Bankruptcy

Expert Analysis

• How Reckless Judicial Impeachments Threaten Rule Of Law

  

  Judicial impeachment fever seems to be spreading through the states, with West Virginia legislators recently voting to remove their state's entire Supreme Court, and lawmakers in Pennsylvania and North Carolina threatening the same. These actions are a serious threat to judicial independence, says Jan van Zyl Smit of the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law.

• Series

  Judging A Book: Fogel Reviews 'Good Judgment'

  

  In this time of partisan conflict over judicial selection, a new book by Canadian jurist Robert J. Sharpe —​ "Good Judgment" — represents a refreshing, deeply thoughtful departure from binary arguments about how and why judges make decisions, says U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel, director of the Federal Judicial Center.

• 10 Ways To Prevent E-Discovery Woes

  

  E-discovery is not easy, but employing these 10 strategies may help minimize future headaches, say Debbie Reynolds and Daryl Gardner of EimerStahl Discovery Solutions LLC.

• 11th Circ. Changes Course On New Value Defense

  

  The Eleventh Circuit’s decision this month in Kaye v. Blue Bell Creameries confirms that the prior requirement that new value must remain unpaid is no longer the law in the circuit, wiping out a valuable tool for debtors, trustees and post-confirmation estate representatives for avoiding and recovering preferential transfers, says Paul Avron of Berger Singerman LLP.

• 4 Key Components To New Firm Partnership Agreements

  

  A well-drafted partnership agreement protects a law firm's founders, establishes a process for new and outgoing partners, and sets forth guidelines for navigating conflict along the way. Startup firms can begin with something less complex, but there are important elements that every agreement should include, says Russell Shinsky of Anchin Block & Anchin LLP.

• Opinion

  Open The Federal Courthouses

  

  Forget about cameras, reporters in the Manafort trial were not even permitted in the courtroom with their phones, tablets or computers. That meant no live reporting on Twitter and no emails to the newsrooms with updates. In a world focused on information and news as it happens, this is unacceptable, says trial attorney David Oscar Markus.

• Del. Series LLC Changes Bring Clarity For Secured Lenders

  

  Delaware recently passed amendments to the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act that enable a new type of series of an LLC known as a “registered series.” The changes address historical uncertainty among secured lenders seeking to perfect a security interest, say R. Jason Russell and Sean Sullivan of Morris Nichols Arsht & Tunnell LLP.

• Navigating Counsel Conflicts Of Interest In Bankruptcy

  

  A recent New York federal court ruling in the bankruptcy case of Relativity Media highlights the importance of disqualification of counsel disputes in bankruptcy matters. Attorneys must proceed with care when duties owed to both parties create a conflict of interest, says Claire Wu of SulmeyerKupetz PC.

• 'High Availability' — A Key Term In Law Firm IT Strategy

  

  While most law firm executives and partners may instinctively want to tune out terms like "high availability" and "disaster recovery" — concepts that IT managers usually worry about — there are five reasons you should lean in and wrestle with the vocabulary, say Jeff Norris of Managed Technology Services LLC and Greg Inge of information security consulting firm CQR.

• The 'Post-Fact' Jury In The 'Fake News' Era

  

  The "fake news" phenomenon is ever more prominent in the political arena — but not in the jury box. At a trial, jurors don’t have to rely on the media or any other source to tell them the facts and issues, since they have a front-row seat to the action, says Ross Laguzza, a consultant at R&D Strategic Solutions LLC.