Bergen best things to do

When a corporation’s general counsel hired an outside law firm in days gone by, the exercise was akin to ordering a la carte in an upscale restaurant—on the boss’s tab.From cocktails to dessert, nothing came cheap. Nor did paying an outside lawyer by the hour. In those days, law firms rarely offered their corporate clients prix fixe.So went the basic relationship between in-house law departments and outside counsel until the economy passed out at the table after the 2000 elections. For years, law firms grazed on a corporate buffet and counted on those clients to pay them millions of dollars in fees without quibbling over the check.Then the stock market pulled up lame, unemployment climbed and, after Sept. 11, 2001, anxiety over catastrophic terrorism gripped individuals and business. Companies cut back across the board. Law departments were no exception as the folks in accounting demanded that general counsel do more with fewer bodies, both in-house and from the … [Read more...] about The Outside Looking In

The first voters arrive at Oslo's City Hall on election day - Lise Åserud / NTB Scanpix Norwegians started voting Monday in elections likely to lead to a governing coalition of Conservatives and anti-immigrant populists, two years after Muslim-hating Anders Behring Breivik's deadly rampage. Polling stations opened at 9:00 am (0700 GMT) from the Arctic north all the way to Oslo 2,000 kilometres (1,240 miles) further south, with voters in the second-largest city Bergen given the option of casting their ballots at an Ikea store. Incumbent Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, also the leader of the Labour Party, was widely expected to be voted out of power, even though the self-described "optimist by nature" still struck an upbeat note Monday. "It won't be easy to win the election, but it's possible," he told national news network TV2 shortly after voting started. The last pre-election opinion poll, published Sunday by the daily Aftenposten, showed … [Read more...] about ‘It won’t be easy,’ says Norway PM of poll

World Holocaust Remembrance Day, also known by its Hebrew name Yom HaShoah, is on Thursday and is a time meant for reflection of the events of the Holocaust, which killed millions of Jews in systematic and cruel ways. Under the direction of German Führer Adolf Hitler, the Nazis controlled large sections of Europe during World War II and operated numerous death camps. Six million Jews were methodically murdered, as well as hundreds of thousands of Roma, homosexuals, disabled people, political opponents and other victims. These people were shot, starved, gassed and tortured. Yom HaShoah typically falls on the Hebrew calendar on the 27th of the month Nisan, which this year translates to April 12. Like many Jewish holidays, the day of remembrance begins at sunset on the evening before. To remember those who were lost, here are some quotes about the Holocaust, from victims, survivors and observers of the horrors. Recommended Slideshows 44 In Pictures: Every U.S. … [Read more...] about Holocaust Remembrance Day Quotes: Eight Tributes to Nazi Victims