No one starts out in business to fail, but fail you will if you don’t recognize that while you may practice law, you run a business. To avoid running it into the ground, you need to avoid these six law firm management fails: Failing to plan. To start and run any business, you need to focus on the big picture, but you can’t let that blind you to the importance of detailing the steps you need to take to make your firm a success. Having a plan helps you keep on track to achieving your goals and make important adjustments along the way. Failing to create a team. You know the law, but they didn’t teach you how to run a business in law school. You need to create a team that will make your business successful, bringing the best people onboard in the different disciplines you need for financial management, marketing, sales, etc., and ensuring they succeed by investing in the latest technologies to support their efforts. Failing to take … [Read more...]

New Jersey was once one of the premiere venues for Mass Tort filings (now termed Multicounty Litigations in New Jersey). One of the reasons for this was the obvious fact that many large pharmaceutical companies maintain their principal place of business in New Jersey, making it very difficult for those pharmaceutical companies to remove cases brought against them in New Jersey Superior Court to federal District Court, due to the “forum defendant” rule (28 U.S.C. § 1441(b)(2)). Perhaps a more significant reason was the makeup of the New Jersey Superior Court’s Mass Tort bench at a time when nationally recognized jurists, such as the late Judge Carol E. Higbee, were on the cutting edge of high-stakes pharmaceutical litigation, like the seminal Vioxx cases. That early enthusiasm for filing Mass Tort claims in New Jersey Superior Court cooled with the appointment of Judge Higbee to the Appellate Division. Even though Judge Higbee was only one of … [Read more...]

People who are injured in accidents and who are already are injured may be able to recover damages for the aggravation of their preexisting conditions or injuries. In M.C. v. Victor Matthews, Los Angeles Superior Court case number BC557692, the jury returned a substantial verdict to a child with a learning disability who suffered a traumatic brain injury in an automobile accident, illustrating how California courts treat cases in which a preexisting condition is worsened by injuries in accidents. Factual background of the case The plaintiff was a 10-year-old girl who was riding as a passenger in a vehicle that was struck by the defendant. The girl was sitting in the backseat behind the driver when the car in which she was riding was rear-ended. She suffered fractures and claimed that she also received a traumatic brain injury. Plaintiff’s arguments The girl had an IEP for a learning disability for a visual processing disorder prior to the accident. She was … [Read more...]

Although it is typical for AIA form contracts to contain arbitration clauses, as a contractor you should consider whether you should have an arbitration clause in your construction agreement. As discussed below, there are numerous factors to consider in determining whether mandatory arbitration is the preferred dispute resolution mechanism, or whether the state court system is preferred. Although arbitration may have some advantages, there are also disadvantages which must be considered rather than simply adopting the AIA form. Costs of the Arbitration Proceeding If an action is filed in either state or federal court, there is a filing fee for the complaint which is typically not more than $250 if you are the plaintiff. If you are the defendant, the filing fee is somewhat less. In a commercial arbitration matter, however, the amount of the filing fee paid by the claimant depends upon the monetary value of the claim being filed. In general, the higher the dollar … [Read more...]

The Multilateral Instrument On June 7, 2017, the formal signing ceremony of the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (the “Multilateral Instrument” or “MLI”) took place.  Sixty-eight jurisdictions have signed the MLI, with another nine jurisdictions signing a letter indicating their intent to sign the MLI.[1] The MLI is one of the outcomes of the OECD/G20 Project to tackle Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (the “BEPS Project”). Specifically, Action 15 of the BEPS Project focused on the development of an MLI to enable countries to efficiently modify their bilateral tax treaties to implement certain BEPS measures.  What could otherwise take decades to accomplish (i.e., separately renegotiating 3,000 bilateral income tax treaties to accommodate BEPS), the MLI does with a single multilateral instrument. Although the United States has … [Read more...]

Listed below are all new filings before the PTAB of petitions for inter partes review (IPR) and covered business methods review (CBM).  Since the last report, no new requests for ex parte reexamination at the USPTO have been posted.  This listing is current as of 10 AM on Friday, June 23, 2017. New IPR Petitions Trial Number – IPR2017-01648 Filing Date – 6/22/2017 Patent # – 6,866,866 Title – CONTROLLED RELEASE METFORMIN COMPOSITIONS Patent Owner –  ANDRX CORPORATION; ANDRX LABORATORIES, INC.; ANDRX LABORATORIES (NJ), INC.; ANDRX EU LTD.; ANDRX PHARMACEUTICALS, LLC; TEVA PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIES LTD. Petitioner – Aurobindo Pharma USA Inc Tech Center – 1600 Trial Number – IPR2017-01658 Filing Date – 6/22/2017 Patent # – 9,119,931 Title – MASK SYSTEM Patent Owner –  RESMED LIMITED Petitioner – FISHER & PAYKEL HEALTHCARE LIMITED Tech Center – 3600 Trial Number … [Read more...]

Following the UK general election on 8 June 2017, at which Theresa May’s Conservative party won the largest number of seats but lost its overall majority, the Queen’s Speech setting out the now minority Conservative government’s legislative programme for the next two years was delivered on 21 June 2017 at the state opening of Parliament. As expected, some of the less popular Conservative manifesto pledges were omitted but 27 bills were still proposed (of which eight related to Brexit). From the tax perspective, we consider that the following are of particular significance: Customs Bill: the implementation of legislation to enable the UK to have standalone VAT and customs and excise regimes after Brexit. Some provisions are likely to depend on whether the UK will stay in the EU customs union. National Insurance Contributions Bill: the implementation of legislation previously in the draft Finance Bill 2017 abolishing self-employed Class 2 NICs … [Read more...]

At a European council summit dinner last night, Theresa May outlined the UK’s offer to secure the rights of EU citizens in the UK.  The key points have been reported as follow: EU citizens with 5 years’ residence in the UK before a cut-off point (expected to be no later than Brexit day) will be eligible for a ‘settled status’ category allowing the same rights to education, healthcare, pensions and benefits as other UK citizens. Those already in the UK with less than 5 years’ residence and who arrive lawfully before the cut-off point will be able to continue to reside in the UK to acquire their settled status.  Details of a two year ‘grace period’ following the cut-off point remain unclear. The offer is conditional on a reciprocal deal for 1.5 million British citizens living elsewhere in the EU. The UK’s opening position is arguably a positive step towards an agreement in principle – Angela Merkel … [Read more...]

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled unanimously that naturalized American citizens cannot be stripped of citizenship if a lie or omission in the application process was irrelevant to the government’s decision to approve the naturalization application in the first place. The ruling in Maslenjak vs. U.S. will ultimately make it more difficult for the government to revoke citizenship, rejecting both the current and prior administrations’ position that all lies–even minor ones–can lead to loss of citizenship. The case involved an ethnic Serb who lied about her husband’s military service during her refugee processing, obscuring his service in the Bosnian Serb Army. When later applying for naturalization, she falsely claimed that she had never given false or misleading information when seeking an immigration benefit. Divna Maslenjak arrived in the U.S. as a refugee in 2000 and became a citizen in 2007. In 2013, however, she admitted … [Read more...]

In a move that could drastically change the patent law landscape, the United States Supreme Court recently granted certiorari in Oil States Energy Services LLC v. Greene’s Energy Group LLC, No. 16-712, to answer the question whether the inter partes review (IPR) process violates the U.S. Constitution by “extinguishing private property rights through a non-Article III forum without a jury.” In 2001, Oil States Energy Services LLC (“Oil States”) was granted U.S. Patent No. 6,179,053 for a lockdown mechanism to ensure a mandrel is locked in an operative position during fracking.  Oil States sued Greene’s Energy Group LLC (“Greene’s Energy”) in the Eastern District of Texas in 2012 for infringing this patent, and in turn, Greene’s Energy petitioned the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to institute an IPR on the patent.  This petition was granted. After the … [Read more...]

This article is first in a series focusing on various issues related to Patent Term Adjustment.  Part 1 is a general overview of how to calculate patent term adjustment, without addressing the numerous factors that can affect patent term adjustment that will be examined in future articles. Why PTA Exists Under the pre-GATT regime, Patent Term Adjustment (“PTA”) did not exist in the U.S. because patent term was 17 years from issuance.  Consequently, any delay during examination, on the part of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) or Applicants, was not a concern.  In fact, during this time, Applicants were in a way incentivized to, and sometimes would, delay examination to prolong their effective patent term, particularly since at the time publication of applications did not occur until issuance of the patent.  However, in 1995 GATT was adopted in an effort to harmonize U.S. patent term with the rest of … [Read more...]

Posted Jun 23, 2017 12:44 pm CDT This Q&A has been condensed. Ari Kaplan: Tell us about your background and your role at LegalShield. Keri Norris: I am the senior vice president of regulatory affairs and the chief legal officer, which means I am a little bit of a generalist. I oversee the company’s litigation and traditional corporate work, as well as regulatory affairs, legislative affairs, and product development. I came to LegalShield directly from Crowe & Dunlevy in Oklahoma City and was also with Hunton & Williams in Raleigh. I spent the first part of my career as a traditional large-firm litigation attorney focusing on bankruptcy, creditors’ rights, oil and gas, and intellectual property contracting. Ari Kaplan: What does LegalShield offer? Keri Norris: We are a provider of affordable legal plans and we also offer identity theft protection and restoration, for individuals, as well as family and small businesses in all 50 states and four provinces of … [Read more...]

Posted Jun 23, 2017 09:44 am CDT By Debra Cassens Weiss Developing: An immigrant whose lawyer wrongly told him he would not be deported as a result of a guilty plea is entitled to vacate his conviction, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a 6-2 decision. The court found that Jae Lee had shown he would not have accepted the plea deal had he known of the consequences. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. write the majority opinion (PDF). The immigrant, Jae Lee, came to the United States with his family at the age of 13. He has lived here legally since his arrival in 1982. Based on his lawyer’s advice, Lee pleaded guilty to possession of ecstasy with intent to distribute. Lower courts had ruled that Lee couldn’t show prejudice because of overwhelming evidence of guilt, according to a SCOTUSblog preview of the case.. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a dissent that was mostly joined by Justice Samuel Anthony Alito Jr. Justice Neil Gorsuch did not participate in the case. “The … [Read more...]

Posted Jun 23, 2017 08:00 am CDT By A.C. Thompson and Ken Schwencke, ProPublica In violation of a longstanding legal mandate, scores of federal law enforcement agencies are failing to submit statistics to the FBI’s national hate crimes database, ProPublica has learned. The lack of participation by federal law enforcement represents a significant and largely unknown flaw in the database, which is supposed to be the nation’s most comprehensive source of information on hate crimes. The database is maintained by the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division, which uses it to tabulate the number of alleged hate crimes occurring around the nation each year. The FBI has identified at least 120 federal agencies that aren’t uploading information to the database, according to Amy Blasher, a unit chief at the CJIS division, an arm of the bureau that is overseeing the modernization of its information systems. The federal government operates a vast array of law … [Read more...]

It is no secret that hoverboards – two-wheeled, battery-powered, self-balancing scooters – have proved enormously popular with kids and teenagers. But allegations regarding defective battery packs have triggered recalls. The latest hoverboard incident was associated with a fatal fire in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania last March. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) started an investigation into the Harrisburg incident after fire officials blamed the accident on a charging hoverboard. Now, the CPSC has asked consumers to immediately stop using the brand of hoverboard used, LayZ Board. The CPSC made clear that the warning does not apply to Lazyboard scooters, which are a separate brand made by a different manufacturer. Some 3,000 LayZ Board hoverboards have been imported into the U.S. Among the incidents the CPSC investigated were reports of burns and property damage across 20 states, allegedly causing in excess of $2 million in property damage. In … [Read more...]

The U.S. Supreme Court has decisively rejected a tactic used by class action plaintiffs to attempt to obtain federal appellate review as of right from orders denying class certification. In Microsoft Corp. v. Baker, the Court held that federal courts of appeals do not have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 (governing appeals from “final decisions”) to review orders denying class certification after the named plaintiffs voluntarily dismiss their individual claims with prejudice.[1] (We previously discussed the facts and procedural history of Baker here.) Baker is a significant victory for class action defendants. The decision levels the playing field for defendants, who could not employ this voluntary dismissal tactic to obtain review as of right from grants of class certification. Now, plaintiffs and defendants alike may obtain immediate review of class certification orders only through the discretionary appeal provisions of Federal Rule of Civil … [Read more...]

Long-term permanent residents of the U.S. and newly arrived temporary visitors are equally subject to refusal of admission and removal for certain criminal acts. This article briefly addresses the U.S. immigration consequences of some ordinary crimes, whether committed in the United States or elsewhere in the world. It does not address more serious criminal or political offenses, nor does it replace the benefit of consulting with a qualified immigration attorney. Criminal behavior can have a very serious impact on an individual’s ability to immigrate to the United States. A foreign national is inadmissible to the United States if he or she is convicted of or admits to committing acts that constitute the essential elements of: (1) a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT), or an attempt to conspiracy to commit such a crime; or (2) a violation relating to a controlled substance. INA §212(a)(2)(A)(i)(I & II). Note that an individual does not need to have … [Read more...]

Listed below are all new filings before the PTAB of petitions for inter partes review (IPR) and covered business methods review (CBM).  Also listed are any newly-posted requests for ex parte reexamination at the USPTO.  This listing is current as of 10 AM on Thursday, June 22, 2017. New IPR Petitions Trial Number – IPR2017-01616 Filing Date – 6/21/2017 Patent # – 9,641,644 Title – OPTIMIZED IMAGE DELIVERY OVER LIMITED BANDWIDTH COMMUNICATION CHANNELS Patent Owner –  BRADIUM TECHNOLOGIES LLC Petitioner – MICROSOFT CORPORATION Tech Center – 2400 Trial Number – IPR2017-01621 Filing Date – 6/21/2017 Patent # – 9,358,240 Title – TREPROSTINIL ADMINISTRATION BY INHALATION Patent Owner –  UNITED THERAPEUTICS CORPORATION Petitioner – WATSON LABORATORIES, INC. Tech Center – 1600 Trial Number – IPR2017-01622 Filing Date – 6/21/2017 Patent # – … [Read more...]

Posted Jun 22, 2017 11:00 am CDT By Marella Gayla of The Marshall Project Robert Woodall and Stephanie Walker just invested in a new sofa. It is a wrap-around sectional, wide enough to fit them and their two sons, Robby and Lance, and perfect for family movie nights at their ranch house in Umatilla, Florida, a small town outside Orlando. “I’m just happy we can all be on one couch,” Walker said. But it is not clear how long the family will be together to enjoy it. In an unusual case, Woodall — who was freed from prison on appeal after 11 years — has been ordered back behind bars to serve the remainder of his original 20-year sentence. On Monday, a judge delayed a hearing on the case until July 19. In the meantime, Woodall hopes the Florida Supreme Court will agree to hear his appeal. “It’s really hard for me to think about because I’ve been trying hard to be part of everything I’ve missed,” the 35-year-old Woodall said. … [Read more...]

Posted Jun 22, 2017 10:30 am CDT By Lee Rawles On Aug. 10 and 11, a special series of CLE programs will take place across Midtown in New York City. The CLE in the City Series will be held as part of the 2017 ABA Annual Meeting in high-powered law firms and world-famous buildings like the United Nations headquarters, the New York City Bar Association building and the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. “The idea is that we would not be at conference rooms in hotels, we would be at special venues,” says Mike Byowitz of Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz, one of the chairs who helped planned CLE in the City. The ambitious new CLE in the City series is the brainchild of ABA President Linda Klein. But the planning for it started long before Klein began her year as president. Byowitz says that Klein approached him back in the fall of 2015, when she was just the president-elect. She told him that it had already been decided that the 2017 annual meeting would take place in New … [Read more...]