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Friday, May 9, 2008

FROM THE UPCOMING ISSUE

Lawyers' writing skills still bad

Law firm leaders, judges and even clients have complained for years about the lack of solid writing skills in the legal profession, where huge decisions often turn on the written word. And despite the development of software to correct wayward spelling or incomplete sentences, observers say that technology can hinder attempts at clear and concise prose. "It's a problem of distraction," said Jennifer Murphy Romig, a legal writing and research instructor at Emory University School of Law and a writing coach to law firms.

FROM THE UPCOMING ISSUE

SEC wins latest round in civil case against 'backdating architect'

The SEC won some and lost some in a federal court order in the civil options backdating case against Lisa Berry, former general counsel for KLA-Tencor and Juniper Networks. On balance, the SEC may have come out on top, even though it rewrite a number of the fraud allegations against Berry, who the SEC contends was one of the "architects of backdating," putting in place procedures to award in-the-money stock option grants to employees by looking back to pick historically low stock prices.



LAW FIRM RECRUITING

How to offer them the world

Global firms can offer young job candidates the world.

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LEGAL PAD|LA

Read our daily blog for the Los Angeles area that covers law firm news and local legal developments.

Issue of May 5, 2008

NLJ Front Page

Firms facing tougher loan terms

Law firms needing extra capital from banks to weather the rough economy are finding that the times — and the terms — have changed. Many law firms are seeing a slowdown in work and a lengthening in their client payment cycle. At the same time, banks that provide lending to law firms to help cover their revenue gaps and fund bigger projects are implementing more onerous requirements for doling out credit.

Empty homes spur cities' suits

Cities now dealing with scores of abandoned, foreclosed homes have started suing banks and mortgage companies to recoup their costs, while other cities are hauling lenders before code enforcement boards and county courts to force them to maintain abandoned properties. The innovative legal tactics are designed to recoup the city's lost property taxes as well as any city services needed to clean up or deal with the foreclosed properties.

Inspectors general may get more power

Congress is close to enacting the most significant boost in the independence of the cadre of government watchdogs — federal inspectors general — in three decades. But the lawmakers have retreated from a key change giving the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Inspector General jurisdiction to investigate misconduct allegations against department attorneys, including its most senior officials.

News

SUPREME COURT

Hopes for 'as applied' challenges are illusory

In two decisions this term, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected broad, facial attacks on statutes and held open the possibility of successful, more narrowly based, "as applied" challenges. But that possibility is largely an illusion, say some court scholars and litigators. The practical effect of the Roberts Court's recent disdain for facial challenges — and its preference for "as applied" ones — will be to end litigation in those areas, they predict. More News

Columns

APPELLATE LAW

Manufactured Finality

For lawyers and clients who have lost an important ruling in the district court, the only solace may be the prospect of reversal on appeal. However, pursuant to the well-established "final judgment" rule under 28 U.S.C. 1291, appellate review ordinarily is not immediately available but must await the conclusion of the entire case. The lack of prompt appellate review is especially problematic in litigation involving multiple claims. More Columns

Opinion

The 'Torture Memos': Lessons for all of us

It is easy to believe that John Yoo wrote his widely discredited "torture memos" because he holds radical views of presidential authority or because he has some unusual moral failing. The reality, however, may be far more ordinary and disturbing: He willfully followed the lead of White House officials who were eager to find a legal justification for torture. More Opinion



ADVICE

How to commit career suicide

Here are some of the mistakes that can lead to being fired, or worse, and suggestions for how to avoid these potential pitfalls of practice.



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