May 2009
Anwen Hughes: Use of interpreters can create its own communication issues
PLI:
Immigration lawyers frequently represent clients who speak a different language
from them. What is the appropriate way for these lawyers to deal with
interpreters?
ANWEN HUGHES: The experience of working with an interpreter through the many
different facets of client counseling is new to many lawyers. Not only
immigration lawyers, by the way—the need to work effectively with clients (and
witnesses, and others) who are not fluent in English is something that now
arises in many other fields of legal work as well. I am focusing here on
immigration law simply because that is the field I know and it is one where
language issues arise constantly. Training in this particular aspect of
attorney/client communication has not been generally available. But since
attorneys will often not be fluent in all the languages represented among
immigrant clients, access to counsel for a substantial segment of the
population depends largely on the availability of competent interpreters and of
professionals willing and able to work with them.
Continue reading "Anwen Hughes: Use of interpreters can create its own communication issues "
Nick Loeb (Carbon Solutions America) examines the trend of companies adopting climate change strategies
PLI: What are individual companies doing in terms of
environmental preservation independent of government mandate?
NICK LOEB: Some companies are moving towards implementing a climate change
strategy as part of their business model as sustainability makes their business
more efficient, increasing the bottom line. "More than 30 Fortune 500
companies in the U.S. have set targets for greenhouse-gas reductions. Of these,
11 have already met them, and not a single one has lost money." (The
Pew Center for Research, 2008.) There is a tremendous amount of value companies
can take advantage of by implementing a climate change or sustainability
strategy into their business. The problem is that companies who recognize this
often take the wrong approach and leave value on the table.
Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS)
International forum established in 1974 by the G-10 to encourage regular cooperation on banking supervisory matters.
Continue reading "Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) "
A Good Fire Needs Kindle: Copyright Future
Every now and then, Toolbox
finds a download that either in its title, structure or content, one-ups
Toolbox's ability to satirize, or have light fun with, it in any way, shape or
form. Such is the case with The
Future of Copyright, by Bruce G. Joseph (Wiley Rein LLP). This is a
great piece examining the "economic and theoretical underpinnings of
copyright law," the "cross-currents underlying the existing mismatch
between copyright and the digital environment," the "impediments to
change[ing]" copyright law to eliminate those mismatches, and a look at
"changes that should occur," "changes that are worth
discussing," "changes to avoid," and the likely outcomes. As to
why Toolbox wants to leave the stylings to Joseph himself, the intro to this
Toolbox instant classic follows:
Continue reading "A Good Fire Needs Kindle: Copyright Future "
It's A Small World After All: Enforcement Of Global Anti-Corruption Laws
With
the release of the new Star Trek
movie, we are one step closer to knowing how it is we get from nation states to
the United Federation of Planets. Obviously, we need to find some life on other
planets first (and when we do, we'll already have phasers),
and then we need that universal translator (still a few years off)
so we can understand one another, but it's clear that's where we are headed, if
for no other reason than that our terra-bound institutions seem to get more and
more global everyday. Whether it's the United Nations or the G-20, society
seems to be preparing for a Trek-like future. And nowhere is that
plainer to see than in the global effort to stem high-level corruption that
interferes with commerce. Stateside, we have our Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
(FCPA), but most other countries are in on the anti-corruption kick, and
enforcement agencies are even teaming up to ferret out unlawful
corporate/government entanglements, boldly going where no enforcers have gone
before.
Continue reading "It's A Small World After All: Enforcement Of Global Anti-Corruption Laws "
Making Art Vandelay Proud: Thriving And Surviving Under U.S. Import Requirements
The
CC has spent countless issues reviewing the complex of laws making up the U.S.
export regulations. The CC has spent nary a word on import regulations—until
today. Of course, on the old (and now, it really is old) Seinfeld show, the mythical
Art Vandelay was an
exporter and an importer. So to make Art happy, and to give a nod to your
clients that import, as well as those who export, or in the Vandelay-esque case
of those who do both, today is import day at the newsletter. Like their distant
cousin, except in the opposite direction, the import laws regulate what comes
into the country; how it comes into the country; and what it costs to have some
things come into the country. Unlike the export laws, the import laws don't
have as much to do with forbidden technologies as they do with forbidden
narcotics and counterfeit goods.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the agency of the Department of
Homeland Security charged with the mission of "assuring that goods
arriving in the U.S. are legitimate and that appropriate duties and fees are
paid." That's pretty much everything referred to in the first paragraph.
The CBP website houses a lot of basic information on
import (and export) regulations, including the fundamentals
of importing goods into the U.S. Of course, those are lay-views, and while
useful for you and your clients (and for your edification), they are long and
are supplemented in other places on the website. That is, there's no cutting to
the chase. That's what the CC is for. So, you're probably asking, "What's
so complicated about bringing something into the country?"
Continue reading "Making Art Vandelay Proud: Thriving And Surviving Under U.S. Import Requirements "
Catherine T. Dixon: The more MD&A stays the same, the more it changes
PLI: What's new in MD&A for 2009?
CATHERINE T. DIXON: Although the Securities and Exchange Commission
("SEC") has issued no new rulemaking on the MD&A section of
periodic reports since publication of its December 2003 interpretive
release (the "2003 MD&A Interpretive Release"),1
this guidance remains the agency's "gold standard" for determining what
constitutes full and fair disclosure of a public company's financial
position and results of operation.
Continue reading "Catherine T. Dixon: The more MD&A stays the same, the more it changes "
Jeffrey D. Neuburger: Cloud computing forecast is foggy with increasing visibility
PLI: What is cloud computing?
JEFFREY D. NEUBURGER: "Cloud computing" is a term that is used to
reference various kinds of remote computing services ranging from
hosted e-mail applications to online software development environments
to enterprise data center services. I wrote a blog post on the subject,
"
Cloud Computing Forecast - Foggy with High Visibility,"
that discusses the term and in turn references an excellent InfoWorld
article that categorizes and describes the various types of
technologies that may be considered to constitute cloud computing.
Capital Requirement
Banking concept (enforced by regulatory oversight) requiring financial institutions to have sufficient cushion to absorb losses and declines in asset values
Continue reading "Capital Requirement "
My Stocks Have Fallen And They Can't Get Up: Securities Stock-Drop Cases In The Wake Of The Financial Crisis
Yogi Berra said it best: This is like déjà vu all over again. Wasn't it just a few years ago when stocks fell a stomach-wrenching amount? That was the last time so-called stock-drop cases abounded. Remember? But Enron and WorldCom seem like child's play compared to the last 24 months of subprime, credit default swaps and Madoff, oh my! And while the bogey-entities may be different, the legal theories are the same. Thus 2008 saw a surge in securities lawsuits, but instead of busted dotcoms as the favored targets, now we have financial services institutions as defendants and claims brought under ERISA. More than 20 ERISA stock-drop cases were filed in 2009 (not coincidentally, the most since 2002). But winning these cases is still problematic for plaintiffs and defending them is problematic for Plan Fiduciaries.
Older Entries »
Back to top
PLI in Brief is the online home of Practising Law Institute's popular weekly eNewsletter series more...
Recent Archives
• March 2010
• February 2010
• January 2010
• December 2009
• November 2009
• October 2009
• September 2009
• August 2009
• July 2009
• June 2009
• Complete Archive
Categories
• All-Star Briefing
• Compliance Counselor
• The Lawyer's Toolbox
• The Pocket MBA
• Accounting
• Antitrust
• China
• Class Actions
• Communication & Media
• Consumer
• Copyright
• Corporate
• Corporate Governance
• Due Diligence
• Employee Benefits
• Employment Law
• Environment
• Estate Planning
• Estates & Trusts
• Ethics
• Export Control
• Financial Institutions
• Financial Products
• General Practice
• Government Contracting
• Hedge Funds
• Immigration
• Information Technology
• Insurance
• Intellectual Property
• Internal Investigations
• International
• Law Practice Management
• Licensing
• Litigation
• Mergers & Acquisitions
• Patent
• Privacy
• Private Equity
• Real Estate
• Secured Transactions
• Securities
• Tax
• Taxation
• Trademark
20% off PLI Treatise!
Employment Law Yearbook 2008, by Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, the one volume source to help your clients lessen their legal exposure, no matter what front, including whistleblowing, workplace violence, downsizing, privacy, and trade secrets.
order...
20% off PLI Treatise!
Accountants' Liability, by Dan L. Goldwasser (Vedder Price Kaufman & Kammholz PC), M. Thomas Arnold (University Of Tulsa College Of Law), and John H. Eickemeyer (Vedder Price Kaufman & Kammholz PC). Use the link to order this uniquely comprehensive legal and tactical resource.
order...
|
Feeds
Full-Content FeedWhat are feeds?
Credits & Contacts
General Email Inquiry
Editor
Michael Singer
About PLI
PLI is a non-profit continuing legal education organization dedicated to providing the legal community with the most up-to-date information available. Founded in 1933, PLI's continuing mission is to enhance the professionalism of attorneys and other qualified persons by providing, in a cost effective manner, the highest quality and most innovative programs, online CLE, publications and other services to enable them to practice law competently and ethically, and to fulfill pro bono responsibilities.
All contents
Copyright © 2009
Practising Law Institute
810 Seventh Avenue
New York, NY 10019-5818
For more information call (800) 260-4PLI
(212) 824-5710
