LAWYERSCHILE EL MUNDO INTERNACIONAL DEL ABOGADO

Rodrigo González Fernández y un grupo de egresados de la Facultad de Derecho de la Universidad la Republica en Chile ha decidido poner al alcance de todo el mundo de la profesion legal importantes materias en Ingles para ir practicando el trabajo en materia de Tratados internacionales y que nuestra profesión estará en primera linea. Invitamos a todos a opinar, debatir, participar activamente.Es el primer blog legal en inglés de latinoamerica.

Friday, July 13, 2007

Legal Blog Watch

Legal Blog Watch

Innovation: Here, There and Everywhere

Innovation abounds in the legal profession, it seems, if this week's coverage is any indication.

First off, Ron Friedmann at Strategic Legal Technology points us to yesterday's release by the College of Law Practice Management of the four winners of its InnovAction Awards 2007, honoring excellence and innovation in the management and delivery of legal services. And the envelope please:

DLA Piper, for its creation of an ambitious global pro bono initiative, New Perimeter.
Holland and Hart, for its creation of a foundation devoted to encouraging pro bono throughout the firm.
Mallesons Stephen Jacques, for its TalentNet, a Web-based tool for recruitment management.
Raskin Peter Rubin & Simon, for its creation of the Association of Media & Entertainment Counsel, devoted to advancing the professional development of in-house legal counsel at media and entertainment companies.

As if that were not innovation enough, the Financial Times of London came out this week with its second-annual survey of Innovative Lawyers, covering "cutting-edge practice in the legal profession." This year's survey includes the first FT Law 50, ranking the top 50 most innovative European law firms. (Topping the list: Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance and Linklaters.)

There is a lot to read in the FT's coverage. But for those who prefer the CliffsNotes version, Bruce MacEwen offers his summary of the survey at Adam Smith, Esq. He writes:

"The sheer variety is what's most impressive to my eye. Linklaters came up with a way of helping finance vaccination programs overseen by the World Health Organization and UNICEF, among others, under which $1 billion of bonds have been issued and another $3 billion are expected to be issued over the next few years. ... Clifford Chance took on climate change by attempting to do for carbon and emissions trading what Michael Milken and Drexel did for junk bonds: Standardize the disclosure and documentation to make the market more liquid. CC also claims to have invented the world's first convertible Islamic bond, consistent with Sharia law."

The FT sums it up even more succinctly: "Innovation and lawyers never used to be comfortable bedfellows, but there is growing evidence of radical change in the legal market."

Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on July 12, 2007 at 02:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Distrust for Business Outweighs That for Lawyers

Saturday marks the start of the annual meeting of the American Association for Justice (f/k/a Association of Trial Lawyers of America), and the AAJ is setting the stage with today's release of a survey showing that voters distrust large corporations far more than they do trial lawyers. "Americans are deeply worried about their nation's future," the survey says, "and concern about corporate misconduct is a major source of their anxiety."

The survey, conducted for AAJ by Peter D. Hart Research Associates, explored voters' attitudes towards the civil justice system. It found that most voters see large corporations as preoccupied with the bottom line and irresponsible towards consumers and workers. Among voters' most significant concerns: huge payouts to corporate CEOs at the expense of rank-and-file jobs, defaults on pension obligations and refusals to pay for medical treatments.

The survey's executive summary contrasts voters' concern about corporations with what it describes as their "muted response" to criticisms frequently leveled against the civil justice system. Only a third of voters see a serious problem in trial lawyer fees, and only a quarter worry that jury awards are too high in personal injury and medical malpractice cases. More to the point, voters rank both of those below all of their concerns about big business. From the summary:

"Americans believe that the civil justice system provides essential safeguards for them at a time when corporate misconduct is such a serious problem. They tell us that making sure corporations are held accountable when their actions harm consumers, employees, or communities (70%) should be a much higher priority for the civil justice system than limiting the amount of compensation that juries can award for pain and suffering."

Holding big corporations accountable -- that, no doubt, will be the rallying cry as plaintiffs lawyers from throughout the United States convene in Chicago this week.

Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on July 12, 2007 at 02:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Avvo: Hear All About It

If you are growing tired of reading about the controversy surrounding the new lawyer-rating site Avvo, perhaps you'd rather hear about it. If so, you can have your fill thanks to two recent podcasts.

In yesterday's edition of the legal-affairs podcast Lawyer2Lawyer -- which I co-host along with fellow Law.com blogger J. Craig Williams -- we interview Avvo's founders, President and CEO Mark Britton and VP of Products & Marketing Paul Bloom. The two discuss their reasons for launching the site, their responses to criticisms and their future plans. They also respond to points made during our first program on Avvo, posted June 18, on which they declined to appear.

In that first episode, we discussed Avvo with guests John Henry Browne, the Seattle attorney who is one of the named plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit against Avvo; Carolyn Elefant, my co-contributor here at Legal Blog Watch and also author of the blog MyShingle.com; and Denise Howell, author of the blog Bag and Baggage.

Denise Howell hosts her own podcast, This Week in Law, and Avvo CEO Britton also joined her as a guest. In a 90-minute program, Howell interviews Britton and then leads an informal roundtable discussion about the site with legal bloggers Ernie Svenson, Dennis Kennedy and Mazyar Hadayat.

Listen to Lawyer2Lawyer with Britton and Bloom.
Listen to Lawyer2Lawyer with Browne, Elefant and Howell.
Listen to This Week in Law with Britton.

Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on July 12, 2007 at 02:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Saludos
Rodrigo González Fernández
www.consultajuridicachile.blogspot.com
www.lobbyingchile.blogspot.com
Renato Sánchez 3586

telefono: 2084334- 5839786
santiago-chile

Escribanos, consultenos, opine

Thursday, July 12, 2007

from Warthon

What's Hot
(Podcast)
WebEx's Diane Davidson: 'We Defined a Community Ecosystem'
When Google bought YouTube recently for $1.65 billion, the world of business sat up to take serious notice of social networks. Today, many companies are looking into how they can tap into -- or develop -- communities as a way to make better decisions and increase profits. Jon Spector, a former Wharton vice dean and now CEO of the Conference Board, spoke with participants at the Community 2.0 conference in Las Vegas earlier this year to explore how companies are trying to harness communities to reshape their businesses. In this podcast, Spector speaks with Diane Davidson, director of customer marketing at WebEx. Spector is a co-author, with Barry Libert, of the forthcoming Wharton School Publishing book, We Are Smarter Than Me: How to Unleash the Power of Crowds in Your Business.
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/1774.cfm

Managing Technology
(Podcast)
Craigslist's Craig Newmark: '100% of What We Do Is Based on Community'
Jon Spector, a former Wharton vice dean and now CEO of the Conference Board, spoke with participants at the Community 2.0 conference in Las Vegas earlier this year to explore how companies are trying to harness communities to reshape their businesses. In this podcast, Spector speaks with Craig Newmark, founder and "customer service rep" of Craigslist.com. Spector is a co-author, with Barry Libert, of the forthcoming Wharton School Publishing book, We Are Smarter Than Me: How to Unleash the Power of Crowds in Your Business.
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/1775.cfm

Marketing
Making the Most of Every Marketing Dollar
In Marketing That Works: How Entrepreneurial Marketing Can Add Sustainable Value to Any Sized Company (Wharton School Publishing), the focus is on optimizing investments in every aspect of marketing, whether it's targeting the right customer, delivering added value or generating better product ideas. Authors Leonard M. Lodish, Howard L. Morgan and Shellye Archambeau offer tools, tactics and strategies that companies can use to differentiate themselves in today's marketplace. As the authors note, "Marketing, more than technology, is most often the reason for the success or failure of new ventures or new initiatives" in mature corporations.
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/1770.cfm

Leadership and Change
To Marshall Goldsmith: Thank You for Writing This Book (And We're Not Sucking Up)
Marshall Goldsmith, the founder of executive coaching firm Marshall Goldsmith Partners, has worked closely with more than 70 CEOs during his career. Forbes has named him one of the five most respected executive coaches. The Wall Street Journal ranks him among the top 10 executive educators. Now Goldsmith has assembled a book that distills the wisdom he and his stable of coaches usually dispense in person. Listed at $23.95, What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful, written with Mark Reiter, is a bargain compared to the six-figure cost of receiving Goldsmith's wisdom in person.
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/1771.cfm

Strategic Management
Avoiding the Traps That Can Cause Your Company to Self-Destruct
In The Self Destructive Habits of Good Companies ... And How to Break Them (Wharton School Publishing), Jagdish N. Sheth, a marketing professor at the Goizueta Business School at Emory University, analyzes why companies that are at the top of their industry suddenly disappear from the landscape. He maintains that successful companies fall prey to complacency, arrogance, competency dependence, competitive myopia, territorial impulse, volume obsession and denial, and he then goes on to suggest ways companies can change course and avoid these traps. As Sheth notes in his introduction, "My view is that most companies can survive forever if they recognize and take steps to counter self-destructive habits or set up processes to keep them from arising in the first place."
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/1769.cfm

Law and Public Policy
A Novel on Genetic Research: It's 'Fiction, Except for the Parts That Aren't'
A mathematical parrot. A Dutch-speaking orangutan. A chimp that can pass for a boy. These are the otherworldly characters -- and provocative thought experiments -- that anchor best-selling author Michael Crichton's most recent novel, Next. The book weaves together several storylines in order to trace the complex interplay of scientific innovation, legal loopholes and economic opportunity. Along the way, Crichton creates a troubling portrait of a biotech industry marred by corporate greed and moral uncertainty. Both thriller and policy piece, the book is also a compelling contribution to the debate over genetic research, according to our reviewer.
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/1773.cfm

Human Resources
Is Your Workforce Strange Enough to Guarantee Competitive Advantage?
According to Daniel M. Cable, what characterizes successful companies these days is "a strikingly different, obsessively focused" workforce, one that -- compared to competitors' workforces -- is "downright strange." Cable, a management professor at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina, makes his case in a new book titled, Change to Strange: Create a Great Organization by Building a Strange Workforce (Wharton School Publishing). To get the best results, Cable says, companies have to build a workforce "that is extraordinary in a way that customers care about."
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/1768.cfm

Innovation and Entrepreneurship
'Life Behind the Veil': Launching a Beauty School in Kabul, Afghanistan
From Reading Lolita in Tehran, an award-winning account of an underground Iranian women's book group, to The Kite Runner, a best-selling novel about modern Afghanistan, tales of Islamic culture have entranced Western readers eager for a glimpse into a world that is at once far removed from theirs and yet fundamentally intertwined with it. A recent book adds to this genre. In Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil, author Deborah Rodriguez opens a window onto the private lives of Afghan women by explaining what it's like to try and launch a business -- in this case, a beauty school -- in a remote, unfamiliar area. The tale, according to our reviewer, is heartwarming, eye-opening and ultimately chilling.
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/1772.cfm

_________________________________________________________________

Saludos
Rodrigo González Fernández
www.consultajuridicachile.blogspot.com
www.lobbyingchile.blogspot.com
Renato Sánchez 3586
telefono: 5839786
santiago-chile

Escribanos, consultenos, opine

Monday, July 09, 2007

Closer Look

Closer Look

Who's Running?

Some notable names in the field of potential presidential candidates.

Officially Announced | Established Exploratory Committees | Widely Mentioned | Not Running

Officially Announced

Democrats

Joseph R. Biden Jr.

Senator from Delaware

Hillary Rodham Clinton

Senator From New York

Christopher J. Dodd

Senator from Connecticut

John Edwards

Former senator from North Carolina

Mike Gravel

Former senator from Alaska

Dennis J. Kucinich

Representative from Ohio

Barack Obama

Senator from Illinois

Bill Richardson

Governor of New Mexico

Republicans

Sam Brownback

Senator from Kansas

James S. Gilmore III

Former governor of Virginia

Rudolph W. Giuliani

Former mayor of New York City

Duncan Hunter

Representative from California

John McCain

Senator from Arizona

Ron Paul

Representative from Texas

Mitt Romney

Former governor of Massachusetts

Tom Tancredo

Representative from Colorado

Tommy G. Thompson

Former governor of Wisconsin

Established Exploratory Committees Back to top

Republicans

Mike Huckabee

Former governor of Arkansas

Widely Mentioned Back to top

Democrats

Wesley K. Clark

Retired NATO commander; from Arkansas

Al Gore

Former vice president; from Tennessee

Al Sharpton

Minister and activist; from New York

Republicans

Newt Gingrich

Former House speaker from Georgia

Chuck Hagel

Senator from Nebraska

George E. Pataki

Governor of New York

Fred Thompson

Actor and former senator from Tennessee

Independents

Michael R. Bloomberg

Mayor of New York City

Officially Not Running Back to top

Democrats

Evan Bayh

Senator from Indiana

Russell D. Feingold

Senator from Wisconsin

John Kerry

Senator from Massachusetts

Tom Vilsack

Former governor of Iowa

Mark R. Warner

Former governor of Virginia

Republicans

Bill Frist

Senator from Tennessee

Need to know more? 50% off home delivery of The Times.

Tips

To find reference information about the words used in this article, double-click on any word, phrase or name. A new window will open with a dictionary definition or encyclopedia entry.

Saludos
Rodrigo González Fernández
www.consultajuridicachile.blogspot.com
www.lobbyingchile.blogspot.com
Renato Sánchez 3586
telefono: 5839786
santiago-chile

Escribanos, consultenos, opine

Legal Blog Watch

Legal Blog Watch

$1M in Business Won't Get You a Place at a Law Firm

The lateral road to equity partnership has gotten rockier in recent years, according to this LA Business Journal article, Sorry Partner, Not For Just a Million (7/9/07). According to the article, Los Angeles lawyers with one million in portable business can no longer expect to snag an equity partnership at top-tier firms, which these days are demanding at least $1.5 million in portable business and would prefer $2 million. The article explains that a firm generating $1 million in profits per partner likely has a book of business average of at least $2.5 million. So to bring in a partner with less than that amount of business would dilute existing partners' profits.

So what are the options for a $1 million partner who wants to change firms? Many migrate to regional firms where $1 million is still significant. Others can take "of counsel" or nonequity positions at other firms. And of course, another option that isn't discussed is that lawyers with that amount of business can open up their own shop.

What the article doesn't discuss is how the $2 million portable requirement affects associates. Are there midlevel associates who are generating that much in portable business (after all, it seems as if partners have even more incentive to hang on to all client matters to retain their equity statuts)? But if midlevel associates don't have a $2 million book of business, do they have a chance of ever moving to another firm?

Posted by Carolyn Elefant on July 9, 2007 at 02:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Saludos
Rodrigo González Fernández
www.consultajuridicachile.blogspot.com
www.lobbyingchile.blogspot.com
Renato Sánchez 3586
telefono: 5839786
santiago-chile

Escribanos, consultenos, opine

Investor Relations Office

Mission Statement

To respond to investor inquiries about public finances and capital market reforms,

to provide information alerts of interest to investors.

Reports
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Links to Economic Statistics and Information
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Saludos
Rodrigo González Fernández
www.consultajuridicachile.blogspot.com
www.lobbyingchile.blogspot.com
Renato Sánchez 3586
telefono: 5839786
santiago-chile

Escribanos, consultenos, opine

Minister of Finance

Minister of Finance dismisses any political pressure in connection with Superintendency of Securities and Insurance pronouncement

The minister of finance, on commenting on the sanctions applied today by the Superintendency of Securities and Insurance to company directors infringing the Securities Market Law, stated that all the decisions made by this supervisory entity are based on technical grounds.

See complete note

Saludos
Rodrigo González Fernández
www.consultajuridicachile.blogspot.com
www.lobbyingchile.blogspot.com
Renato Sánchez 3586
telefono: 5839786
santiago-chile

Escribanos, consultenos, opine

Minister of Finance disregards a "sudden halt" of the economy and reafirms solid growth trend

Minister of Finance disregards a "sudden halt" of the economy and reafirms solid growth trend

The minister of finance called not to "overinterpret" monthly figures and asked to focus on longer periods to draw conclusions on the course of our economy. He sustained that economic expansion during 2007's first five months amounts to 5.8%, which is exactly the government's projection for this year.

See complete note

Saludos
Rodrigo González Fernández
www.consultajuridicachile.blogspot.com
www.lobbyingchile.blogspot.com
Renato Sánchez 3586
telefono: 5839786
santiago-chile

Escribanos, consultenos, opine

Friday, July 06, 2007

Climate Change and Clean Energy


A diesel-electric hybrid bus drives through Seattle. (File photo © AP Images)

Energy Conservation, Renewables Get Boost in Senate Bill

The U.S. Senate approves an energy bill that has a key focus on reducing energy use and addressing global warming. The legislation concentrates mostly on oil conservation in the transportation sector. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid says in a statement that the legislation "starts America on a path toward reducing our reliance on oil by increasing our use of renewables and for the first time in decades significantly improving the fuel efficiency of cars and trucks." (complete text)

G8 Countries Agree on Process To Address Global Warming

Leaders of the Group of Eight countries agree on an accelerated process that eventually can lead to "substantial" cuts in emissions that contribute to global warming. "We are … committed to taking strong and early action to tackle climate change," they say in a declaration issued in Heiligendamm, Germany. Calling climate change an "urgent challenge," the leaders called on the countries that are heavy users of energy and emitters of greenhouse gases to establish by the end of 2008 a new global framework for dealing with emissions of these gases. Such a framework would serve as a basis for reaching, by the end of 2009, a broader global agreement under the auspices of the United Nations that would replace the Kyoto Protocol once it expires in 2012. (complete text)

United States, Brazil Seek a Central America Driven by Biofuels

With the help of the United States and Brazil, three Central American countries and one Caribbean nation could become less dependent on oil imports by switching their economies to biofuels, according to U.S. and Brazilian officials. "We seek to promote the democratization of energy in the Americas, increasing the number of energy suppliers, expanding the market and reducing supply disruption," U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says. (complete text)

Saludos
Rodrigo González Fernández
Consultajuridicachile.blogspot.com
Renato Sánchez 3586
telefono: 5839786
santiago-chile

Escribanos, consultenos, opine

Thursday, July 05, 2007

DEMOCRACY NOW! DAILY EMAIL DIGEST

DEMOCRACY NOW! DAILY EMAIL DIGEST
July 5, 2007

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Saludos
Rodrigo González Fernández
Consultajuridicachile.blogspot.com
Renato Sánchez 3586
telefono: 5839786
santiago-chile

Escribanos, consultenos, opine

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

FROM UNESCO


Français Sitio web en español		July 4, 2007

In Focus

Networks and Partnerships

In addition to maintaining privileged relationships with its Member States, UNESCO is stepping up its efforts to cooperate with public and private partners on the basis of shared ethical principles. Thanks to their technical expertise and financial support, these partners enable the Organization to respond efficiently to requests for international assistance in the fields of culture that lie within its competence.

Institutions and cultural partners: An overview
World Heritage: Public and private initiatives
The Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity: A partnership with 500 enterprises
UNESCO Chairs and UNITWIN: University Twinning and Networking

News and Events

Reducing Risks to Collections Sibiu, Romania
04 - 06 07 2007 The purpose of the three-week session of the international course on "Reducing Risks to Collections" is to focus on the preventive conservation of museum collections.
"Breaking the Chains Prize" at the 10th Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF) Zanzibar, United Republic of Tanzania
04 - 08 07 2007 The UNESCO Slave Route Project, in partnership with the ZIFF (Zanzibar International Film Festival) and the British Council Office in Tanzania, created the "Breaking the Chains Prize" for the best film to shed new light on slavery and its legacy.
Risk-Management for Cultural Heritage Yogyakarta, Indonesia
04 - 09 07 2007 This training workshop is organized within the framework of the action plan for the rehabilitation of the earthquake-affected Prambanan World Heritage Compounds.
An Introduction to Musical Ethnography Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
04 - 13 07 2007 One of the main objectives of the UNESCO/Norway Funds-in-Trust Project "Ethiopia – Traditional Music, Dance and Instruments" is to contribute to the trains Ethiopian students to create an environment in which Ethiopia's music and dance traditions will continue to be identified, inventoried and recorded.
Living Heritage: Exploring the Intangible Paris, France
04 07 - 30 11 2007 Photo exhibition displayed on the fence surrounding UNESCO Headquarters and presenting more than 100 photos on traditional music, dance and theatre, social practices, rituals and festivals and traditional knowledge and skills, and oral traditions that communities and groups around the world receive from their ancestors and pass on to their descendants.
Information Meeting on Arts Education Paris, France
05 07 2007 This Permanent Delegates' information meeting is a follow-up to the World Conference on Arts Education on "Building Creative Capacities for the 21st Century".
Launch of SEAL of Excellence in South Africa Pretoria, South Africa
06 - 07 07 2007 The World Crafts Council has given its sanction for the SEAL of Excellence Award introduction to South Africa as the pilot country for the African Continent.
The Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions and International Cooperation Madrid, Spain
10 - 12 07 2007 This first meeting of international experts aims at analyzing the articles of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions related to international cooperation.
Inventorying Intangible Cultural Heritage in Madagascar Antananarivo, Madagascar
16 - 20 07 2007 This international workshop aims at discussing and defining a preliminary template for a National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Madagascar.
Nomination of the West Tien-Shan as Trans-boundary Natural Heritage Site Almaty, Kazakhstan
18 - 19 07 2007 The sub-regional meeting will contribute to defining the nomination strategy and modalities for the West Tien-Shan as a natural World Heritage site as well as providing relevant authorities with guidance on the preparation of the nomination file.
Launch of Children's Books in Banda Aceh Banda Aceh, Indonesia
22 07 2007 As part of the UNESCO Programme for the safeguarding and re-establishment of tangible and intangible cultural heritage in the post-tsunami environment of Aceh, six children's books highlighting local traditions and culture for primary and secondary school students will be launched at the Museum Aceh.
Namibia's "Heritage Hunt" Windhoek, Namibia
26 07 2007 UNESCO is supporting the Heritage Hunt, a national campaign to be launched by the Honourable Minister of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture of Namibia, Johan Mutorwa.