Michael MacNaughton practices in Canada, but finds he is learning more and more about U.S. bankruptcy laws. A growing number of his cases involve bankruptcy proceedings in Canada and the United States, requiring him to stay on top of procedures in both countries, he said.

A class-action suit in New Jersey's federal court alleges that title insurance companies in the state are all charging the same premiums, set by a central industry bureau, in violation of antitrust laws. The suit,

Lawyers say a trade group's new sales and marketing code of ethics for pharmaceutical companies that's designed to help companies avoid government investigations and prosecutions will trigger extensive corporate governance work on behalf of participating companies. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, or PhRMA, a trade organization for drug makers and research companies, announced a massive overhaul of its ethics code governing companies' interactions with health care professionals, which will become effective in January 2009.

Donald Trump has opened a new front in a battle with his former lawyers at New York-based Morrison Cohen. Already embroiled in a billing dispute, Trump has filed a separate $5 million suit against the law firm for listing his name and its prior work for him on its Web site. Trump's lawyer says the real estate developer and reality TV star normally receives "millions" for the use of his name.

Four circuits have split over just when a Chapter 13 debtor may get an "undue hardship" determination in an effort to write off student loan debt, which typically is not subject to a discharge even after the debtor exits bankruptcy. The latest appellate court to weigh in, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, on Aug. 1 sided with the 4th Circuit in allowing much earlier consideration by bankruptcy judges of hardship claims.

The federal False Claims Act, the big gun used by private citizens to sue on the government's behalf companies or individuals defrauding the government, may soon be retooled, triggering a confrontation between business and the trial bar. The House and Senate have similar bills pending final action that would make the most substantive changes in the law in 22 years. Backers say the bills are meant to correct Supreme Court and lower court decisions that have misinterpreted and weakened the anti-fraud tool.

In a ruling long-awaited by the employment law sector, the state Supreme Court on Aug. 7 effectively rejected the use of most non-competition agreements in California. The unanimous court held that in

Federal law did not preclude auto manufacturer from filing unsecured deficiency claim based on state law where Chapter 13 consumer debtor proposed to surrender "910 vehicle" whose value was less than balance remaining on auto loan (applying "hanging paragraph" to cases involving surrender of 910 vehicle).

Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act preempted state-law claims that trustee breached fiduciary duty by failing to disclose conflicts of interest in selection of nationally-traded investment securities.

When Veronica Kelly's teen daughter and a friend were accused of shoplifting from J.C. Penney, the charges were soon dropped but the letters and phone calls began. Palmer Reifler & Associates, a civil recovery firm in Orlando, Fla., said a payment of $202 by Kelly could avoid a potential lawsuit by JCPenney. When she balked at the first letter, the amount increased to $477. Kelly is now the plaintiff in a potential class action lawsuit that accuses the law firm of mail and wire fraud in a scheme to shake down millions of people across the nation.

There are probably few people who could say they never "borrowed" a pen from the office or "accidentally" took home a package of Post-It Notes found in the supply closet. But what about bilking your company out of tens of thousands of dollars over the course of a few years? According to industry analysts, it's easier to do than some might think.

2point6billion published a piece earlier this month on infrastructure funds and their growing presence in Asia.

According to their post, private equity is investing in infrastructure in emerging markets all over Asia. They quote Morgan Stanley as forecasting over $21 trillion in infrastructure spending in emerging markets over the next decade. Two-thirds of that spending will be in Asia, and two-thirds of the Asian spending (about 44% of the total) will be in China.

Morgan Stanley in particular sees the possibilities in infrastructure investment as "a fantastic opportunity for us at a time when a lot of our competitors are scaling down," according to Bryan Southergill, JP Morgan's Asia real estate head. Southergill's statement was part of an interview with Reuters.

JP Morgan recently announced infrastructure investment funds of US$1 billion along with plans to focus those funds primarily on cities in India and China, with a secondary focus on South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong.


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As the Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, the city Council, and the Bloomberg administration have demonstrated again, shouldering the costs of progressive and often burdensome health regulations is an incidental part of operating a restaurant in New York City. While the New York State Restaurant Association (NYSRA) continues to challenge the regulation in court, restaurants that fall within the scope of the regulation must alter their menus and other displays to show the caloric content of each menu item or face fines between $200 and $2,000 per infraction.

China is now making automobiles in the U.S. - in Oklahoma, to be precise.

An article in the Huffington Post earlier this month pointed out that Chongqing ChangAn Automobile Co., Ltd. has begun production of The Tiger Champ at an assembly line in Oklahoma. Production began on July 31st.

This first Chinese-designed and engineered vehicle assembled in America and meant for the US market is being manufactured under the US name Tiger Trucks.

According to the Huffington Post, "The Oklahoma plant assembles the truck from parts and kits shipped from China; they also say about 50% of the parts used in final assembly will be US-sourced. About 100 employees are working at the company's first US facility."

Chongqing ChangAn is China's third largest car maker. They have a partnership in China with Ford Motor Company. Their first US-made vehicle is a utility truck designed for college campuses, industrial complexes, and golf courses. It will be a legal on-road vehicle only in Oklahoma. Top speed is about 55mph. It's priced at just under $13K...




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With the pressure of regulatory compliance on corporations showing no sign of letting up, corporate and securities law will offer the most job opportunities for lawyers in the coming decade, according to a national poll. In the survey conducted by staffing agency Robert Half Legal and released July 29, those two practice areas were cited by 24 percent of the respondents. Litigation ranked second, cited by 21 percent of the 300 attorneys at large firms and corporations who have been practicing for at least three years.

Daily Blog Tips had a reference this morning to an e-book of sorts: The Handbook of Online China. The 38-page slide show gives some interesting facts about Internet use in China.

Some of the graphics are a little small, but the slide show can be expanded to a full screen view. The charts and tables are presented pretty much without comment. (Many of the stats speak for themselves.)

Lots of interesting market share and ad revenue sorts of info.


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The interpretation of insurance policies indemnifying General Electric against liability for hundreds of millions of dollars in claims from polluted sites around the country, including the Hudson River, should be decided under New York law, a state judge has ruled. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Bernard J. Fried held in

The growing influence of the Islamic religion and the growing wealth among Middle Eastern Muslims and Muslim-Americans are influencing how many business deals are conducted. At the same time, they're creating new opportunities for American lawyers, including several in Connecticut. Murtha Cullina and Shipman & Goodwin are two mid-sized firms that are throwing elbows with heavyweight international firms after establishing Islamic Finance and Banking practices, which facilitate commercial transactions within the boundaries of Islamic law.

Bankruptcy lawyers say they are finally starting to see the sharp upswing in filings that, given the troubled economy, they've been expecting. Sixty companies with liabilities greater than $100 million have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the first half of 2008, according to New York University finance professor Edward Altman. In all of 2007, he said, there were only 38 filings from such companies. The spike in major business failures is expected to keep bankruptcy attorneys busy, especially since Chapter 11 filings these days have been made more complex, partially because of investment by hedge funds.

Reports on bankruptcy filings and searches for bankruptcy attorneys have suggested work is picking up for the practice, but other reports say the wave of filings expected to crest over the past nearly two years has yet to hit. So what is a firm to do? Bankruptcies in the retail industry and recent surveys have made it seem as though bankruptcy work on the whole has rebounded, but many attorneys say they have seen only a slight jump in their bankruptcy practices.