Legal Articles
December 18, 2008
Will Arledge With the infiltration of the web into all aspects of our lives, we are now more than ever bombarded with images, advertisements, emails, e-videos, slogans, songs, web pages etc. For the modern entrepreneur, building a brand can sometimes be troublesome with the abundance out there of creative expressions that you thought you conceived first, only to find out that you were beaten to the punch by some other crafty individual. Where does one draw the line? When is it okay to use someone else's idea? Or the flip side; when is it okay for someone else to use your idea? Full Story
December 18, 2008
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP The current worldwide financial crisis may lead to unexpected results for
U.S. businesses and individuals in their efforts to comply with the
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. As foreign governments bail out, and in
some instances nationalize, commercial and investment banks, employees of
those previously private financial institutions may become foreign
officials for purposes of the FCPA. Thus, companies must determine whether
their dealings with those institutions now implicate the FCPA. Full Story
December 18, 2008
Brian Belt - Duane Morris LLP Across the country, and particularly in the State of Florida, investors are
poised to make bulk acquisitions of interests in troubled or broken
condominium projects. Generally, the assets in question may be uncompleted
condominium buildings with outstanding purchase contracts for some or all
of the units, or units in a completed building in which a large number of
units remain unsold. These acquisitions often take place in one of two
forms: (a) assets purchased from struggling developers or banks that have
foreclosed or (b) through the purchase of discounted debt from lenders. Full Story
December 18, 2008
Legal Settlement Loans Structured settlements are a way for a person, company or insurance provider to pay out awards won in a lawsuit over a period of time. This is usually done on a bi-monthly or yearly schedule. This prevents large losses due to the results of a lawsuit again that person, company or insurance provider. If you do have a structured settlement you can opt to get a large sum payment; this is called a settlement loan. This is when a provider buys out your remaining structured settlement payments for one large sum. You can also get pre-settlement loans before a lawsuit case has even reached a verdict. You should know the disadvantages before deciding if it's right for you. Full Story
December 18, 2008
Jagger Stone If you are a judgment creditor that has been awarded a judgment against someone that owes you money, then you are probably well aware of the frustrations associated with judgment collection. However, allowing frustration to overwhelm you will do nothing but derail your chances of being successful recovering monies owed. It is estimated that almost eighty percent of all awarded judgments go uncollected with approximately $230 billion civil judgments already in the legal system. One reason such a large amount of court awarded judgments go uncollected is the lack of knowledge on the part of individual creditors. Although the courts provide creditors with the power to collect monies owed, they do very little with the enforcement part of collecting the judgment. Full Story
December 18, 2008
Robert Busch For individuals having marriage problems, there are two possible alternatives to dissolution of marriage, commonly referred to as divorce. (1) Annulment: (California Family Code Section 2200 et. seq.) In limited circumstances you may wish to seek an "annulment". If you are successful in obtaining an annulment, it is as if you were never married. In my experience the court's are becoming more reluctant to grant annulments, so if this is something you are interested in you should speak with a family law attorney as soon as possible. Depending on which side of the fence you are on, there can be significant advantages, or disadvantages to an annulment. Full Story
December 2, 2008
Amy Nutt Whether the court case is civil or criminal in nature, both plaintiffs and defendants can benefit from the use of a medical expert witness. This is especially true in an era where forensic technology is growing by leaps and bounds, branching off into areas like ballistic, blood spatter analysis and DNA testing. Another branch of forensics falls under the medical disciplines and can encompasses any group that provides a medicinal service to investigators or the population at large. Full Story
November 25, 2008
Ken Lamance There are many advantages, and some disadvantages, to using Alternative Dispute Resolution. Advantages include the fact that it usually takes far less time to reach a final resolution than if the matter were to go to trial. Usually (but not always), it costs significantly less money, as well. Furthermore, in the case of arbitration the parties have far more flexibility in choosing what rules will be applied to their dispute (they can choose to apply relevant industry standards, domestic law, the law of a foreign country, a unique set of rules used by the arbitration service, or even religious law, in some cases.). There are some disadvantages, as well. Generally, arbitrators can only resolve disputes that involve money. They cannot issue orders requiring one party to do something, or refrain from doing something (also known as injunctions). They cannot change title to property, either. Also, some of the safeguards designed to protect parties in court may not be present in ADR. These might include the liberal discovery rules used in U.S. courts, which make it relatively easy to get evidence from the other party in a lawsuit. Full Story