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Talk of transitions and succession planning is something we are all familiar with right now.  The demographics within many law firms make these areas of focus critical for future success.  While most of these conversations and plans have been focused on getting a more senior Partner to let go of a long-standing client relationship to keep it within the firm, similar challenges are occurring with respect to the transition of law firm leadership from the seniors – some of whom have held their positions for over a decade – to the next leader(s).

Each leadership transition is a unique event.  However, over the past several months I have worked with three partnerships with the same general challenge – getting a beloved, revered, and trusted leader to “let go” and help prepare the firm for the next version of its leadership structure.  In each firm, I heard the Partners universally say the same things –

Continue reading “The Key to Leadership Succession with a Revered Managing Partner – Certainty”

The stakes were very high: Puerto Rican refugees, victims of Hurricane Maria were about to become homeless as FEMA planned to cancel it’s Temporary Shelter Assistance program.  Thousands of refugees living in hotels and motels would find themselves evicted, many having nowhere to go.  A telephonic hearing and a last minute ruling required FEMA to continue the program, but the legal battle continues.  Offering insight on the issues at hand are attorneys Craig de Recat and Justin Jones Rodriguez of the law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, who, along with Eve Torres of Manatt, LatinoJustice and the Law Offices of Hector E. Pineiro, are working hard to ensure the victims of Hurricane Maria receive the proper assistance and due process they deserve under the law, holding FEMA accountable to their responsibilities to individuals who have already lost so much.

FEMA announced plan to terminate the Transitional Sheltering Assistance program for victims of Hurricane Maria on June 30th.  The previously mentioned partners filed a lawsuit and emergency motion for a Temporary Restraining Order, a move that would fend off the evictions and compel FEMA to continue providing rent subsidies.  After a telephone conference that evening, Federal Judge Leo Sorokin issued a temporary restraining order to provide shelter throughout the weekend and through the 4th of July holiday.  On July 2nd, another hearing was held with Judge Hillman, who issued a TRO extending the program for a longer stretch of time.

Continue reading “Attorneys Fight for Victims of Hurricane Maria”

Most of those familiar with blockchain technology are familiar with it within the context of cryptocurrency. However, there are several more uses beginning to wind their way through the evolution of blockchain technology – especially in the legal industry. With blockchain technology, we’re now able to point to the origin along the chain of custody steps, revolutionizing chronological documentation, custody, analysis, control, and disposition of both physical and electrical evidence for all types of cases.

Background information

First of all, what is blockchain and how does it work? Simply put, blockchain is a decentralized ledger that is impervious to hacking, immutable, and anonymous. Cryptocurrency is just one example of the use of blockchain technology. This distributed ledger technology is the underlying force behind bitcoin, ethers, and other blockchain projects. DLT is decentralized – transactions are recorded onto millions of computers simultaneously. Each block of data is linked to a previous block of data – that is, “chained” together.

The transaction is synchronized among hundreds of computers and all nodes reflect the updated data as it occurs. Once a transaction is validated and added to a blockchain, the transaction or asset is theoretically immutable. A change in one copy or block of data on a system still leaves hundreds of other copies existing on hundreds of other computers. It would be virtually impossible to change the data on all of the decentralized systems.

Since its inception almost 10 years ago, blockchain has developed into a mainstream technology that is trusted and transparent.

Continue reading “Chain of Custody for Evidence Using Blockchain Technology”

On August 15, 2018, the SEC announced that it had settled an enforcement action against a dually-registered investment adviser and broker-dealer alleging that the firm failed to adopt and implement policies and procedures reasonably designed to safeguard retail investor assets against misappropriation by the firm’s representatives.

According to the SEC, the firm used certain automated surveillance tools to review large quantities of data to identify, using pre-set criteria and thresholds, suspicious or unusual transactions or events that could be indicative of fraud or misconduct by firm representatives. Nevertheless, according to the SEC, between 2011 and 2014, these automated tools failed to operate effectively, preventing the firm from detecting the misappropriation of over
$1 million in client funds by five representatives. For example, a transaction-based analysis tool intended to identify attempted direct disbursements from client accounts to accounts controlled by firm representatives required
an exact match between the information associated with the disbursement request and information about firm representatives included in an internal database. The SEC alleged that because of the exact match requirement this tool was not reasonably designed to identify suspicious money movement transactions.

Continue reading “Adviser Settles SEC Administrative Proceeding Regarding Alleged Failure to Safeguard Retail Investor Assets”

Any lawyer who advises clients on disputes involving corporations, LLCs, or limited partnerships needs to be aware of the significant changes that were enacted in Pennsylvania’s Act 170 on Feb. 21, 2017. Lawyers who are not aware of these changes will not only be operating at a disadvantage, they could be exposed to legal malpractice claims. This article summarizes changes in Act 170 that will have the most significant impact on commercial litigation in Pennsylvania. (The new statutory changes can be found at 15 PA.C.S. Section 101 et seq.)

Importantly, the changes in Act 170 apply retroactively to all LLCs, LLPs, corporations and GPs. I have been surprised by the number of lawyers who are unaware of these changes, and as a result, I have listed the highlights from a commercial litigator’s perspective.

Continue reading “Many Still Unaware of 2017 Changes to Law Involving Corporate Disputes”