude that the Roberts Court is ushering in era where business interests will reign supreme.

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Ten Steps To Starting A China Business.

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010
Source: China Law Blog

Inc. Magazine just came out with an article today that does a nice job setting out the basics for foreigners starting a business in China. The article is by Issie Lapowsky and it is entitled, "10 Steps to Starting a Business in China." 

Its ten steps are as follows. I have tried to pull the best parts, but I have to admit to a bit of bias towards those portions that quote me the most.  So if you want the full story (and you should), I urge you to read it here.   

1. Do your homework.  Hard to argue with this. 

2. Pick a location.  Yes.   

3. Choose an entity:  

Before you register with the government, you need to decide what type of business entity to register. The most common for foreign businesses are joint ventures, representative offices, and wholly foreign owned enterprises. Each, of course, has its pros and cons.

A joint venture requires a partnership between a foreign business owner and a Chinese citizen. Though joint ventures may sound like the safest route, experts warn against them. Critics say the most common problem with joint ventures is no more than a classic case of...

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