Legal Blog Watch

Legal Blog Watch

Family-Leave Lawsuits on the Rise This past Sunday, the New York Times Magazine featured this lengthy article on the increasing number of lawsuits over family-leave policies (July 29, 2007). Increasingly, employees who take time off for family care obligations -- ranging from caring for sick family members to having a baby -- and are prohibited from returning to their job are suing their employers. Up until recently, employees typically relied on the protections of the Family and Medical Leave Act, but its scope is limited (it does not cover companies with fewer than 50 employees). But now employees and their lawyers are developing new legal theories to protect employees who must take extended leave for family care obligations. From the article:  More than 1,150 [family care obligation] lawsuits have been filed in federal and state courts, a trend that has not gone unnoticed in the business world, not only because companies are well aware of the negative publicity lawsuits can generate but also because numerous plaintiffs have walked away with hefty damage awards. In one case, a jury granted $11.65 million to a hospital maintenance worker who was penalized for having to care for his elderly parents. In Ohio recently, a jury awarded $2.1 million to an assistant store manager who was demoted because she has several kids. The workers pressing such claims have invoked a dizzying array of laws to prove they were mistreated. Some have relied on Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which a number of courts have ruled prohibits not only overt sex discrimination but also seemingly neutral policies that have a disparate impact on women. Others have invoked the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act, which covers both individuals with disabilities and, to a lesser extent, the people who care for them. Others still have drawn on the many state and local laws passed in recent years to safeguard the rights of employees with families. The flood of cases reflects not just the increased presence of women in the workplace but also the growing difficulty Americans of all social backgrounds seem to be having in balancing the demands of work and family. Unlike so-called "glass ceiling" cases involving women barred from the top rungs of a handful of elite professions, the plaintiffs in these new work-family disputes have ranged across the occupational spectrum, from physicians to police officers to grocery clerks. While not all have become millionaires, more than half have prevailed in court — a success rate significantly higher than that of more conventional employment-discrimination cases, which is below 20 percent. Beyond causing headaches for their employers, the lawsuits are serving notice that the battle over "family values" is no longer just about gay marriage and abortion: it's also about workplace attitudes that some advocates believe do significantly more to undermine family life than those controversial practices do. So how are employers reacting to the new slew of lawsuits -- and the new realities of the workplace? The article quotes Zachary Fasman, a partner at the New York office of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker who specializes in employment law -- and holds a skeptical view about these suits. From the article: At the E.E.O.C. hearing back in April, Fasman testified that there is a danger the lawsuits will be used as a lever to force companies to change legitimate business practices (mandatory overtime, strict attendance rules) that not all workers can handle. Imagine the effect on the workplace, or the potential impact on America's competitiveness, if United States courts ruled, for example, that companies could no longer dictate to their employees what time the workday began and ended. "I'm not against work-life balance — who is?" Fasman later told me. "But the organization of the work force has always been left, to a large extent, to the discretion of the employer. So long as it doesn't discriminate, where a business draws the line on these things depends on the nature of the business. You can't rewrite the rules of the American workplace unless Congress does it." But the article also points out that some companies are changing their policies voluntarily anyway, in an effort to attract and retain qualified employees. As pointed out in this post at Labor Prof Blog, family care lawsuits "are fundamentally about family values, not gender discrimination. For this reason, they unite people on both sides of the political divide." But even with this unity, I don't expect a quick solution to these issues anytime soon -- because in my view, these are tricky problems. After all, no one opposes family values -- until they're the person who winds up picking up the slack at the office while co-workers are home caring for a child or sick family member. Posted by Carolyn Elefant on August 2, 2007 at 03:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) Recruiting Lawyers for Document Review ... in India Here, in the United States, document review or "contract lawyer" jobs aren't viewed with much prestige, nor are they typically recommended as the optimal start to a successful legal career. So I was amused to read this article, Legal eagles for digital age, by Sanjay Kamlani, founder of an India-based legal process outsourcing (LPO) company (Hindustan Times, 8/1/07). Kamlani writes: When you work for an Indian law firm servicing some of the largest global multinationals, you certainly get the best exposure that you could possibly ask for in terms of the client base. However, in most cases, the transactions you are seeing from those clients are likely limited to India-centric transactions — setting up a subsidiary in India, availing tax holidays in India, and such. The scope of these transactions for Fortune 500 multinationals is not nearly as broad as the scope of transactions that are occurring globally. Compare this with the work done at an LPO, where the virtual office environment created by the Internet enables the work done at an LPO to be truly global in scope. At high-end LPOs, lawyers are servicing multinational in-house lawyers and law firms on their global practice. Large multinationals, whether it be a GE, Microsoft, Boeing, Google, or a Goldman Sachs, are typically not approaching Indian law firms for activities that are not India-centric.  The exposure at an LPO also varies across industries. You could be reviewing a services agreement on a given day and a financial indenture on another. Thus, if one wants to move from an LPO to an Indian or an international law firm, the transition is easy due to the exposure gained. I suppose that's one way of looking at the benefits of contract lawyering projects. I wonder whether these same arguments would play to U.S. lawyers in the U.S.  Posted by Carolyn Elefant on August 2, 2007 at 03:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) Online Contracts Imagine the contract process, without lawyers. Apparently, one Spanish startup, Negonation (here's a link to the company blog), has done just that, developing a system called Tractis, the first Web platform that lets users create, manage and execute contracts online, as reported in this article from Business 2.0 magazine (8/2/07). According to the article, Tractis is "stocked with a database of contract templates from around the world, and its contracts are legally enforceable in the offline world, even if the parties are in different countries." Tractis also includes a verification system for parties to verify identity (thus facilitating enforcement) and  will reimburse users who are victims of fraud as a result of using a valid online contract. Right now, Negonation is targeting higher-end eBay transactions, hoping that the added level of security provided by a separate contract will appeal to eBay users.  But what I found most interesting was this description of the Tractis dashboard. Apparently, the dashboard displays the entire timeline of negotiations, permissions, invitations, and comments. Users can invite other parties to edit working drafts, or lock others out of the negotiations. And contract templates include software licenses, rental agreements, warranties, and financial services. So what are the prospects for Tractis in the lawyer-reliant business market? Will Tractis replace lawyer-drafted contracts or simply provide contracts for transactions where lawyers were never involved to begin with? It seems to me that Tractis and legal representation aren't mutually exclusive either: You could use the Tractis tools to negotiate contacts and track drafting changes while still represented by a lawyer. Posted by Carolyn Elefant on August 2, 2007 at 03:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) Some Insight Into How Good Lawyers Go Bad When I read about outrageous ethics violations by lawyers -- embezzling client funds or lying to clients that their cases are still ongoing, when in fact they were dismissed years before -- I always wonder how the lawyers reached that point. Were they lazy or disorganized or well-intentioned -- or simply bad, greedy and inherently evil? This article, Missing Lawyer Admits Embezzlement in Confessional Letter (8/2/07), via Legal Reader sheds some insight. The article reports on missing Connecticut lawyer Christopher Hoyt, who was last seen in early July. Hoyt's disappearance comes on the heels of serious financial troubles, including a March 2007 personal bankruptcy filing, not to mention a multitude of ethical and criminal violations relating to Hoyt's dealing with clients at the Hoyt Law Group. In a letter to his son, also a lawyer at the firm, the senior Hoyt admitted that his embezzlement followed a slippery slope of small takings, which got out of hand: I have embezzled funds from my clients," business law attorney Jonathan Hoyt wrote to his son, attorney Christopher Hoyt. "Like most lawyers who fall into this trap I always did it with the idea that I would repay the funds, but of course once I started down this slippery slope there was nothing but failure waiting for me at the end." Hoyt also apparently suffered from depression as well as financial problems, mentioned earlier. Ever the lawyer father, Hoyt also advised his son on how to compensate defrauded clients, wrap up the business of the firm and continue with his law practice either on his own or with another firm. And he also made clear that he was solely responsible for the embezzlement and that his son knew nothing about it. I suspect that most ethics and criminal problems experienced by lawyers start this way. First, you take a little money, intending to repay it. Then, you get in over your head financially, which can lead to depression, which impairs your work, which forces you to dip into client funds to cover your bills and starts the cycle all over again. The lesson here is clear as well: Don't ever touch client fund. And equally importantly, get help for depression -- a problem that the legal profession must also take more seriously seriously, not so much for how it affects lawyers but also because of how the aftermath of depression can impact clients.  Posted by Carolyn Elefant on August 2, 2007 at 03:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Saludos
Rodrigo González Fernández
Renato Sánchez 3586 of. 10
Telefono: 2084334- 5839786
santiago-Chile
www.consultajuridicachile.blogspot.com
www.lobbyingchile.blogspot.com
www.biocombustibles.blogspot.com

Legal Blog Watch

Legal Blog Watch

Family-Leave Lawsuits on the Rise This past Sunday, the New York Times Magazine featured this lengthy article on the increasing number of lawsuits over family-leave policies (July 29, 2007). Increasingly, employees who take time off for family care obligations -- ranging from caring for sick family members to having a baby -- and are prohibited from returning to their job are suing their employers. Up until recently, employees typically relied on the protections of the Family and Medical Leave Act, but its scope is limited (it does not cover companies with fewer than 50 employees). But now employees and their lawyers are developing new legal theories to protect employees who must take extended leave for family care obligations. From the article:  More than 1,150 [family care obligation] lawsuits have been filed in federal and state courts, a trend that has not gone unnoticed in the business world, not only because companies are well aware of the negative publicity lawsuits can generate but also because numerous plaintiffs have walked away with hefty damage awards. In one case, a jury granted $11.65 million to a hospital maintenance worker who was penalized for having to care for his elderly parents. In Ohio recently, a jury awarded $2.1 million to an assistant store manager who was demoted because she has several kids. The workers pressing such claims have invoked a dizzying array of laws to prove they were mistreated. Some have relied on Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which a number of courts have ruled prohibits not only overt sex discrimination but also seemingly neutral policies that have a disparate impact on women. Others have invoked the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act, which covers both individuals with disabilities and, to a lesser extent, the people who care for them. Others still have drawn on the many state and local laws passed in recent years to safeguard the rights of employees with families. The flood of cases reflects not just the increased presence of women in the workplace but also the growing difficulty Americans of all social backgrounds seem to be having in balancing the demands of work and family. Unlike so-called "glass ceiling" cases involving women barred from the top rungs of a handful of elite professions, the plaintiffs in these new work-family disputes have ranged across the occupational spectrum, from physicians to police officers to grocery clerks. While not all have become millionaires, more than half have prevailed in court — a success rate significantly higher than that of more conventional employment-discrimination cases, which is below 20 percent. Beyond causing headaches for their employers, the lawsuits are serving notice that the battle over "family values" is no longer just about gay marriage and abortion: it's also about workplace attitudes that some advocates believe do significantly more to undermine family life than those controversial practices do. So how are employers reacting to the new slew of lawsuits -- and the new realities of the workplace? The article quotes Zachary Fasman, a partner at the New York office of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker who specializes in employment law -- and holds a skeptical view about these suits. From the article: At the E.E.O.C. hearing back in April, Fasman testified that there is a danger the lawsuits will be used as a lever to force companies to change legitimate business practices (mandatory overtime, strict attendance rules) that not all workers can handle. Imagine the effect on the workplace, or the potential impact on America's competitiveness, if United States courts ruled, for example, that companies could no longer dictate to their employees what time the workday began and ended. "I'm not against work-life balance — who is?" Fasman later told me. "But the organization of the work force has always been left, to a large extent, to the discretion of the employer. So long as it doesn't discriminate, where a business draws the line on these things depends on the nature of the business. You can't rewrite the rules of the American workplace unless Congress does it." But the article also points out that some companies are changing their policies voluntarily anyway, in an effort to attract and retain qualified employees. As pointed out in this post at Labor Prof Blog, family care lawsuits "are fundamentally about family values, not gender discrimination. For this reason, they unite people on both sides of the political divide." But even with this unity, I don't expect a quick solution to these issues anytime soon -- because in my view, these are tricky problems. After all, no one opposes family values -- until they're the person who winds up picking up the slack at the office while co-workers are home caring for a child or sick family member. Posted by Carolyn Elefant on August 2, 2007 at 03:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) Recruiting Lawyers for Document Review ... in India Here, in the United States, document review or "contract lawyer" jobs aren't viewed with much prestige, nor are they typically recommended as the optimal start to a successful legal career. So I was amused to read this article, Legal eagles for digital age, by Sanjay Kamlani, founder of an India-based legal process outsourcing (LPO) company (Hindustan Times, 8/1/07). Kamlani writes: When you work for an Indian law firm servicing some of the largest global multinationals, you certainly get the best exposure that you could possibly ask for in terms of the client base. However, in most cases, the transactions you are seeing from those clients are likely limited to India-centric transactions — setting up a subsidiary in India, availing tax holidays in India, and such. The scope of these transactions for Fortune 500 multinationals is not nearly as broad as the scope of transactions that are occurring globally. Compare this with the work done at an LPO, where the virtual office environment created by the Internet enables the work done at an LPO to be truly global in scope. At high-end LPOs, lawyers are servicing multinational in-house lawyers and law firms on their global practice. Large multinationals, whether it be a GE, Microsoft, Boeing, Google, or a Goldman Sachs, are typically not approaching Indian law firms for activities that are not India-centric.  The exposure at an LPO also varies across industries. You could be reviewing a services agreement on a given day and a financial indenture on another. Thus, if one wants to move from an LPO to an Indian or an international law firm, the transition is easy due to the exposure gained. I suppose that's one way of looking at the benefits of contract lawyering projects. I wonder whether these same arguments would play to U.S. lawyers in the U.S.  Posted by Carolyn Elefant on August 2, 2007 at 03:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) Online Contracts Imagine the contract process, without lawyers. Apparently, one Spanish startup, Negonation (here's a link to the company blog), has done just that, developing a system called Tractis, the first Web platform that lets users create, manage and execute contracts online, as reported in this article from Business 2.0 magazine (8/2/07). According to the article, Tractis is "stocked with a database of contract templates from around the world, and its contracts are legally enforceable in the offline world, even if the parties are in different countries." Tractis also includes a verification system for parties to verify identity (thus facilitating enforcement) and  will reimburse users who are victims of fraud as a result of using a valid online contract. Right now, Negonation is targeting higher-end eBay transactions, hoping that the added level of security provided by a separate contract will appeal to eBay users.  But what I found most interesting was this description of the Tractis dashboard. Apparently, the dashboard displays the entire timeline of negotiations, permissions, invitations, and comments. Users can invite other parties to edit working drafts, or lock others out of the negotiations. And contract templates include software licenses, rental agreements, warranties, and financial services. So what are the prospects for Tractis in the lawyer-reliant business market? Will Tractis replace lawyer-drafted contracts or simply provide contracts for transactions where lawyers were never involved to begin with? It seems to me that Tractis and legal representation aren't mutually exclusive either: You could use the Tractis tools to negotiate contacts and track drafting changes while still represented by a lawyer. Posted by Carolyn Elefant on August 2, 2007 at 03:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) Some Insight Into How Good Lawyers Go Bad When I read about outrageous ethics violations by lawyers -- embezzling client funds or lying to clients that their cases are still ongoing, when in fact they were dismissed years before -- I always wonder how the lawyers reached that point. Were they lazy or disorganized or well-intentioned -- or simply bad, greedy and inherently evil? This article, Missing Lawyer Admits Embezzlement in Confessional Letter (8/2/07), via Legal Reader sheds some insight. The article reports on missing Connecticut lawyer Christopher Hoyt, who was last seen in early July. Hoyt's disappearance comes on the heels of serious financial troubles, including a March 2007 personal bankruptcy filing, not to mention a multitude of ethical and criminal violations relating to Hoyt's dealing with clients at the Hoyt Law Group. In a letter to his son, also a lawyer at the firm, the senior Hoyt admitted that his embezzlement followed a slippery slope of small takings, which got out of hand: I have embezzled funds from my clients," business law attorney Jonathan Hoyt wrote to his son, attorney Christopher Hoyt. "Like most lawyers who fall into this trap I always did it with the idea that I would repay the funds, but of course once I started down this slippery slope there was nothing but failure waiting for me at the end." Hoyt also apparently suffered from depression as well as financial problems, mentioned earlier. Ever the lawyer father, Hoyt also advised his son on how to compensate defrauded clients, wrap up the business of the firm and continue with his law practice either on his own or with another firm. And he also made clear that he was solely responsible for the embezzlement and that his son knew nothing about it. I suspect that most ethics and criminal problems experienced by lawyers start this way. First, you take a little money, intending to repay it. Then, you get in over your head financially, which can lead to depression, which impairs your work, which forces you to dip into client funds to cover your bills and starts the cycle all over again. The lesson here is clear as well: Don't ever touch client fund. And equally importantly, get help for depression -- a problem that the legal profession must also take more seriously seriously, not so much for how it affects lawyers but also because of how the aftermath of depression can impact clients.  Posted by Carolyn Elefant on August 2, 2007 at 03:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Saludos
Rodrigo González Fernández
Renato Sánchez 3586 of. 10
Telefono: 2084334- 5839786
santiago-Chile
www.consultajuridicachile.blogspot.com
www.lobbyingchile.blogspot.com
www.biocombustibles.blogspot.com

Statement on Low Carbon Economy Act of 2007

Statement on Low Carbon Economy Act of 2007

Statement by Eileen Claussen, President, Pew Center on Global Climate Change

Upon Senators Bingaman and Specter's announcement of the Low Carbon Economy Act of 2007

July 11, 2007


A sound climate policy will protect the environment by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in a way that protects the U.S. economy. Sen. Bingaman has long been one of the leaders in the Senate's debate over how best to meet these objectives, and the Bingaman-Specter Low Carbon Economy Act of 2007, introduced today, is an important contribution to Congress' debate on this topic.  

The Pew Center is encouraged to see that the bill is more protective of the environment than the most recent recommendations of the National Commission on Energy Policy from which the legislative proposal evolved, especially in establishing a tighter emissions cap (as long as the safety valve is not triggered) and in providing strong incentives for the deployment of climate-friendly technologies, most particularly geologic carbon storage.  

We remain concerned, however, about the low "safety valve" or price cap contained in the bill.  The allowance price is capped at $12 per ton of CO2 in 2012, rising to around $23 (in 2012 dollars) in 2025. Intervening in the market through a low price cap could both render the emission levels established in the bill meaningless and undermine investment in the next generation of climate-friendly technologies.  We will be studying the proposal further to determine more specifically the effects of the price cap on both overall emission levels and investment in new technologies. 

View the Bill

Saludos
Rodrigo González Fernández
Renato Sánchez 3586 of. 10
Telefono: 2084334- 5839786
santiago-Chile
www.consultajuridicachile.blogspot.com
www.lobbyingchile.blogspot.com
www.biocombustibles.blogspot.com

Forthcoming Events from the leading sustainable events company:

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Forthcoming Events from the leading sustainable events company: Please scroll down for additional information Carbon Markets USA Carbon Markets India Corporate Climate Response Next Generation Biofuels Congress Voluntary Carbon Markets Biodiesel Congress Biofuels Markets Africa Carbon Markets Africa Biogas Markets 2007 Renewable Heating & Cooling World Biofuels Markets 2008
11th - 12th September 2007, San Francisco As the GHG market transitions from voluntary trading to compliance with state requirements, projections are that the annual global volumes of GHG credits will increase from $21.6m (2006) to reach $60 billion and may eventually top $1 trillion. Join leading global carbon experts at Carbon Markets USA, for two days of intense, information rich presentations, debates and networking, including: Commissioner Jeffrey Byron, California Energy Commission, Terry Tamminen, Energy & Environmental Advisor to Govenor Schwarzenegger Allen Alley, Deputy Chief of Staff, Governor's Office, State of Oregon This event is set to sell out, so register now to understand how one of the World's largest future commodity markets will develop and impact upon your business. > View Agenda l Register Now	Download brochure (pdf)
25th - 26th September 2007, Mumbai Carbon credit project hosts, buyers and sellers will meet in Mumbai at India's first international Carbon Markets conference, held in association with the Confederation of Indian Industry.  India is one of the world's fastest growing economies and it has a key role to play in mitigating climate change and reducing greenhouse gases.  India has approved around 675 greenhouse gas emission reduction projects to date that could earn international carbon credits under the Kyoto Protocol. Don't miss this unique opportunity to: Learn how to develop successful CDM projects and new carbon credit revenue streams Network and do business with the who's who of the Indian carbon markets > View Agenda l Register Now	Download brochure (pdf)
25th - 26th September 2007, Chicago Practical tips on carbon reduction from leaders in climate change action. Register now and find out: How climate leaders like Ford, Wal-mart, Walgreens, McDonald's, The Dow Chemical Company, PSEG, Anheuser-Busch, Time Inc., Exelon are lowering their carbon footprints Why some of today's largest companies including BP America, Caterpillar and PG&E are pushing for a mandatory national carbon cap-and-trade system How upcoming state and federal action on climate change will impact your business and how to succeed with early action > View Agenda l Register Now	Download brochure (pdf)
4th - 5th October 2007, Amsterdam Book your place at the Next Generation Biofuels Markets summit, Amsterdam, 4-5 October and learn from 30+ senior decision makers who are driving the development of next generation biofuels including Phil New, BP Biofuels; John Ranieri, DuPont; Ger Bemer, Royal Nedalco & Martin Tobias, Imperium Renewables. Understand the financial challenges in migrating to the next generation of biofuels. Discover the latest technical and commercial developments in cellulosic ethanol, butanol, BTL, next generation biodiesel, biomethanol, propane.  Understand the policy drivers that are needed to drive the adoption of second generation biofuels.  This 2 day information-rich, networking conference will build upon the success of the next generation biofuels seminar held in Brussels this March, which attracted over 250 high level executives. > View  Agenda l Register Now	Download brochure (pdf)
16th - 17th October 2007, London The voluntary carbon markets grew by 200% in 2006 and 2007 is already showing explosive growth in terms of volume, market entrants and development of transparent standards, according to a report from Ecosystem Marketplace and New Carbon Finance. Join 30+ voluntary carbon market makers including Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Natsource, Climate Focus, The Climate Group and ECX at the first international VCM networking congress and gain an in-depth understanding of how the voluntary markets function. What, where and how big are the voluntary carbon markets? How do they operate? What are the risks of investing in these markets? What efforts are there to standardise the markets? How will the new standards help improve the liquidity and credibility of the markets? What barriers exist to project developers in generating offsets? What are the major challenges to future growth? > View  Agenda l Register Now	Download brochure (pdf)
18th - 19th October 2007, Buenos Aires Developed with support from the Argentine Secretariat of Agriculture and the Asociación Argentina de Biocombustibles e Hidrógeno, no other event in the region brings together such an outstanding line up of industry leaders. Join the Argentine biodiesel power brokers including: Julio De Vido, Minister of Planning, Argentina Cristian Folgar, Undersecretary of Fuels Senator Roberto Urquía, President, Aceitera General Dehaza Register now to gain an in-depth understanding of the tremendous opportunities for the Latin American biodiesel market. > Event Details English l Español l Register Now	Download brochure (pdf)
5th - 6th November 2007, Cape Town Biofuels projects are being reviewed and implemented across the African continent with South Africa leading the development. It has been suggested that Biofuels have the potential to produce 10% of South Africa's petrol and diesel needs by 2010. Biofuels are seen as one of the biggest economic opportunities for Africa, especially for job creation in rural areas. Exciting developments in this respect are taking place across the continent. Co-sponsored by the EU body, the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) the second annual Biofuels Markets Africa conference will build upon the success of last year's event which attracted over 200 industry executives from 24 countries across Africa, Europe, Asia and the Americas. With speakers from all stakeholder areas of the industry, this is an essential event for all parties both within Africa and globally. > View Preliminary Details l Request Further Information (please quote Biofuels Africa in subject line)
14th - 15th November 2007, Cape Town The inaugural Carbon Markets Africa conference is a two day business networking event that will bring together the worlds leading carbon consultants, brokers and financiers with African business.  This event joins the Carbon Markets series from Green Power Conferences and will deliver the same high quality audience and programme as previous events in the series such as Carbon Markets Americas and Carbon Markets Asia.  Over 700 attendees have attended this series of events in the last two years. > View Preliminary Details l Request Further Information (please quote Carbon Markets Africa in subject line)
19-20 November 2007, Brussels The market for biogas is seeing an explosive growth worldwide in municipalities, industry and agriculture.  Biogas is part of a rapidly growing renewable energy sector, growing at a rate of on average 20-30% globally, with electricity from biogas playing an integral part of the global energy market.  Investments leapt to around $100bn in 2006.  Green Power's 4th International Biogas Markets event will bring together market leaders from across the biogas value chain to address ways to increase the uptake and usage of biogas systems, including: Goteborg Energi, Dalkia Energie Service, Nordic Environment Finance Corp, EEA Fund Management Ltd, IBBK, Greenfinch, Schmack Biogas, ENGVA (European Natural Gas Vehicle Association), Questair, BioProcess Control, Waste Solutions, ECN, Swedish Biogas International, GtS, PZERO, University of Jyvaskyla, Finland Our previous biogas events have attracted over 250 attendees from 38 countries. Request Further Information (please quote Biogas Markets in subject line)
20-21 November 2007, Brussels The first international networking conference to address the huge potential of renewable energy in heating and cooling systems will take place in Brussels this November. This exciting new event will address policy, regulation, project financing, biomass heating, solar heating and cooling, geothermal heating and cooling. Early confirmed speakers include: Britta Thomsens, Member European Parliament Roberto Vigotti, Chair of the Renewable Energy Working Group, IEA Carlos Amieiro, Technical Director, Barcelona Energy Agency Michael Sattler, Head of Division Energy Economics & Policy, Austrian Energy Agency Henrik Pettersson, Statoil             >  Request Further Information (please quote RHCin subject line)
12-14 March 2008, Brussels Expo, Belgium Imagine a hall full of strategic decision makers from the international biofuels industry...Shouldn't you be there? World Biofuels Markets is Europe's Largest Biofuels Congress & Exhibition, offering attendees first class learning and face-to-face networking opportunities with CEO's and high calibre decision makers from the international biofuels industry. With 3 streams, 200+ speakers, 5 workshops, 100+ exhibition stands and a series of networking events, World Biofuels Markets is a must attend event for any organisation involved in the rapidly maturing global biofuels markets. > Visit Event Website l Request Further Information (please quote WBM in subject line)
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Book Now Call Dana Vogel on +44 207 801 6333, Email dana.vogel@greenpowerconferences.com Web click here to register online Shakespeare House, 168 Lavender Hill, London SW11 5TF, UK Special Group Discounts Register 2 delegates and send a 3rd for free
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Saludos
Rodrigo González Fernández
Renato Sánchez 3586 of. 10
Telefono: 2084334- 5839786
santiago-Chile
www.consultajuridicachile.blogspot.com
www.lobbyingchile.blogspot.com
www.biocombustibles.blogspot.com

Legal Blog Watch

Legal Blog Watch

The State of Law Professor Blogging Professor Daniel Solove has his annual report on the state of law professor blogging in this post at Concurring Opinions. In 2007, there are 365 law professor bloggers (one for each day of the year!), with a change of 58 new bloggers and six departed since October 2006. As in the law blogosphere, male law prof bloggers outnumber the women, with 268 men and 93 women -- or a breakdown of 74%/26%. And new professor bloggers joined in similar proportions.  The ranks of blogging professors have nearly tripled since 2005. Back then, Solove notes that there were only 130 law professor bloggers -- 28 female and 102 male. The schools with the top number of bloggers are Chicago (with 18), Georgetown (17), San Diego (9) and Illinois (8) -- though it's not clear whether they each have their own blogs or participate in group efforts (which involve less time commitment). There's other information I'd like to see in the study. How many law professor bloggers are tenured versus not -- and does that impact blogging decisions (are law professors more likely to blog to increase visibility and concommitantly, the chances of tenure, or are they less likely to do so for fear that they won't be viewed as "real scholars"? )? How many of the law professor blogs have been cited in law reviews -- and do law professors view citation as a benefit of blogging worth mention? I imagine that, eventually, we'll see more about the impact of blogging law professors on legal scholarship -- though, ironically, a more comprehensive study will probably appear in a traditional law review or journal rather than a blog. Posted by Carolyn Elefant on July 31, 2007 at 04:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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peter montoya y personal branding

PERSONAL BRANDING FROM PETER MONTOYA     Personal Branding is the art of attracting and keeping more clients by actively shaping public perception. You can control the way you're perceived by the community you serve. Oprah, Tiger, Madonna – they realized early that talent alone would not take them to the top of their fields. So they created and promoted unique Personal Brands. And now, you can too. Personal Branding Works for Business Professionals and Entrepreneurs Alike You don't have to be a celebrity to reap the rewards of Personal Branding. Whether you are a professional ready to catapult to the next level in your career or an entrepreneur embarking on your first business venture, we will work together to bring your goals into focus. We'll begin by analyzing your unique strengths and differentiation, your competitive landscape and your target audience. Then we will develop a game plan to reach your objectives. The Key to Personal Branding Success: Define Yourself Instead of Letting Others Define You You can shape your clients' perception of you simply by defining your strengths, values, goals and personality and presenting yourself in a compelling, persuasive manner. Express yourself and what you stand for to everyone you meet – clients, colleagues, friends, neighbors, and strangers. Do this constantly and consistently, and you will create an effective - and lucrative - Personal Brand. Also available: The Eight Laws of Personal Branding CASE STUDY - Jack Welch: The Greatest CEO Ever CASE STUDY - Oprah Winfrey: Crusader for Women's Empowerment Is Personal Branding Right For You?

The Eight Laws of Personal Branding The Law of Specialization: A great Personal Brand must be precise, concentrated on a single core strength, talent or achievement. You can specialize in one of many ways: ability, behavior, lifestyle, mission, product, profession or service. The Law of Leadership: Endowing a Personal Brand with authority and credibility demands that the source be perceived as a leader by the people in his/her domain or sphere of influence. Leadership stems from excellence, position or recognition. The Law of Personality: A great Personal Brand must be built on a foundation of the source's true personality, flaws and all. It is a law that removes some of the pressure laid on by the Law of Leadership: you've got to be good, but you don't have to be perfect. The Law of Distinctiveness: An effective Personal Brand needs to be expressed in a way that is different from the competition. Many marketers construct middle-of-the-road brands so as not to offend anyone. This is a route to failure because their brands will remain anonymous among the multitudes. The Law of Visibility: To be successful, a Personal Brand must be seen over and over again, until it imprints itself on the consciousness of its domain or sphere of influence. Visibility creates the presumption of quality. People assume because they see a person all the time, he/she must be superior to others offering the same product or service. The Law of Unity: The private person behind a Personal Brand must adhere to the moral and behavioral code set down by that brand. Private conduct must mirror the public brand. The Law of Persistence: Any Personal Brand takes time to grow, and while you can accelerate the process, you can't replace it with advertising or public relations. Stick with your Personal Brand, without changing it; be unwavering and be patient. The Law of Goodwill: A Personal Brand will produce better results and endure longer if the person behind it is perceived in a positive way. He/she must be associated with a value or idea that is recognized universally as positive and worthwhile.

CASE STUDY

Jack Welch–The Greatest CEO Ever Jack Francis Welch was born in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1935. A 1957 graduate of the University of Massachusetts with a B.S. in chemical engineering, Welch continued to pursue his education at the University of Illinois, earning his master's and doctorate in the science. Welch joined General Electric in 1960, but initially the marriage was not made in heaven. After one year, Welch contemplated leaving GE to take a job at International Minerals & Chemicals. Working as a junior engineer in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, for a salary of $10,500, Welch felt underpaid and stifled by GE's strict bureaucracy. An executive, who saw hints of Welch's future greatness, spent four hours convincing him to stay...and a legendary CEO was on his way. How this Brand was Built Critical to the greatness of Welch's brand has been his ability to render himself and GE synonymous. There was never a doubt about who was at the helm and responsible for the massive changes in the company. This high profile also earned him respect for being willing to put his own neck on the line. Just as critical was Welch's vision. Ruthless and audacious, he insisted that in each of its businesses, that GE be either No . 1 or No. 2. If a business fell short, it was sold or shut down. The result: over 130,000 layoffs, over 70 plant closings, and a $500 billion increase in shareholder value. The third key to Welch's brand is his passion, both for excellence in corporate operations, and for teaching young GE managers. Accessibility, charisma and a willingness to pass on his wisdom have branded him as more than a ruthless CEO. Finally, Welch continued to build his Personal Brand by going out on top, retiring at age 65 when he could have stayed on until he dropped. His reward: a $7.1 million advance for his biography. Why this Brand Works Excellence: Welch turned GE into the world's most valuable companyᾺmore profitable, agile and ready to dominate in the Information Age. He did everything he promised and more. Authority: Welch's success has elevated him to the position of Uber-CEO, the man other CEO's go to when they need answers. No one else is even close. Flaws: Welch never tried to conceal his flaws: his temper, his intolerance for failure, and his slight stutter. Instead of being a corporate emperor, he became more human.

CASE STUDY

Oprah Winfrey–Crusader for Women's Empowerment Oprah was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi, in 1954, and raised by her paternal grandmother until age six. After going to live with her mother in Milwaukee, her childhood became troubled, including sexual abuse at the hands of male relatives. At age 13, Oprah went to live with her father in Nashville. Here, she began to excel in school, winning a full scholarship to Tennessee State University. While still in school, Oprah became the first African-American woman to anchor a newscast in Nashville. After graduation, she moved to Baltimore to work as a reporter and co-anchor for WJZ-TV. A year later, Oprah became co-host of the station's morning show, "People Are Talking." From there she moved to Chicago to become host of "A.M. Chicago." Within three months, her ratings surpassed Phil Donahue's, and a year later the show went national and was renamed "The Oprah Winfrey Show." How this Brand was Built Oprah is a multimedia tycoon, producing film and television programs. By 2000, she was launching her own magazine, "O: The Oprah Magazine," the most successful magazine start-up in history. Everything flows from her talk show, which she has used as a platform for sharing her struggles with sexual abuse and her weight. Most importantly, Oprah has used the show to build a deep, personal connection with her audience, most of whom feel her values and aspirations reflect theirs. Oprah has also built her Personal Brand around her desire to build, produce and promote worthwhile projects. Her "Oprah's Book Club" became a marketing force in the publishing industry, providing an audience for out-of-the-mainstream authors who might otherwise have languished on the bookshelves. In building an empire, she has become admired as an example of what a woman can do if she sets her mind to it. Why this Brand Works Honesty: The core of Oprah's Personal Brand is her openness about herself with her audience. Their genuine love for her stems from the perception that she has revealed herself to them and established an honest connection. Control: Oprah is vigorously protective of her privacy, maintaining tight control over information released for public consumption. This not only prevents gossip; it is also a manifestation of her drive and ambition. Virtue: When talk shows were heading toward tabloid exploitation, Oprah steered hers toward motivation and self-help. This set the tone for her positive Personal Brand. Perseverance: "Don't be satisfied with just one success - and don't give up after one failure." That attitude has sustained Oprah through film project failures, a very public personal life, and her own weight problems. Adherence to the Eight Laws The Law of Specialization: Though she began as "another talk-show host," Oprah quickly differentiated herself with positivism, ambition and an honest desire to build a legacy of worthwhile work. The Law of Leadership: She has made herself a mogul with hard work and vision–a voice of power and control in entertainment, media and publishing. The Law of Personality: No celebrity has gained more from openly sharing her struggles, hopes and emotions with her audience. The Law of Distinctiveness: She quickly set herself apart from the trailer-trash world of talk show hosts by becoming much more: a positive force, a champion of unknown talent and an outspoken advocate for women. The Law of Visibility: How could you improve on having your own talk show and magazine? Oprah is one of the few known only by her first name. The Law of Unity: It is hard to gauge this one because Oprah guards her privacy so jealously. But since no scandals have emerged, it's safe to assume the public and private woman are unified. The Law of Persistence: She has never wavered from her core persona: flawed, driven, compassionate and always ready with a "you can do it" cheer. The Law of Goodwill: It is hard to think of a woman who is loved more intensely and with greater devotion and admiration than Oprah. Influence in its Domain Oprah has changed the landscape of women's media with her magazine, her founding of the Internet and cable network Oxygen Media, and her relentless commitment to positive, productive, empowering works. "I want to be working on projects that are meaningful," she says. "I know that can sound superficial, but it's true. I would like to be able to say, down the road, that I created a legacy, something even more enduring than anything I have done yet."

Is Personal Branding right for you? Take a look at these benefits: Increase your income up to 100% or more Increase your visibility Differentiate yourself from your competition Attract and maintain high-quality clients Expand into new business areas Choose the assignments and clients that you want Achieve your personal and professional goals Increase your confidence Charge a premium for your products/services Extend your line of credit with ease Thrive during economy downturns Attract and retain quality employees and partners Make these benefits happen in your life NOW! Learn how Peter Montoya Inc. can help you. Click here to view our list of services

Need More Information? Would you like to receive more information on Personal Branding, including information on our Services? más informacion: http://www.petermontoya.com/mt_what_is_personal_branding/index.asp

Saludos
Rodrigo González Fernández
Renato Sánchez 3586 of. 10
Telefono: 2084334- 5839786
santiago-Chile
www.consultajuridicachile.blogspot.com
www.lobbyingchile.blogspot.com
www.biocombustibles.blogspot.com