Law And More

Kodak: Will it make the big announcement in 2012?

Is distressed company Kodak running out of time to turn itself around without a Chapter 11?  

Here is my Kodak post, from yesterday, which had been published on financial-information network Motley Fool.  Essentially, it presents a chronicle of developments since Kodak hired restructuring firm Jones Day last September until 2 board members, employees of KKR, flew the coop last week.  Since then, 1 more board member also resigned. That has been Laura Tyson.

Board members tend to do that sort of thing before a filing of Chapter 11.  Part of the reason is to dodge the lawsuits about liability.  There had been speculation that the 2 KKR employees might have left to avoid a conflict of interest if KKR was trying to bid on the 1100 digital patents up for sale.  But that line of thought seems less persuasive now that Tyson is also out.

Here is my post today on Motley Fool about how, once a company is approaching or in a zone of insolvency, the game changes for the members of the board of directors.

Public Opinion Trumps Regulatory Bodies, Lawsuits in Verizon $2 Fee

Sure, Verizon Wireless customers could have brought their beef about the coming $2 fee on payments by phone or through the website to the FCC.  They might have even put together a lawsuit. 

Instead, they harnessed the power of public opinion.  Within 24 hours of proposing the fee, Verizon Wireless caved.  There will be no fee.

Here the lesson can't be missed.  Public opinion, especially when it can be captured and transmitted via digital technology, trumps traditional regulatory and litigation tools.  First of all, it's speedy.  Secondly, it's cheap.  Third, it can operate collectively or on an individual level.

Shame on Verizon Wireless for not anticipating this.  It should have learned plenty from Bank of America's disaster of a public relations experience in its proposed $5 fee on debit cards.  BofA did also cave.  But that took a while.   Why in the world Verizon Wireless even considered going this same route will go down in history as one of the unsolved mysteries of the second half of the 21st century.

Here is my post on financial-information powerhouse Motley Fool about this hit to a premier brandname.

That Fatal Stamford, CT Christmas Fire: Call for legal opining on insurance matters

This coming Thursday, the five victims of the Christmas fire in Stamford, Connecticut will be laid to rest.  In terms of human tragedy, at least for those of us in CT, this resonates with the Cheshire h0me invasion during which three members of the Petit family were murdered.

However, the fire which destroyed the $1.725 million Victorian house also is a legal matter of insurance.  Ruled an accident, the fire, investigators report, was caused by smoldering embers from a fireplace log which had been put in a bag and deposited near the house.  That's one insurance-related legal issue which requires the opinion of lawyers. 

The other matter related to any insurance claim is that, according to the letter of the law, there should have been no one residing in the house during renovations until those modifications had been approved for occupancy.

Sure there is plenty of sympathy for the owner of the house and mother and daughter of the deceased - Madonna Badger.  However, insurance folks are a hard-nosed group, as well they should be.  The payoff of any insurance claim for the house, which had to be demolished because it was unsafe, is one consideration.  Others would involve the payoff on any insurance policies for the five victims, two adults and three children.

Lawyers are invited to submit commentary on any of these points of law or to provide an interview by email or phone.  If the latter, lawyers can review copy before it is posted.  Input can be provided on or off the record.  In both cases, the opinions will be posted on this blog verbatim.  If on the record, there will also be posted information about the lawyer and law firm.  Photos and logos welcome.  Please contact editor of this blog Jane Genova, mgenova981@aol.com, 203-468-8579.  This issue is not going away.  Therefore, opinions will be posted on an ongoing basis, way after the holidays are over.

The public service aspect of this is educating property owners about knowing the letter of the law and staying within it.

Verizon Wireless: Is it going way of Bank of America?

Is there no learning curve among corporations?  When Bank of America had announced it was imposing a $5 monthly fee on debit cards used outside its own ATM system, all hell broke loose.  Eventually, as was expected, it backed down.  But the public relations damage was done. 

Yet, Verizon Wireless, which has had a number of data outages on its 4G network [which is supposed to be bullet-proof], announced that it will be imposing a $2 fee for those who pay their bills online, reports THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.  That will total a $24 annual charge. 

Haven't I read somewhere that paying our bills online represents a saving for all parties?  Just about every entity I owe money to begs me to transact payment online.

Prediction: All hell will break loose.  Verizon Wireless, like Bank of America, will back down.  Public relations damage will be done.  And, will Congress take a peek into the outages and fee situation?  After all, Campaign 2012 begins in earnest next month.

Here is my post on this for financial-information powerhouse Motley Fool.

UPDATE:

Verizon dropped plan to impose the $2 fee, reports THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

Mark Hurd & Jodie Fisher: What in the world were they doing in the same hotel room?

We will never know what transpired during the many times former H-P CEO Mark Hurd and marketing consultant Jodie Fisher were together.  The content of the letter, prepared by attorney Gloria Allred, has been declared to contain inaccuracies by both parties.  It was ordered unsealed by the Delaware Supreme Court, reports BLOOMBERG LAW.

But there are things that we do seem know.  One of them seems to be that the two were present in the same hotel room.  Not that they were booked in the same one.  Never on a business trip has a colleague, man or woman, entered my room or I their room.  That just isn't done. 

So, we know these two were not paying attention to commonsense business decorum.  How could two ambitious professionals engage in that kind of behavior? 

Mary Richards didn't sue Mr. Grant for complimenting her on her "nice caboose"

The newsroom in which Mary Richards and Mr. Grant worked was of a different era.  Richards was a pioneer because she was a working gal, making it in the big city without a spouse.  When she shopped in the supermarket it was for a dinner of one.  She relied on her girlfriends like Rhoda.  

Mr. Grant was gruff and that wouldn't get him saddled with an Emotional Intelligence coach.  He also felt it was just fine to compliment Richards on her "nice caboose." 

Today, Richards might be wearing a wire around him next time, coax him into saying it again, and then hire Gloria Allred. 

Today, the woman who portrayed that era - Mary Tyler Moore - is 75. 

Paying Weak Students to Leave Law School: Small part of over-supply problem solved

Sure, men and women enter law school who can't master the discipline and/or are unmotivated to try very hard.  Two Yale professors recommend that they should be given a financial incentive such a refund of a percentage of tuition to leave, reports Christian Nolan in the CONNECTICUT LAW TRIBUNE.  Those professors are Akhil Reed Amar and Ian Ayres. 

That could put a dent in the number of people who pile up tuition debt and are unlikely to practice law.  But it's not going to do much for the over-supply of JDs. 

First, let's admit that we all know of successful lawyers who were weak students.  Their family connections, marketing genius, or late blooming helped them establish careers practicing law.  We also know of excellent students in top schools whose law careers were short.  Usually they did get that first job but were knocked out of the box early in the game and not able to get back.  In addition, we know of both weak and strong students who did make it all the way to the partnership cut, didn't make that, and are wandering out there unable to adjust in another field since they will not be making $300,000 in it. 

That out of the way, let's concede that the glut of lawyers is a complex problem.  Elie Mystal on Abovethelaw.com has covered in great detail many of the factors which have created it.  At the top of the list is the illusion of being special and despite the shortage of jobs being convinced that he/she will get a good job, be promoted, and retire as an equity partner financially secure.  Another driver is that this is a generation which believes in education and the one acquired in law school has the reputation of being an excellent one.  Here, obviously, is a value issue: education in itself is a worthwhile pursuit.

It's encouraging that professors, whose jobs depend on having seats filled in law schools, are attempting to be reduce the suffering increasingly associated with earning a JD but not gaining a secure career path.  That's probably it on that story, which first appeared on the Yale Law School website.

 

John Edwards' Request for Trial Delay: Tabloids busy speculating

Lawyers for John Edwards had requested a delay of about two months for his trial because of undisclosed medical problems.  The Judge is now reviewing that.  

Mercy is part of justice, reports THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, and these kinds of requests are only made for serious matters.  Because of that, they are rarely denied.  As yet, the nature of the condition has not been officially disclosed.

However, the tabloids have been busy. MAIL ONLINE and NATIONAL ENQUIRER are speculating what the medical problem might be.  In MAIL ONLINE, Mark Duell reports that, after jogging, Edwards was short of breath.  He assumed he was having a heart attack since that runs in his family.  It may, however, been a panic attack.  Anyone who has suffered panic attacks understands how scary the experience is and that one lives in constant fear of another one.  Yes, panic about having another panic attack. They can be brought under control with medication, meditation, and traditional therapy.

For a successful plaintiff lawyer and politician to have gotten into this kind of legal mess seems tragic.   If his health has also tanked, that's even sadder.  We feel for his four children, including his grown daughter Cate who has stuck by him in very public ways.

 

NYC [Likely] Gets 580 More Cab Drivers

Investment bankers are a lot like lawyers.  Highly paid, very circumscribed in their work, they have a hard time regrouping when knocked out of the box.  Morgan Stanley announced that of the 1600 investment bankers it's letting go, 580 are based in New York City.  Frequently, as they chase magical thinking about getting back on Wall Street, the former investment bankers drive cabs.  The money isn't bad and they do pick up fares which they hope can lead to to a job in finance but never does. 

Apple: Reasons why it should back off smartphone patent war

Legal experts worth their salt will advise companies to avoid litigation and even presenting their righteous claims before regulatory bodies. 

There are faster, cheaper, less expensive ways to outfox adversaries.  In this piece for Motley Fool, where I am an independent blogger, I argue that Apple should back off the smartphone - iPhone vs Android - patent war.  Here you can read it.