10/19/2009
Letter from the Publisher
Dear Colleagues,
The agenda of the new administration has kept the spotlight on Washington for much of the past year. Health care reform has sparked intense debate over the influence of lobbyists in shaping legislation. The ramp-up of troops in the Middle East has kept the ongoing battle against terrorism and the underlying issue of homeland security in the headlines. Recent controversies over elections in Afghanistan, Russia, and Iran highlight the tenuous grasp of voting rights in much of the world. At the ABA some of the top legal minds gather above the fray to offer cool-headed guidance to readers buffeted by the storm.
The fourth edition of The Lobbying Manual: A Complete Guide to Federal Lobbying Law and Practice is an invaluable resource for professionals working in the highly visible arena of advocacy. Landmark legislation such as the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007, which significantly amended the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, is thoroughly analyzed, and the book insightfully describes the congressional lawmaking and appropriations processes, the constraints that apply to lobbyist participation in political campaigns, the techniques of grassroots lobbying, and the professional norms of appropriate behavior that apply to lobbyists.
Since it burst onto the scene after 9/11, the issue of homeland security has become a critical mission of one of the largest agencies in the federal government. Homeland Security: Legal and Policy Issues is an important compilation of policy and practice-oriented information pertaining to the Homeland Security Act. The book provides a timely summary and analysis of the congressional and executive response to homeland security concerns arising from either man-made or natural disasters. Authors include easy references to additional authorities and information sites, making this publication a useful tool and lasting sourcebook.
International Election Principles: Democracy & the Rule of Law is a book of ideas and proposals for carrying out elections that are fair on their face and sound in their execution. The book goes beyond traditional doctrine by providing solutions and setting forth a detailed methodology for the problems that plague elections internationally. International Election Principles helps readers appreciate the varied requirements for a successful election, understand why some problems occur, and learn how to avoid them in the future.
Back at home, America Votes! A Guide to Modern Election Law and Voting Rights provides a snapshot of America's voting and electoral practices, problems, and most current issues. Chapters collectively blend theory and practice, covering key topics such as voting technology, voter identification, voter protection, the growing minority language voting population, the 2006 extension and amendment of the Voting Rights Act, election-day registration, early voting, and felon disfranchisement. Updated by a downloadable supplement, the book is a valuable resource for lawyers as well as law school professors, election officials, state and local government personnel involved in election administration, election workers, and poll workers. Sincerely,
Bryan Kay
Publisher
ABA Publishing 10/16/2009
By the ABA Section of State and Local Government Law, the Committee on Federal Regulation of Securities of the ABA Section of Business Law, and the National Association of Bond Lawyers
Excerpted from Disclosure Roles of Counsel in State and Local Government Securities Offerings
Many unique characteristics distinguish the municipal securities market from both the equity markets and the corporate debt market. The legal authority of municipal issuers to tax and to increase service rates varies substantially, not only from state to state, but also among the multitude of local governmental issuers within each state. Because legal authority is so central to the credit of municipal issuers, legal counsel is central to the disclosure process.
SEC Enforcement
The enforcement authority of the Securities and Exchange Commission is exercised in different forums within the powers provided by Congress under the securities laws. The nature of each type of proceeding and the manner in which it has been resolved carry important implications for anyone deriving guidance from it.
Investigations and 21(a) Reports
The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 gives the SEC the authority to conduct "such investigations as it deems necessary to determine whether any person has violated, is violating, or is about to violate any provision" of the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder, as well as the rules of the Municipal Securities Rules Board and other self-regulatory organizations. The SEC has broad discretion "to publish information concerning any such violations, and to investigate any facts, conditions, practices, or matters which it may deem necessary or proper to aid in the enforcement of such provisions, in the prescribing of rules and regulations under [the Securities Exchange Act of 1934], or in securing information to serve as a basis for recommending further legislation . . . ."
The SEC has used this authority to publish several reports key to its body of guidance to the municipal market: the reports on the New York City fiscal crisis of 1975, the Washington Public Power Supply System default in 1983, and the conduct of the Orange County Board of Supervisors culminating in the county's 1994 bankruptcy. In addition, the SEC has used this authority to issue the Seaboard Report, a 2001 report outlining factors taken into account in evaluating cooperation during an enforcement investigation. Many of the settled administrative proceedings discussed in this book subsequent to the Seaboard Report contain a discussion of the role a party’s cooperation played in the settlement.
The release of "21(a) reports" (named after the pertinent section of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) is typically consented to by the subjects in lieu of initiation of an administrative or injunctive proceeding. The SEC has used 21(a) reports from time to time to explain conduct it deems as violating the securities laws and as warning of a more vigorous response to similar conduct in the future.
Administrative Proceedings
The SEC has broad authority to institute administrative proceedings against regulated entities, such as broker-dealers and investment advisers, as well as their associated persons. The Securities Enforcement Remedies and Penny Stock Reform Act of 1990, adopted only a few years before the SEC's dramatic increase in municipal enforcement actions, extended SEC adjudicative power to reach any person who violated or caused violations of the federal securities laws.
Administrative proceedings are initiated by order of the SEC and prosecuted by the Division of Enforcement before an administrative law judge according to the SEC's Rules of Practice. Administrative proceedings and the powers of an administrative law judge differ substantially from proceedings in federal district court before a federal judge. Appeal from a decision of an administrative law judge is first to the SEC, then to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia or the federal circuit court where the appellant resides or has his principal place of business, and thereafter to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The great majority of administrative proceedings are settled prior to institution of the proceeding pursuant to an offer of settlement and upon which the SEC enters an order. Settled proceedings have no value as precedent. They provide the SEC the opportunity to discuss the circumstances behind the findings and violations forming the basis for the order. Some critics have observed that the SEC often uses language in such settlements to assert aggressive legal positions untried in courts or other contested proceedings and then subsequently cites such settlements as precedent for further extensions of such legal positions.
Injunctions
The SEC's power to seek an injunction in federal district court against violations of the federal securities laws was for many years the main weapon in its enforcement arsenal. In an injunctive proceeding, the SEC must demonstrate a reasonable likelihood of future violations. Following enactment of the Remedies Act, the SEC made greater use of administrative proceedings than of the federal courts, unless the conduct involved was egregious, in the SEC's view, and the available remedies more attractive.
Criminal Proceedings and Referrals to Other Authorities
Provisions of the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and other federal securities laws provide for criminal prosecution of "any person" for "willful" violations. As the Form 1662 accompanying voluntary requests for documents or SEC subpoenas alerts the recipient, "the Commission often makes its files available to other governmental agencies, particularly United States Attorneys and state prosecutors," in addition to an extensive list of other parties, including state bar regulatory authorities. In several instances, matters relating to municipal bond transactions have been pursued by U.S. Attorneys as violations of the mail fraud, wire fraud, and honest services wire fraud provisions of the United States Code.
By Donna Elm
Generally, vouching is thought to refer to arguments that bolster a witness's credibility. However, personal opinions of counsel also can be used to undermine a witness's credibility. Because the speaker vouches against (rather than for) a witness, it is referred to as "negative vouching."
Most of the positive or endorsing types of vouching can be done negatively, and both "facts not in evidence" and "prosecutorial screening" are by their nature predominantly negative. Other forms of negative vouching include opinions that a witness is not telling the truth, opinions of guilt of the accused, bad character vouching, and a rather virulent form of negative third-person vouching that suggests that the defense attorney disbelieves her client.
Negative Facts Not in Evidence
Facts not in evidence, when indicative of guilt or that the defendant or his witnesses are lying, would constitute negative vouching.
Here are some examples:
- Throughout closing, the prosecutor holds up a cassette tape that allegedly contains incriminating conversations involving the defendant.
- "We could have brought in the neighborhood and have them tell you what they saw."
- "Because of a ‘rule of law,' [the prosecutor] was not allowed to present other information that would support [the defendant's] conviction."
Negative Prosecutorial Screening
Prosecutorial screening of the case, as opposed to screening of witnesses, invariably is negative vouching. Here are examples of screening that constitutes negative vouching:
- "We wouldn't be here unless what I'm about to tell you really happened."
- "The system doesn't put innocent people in jail."
- "I told you earlier about the obligations of a prosecutor, and one of the obligations is that you don't charge such a serious crime of murder unless you have the proof and the evidence to back it up."
Negative Opinion Argument
Four types of negative opinion argument are discussed below: bad-character argument, opinion (first person) of guilt, opinion (first person) that witnesses are untruthful, and opinion (third person) of guilt or untruthfulness. Courts tend to find the first, third, and last of those improper, but first-person opinions of guilt present a "gray area" of the law—stating a belief in guilt is very similar to stating the government's ultimate position, namely, that the defendant is guilty.
Negative Character Opinion
Examples of negative character opinions in criminal proceedings can occur when a prosecutor calls the defendant:
- "A cold-blooded killer."
- "The leader of this pack of murderers."
- "A child abuser."
- "A fraud."
- "A thief, . . . con man, . . . and swindler."
- "An animal."
- "Scheming, manipulative"
Negative First-Person Opinion of Guilt
Note that "negative vouching" by an attorney offering his opinion as to guilt is very close to simply arguing the licit position that the defendant is guilty.
Hence, the line between the permissible and misconduct is not distinct. One "bright line" means of distinguishing the two is in the use of "I" statements such as "I think," "I believe," or "I know." These are routinely improper when relating a personal opinion. For example:
- "For what it is worth, I am morally convinced that he is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt."
- "I don't know that I've ever said so strongly on another summation that the medical evidence taken together, there is no reasonable view of it that would lead you to the conclusion that that was merely the consequence of consensual sex."
- "I feel that the necessary elements of both of these charges have been fully proved."
- "I expect a 90 to 100 percent conviction rate."
- "After hearing the People's witnesses here in court, after hearing the defendant's testimony on the stand, my conviction of the defendant's guilt no longer remains a belief but has become an absolute certainty which must in all fairness be shared with you."
Negative First-Person Opinion of Untruthfulness
Negative opinion argument can go to credibility, as when a lawyer argues that he does not believe the witnesses or thinks the plaintiff is lying. Furthermore, when the L-word, "liar," is used, the lawyer adds pejorative invective.
Courts found the following first-person opinions of untruthfulness to be improper:
- [Repeatedly calling the witness] "a liar."
- [The defendant's testimony was] "a creation, a fabrication."
- "I am convinced that you likely will conclude that [defense witnesses] were lying."
Courts are far more tolerant of use of the L-word when it is substantiated in the record. Hence, the following arguments were not considered to be improper in the context of the rest of the evidence confirming them:
- "I suggest to you two things; one, he is a liar; and, two, he was the possessor of controlled substances."
- "[The defendant] continues to lie, just as he lied to the agents a couple years ago. Now he's lying to you."
Negative Third-Person Opinion of Guilt
When an attorney argues that someone else thinks the defendant is guilty, it is a negative third-person opinion. Injecting a third party's opinions into argument usually means introducing facts not in evidence. Here are some examples:
- "The authorities . . . pretty well determined who was the wrongdoer . . . and who was the person who was actually causing all of the trouble."
- "I doubt in my mind that anyone at this point has any question in their mind about the guilt or innocence of this man."
10/15/2009
By Deborah L. Jeffrey
Edited by Lawrence J. Fox, Susan R. Martyn, and Andrew S. Pollis
Law is now openly regarded as a business. One of the biggest changes in the original ABA Canons of Professional Ethics is the acceptance of advertising. Moreover, consulting firms tell us how to operate our businesses more profitably. A corollary to treating law as a business is that clients, especially sophisticated ones, see themselves as consumers. Clients negotiate rates and charges, refuse to pay for certain things, have bills sent to auditing firms, and even prescribe the way that time is entered. Parties on opposite sides of a business transaction generally have adverse interests. Today, the legal profession operates in a state of near-constant adversity with our clients.
When we focus on protecting ourselves, we move from an ethics perspective, which is based on principles of loyalty, fiduciary obligations, and values, to a compliance perspective, which is based on rules, procedures, and internal controls that often seem divorced from right and wrong. This leads to "ethical fading," which is the gradual loss of an ethical perspective. A law firm's rules for compliance or risk management are business decisions, purely economic calculations of risk and reward.
For example, doing a prompt and thorough conflicts check makes it less likely that the firm will unknowingly expose itself to a charge of conflict of interest that could lead to disgorgement of fees or malpractice liability. But an individual who has a different view of the utility of a thorough conflicts check or of the likelihood of future liability may feel justified in giving the conflicts check a lower priority relative to other economic activities, such as billing time, focusing on collections, or generating new business.
Recasting the same conflicts-checking activity as a matter of ethics—the client's right to undivided loyalty—takes it out of the realm of self-interest and essentially primes the individual to do the right thing. Its priority is not derived solely from its economic value. Instead, it is crucial to maintaining one's self-image as a good lawyer. But law firms continue to appeal to greed or fear rather than to principle, and they may get less compliance as a result.
Similarly, studies show that strong monitoring—generating reports on which attorneys are late entering their time or responding to conflicts inquiries—also causes the individual to perceive the matter as a business decision rather than an ethical decision. When law firms monitor individual lawyers' compliance with risk-management measures, they may inadvertently promote a cost-benefit decision based on the likelihood that noncompliance will be detected and on the severity of the sanction. When there is little or no monitoring, lawyers are more likely to treat the matter as an ethical norm, making compliance more likely. It may seem counterintuitive, but less monitoring often leads to more compliance.
When the ethical dimension of these issues recedes, we are left with rules that lawyers regard as technicalities to be circumvented, like the Tax Code. Compliance becomes a matter of completing checklists rather than understanding the purpose of the rules and the values they protect.
To be sure, there is a place for risk management, loss prevention, and internal controls in the operation of a law firm. Law is most definitely a business, and it's naive to think that our predecessors were insulated from economic considerations. But law is not only a business, and our clients are more than counterparties to commercial transactions. We must be sure that our internal procedures do not inadvertently promote ethical fading.
10/14/2009
By Edward F. O'Connor
During the first five years of registration, a trademark has a presumption of validity. A client’s trademark is generally incontestable. However, there are some notable exceptions.
These are the "gang of eight" exceptions for contesting a trademark:
- Fraud in obtaining the registration or the status of incontestability;
- Abandonment;
- Use of the mark to misrepresent the source;
- "Fair use" of the mark;
- Limited territory defense of an intermediate junior user;
- Prior registration of defendant;
- Use of the mark to violate federal antitrust law; and
- Equitable defenses such as laches, estoppel, and acquiescence
10/13/2009
By Ben M. Schorr
Excerpted from The Lawyer's Guide to Microsoft Word 2007
Microsoft produced Office 2007 with a strong emphasis on collaboration, and this plays nicely into how lawyers tend to use their tools. Having partners, associates, co-counsel, clients, witnesses, and paralegals work on a document means that it has many authors and editors. Effectively working together to produce a professional finished document is key to running a great law practice.
Third-Party Document Management Systems
I have to admit that I sort of resent third-party document-management systems. They're an expensive crutch whose sole reason for existence is simple human weakness. With any modern computer, if you use an intelligent file-naming convention in a disciplined fashion and a good file-searching system—Copernic Desktop and Windows Desktop Search (WDS) are two such options that are also free—then you really don't need a third-party document-management system.
Document management exists to help you and your colleagues intelligently save, store, and find documents. You can accomplish the same thing by establishing a policy that says, "All memos will be saved to the client's folder, under the matter subfolder, with a file name in the format of 'Memo to [X] regarding [Y],'" and then adhering religiously to that policy. Everybody would be able to find a document they were looking for and the search tool (like WDS) would help cover those scenarios where simple good file names and directory structures don't fit the bill.
Unfortunately, in the real world, people are rushed and corners get cut. Pretty soon the root folder of the structure starts to fill up with files named "Memo1," "Memo2," "Jonesmemo," and so forth as people cut the handful of steps required to save the file properly and just save it as quickly as they can, with whatever name they can bang out fast, and move on. Then you have the filing equivalent of kindergarten, and nobody can remember which cubby they put their shoes in.
Document-management systems solve this problem by automating some of the process (extracting keywords from the document itself, and inserting the author and editor IDs) and by forcing other parts of it—requiring the user to type in a client/matter number, for example. They also generally include a search engine that can be used to search the document profiles as well as the document itself. In addition to the purpose-built document-management tools, many case-management suites like ProLaw or Client Profiles are capable of some document management as well. If you already have a full-featured case-management suite in place, you might want to see if it can address your document-management needs before you invest in a separate document-management tool.
DocsOpen by Open Text (formerly "Hummingbird")
The venerable DocsOpen system is one that just about any lawyer who has been around a decade or two has probably run across in at least one firm. It was, for a time, the most popular system among the AmLaw 100, and if it has fallen from that perch it has only been due to cost, competition, and perhaps some disillusionment among firms with the product—which, to be honest, is probably inevitable with a product as complicated and ubiquitous as a document-management system is. More information is available at http://www.opentext.com/2/global/sol-products/sol-pro-edocs-products2/pro-llecm-docsopen.htm.
Interwoven WorkSite (formerly known as iManage)
Probably the other leading vendor in the AmLaw 100 for document and content management is Interwoven. Their WorkSite is extremely modular and can be customized for a particular firm. More information is available at http://www.interwoven.com.
Worldox
Worldox has been around since the late 1980s and is widely used in small- to mid-sized firms. Unlike its competitors, Worldox has always been Worldox and hasn't evolved through acquisition and change of ownership. It started out as a reasonably priced solution for smaller firms and has grown a bit from there. It's still pretty reasonably priced for what you get. More information is available at http://www.worldox.com.
Edited by Michael D. Sherman, J. Steven Jarreau, and John B. Brew
Excerpted from U.S. Customs: A Practitioner's Guide to Principles, Processes and Procedures
Before importing goods into the United States, importers must follow certain steps and legal requirements. There are five basic legal steps to follow in order to bring in goods from other countries.
As with other areas of customs law, careful attention must be given to the unique pre-entry preparation and requirements. Here are five basic legal steps importers must follow:
- The importer must ensure that it has the legal right to import the goods.
- Certain documents must be filed prior to importation.
- The importer should consider obtaining the services of a customs broker to assist with entry filing requirements.
- The importer must obtain a customs bond that secures import entry transactions.
- The importer must ensure that it has the documents and information needed to provide Customs and Border Protection and other agencies with the complete and accurate statements required to obtain release of imported goods.
9/21/2009
Dear Colleagues:
As summer fades and autumn approaches, thoughts take a more serious turn, and planning for the future is in the air. How do we strengthen our communities and ensure that they and their residents prosper and compete in today's global economy? Three new ABA titles consider the question in the context of community economic development, sustainable development, and construction and design.
With a renewed focus on energy efficiency and environmental responsibility, all development professionals—including attorneys—need to fully understand sustainable development and green building concepts, requirements, and policies in order to meet their clients' expectations and to operate successfully in the evolving economic and regulatory environment. Green Building and Sustainable Development: The Practical Legal Guide discusses site selection, the development of green buildings versus conventional offerings, residential issues such as facilitating green affordable-housing projects, sustainable development strategies by local governments, and how attorneys can incorporate sustainability concepts into their own practice.
From its beginnings as a social movement to revitalize low-income communities, the field of affordable housing and community economic development has evolved into a complex industry of stakeholders, practitioners, funding intermediaries, and a wide array of supporting professionals such as architects, bankers, financial experts, lawyers, social workers, and urban planners. In Building Healthy Communities: A Guide to Community Economic Development for Advocates, Lawyers and Policymakers, the ABA Forum Committee on Affordable Housing and Community Development Law proposed creative ways to foster improved affordable housing options, enhanced sustainable homeownership choices, and more comprehensively planned and delivered community investment initiatives. More than two dozen experts gather to discuss CED in the global economy, the role of nonprofits in CED, government CED tools, community responsive trends, core components of healthy communities, the importance of individual and community assets, and environmental considerations. The current housing woes and global economic turbulence provide a signal opportunity to shape and direct the course of the field.
Lawyers involved in multistate construction and design projects must not only master the core issues that arise in every project but also be able to compare practices in various jurisdictions quickly and easily. Culling the expertise of more than 75 design and construction specialists, the new edition of State-by-State Guide to Construction and Design Law provides a practical, easy-to-use compendium of laws and practices in every state plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The book addresses such central issues as financing, consumer protection, environmental matters, alternative dispute resolution, and environmental matters such as brownfields legislation in each jurisdiction. Skilled real estate practitioners discuss statutes and case law in their jurisdiction that govern core aspects of contract administration, including provisions affecting payment to contractors and subcontractors, warranties, indemnification, insurance, suretyship, and dispute resolution, as well as laws regarding damages. The State-by-State Guide to Construction and Design Law is an efficient, time-saving reference for lawyers preparing or negotiating a contract or resolving a problem that has occurred in a project.
Sincerely,
Bryan Kay
Publisher
ABA Publishing
Modern society as we know it could not function without many different types of energy. For decades, this country has regulated certain aspects of the hydroelectric, natural gas, electric utility, and oil pipeline industries at the federal level. That regulation is currently the responsibility of the Federal Energy Regulation Commission (FERC). As one would imagine, the regulation of these key industries is, by its nature, complex, technical, and time consuming.
FERC regulates specific aspects of four main areas of the energy industry: the construction and operation of hydroelectric projects; the sale of electric energy for resale and the transmission of electric energy in interstate commerce; the siting, construction, and operation of natural gas pipelines in interstate commerce; and the rates for transporting oil by pipeline in interstate commerce.
FERC is not just a spectator or passive referee in the industries it regulates. Much of what is colloquially called "deregulation" has been initiated by FERC. In actuality, deregulation may be more accurately characterized as "restructuring." Thus FERC's restructuring of the natural gas industry made pipelines into common carriers, providing open access transportation mostly to third parties. Almost all natural gas is now sold by unregulated or lightly regulated third parties who use pipelines to ship their gas to buyers. Similarly, FERC's restructuring of the electric utility industry sought first to require utilities to provide open access transmission of electricity and now seeks to establish regional transmission organizations. There has been some deregulation involved in this restructuring, when FERC has lightened regulations on sellers of natural gas and electricity that do business in competitive markets. However, unlike the Civil Aeronautics Board, which was eliminated, FERC will be around for the foreseeable future, exercising substantial control over the industries it regulates.
FERC's Electric Restructuring Agenda
In the late 1980s, the rise of power marketers' buying and selling in the market and independent power producers (IPPs) unaffiliated with traditional utilities led FERC to begin experimenting with market-based rates. Power marketers and IPPs added significant supply to the market, enhanced competition, and benefited consumers by contributing to the available supply. However, because they were not traditional monopolies, the Commission often determined that traditional cost-based regulation was not appropriate. The Commission began to allow power marketers and IPPs to sell their power at market-based rates if they could show that they had no market power and could not erect barriers to entry into the market.
The Commission's experimentation with market-based rates produced unintended consequences in the form of market manipulation, gaming practices, and outright fraud. The California energy crisis of 2000–2001—the poster child for how not to restructure the electric industry—and the collapse of Enron are the most notorious examples of the failure of the market-based sales experiment. Today, the ongoing restructuring of the electric utility industry is one of FERC's top priorities, and it is still a work in process.
9/18/2009
Excerpted from Powerful Deliberations: Putting It All Together for the Jury
By G. Christopher Ritter
A good story in a trial has all the elements of a good story in other media, including a coherent beginning, middle, and end. Unlike a dull recitation of facts, something happens in a story—something that jurors find interesting and to which they can relate.
Great case stories share nine basic characteristics:
- They are told in a carefully chosen sequence.
- They incorporate and neutralize the facts likely to be stressed by your opponent in his or her story.
- They are never told in a factual void.
- They involve characters whose "character" you develop during the trial.
- They explain the motives of the key participants.
- They are supported by the details.
- They are in accord with common sense.
- They touch a common emotional element shared by the listeners (the jury).
- They have a strong beginning and a strong ending.
| Edit in Browser | /_layouts/images/icxddoc.gif | /publishing/bookbriefsblog/_layouts/formserver.aspx?XsnLocation={ItemUrl}&OpenIn=Browser | 0x0 | 0x1 | FileType | xsn | 255 | | Edit in Browser | /_layouts/images/icxddoc.gif | /publishing/bookbriefsblog/_layouts/formserver.aspx?XmlLocation={ItemUrl}&OpenIn=Browser | 0x0 | 0x1 | ProgId | InfoPath.Document | 255 | | Edit in Browser | /_layouts/images/icxddoc.gif | /publishing/bookbriefsblog/_layouts/formserver.aspx?XmlLocation={ItemUrl}&OpenIn=Browser | 0x0 | 0x1 | ProgId | InfoPath.Document.2 | 255 | | Edit in Browser | /_layouts/images/icxddoc.gif | /publishing/bookbriefsblog/_layouts/formserver.aspx?XmlLocation={ItemUrl}&OpenIn=Browser | 0x0 | 0x1 | ProgId | InfoPath.Document.3 | 255 | | Edit in Browser | /_layouts/images/icxddoc.gif | /publishing/bookbriefsblog/_layouts/formserver.aspx?XmlLocation={ItemUrl}&OpenIn=Browser | 0x0 | 0x1 | ProgId | InfoPath.Document.4 | 255 | | View in Web Browser | /_layouts/images/ichtmxls.gif | /publishing/bookbriefsblog/_layouts/xlviewer.aspx?listguid={ListId}&itemid={ItemId}&DefaultItemOpen=1 | 0x0 | 0x1 | FileType | xlsx | 255 | | View in Web Browser | /_layouts/images/ichtmxls.gif | /publishing/bookbriefsblog/_layouts/xlviewer.aspx?listguid={ListId}&itemid={ItemId}&DefaultItemOpen=1 | 0x0 | 0x1 | FileType | xlsb | 255 | | Snapshot in Excel | /_layouts/images/ewr134.gif | /publishing/bookbriefsblog/_layouts/xlviewer.aspx?listguid={ListId}&itemid={ItemId}&Snapshot=1 | 0x0 | 0x1 | FileType | xlsx | 256 | | Snapshot in Excel | /_layouts/images/ewr134.gif | /publishing/bookbriefsblog/_layouts/xlviewer.aspx?listguid={ListId}&itemid={ItemId}&Snapshot=1 | 0x0 | 0x1 | FileType | xlsb | 256 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Edit in Browser | /_layouts/images/icxddoc.gif | /publishing/bookbriefsblog/_layouts/formserver.aspx?XsnLocation={ItemUrl}&OpenIn=Browser | 0x0 | 0x1 | FileType | xsn | 255 | | Edit in Browser | /_layouts/images/icxddoc.gif | /publishing/bookbriefsblog/_layouts/formserver.aspx?XmlLocation={ItemUrl}&OpenIn=Browser | 0x0 | 0x1 | ProgId | InfoPath.Document | 255 | | Edit in Browser | /_layouts/images/icxddoc.gif | /publishing/bookbriefsblog/_layouts/formserver.aspx?XmlLocation={ItemUrl}&OpenIn=Browser | 0x0 | 0x1 | ProgId | InfoPath.Document.2 | 255 | | Edit in Browser | /_layouts/images/icxddoc.gif | /publishing/bookbriefsblog/_layouts/formserver.aspx?XmlLocation={ItemUrl}&OpenIn=Browser | 0x0 | 0x1 | ProgId | InfoPath.Document.3 | 255 | | Edit in Browser | /_layouts/images/icxddoc.gif | /publishing/bookbriefsblog/_layouts/formserver.aspx?XmlLocation={ItemUrl}&OpenIn=Browser | 0x0 | 0x1 | ProgId | InfoPath.Document.4 | 255 | | View in Web Browser | /_layouts/images/ichtmxls.gif | /publishing/bookbriefsblog/_layouts/xlviewer.aspx?listguid={ListId}&itemid={ItemId}&DefaultItemOpen=1 | 0x0 | 0x1 | FileType | xlsx | 255 | | View in Web Browser | /_layouts/images/ichtmxls.gif | /publishing/bookbriefsblog/_layouts/xlviewer.aspx?listguid={ListId}&itemid={ItemId}&DefaultItemOpen=1 | 0x0 | 0x1 | FileType | xlsb | 255 | | Snapshot in Excel | /_layouts/images/ewr134.gif | /publishing/bookbriefsblog/_layouts/xlviewer.aspx?listguid={ListId}&itemid={ItemId}&Snapshot=1 | 0x0 | 0x1 | FileType | xlsx | 256 | | Snapshot in Excel | /_layouts/images/ewr134.gif | /publishing/bookbriefsblog/_layouts/xlviewer.aspx?listguid={ListId}&itemid={ItemId}&Snapshot=1 | 0x0 | 0x1 | FileType | xlsb | 256 |
|
|
|
|
Last Month Three Mistakes Witnesses MakeWhen someone is called to be a witness of any kind, no book or other outsider's advice can replace the need for good legal help. This seems obvious to anyone who has experience dealing with this question-and-answer format. However, it is not so obvious to many lawyers or laypeople. The Nonspecialist's Guide to BankruptcyFor the nonspecialist in bankruptcy, discovering that your client finds itself on the other end of a relationship influenced by a participant in bankruptcy can be daunting. The Bankruptcy Code is laden with traps for the unwary; just as you become comfortable traversing the interconnectedness of bankruptcy law and, for example, state real property law, a provision of the Bankruptcy Code pulls the carpet out from under you. Creating a Work-Life BalanceWhile technology increasingly encroaches on the daily lives of lawyers, they still make room for creature comforts. Lawyers are communicating on the go, but they are not yet giving up traditions such as a physical office and fee-based research resources. All Time Eleven Things That Annoy Clients MostClients will, understandably, get upset if they are treated badly or confronted with surprises. Make sure you appreciate how your words, actions, or inactions can annoy or even distress your clients. Here are the most common things that a lawyer does that annoy clients, so don't do any of them! Six Key Principles That Help CommunicationUnderstanding your audience is a key factor in communicating ideas and intentions effectively. In order to establish strong connections with your colleagues you must learn to both hear and be heard. Here are six principles to help guide you on the road to more effective communication skills. Expanding Your NetworkA strong professional network can be the catalyst that transforms a good legal career into a great one. When done properly, networking can yield new business opportunities, client referrals, and long-term professional and personal associations. Effective networking takes time and requires a commitment to cultivate relationships. Often the hardest part is simply getting started. Here are a few ideas to help you begin building a valuable professional network. |
|
|
|
