Posts on ‘October 17th, 2008’

American International Group said it has canceled a multimillion-dollar severance package for its departing chief financial officer, Steven Bensinger, whose departure has been planned since May, and will cooperate in a New York state review of other executive pay deals. The announcement came a day after New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo began pressuring AIG to slash pay and perks for high-level executives and said he would investigate whether any of the company’s compensation deals were improper.

It was standing room only for a hearing on Lehman Brothers records related to an $8 billion transfer made from Lehman’s London operation to its New York headquarters shortly before the bank filed for Chapter 11 protection. Explaining why creditors need to be patient about getting their hands on internal Lehman records, Weil Gotshal partner Harvey Miller said the government gave Lehman no time to plan for its bankruptcy. Miller compared the government’s “lack of foresight” to its reaction to Hurricane Katrina.

Attorney Raymond Ruble was merely doing his job when he gave KPMG clients an opinion letter that said it was more likely than not that their tax shelter would survive an IRS challenge, his lawyer told a federal jury Thursday. In his opening statement, Frankel & Abrams’ Stuart Abrams said the government was trying to criminalize professional behavior in that Ruble’s tax shelter opinions were just one side of a long-accepted “balance of power” between tax attorneys for private citizens and attorneys for the IRS.

The federal financial bailout contained a small inroad on the national dominance by Delaware law and courts on corporate governance issues, but that state may see larger federal vehicles barreling toward it because of the economic crisis. “The possibility of federalization is greater today because of this crisis,” said Charles M. Elson of the University of Delaware Corporate Governance Center. “The storm clouds are there and they have come together to make this much more possible than even two months ago.”

As Web video grows in popularity, so does the potential for copyright infringement on video-sharing Web sites. Content and site owners continue to dispute how to comply with the safe harbors of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act that immunize service providers from copyright liability.

Breakfasts, luncheons, dinners and receptions are all part of doing business; they are also essential to gaining business. Being relaxed and friendly will allow you to meet individuals who could potentially become clients. These situations can make you uncomfortable, but there are ways to overcome the discomfort. Sharon Meit Abrahams, director of professional development at McDermott Will & Emery, offers tips that will help you feel prepared and confident in potential business development situations.

A Florida photographer is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit a landmark 2001 copyright decision, , to determine whether federal appellate courts in Georgia and New York have interpreted it correctly. The move by Jerry Greenberg extends his 11-year fight with the National Geographic Society over its use of his photographs in a CD compilation of its flagship magazine. The petition asserts that 11th and 2nd circuit copyright rulings have “warped” the opinion.