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The money question: At many law firms, these prices are in-SANE!
Legal Center |
2010/02/12 09:12
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| pThe way some people tell it, law firms have begun to sound more like used-car companies, offering up deep discounts or alternative-fee arrangements./ppAlternative fees, discounted billing rates and fixed-fees are becoming more and more rampant in the legal world, although it remains to be seen just how cost-effective those discounts are./pp“It’s incredibly easy to get discounts,” said Jay Shepherd, founder of Boston-based Shepherd Law Group. Shepherd has famously shunned the billable-hour model, in favor of fixed-fee arrangements. “I’ve talked to many in-house counsels who say, ‘I just make a phone call, and I get a discount.’ Law firms are doing something that car companies did about a year ago, with the employee discount pricing. It becomes a frenzy of discounting.”/p |
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Private equity firms brace for tax battle
Legal Center |
2010/02/08 03:09
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pPrivate equity firms are again being threatened with higher taxes, as a long-running debate over how to classify their profits again becomes a focus for governments desperate for cash./ppBut while high-profile buyout firms may seem an easy target, the question is a controversial one. Critics argue that raising the taxes paid by the private equity industry will also hit small partnerships and venture capital, and may not even raise as much revenue as governments hope./ppPart of the argument against higher taxes is that they could hinder jobs growth at a time when major economies are struggling with high unemployment rates.
/p |
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First class-action lawsuit filed against Toyota
Legal Center |
2010/01/31 18:09
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pParker Waichman Alonso LLP, together with the Becnel Law Firm, LLC, announces that it filed suit on behalf of several consumers who purchased Toyota vehicles subject to various recalls issued in January 2010 for defects in the vehicles' gas pedals. The lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, seeks class action status.
intended to benefit all residents of the United States who purchased a Toyota vehicle of model years 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and/or 2010 that is subject to the recalls./ppParker Waichman Alonso LLP has been contacted by hundreds of Toyota owners, including the family of a man who died in a vehicle accident, with questions about their legal rights in relation to these recalls. If you or someone you know owns or has owned one of the Toyota vehicles involved in these recalls, please contact our office by visiting a href=http://www.yourlawyer.comwww.yourlawyer.com/a/ppFree case evaluations are also available by calling Parker Waichman Alonso LLP at 1-800-LAW-INFO (1-800-529-4636)./ppOn September 29, 2009, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced that Toyota was recalling floor mats on approximately 4.2 million vehicles, which allegedly caused the accelerator pedals in the vehicles to become stuck in the depressed position, leading to uncontrollable and rapid acceleration of the vehicles. On January 21, 2010, Toyota recalled yet another 2.3 million vehicles produced in the years 2005 through 2010 due to accelerator pedals on those vehicles becoming stuck in a depressed position, causing unexpected and unsafe acceleration. As of January 2010, Toyota had recalled a total 5.3 million vehicles due to problems with accelerator pedals sticking./ppThe class action lawsuit filed by Parker Waichman Alonso LLP and the Becnel Law Firm, LLC alleges that, as a result of these recalls, Toyota owners lost the use of their vehicles, and sustained, among things, economic losses and severe emotional distress. The complaint charges Toyota with breach of implied warranty and negligence, and seeks compensatory, punitive and exemplary damages for the Class, as well as equitable and declaratory relief. It also asks the Court to enjoin Toyota from implementing any fixes in the accelerator pedals of the sub/p |
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Judge names Houston attorney to monitor company
Legal Center |
2009/12/28 21:01
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A Houston lawyer will serve as a court-appointed ombudsman to monitor a venerable Texas company that has been cited for discriminating against black employees.
pTony P. Rosenstein, an employment lawyer with the Houston firm Baker Botts, will investigate complaints from Lufkin Industries employees and act to resolve them, according to an injunction issued Friday by U.S. District Judge Ron Clark of Beaumont./ppThe injunction is part of the resolution of a class-action lawsuit brought against the 107-year-old company by black workers 12 years ago./ppClark ruled last June that Lufkin Industries' more than 1,000 current and former black employees are due to divvy up back pay and interest of approximately $5.5 million. The judge awarded the damages as compensation for what he called the company's unlawful discrimination in awarding promotions./ppLufkin Industries, publicly traded since 1990, manufactures oil field equipment and industrial gearboxes. It employs about 1,200 in Lufkin, a city of 33,000 about 120 miles northeast of Houston, making it one of the area's largest employers./p |
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Ky. League of Cities audit goes to law enforcement
Legal Center |
2009/12/18 21:01
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| A financial review that turned up excessive and questionable spending at the Kentucky League of Cities has been turned over to state and federal law enforcement agencies.pState Auditor Crit Luallen said Thursday she forwarded the report to law enforcement because of the nature and complexity of the exam's findings./ppThose findings included high pay for executives of the quasi-governmental organization that is primarily funded by public money, conflicts of interest in spending, undocumented credit card expenses and gifts from vendors, including admission to a Las Vegas strip club for three League staff members./ppThe audit team of state financial experts found 19 positions in the organization paid more than $100,000 — some far more, thanks to raises over the past seven years./ppAuditors noted that the executive director's salary had risen since 2002 from $170,000 to $331,000, and that the deputy executive director's pay rose over the same period from $141,00 to $255,000. They also noted a raise that took the chief insurance services officer salary from $124,000 to nearly $239,000./p |
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NH judge refuses to dismiss poetry program lawsuit
Legal Center |
2009/10/26 09:31
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| div id=body-content class=body-content pCONCORD,N.H. - A federal judge says New England College in Henniker, N.H., mayproceed with its lawsuit accusing a poet of stealing one of itsmaster's programs and its faculty and recreating it at a rival schoolin New Jersey./ppNew England College is suing Anne Marie Macari ,the former director of its low-residency Master's of Fine Arts inPoetry program , and Drew University, where Macari now directs asimilar program./ppDrew University asked U.S. District Court JudgeJoseph Laplante to either dismiss the case or move it to New Jersey.Laplante denied both motions. The judge says even though no one fromDrew ever came to New Hampshire, Macari was acting on Drew's behalf andthe school authorized or at least knew about her actions in NewHampshire./p /div |
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