The 700 MHz Club: Verizon’s Challenge to the FCC’s Open Access Requirements

I. Introduction

With the passing of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, Congress amended Section
309(j)(14) of the Communications Act of 1934, setting a February 17,
2009 deadline for the switchover from analog television to digital
television.[1] After this deadline, all full-power television station licensees that hold a license to operate on a frequency
between 698 and 806 megahertz (MHz) may no longer operate on that frequency.[2] On a television, these frequencies encompass channels 52 to 69.[3]

As a result of this freed up bandwidth going back
to the government, Congress instructed the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) to auction off licenses to operate on these
frequencies.[4]
The purpose of these auctions is to encourage the development of new
technology, to encourage competition, to recover a portion of the value
of the spectrum for public use, and to encourage efficient and
intensive use of the electromagnetic spectrum.[5] According to some estimates, … Read the rest

Securing IP Interests Means Securing a Future for Your Business

 
        Starting a new business can be a scary venture, especially for an inexperienced entrepreneur. [1] However, adhering to one little known business fundamental can help make the process run as smoothly as possible. [2] Specifically, securing one's intellectual property ("IP") interests from the start can secure a solid future for a new business by ensuring more funding from venture capitalists and investors. [3] IP traditionally includes patent, trademark, copyright and trade secrets, all of which can be protected with the right legal knowledge or competent attorney. [4] This article explains the four types of IP interests, their advantages and disadvantages and the benefits of securing them during the start-up stage of new businesses. 
 
          When venture capitalists consider funding a business, the deciding
factor in whether to invest often rests with the availability of IP
interests like trade secrets.[5] A trade secret is defined as, “a
process,
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Diversification in Corporate Law

I. Introduction

In today’s world where every law firm claims to value diversity throughout
their ranks and prioritize it as a top concern in recruiting, it is easy to
forget that even in the 1960s, Secretary of Labor Willard Wirtz called the
American legal profession “the worst segregated group in the whole
economy.”  [1] According to a 2003 American Bar Association study,
slightly more than 89% of all lawyers in the nation are white.  The
overall numbers of women and minorities at the associate level are improving
substantially, but the odds of making partner stay low. [2]  Lawyers of
color account for less than 5% of partners in all of the largest American law
firms, according to the National Association for Law Placement.  [3] White
males have five times better odds than women of making partner, and seven times
better than Asian-Americans or African-Americans. [4] Minority-owned firms
provide a greater
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Evolution of Maternalism in Corporate Law

I: Introduction


During the uncertain times of World War II,
Harvard University’s president was interviewed concerning the condition
of the law school. He stated that it wasn’t bad as he had expected,
given the war-time circumstances: “We have 75 students, and we haven’t
had to admit any women.” [1]


One would think that the legal industry would have
made giant strides towards remedying such primitive opinions. On the
contrary, a recent Harvard Law survey of large corporate firms found
that some male lawyers still drop pencils under boardroom tables as an
excuse to look at women’s legs, and take clients to strip clubs where
their female colleagues feel unwelcome. [2] Fortunately, not all firms
tolerate such behavior. This article aims to examine the obstacles
facing women and mothers in the field of corporate law, and what
actions some firms are taking to alleviate their unique burdens. 


II: Is the Glass Read the rest

Telecommunications Entrepreneur Concocts Grand Scam: Off-Shore Accounts, Smart Business Planning or Underhanded Tax Evasion?

Introduction:

There is
no way to get around paying taxes. This was a fact Walter Anderson
learned the hard way. While directors may owe fiduciary duties to their
shareholders in terms of wealth maximization, this cannot be
accomplished through illegal means. Shareholders expect their directors
and officers to legitimately run the business and to employ their
acquired business knowledge in order to promote shareholder wealth.
Anderson interpreted such Delaware law to allow him full access to
evade payment of personal income taxes by storing his acquired assets
in off-shore bank accounts, away from the reach of the Internal Revenue
Service.[1] Such actions were not considered sound business judgment
and Anderson has been indicted for engaging in a tax evasion scheme,
obstructing the IRS, and defrauding the District of Columbia government
by failing to pay over $200 million in taxes.[2]

“Most
people obey the tax laws: they report their income to

Read the rest

Subprime Slump: Will the Economy Follow?

On February 7, 2007, the Senate Banking Committee heard testimony
which indicated that nearly 20 percent of subprime mortgage loans
obtained in the period from 2005-2006 will result in foreclosure,
affecting over 2.2 million families in the United States over the next
few years. [1]  On Monday, April 2, 2007, the second largest provider
of high-risk, subprime mortgages, New Century Capital Corporation of
Irvine, California, filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection and
fired 3200 employees in the wake of its own "financial missteps" and
trouble with the SEC and U.S. Department of Justice over financial
statements which failed to accurately account for financial losses the
corporation was suffering, as well as mismanagement of the
corporation.  [2]  With more than 25 subprime lending companies
shutting down over the past few months [3], many are wondering about
the implications for the future of both the subprime market and the
economy.

Subprime mortgagesRead the rest

Pestilence, War, Famine, Death…and Unemployment?: An Analysis of the Internet Message Boards’ Impact on Law Firm Recruitment

I: Common Sense is Not So Common    

Polished black shoes. Dry-cleaned charcoal gray suit. Freshly pressed royal blue dress shirt. Red power tie. I ran through this checklist for every on-campus interview and call back interview this fall. Emails from my Career Services Office reinforced this sartorial splendor constantly. Eventually I began to notice that the CSO included several new items. “Make sure your Facebook and MySpace profiles do not have/reveal anything incriminating about you. Employers will check before an interview.” Come again? The hiring partner of a Vault 100 firm is going to “friend” me?

As incredulous as I was, I began to see this advice echoed throughout a variety of mediums. As TheNew York Times reported: “…recruiters are looking up applicants on social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, Xanga and Friendster, where college students often post risqué or teasing photographs and provocative comments about drinking, recreational

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No Just Compensation, Just Representation?

I. Introduction


To attain the office of the Chief Justice of the United States is to
reach the culmination of a prestigious legal career in public service. 
It is a guaranteed opportunity to go down in the history books, to
impact the world – some might even call it attaining "legal
immortality." [1]


But if this is so, why is Judge Judy making more than 100 times
Chief Justice Roberts' salary?  Her $25 million annual salary [2] makes
Roberts' newly inflated one of $212,000 [3] appear as laughable as some
of the more ludicrous plaintiffs that walk into her made-for-TV
courtroom.

II: Chief Justice Roberts' Constitutional Crisis


The underpaid federal judiciary is an old story, told by the
succession of Chief Justices like a family fable passed down through
the generations. The moral of the story remains constant from Chief Justice Burger in 1969 and through Chief Justice Rehnquist's 19-year

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Climate Change in Corporate Approach to Global Warming

The winds have begun to shift in the debate over how the United States should approach the problem of climate change, and an unlikely champion for reform has begun to emerge.  No longer relying on government alone to decide what direction to take, leaders of some of the largest corporations in America are beginning for the first time to publicly recognize that global warming is in fact taking place, and that human actions are a contributing factor.  Consequently, there has been a recent push both for businesses to adopt cleaner technologies and for the federal government to pass legislation that would cap U.S. emissions levels with the goal of significantly reducing the country’s overall output of carbon dioxide. 

Limits on emissions were flatly rejected by the United States when it refused to sign the 1997 Kyoto treaty, a decision explained by the Bush administration as one that was in the

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Spring Cleaning: Throwing Out Cases About Throwing Out the Trash

Spring is a time for getting rid of things that are outdated, have served their purpose or are just plain wrong.  However, sometimes when companies do a little spring cleaning they can get in a lot of trouble.  Obstruction of justice is a serious crime and one that the government has pursued vigorously in recent years.  One
such case started five years ago when the SEC began an investigation of
Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) which led to charges of obstruction
of justice against CSFB investment banker Frank Quattrone. [1]  Last
year a jury found Quattrone guilty of the charges and he was sentenced
to 18 months in prison. [2] However, on March 20, 2006 the 2nd Circuit
did a little spring cleaning of its own by vacating the verdict. [3]
Now the question is whether the government will let this case stay in
the trash
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