Bankruptcy

Expert Analysis

• Texas Could Take Page From Mass.'s Judicial Selection Book

  

  As Texas and other states review their judicial election processes, they would be well served by taking guidance from Massachusetts' Governor’s Council system, which protects the judiciary from the hazards of campaigning, says Richard Baker of New England Intellectual Property.

• Series

  Judging A Book: McKeown Reviews 'Conversations With RBG'

  

  Reading Jeffrey Rosen’s "Conversations With RBG: Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Life, Love, Liberty, and Law" is like eavesdropping on the author and his subject while they discuss how the restrained judicial minimalist became the fiery leader of the opposition, says Ninth Circuit Judge M. Margaret McKeown.

• Opinion

  Flat-Fee Legal Billing Can Liberate Attorneys

  

  Replacing hourly billing with flat-fee arrangements, especially for appellate work, will leave attorneys feeling free to spend as much time as necessary to produce their highest quality work, says Lawrence Ebner of Capital Appellate Advocacy.

• Spoliation Rule Remains Ambiguous Despite Amendments

  

  Although the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were amended to provide a uniform standard of culpability for spoliation, cases with similar facts are still reaching differing results because the rule does not specify how a court should evaluate a party's intent, say attorneys at Pepper Hamilton.

• 5 Trends Influencing RFPs For Law Firms

  

  Requests for proposals, the standard tool of companies evaluating law firms, are becoming better suited to the legal industry, says Matthew Prinn of RFP Advisory Group.

• Private Equity Wants To Buy Your Asbestos Liabilities

  

  BorgWarner's deal to sell off its asbestos liabilities this week confirms that such sales are a viable corporate strategy that can be less expensive than, and offer disclosure advantages over, prepackaged bankruptcy and loss portfolio insurance. But they still come with a cost, and can raise trust and security issues, says Stephen Hoke of Hoke LLC.

• Series

  Why I Became A Lawyer: Being There For Families In Trouble

  

  My parents' contentious, drawn-out divorce was one of the worst experiences of my life. But it taught me how to be resilient — and ultimately led me to leave corporate litigation for a career in family law, helping other families during their own difficult times, says Sheryl Seiden of Seiden Family Law.

• A Hard Choice Ahead For Sears Ch. 11 Creditors

  

  After last week's written order confirming the Sears bankruptcy joint plan, the company's creditors should expect to receive preference complaints and may want to review their defenses ahead of the Nov. 18 opt-in deadline to avoid an unfavorable settlement due to lack of time, say Ronald Spinner and Marc Swanson of Miller Canfield.

• Where Law Firm Partners Go When Changing Jobs

  

  We reviewed 177 law firm partners' job changes from the last seven years and discovered some migration patterns and gender dynamics, say James Bailey of the George Washington University School of Business and Jane Azzinaro of Cognizant.

• Consumer Protection Issues For Single-Family Rental Market

  

  As institutional appetite for single-family rental properties surges, investor landlords need to understand the applicable consumer protection laws — including a new series of fair housing bills — to manage their legal risk amid increasing scrutiny, say attorneys with King & Spalding.

• 3 Ways To Leverage Vulnerability For Lawyer Well-Being

  

  Admitting to imperfection is an elusive construct in the legal industry, but addressing this roadblock by capitalizing on vulnerabilities can increase personal and professional power, says life coach and attorney Julie Krolczyk.

• How 401(k) Bankruptcy Exemption Can Be Lost

  

  A recent Connecticut federal court decision considers circumstances under which qualified retirement funds can slip outside an important Bankruptcy Code exemption and illustrates compliance challenges faced by small business owners navigating the tax code without adequate resources, says Daniel Morgan at Blank Rome.

• New Data Shows BigLaw's True Profitability

  

  Based on an analysis adjusting BigLaw operating income and revenue to account for equity partners and taxes, the profitability of firms is lower than commonly thought, says Madhav Srinivasan at Hunton.

• Midstream Agreements Can Still 'Run With The Land'

  

  Colorado's federal bankruptcy court recently held that a gas gathering and processing agreement and a salt water disposal agreement were "covenants running with the land," and were not extinguished through a bankruptcy sale. The ruling is welcome news for upstream and midstream companies in the oil and gas space, say attorneys at Davis Graham.

• Opinion

  Courts Keep Rejecting Litigation Funding Discovery Campaign

  

  As shown by recent case law, including a New Jersey federal court holding last month in Valsartan Products Liability Litigation, there is no "shifting tide" in favor of disclosing litigation funding arrangements, say Matthew Harrison and Stephanie Southwick of Bentham IMF.