Month: February 2008

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Michael Nifong Files for Bankruptcy: Buys Some Time and Maybe More

Introduction:

       Michael Nifong, the former North Carolina prosecutor made
controversially famous for his rape accusations against several
lacrosse players from the University of Duke, has filed for bankruptcy.
[1] After resigning and being disbarred, the former D.A. filed for a
Chapter 7 bankruptcy, listing liabilities in excess of 180 million
dollars. [2]

 
   The 180 million dollars in liabilities stem from three pending
prosecutorial-misconduct lawsuits, accounting for 30 million dollars in
potential damages to Dave Evans, Collin Finnerty, and Reade Seligmann;
the three players who were accused, and then exonerated, of raping a
stripper at a team party. [3] The listed liabilities also take into
consideration 30 million dollars in potential damages to three other
non-indicted lacrosse players, who were never actually charged but have
filed civil claims for emotional distress at the end of last year. [4]

     U.S. District Judge James Beaty has removed Nifong

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Outsourcing Pregnancy?

I. Outsourcing

It makes good business sense to outsource operations.  It cuts down on costs, delivers lower prices to consumers, and brings job opportunities to poorer countries.  So why not also outsource pregnancy?  India, already known as an outsourcing base, is also the growing center for surrogate pregnancy.  India is hardly restricted through legislation, as there are no laws that govern surrogacy.[1]   No part of the fertility industry is regulated, although the Indian Medical Council does issue nonbinding guidelines for involved parties.[2]

Since 2002, commercial surrogacy has been legal in India.[3]  The only laws that India currently has in place concerning women and their infants address maternity leave and breastfeeding.[4]  There is proposed legislation to help regulate surrogate pregnancy, but the government has been slow to act.[5]  Already, outsourcing surrogate pregnancy, or “reproductive tourism” has become a booming business of over 445 million dollars a year.[6]

II. The Surrogacy Process

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eLawyering and the Unauthorized Practice of Law

          The legal profession has been criticized for not keeping up with technological advances [1], arguably leading to less efficiency in the practice of law.  Websites like LegalZoom.com and LegalAdviceLine.com are at the cutting edge of changing that. [2]  While most law firms, especially those in large cities, have basic websites outlining the firm’s area(s) of expertise, displaying recent press releases, and even giving biographies of the attorneys in order to attract more business, some legal web pages have taken a more interactive approach. [3]  These interactive websites offer a variety of “do-it-yourself” services, from answering specific legal questions, to incorporating a new business, to quickly producing documents such as basic contracts and wills at a fraction of the cost of obtaining a lawyer’s services. [4]  While the thought of saving money on attorneys fees may initially seem attractive, and even though these websites are generally used

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Multidisciplinary Practices: Unethical or Inevitable?

I. Introduction

Multidisciplinary practices, or MDPs, have long been the subject of
acrimonious debate between two opposing campaigns, each citing
passionate reasons for why the organizational structure should be
formally established or definitively barred. [1]  Multidisciplinary
practice refers to a professional entity in which lawyers partner with
non-lawyers to provide a mix of legal and non-legal services. 
Efficiency and innovation by this new structure is dampened with fears
of conflicts of interest and dilution of privilege.   The crucial
question as acerbically couched by one scholar has been “whether client
and public interests are best served by ethics rules that preclude
innovation in joint service delivery enterprises among lawyers and
other professionals.” [2]

II. Proponents of MDPs

Client demand for “one stop shopping” has driven professional
services firms and hindered traditional law firms; clients want
efficiency, convenience, and all their answers under one roof. [3] With
an MDP, clients will no … Read the rest

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Securities and Exchange Commission: Transforming Rule 14a-8 To Allow Shareholders Increased Voting Power

I.Introduction

While the decision of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals binds many
public companies of that specific jurisdiction, the SEC must now decide
whether to propose a clarifying change to Rule 14a-8(i)(8) ("the
Rule"), binding all companies subject to Federal Securities
Law and alleviating courts of difficult interpretation. A letter from
shareholders to the Honorable Christopher Cox, requesting a return to
the pre-1990 interpretation of the Rule, stressed an important
distinction: ". . . between using a shareholder resolution as a
back-door device to contest a specific election and using a shareholder
resolution in order to change the rules for election so as to further
the long-term interests of shareholders."[1] It is this distinction
which also divides the opinions of Stephen Bainbridge, Margaret Blair
and Lynn Stout on one side from those of Lucian Bebchuk. Bainbridge,
Blair and Stout espouse theories such as "director primacy" and hold
views opposing

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The Young and the Restless: the Inevitable Trend of New Graduates towards Solo Practice

I.    Introduction

The word is out–as of 2007, big law firms have boosted their starting salaries to as high as $160,000. [1]  Moreover, NALP has released its employment statistics for the Class of 2006, boasting a 90% employment rate for new graduates. [2]  If these statistics sound too good to be true, it's because they are.  The much publicized "BigLaw" salary only accounts for 14% of new-graduate salaries. [3]  In fact, 42% of new graduates last year received less than $55,000. [4]  What does this mean?  It means that graduates, who don't attend top-tier law schools and don't score at the top of their class, are struggling to find jobs that will cover both living expenses and law-school debts; which can exceed well over $100,000.  With job prospects looking grim, many recent graduates are turning to solo practice, hoping to create the dream career and salary that nearly dissolved

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