Practice Area Corner Archives

Interesting News from the World of Estate Planning

Frank Sinatra Planned Well Frank Sinatra died in 1993. A corporation he controlled owned his most valuable asset — the right to his name and likeness. He was well aware of the bitterness between his second wife, Barbara, and his kids from a prior marriage to…

Legal Ethics Corner: Law Practice in the Cloud — Just Be Careful

The rent’s too high, we don’t have room for storage anymore, everyone is going paperless. Let’s move our practice into the cloud. Have you heard of this before? Perhaps you are already using the cloud. What is the cloud? Cloud computing is using the server of…

Interesting News from the World of Estate Planning

Whitney Houston: The Burden of Inheritance Whitney Houston’s mother and sister-in-law recently filed a petition to change the terms of Houston’s will, which was last updated nearly 20 years ago. They want to delay the distribution of millions to Houston’s only child, Bobbi Kristina, 19, in…

Can Bitcoin be Used as Collateral to Secure a Loan?

Problems arise when a lender attempts to accept Bitcoin as collateral to secure a loan. More problems arise when Bitcoin makes up a portion of the lender’s collateral without the lender’s knowledge. It is best to address these issues in…

Family Law Corner: Shepherd’s View of Divorce Does Not Look Pretty

Sherri Shepherd may seem to talk about anything and everything as a co-host of The View, but when it comes to her personal life, she can keep a secret. When Shepherd’s husband, Lamar Sally, filed for legal separation in California, he also requested custody of their child.…

Mediating Environmental Disputes, Part 2: Challenges of NGO and Government Agency Participants

Read the first part: Mediating Environmental Disputes, Part I: Addressing the Long Term in the Present Mediation is an especially useful forum for environmental disputes because it can be set up to include various constituencies essential to a long term environmental remediation process and a…

Legal Ethics Corner: Communicating with English as a Second Language Clients

I have recently been confronted with the issue of what to do with a client who speaks English as a second language (ESL). The ESL client will tell me they understand everything I have communicated to them regarding an important…

License Assumed While Related Agreements Rejected

In In re Physiotherapy Holdings, Inc., 506 B.R. 619 (Bankr. D. Del. 2014), the bankruptcy court permitted the debtor to assume a license agreement but reject other related agreements. In Physiotherapy Holdings, the debtor licensed software under several agreements. Pursuant to Bankruptcy Code Section…

Excel for Litigators: Tips to Present Numbers and Calculations at Trial

This article was first published by Michael Kelleher on the Cogent Legal Blog at cogentlegal.com/blog/2014/06/excel-for-litigators/ Litigators must master the presentation of numbers and calculations in trial because numbers often prove damages and/or liability. However, showing and explaining numbers and calculations in trial…

Mediating Environmental Disputes, Part I: Addressing the Long Term in the Present

Disputes over environmental degradation and natural re-sources were a growth industry in the 1970’s. New federal statutes and agencies provided focused ways to address environmental harms, but environmental litigation has remained expensive and involved. Fact-intensive and document-laden, it requires investment…

Family Law Corner: Skinnygirl Bethenny Frankel Writes Fat Check

Bethenny Frankel, former daytime talk show host and star of “Bethenny Ever After” and “Real Housewives of New York,” and founder of Skinnygirl cocktails is still embroiled in a contentious divorce. After fighting more than a year over custody of…

Interesting News from the World of Estate Planning: Where There is a Will, There’s a Way

Napoleon’s Will Tells the Story of His Final Days Napoleon Bonaparte was the first Emperor of France and an aggressive general before his defeat at Waterloo. In the Spring of 1821, shorn of power and imprisoned by the British on…

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