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Message from the Chair, Charles E. McCallum
There's a lot going on the Section of Business Law this year:
Our Committees, always brimming over with projects, programs, and
publications, are attaining new heights. For example, the Committee on
Commercial Finance,
which will be holding a stand-alone meeting in Phoenix
on November 7 during the annual convention of the Commercial Finance
Association, is leading our participation (together with the ABA Dispute
Resolution Section, the American College of Commercial Finance Lawyers, and
the College of Commercial Arbitrators) in a Colloquium on ADR techniques in
commercial finance transactions. Colloquium papers (submission abstracts
due by December 15, 2007) will be published, and selected papers
will be presented at our 2008 Spring Meeting in Dallas, April 10-12. For
further information on the Colloquium, click here.
The Section's Global Business Law initiative is picking up steam. Several
international Subcommittees have launched ambitious projects. For example,
the International Developments Subcommittee of the Committee on
Corporate
Governance is conducting a comparative study of fiduciary duties and
comparable concepts in different jurisdictions as a foundation for better
understanding of global corporate governance practices. We are planning a
Section Meeting at a European location in May 2008, and a number of
Committees and Subcommittees intend to have meetings and present programs
there.
At the European Meeting and at the Spring Meeting in Dallas we will reach
out to and invite into active membership in our Section not only lawyers
practicing in the United States, but also lawyers practicing outside our
country, whether expatriate U.S. lawyers or non-U.S. lawyers who are, or
are willing to become, Associate Members of the ABA.
I hope to see you at the Section Fall Meeting in two weeks. Whether or not
you can be there, I hope that if you have not already done so you will join
and become an active member of one or more of our great Committees.
Click here to join a Committee.
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Charles E. McCallum
Chair, Section of Business Law
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Experts on opinions debated when and under what circumstances to ask for
third-party opinions.
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Presented by the Committee on Legal Opinions at the
2007 ABA Annual Meeting, August 2007.
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Learn the difference between browse-wrap and click-through agreements,
which are binding and which are not, and the importance of mutual assent,
unfair and deceptive practices, unconscionability and electronic
agreements.
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Presented by the Committee on Cyberspace Law at the
2007 ABA Annual Meeting, August 2007.
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This article provides a step-by-step discussion on how to protect patent
portfolios of pharmas and biotech companies and maximize the value of such
portfolios when the owner files a Chapter 7 or Chapter 11 bankruptcy
petition.
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This short article addresses some of the major concerns that should be
considered when conducting internal investigations or responding to
government subpoenas or requests for information.
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Special purpose acquisition companies (commonly known as SPACs)
have become an active investment vehicle. This program and accompanying article
from the committee's newsletter give an overview of these publicly-traded
shell companies that allow their sponsors to raise capital to acquire
operating companies through IPOs.
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This program discusses select evidentiary issues for the bankruptcy
practitioner and includes practice points, sample documents and "do's
and don't's."
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This program explored what worked and what did not work in the first
edition of CD&As under the SEC's new executive compensation disclosures
rules and what to expect in the 2008 season.
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A law firm's handling of litigation arising out of the firm's transactional work may not be such a good idea.
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Committee Spotlight
To learn more about or join the committees that contributed to this month's practice points, just click on the committee name below.
Section members are eligible to join the Section's committees at no
additional cost. Become involved or simply stay in the information
flow. It's FREE!
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The Section of Business Law is participating with the ABA Dispute Resolution
Section, the American College of Commercial Finance Lawyers and the College
of Commercial Arbitrators in a Colloquium on the use of ADR techniques in
commercial finance transactions. The Colloquium is intended as a first
step in the process of investigating issues and developing agreed
techniques and dispute resolution clauses for use in commercial finance
transactions by business lawyers and making dispute resolution
practitioners, academics and service providers aware of special needs and
circumstances to be addressed to make alternative dispute resolution a
viable option in complex commercial finance transactions. The Colloquium
will facilitate an exchange between members of the participating
organizations with knowledge and expertise in financial transactions and in
the use of ADR techniques. The Colleges have issued a Call for Papers for
the Colloquium and request that abstracts of papers be submitted for
consideration by December 15, 2007. Papers will be published in a
book in 2008 and selected papers will be discussed at the 2008 Spring
Meetings of the Dispute Resolution Section (in Seattle, WA April 3-5, 2008)
and the Section of Business Law (in Dallas, TX April 10-12, 2008). For
further information please visit the Colloquium website sponsored by the
Section's UCC, ADR and Commercial Finance Committees
here or contact the
Colloquium Reporter, Thomas J. Welsh, at TJWelsh@BrownWelsh.com or (203)
235-1651.
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The Section's Committee on Pro Bono is seeking nominations for its 2008
National Public Service Award. The Award will be presented at the
Section's Spring Meeting, to be held in Dallas, TX, April 10 - 12, 2008.
The Award recognizes significant pro bono legal services which demonstrate
a commitment to providing services to the poor in a business context. Two
National Public Service Awards will be presented: one recognizing the pro
bono contributions of an individual, and one recognizing the pro bono
contributions of a law firm or corporate law department. Nominations are
due no later than Friday, January 18, 2008. For more information about the
National Public Service Award and the nomination process, please visit the
Committee on Pro Bono web site or contact Allyn
M. O'Connor at oconnora@staff.abanet.org.
The Section's Committee on Diversity is seeking nominations for its 16th
Annual Jean Allard Glass Cutter Award. The Award will be presented
during the Section Luncheon at the 2008 Spring Meeting in Dallas, TX, April 10 - 12, 2008.
The Jean Allard Glass Cutter Award is presented to an exceptional woman
business lawyer who has made significant contributions both to the
profession and to the Section of Business Law. The Award is named for Jean
Allard, the first woman to chair the section. For more information
and to submit a nomination, please click here.
Do you know anyone who has what it takes to be a good Section leader? Well,
the Nominating Committee of the Section needs your recommendations for
leadership positions for the 2008-2009 association year. Nominees will be
selected for: Chair-Elect (who automatically assumes the position of chair
the following year); Secretary (who automatically assumes the position of
vice chair the following year); two Section Delegates to the ABA House of
Delegates; and five additional Council members for a four-year term
expiring in 2012. The Nominating Committee will take into account the
following principles in making its selections. It will: select nominees who
have been substantial and active contributors to the Section; seek
geographic diversity in the leadership of the Section; strive for
representation from a broad cross-section of the areas of law represented
in the Section; and seek to draw leaders from a broad cross-section of the
various sectors of practice, including corporate law departments,
government, academia and private law firms; and actively recruit nominees
that reflect the diversity of the Section. Please send your nominations by
email to suedaly@staff.abanet.org
no later than December 15.
In recent years, many areas of the legal profession have made pursuing
diversity a priority objective. Business law presents many distinct
diversity challenges, as law students are often unfamiliar with the field
and perceive it as conservative and unaccepting. This realization is
troubling, particularly for the ABA Section of
Business Law because its mission is: to encourage diversity in the
Section by fostering a welcoming environment for all lawyers and promoting
full and equal participation by all lawyers, including lawyers of color,
women lawyers, gay and lesbian lawyers, and lawyers with disabilities
("Diverse Lawyers"). To help address this problem, the
Section of Business Law has created a summer program providing business law
internship placements for qualified diversity candidates who are first or
second year law students and are otherwise excluded from the process, and
at the same time providing support... Read
more.
This writing contest was created
to encourage and reward law student writings on a business law subject
of general and current interest. Annually (January 4 submission deadline),
each ABA-accredited law school, acting through its dean, is asked
to nominate a paper considering aspects of business law by a student
enrolled in the law school. The papers will be judged on research
and analysis, choice of topic, writing style, originality, and contribution
to the literature available on the topic.
Papers are judged on quality
of research and analysis, choice of topic, writing style, originality,
and contribution to the literature available on the subject.
Read more.
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