Environmental due diligence is changing in the commercial real estate market. There are three important developments that practitioners should keep an eye on in 2013, says William Wagner of Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP.
Based on a recent copyright decision in the Northern District of Georgia, it appears unlikely that a planned movie, "The Snow White Ladies of the Third Week," will be in theaters anytime soon. The defendants — authors of the unpublished source novel — had entered into an agreement with the plaintiffs for the creation of a screenplay, but the agreement constitutes a veritable “how not to” of drafting, says Mitch Tuchman of Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice LLP.
The dearth of modern New York case law addressing the clogging of the equity of redemption, and the absence of any New York cases challenging the enforceability of a Uniform Commercial Code foreclosure on this basis, only reinforces the conclusion that the doctrine of clogging the equity of redemption is not implicated by a properly conducted UCC foreclosure where the collateral being foreclosed was given as security for a commercial loan between sophisticated parties, say Louis Hait and Shawn Fetty of Kaye Scholer LLP.
Given the strong public policy considerations against nonparty discovery in arbitration proceedings, considerations that have split the federal court system over whether it is ever allowable, Texas courts should be particularly mindful of protecting nonparties when someone is trying to compel them to participate in a private proceeding to which they never agreed, says Adam Schramek of Fulbright & Jaworski LLP.
Meso Scale Diagnostics v. Roche Diagnostics, a case of first impression in Delaware, will likely be viewed with relief by corporate practitioners because it both resolves the ambiguity created by an earlier ruling in this same case and because it sits in stark conflict with two previous federal district court opinions in California and New Jersey, say attorneys with Ropes & Gray LLP.
Research shows that helping others and cultivating social relationships makes us happier and that generous people live longer, healthier lives. These are just a few of the countless reasons to create time in our busy schedules to do pro bono and charitable work this year, says Anne Brafford of Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP.
The demand for venture credit among emerging companies expanded greatly during the Great Recession and shows no sign of easing. As venture capitalists continue to be selective in their additional capital deployments, we recommend that borrowers — and their counsel — address certain venture debt financing terms at the term sheet stage in order to avoid surprises later, say attorneys with Latham & Watkins LLP.
In our increasingly interconnected global marketplace, U.S. corporations could well profit from engaging alternative dispute resolution practitioners who are familiar with these diverse cultures. But problems in the development and retention of minority neutrals exist, even as the U.S. population grows more and more diverse, says Ariel Belen, a panelist with JAMS and former associate justice of the New York Supreme Court.
In deals requiring transition services, it is possible for the buyer to address some of the risk inherent in a transition services agreement through advanced planning and preparation prior to the closing of the transaction — for example addressing the scope of services, integration strategy and licensing agreements, says Corby Baumann of Thompson Hine LLP.
E-discovery decisions throughout 2012 and early 2013 have shed some light on the issues, but they have also raised new questions and conflicting standards regarding how courts address litigation holds, cooperation with opposing counsel, and new technologies, say attorneys with Paul Hastings LLP.