INTERNATIONAL LEGAL NEWS

Washington D.C. April 2, 2009, it was announced that the International Lawyers Network's ILNBriefs project won first place in the Internal Communications category at the Legal Marketing Association's Your Honor Awards. The LMA says "The LMA 'Your Honor Awards' is law firm marketing's Oscars, Emmys and MacArthur Foundation Awards all rolled up in one. This is the vehicle by which we honor the products and services produced by our industry this past year that stand for the 'best of the best.'" Lindsay Griffiths was on hand to accept the award and see a number of the cartoons displayed with the other winning entrants.

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2008 Regional Meeting of the Americas
Hosted by Holland & Hart, Las Vegas

Lowell Lifschultz opened the ILN Business Session on Friday, November 21, 2008 by introducing himself as the Chairman of the ILN and Alan Griffiths as the Network’s Executive Director. He gave a quick overview of the ILN, saying that the Network’s progress in 2008 has been substantial. There are nine new member firms since the beginning of 2008, a guest firm in attendance at the conference, and Lowell added that he believes that the Administration’s marketing efforts will be successful. After Lowell welcomed everyone to the conference, Alan invited Tim Lukas to say a few words to the assembled delegates. On behalf of his partners at Holland & Hart, Tim welcomed everyone to the ILN Americas Regional Meeting and encouraged them to enjoy the program.
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2008 European Regional Meeting in Rome
Hosted by Corrado, Ferrari, Mainieri, Pedeferri & soci Law Firm, Rome & Milan

Lowell Lifschultz opened the ILN Business Session on Friday, 12 September 2008 by thanking Antonello Corrado, Attilio Ferrari, and all of their partners at Corrado, Ferrari, Mainieri, Pedeferri e soci for a wonderful meeting and welcomed all of the members to the ILN European Regional Meeting. Alan Griffiths echoed Lowell’s sentiments.
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U.S. IRS Aggressively Pursuing Off Shore Accounts
Arnstein & Lehr, LLP, Chicago
by Robert E. McKenzie

On July 1, a federal judge in Miami issued an order authorizing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to request information from Zurich, Switzerland-based UBS AG about U.S. taxpayers who may be using Swiss bank accounts to evade federal income taxes.1 The order, authorizes the IRS to serve what is known as a “John Doe” summons on the bank. The IRS uses a John Doe summons to obtain information about possible tax fraud by people whose identities are unknown. The John Doe summons approved by the court directs UBS to produce records identifying U.S. taxpayers with accounts at UBS in Switzerland who elected to have their accounts remain hidden from the IRS. It is highly likely that the IRS will be successful in its efforts to secure the account information from UBS.
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Watching from the Wings with Baited Breath – The WAL-MART Cases Before the Supreme Court of Canada and What They Might Mean for Employers in Canada
Robinson Sheppard Shapiro LLP, Montreal
by Mr. Theodore Goloff

Two sets of cases before the Supreme Court of Court, that were recently pleaded and which derive from Wal-Mart’s closing of its Jonquière store some years ago - Pedneault and Desbiens – have the potential of becoming a legal tsunami in terms of their impact on employers! These cases have morphed into an allegedly Charter based challenge to what seemed to be an already clearly established employer right to go out of business at any time and for any reason – all of this with the possibility of very serious and unexpected consequences for employers.
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London as a seat of arbitration?
Fladgate LLP
by Heather Neilson

Arbitration is the proceeding in which a dispute is resolved by an impartial adjudicator whose decision the parties to a dispute have agreed will be final and binding. It is the equivalent to litigation in the courts and entirely distinct from the various forms of non-binding dispute resolution mechanisms. A dispute may be arbitrated because the original contract between the parties provides for the arbitration of any dispute arising or because the parties subsequently agree to arbitrate once the dispute has arisen. Arbitration is today most commonly used for the resolution of commercial disputes, particularly in the context of international commercial transactions.

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Bankruptcy Primer for Landlords with Commercial Leases in the United States
Howard, Rice, Nemerovski, Canady, Falk and Rabkin, San Francisco
by Gary M. Kaplan

Lease agreements in the United States are subject to special treatment in bankruptcy cases that is often contrary to the terms of the lease itself or relevant non-bankruptcy law. This article discusses several of the most important matters impacting a commercial landlord in the U.S. bankruptcy case of its tenant, including the tenant’s assumption (i.e., ratification), rejection (i.e., anticipatory repudiation) or assignment of a lease; lease obligations pending assumption, rejection or assignment; and the treatment of claims arising from the assumption, rejection or assignment of a lease.
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Amendments to Tax Legislation in the Czech Republic
PETERKA & PARTNERS Law Offices, Prague
by Magdalena Vyskovska

Czech tax legislation has been amended with consequences for foreign businessmen. Act No.2/2009 Coll., mainly amending Act No. 586/1992 Coll., on Income Taxes, Act No. 593/1992 Coll., on Reserves for Ascertaining the Income Tax Base and Act No. 589/1992 Coll. on Social Security and Employment Policy Contributions, was published in the Collection of Laws of the Czech Republic and took effect on 1 January 2009. Simultaneously, Act No.1/2000 Coll., which amends Act No. 33/1992 Coll., on Real Estate Tax, took effect.
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De-stressing the Due Diligence Process: Issues to Consider When Acquiring Distressed Residential Developments
Epstein Becker & Green, P.C., Atlanta
by M. Maxine Hicks, Linda Ragan Warnke and Jenny A. Lipana

“Distressed properties” is a term that for some represents opportunity - a chance to capitalize on bargain prices. A low price, however, is not always the benchmark of a good deal. Numerous issues beyond just the dirt and the bricks impact whether a distressed property is a good investment opportunity. If you are considering acquiring a distressed property, proper attention to adequate due diligence will help you understand the issues and obligations you stand to inherit and avoid costly hidden surprises.
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Regulation of Greenhouse Gases: The Management of Uncertainty
Beirne, Maynard & Parsons LLP , Houston
by James E. Smith & Benjamin A. Escobar

Public awareness and perception of global warming accelerated by carbon emissions is increasingly compelling to lawmakers and regulators around the world. Under the Bush administration, regulatory control within the U.S. lagged behind Europe and much of the world, although it is by far the leading generator of greenhouse gases (GHG).
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Russia - Changes in Federal Law "On Limited Liability Companies"
Lidings Law Firm, Moscow
by Natalia Goncharova

On December 30, 2008 several important changes have been introduced into the Federal Law “On limited liability companies” which will enter into force starting from July 1, 2009. The importance of these changes is caused by necessity of amending the by-laws of all existing limited companies to make them compliant with the new Law. Beginning from July 1, 2009 articles of association and foundation agreements of companies will be applied only in part, which is not contradicting to new norms.
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The Recent Chinese Legislation on Bankruptcy Proceedings
Jade & Fountain, Shanghai
by Mark Ho and Gawain Gu

Since June 1, 2007 the Chinese bankruptcy legislation, the Bankruptcy Law of the People’s Republic of China (“Bankruptcy Law”) has been tested by quite a number of cases where companies (including foreign invested companies) were dissolved and liquidated or reorganized through Chinese courts. The most recent, high-profile case is the pending bankruptcy of Sanlu Dairy in Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, which is a US$100 million joint venture between Fronterra Co-op (43%) and Sanlu Group (57%). No doubt that these cases have provided good insights into how this bankruptcy legislation is in terpreted and implemented.
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