July 8, 2011 nº 1,063 - Vol. 9


"All colors are the friends of their neighbors and the lovers of their opposites."

Marc Chagall

In today's Law Firm Marketing, Reach and influence prospects by adding them to your mailing list.

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Read Migalhas LatinoAmérica in Spanish every Tuesday and Thursday. Visit the website at www.migalhas.com/latinoamerica

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  • Top News

Women still facing global discrimination

Women around the world are still facing discrimination, according to a report released Wednesday by UN Women detailing the legal and humanitarian struggles of women across the globe. The report, "Progress of the World's Women: In Pursuit of Justice," is the first out of the UN's new agency, which is devoted to reducing gender inequalities around the world. Part of the report examined how, internationally, the rule of law discriminates against women: "For millions of women and girls, the reality is that the rule of law means little in practice. While law is intended to be a neutral set of rules to govern society, in all countries of the world, laws tend to reflect and reinforce the privilege and the interests of the powerful, whether on the basis of economic class, ethnicity, race, religion or gender. Justice systems also reflect these power imbalances. In all societies, women are less powerful than men and the two areas in which women's rights are least protected, where the rule of law is weakest and men's privilege is often most entrenched, are first, women's rights in the private and domestic sphere, including their rights to live free from violence and to make decisions about their sexuality, on marriage, divorce and reproductive health; and second, women's economic rights, including the right to decent work and the right to inherit and control land and other productive resources. There are challenges at every stage, starting with legal frameworks. In some cases, laws overtly discriminate against women, according them fewer rights than men. Examples of this include laws that limit women's rights within the family, or those that prohibit women from passing on their citizenship to their husband or children, impacting on their civil and political rights, and access to public services. In other cases, the protection of the rule of law is not extended to the private domain where millions of women work and where they are most likely to experience violence." The report made a number of recommendations for governments to better work toward equality: supporting women's legal associations, implementing gender-sensitive reform, reducing attrition in the justice chain, putting women in more positions of power in law enforcement, training judges in gender sensitivity and monitor their decisions, increasing women's access to judicial processes, implementing gender-responsive reparations programs and using quotas to boost the number of women legislators.

Ratings agencies criticized by European Commission

The European Commission has strongly criticized international credit ratings agencies following the downgrade of Portugal by Moody's. The Commission said the timing of the downgrade was "questionable" and raised the issue of the "appropriateness of behavior" of the agencies in general. Earlier, Greek Foreign Minister Stavros Lambrinidis said the agencies' actions in the debt crisis had been "madness". The three main agencies are Standard & Poor's, Moody's Investors Service and Fitch. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told a news conference that he wanted to "break the oligopoly of the ratings agencies" and limit their influence.

JPMorgan wins dismissal of Madoff conspiracy suit

An appeals court threw out a lawsuit accusing JPMorgan of violating racketeering law by conspiring with Bernard Madoff to further his Ponzi scheme. Thursday's decision, in a case brought by a Florida partnership that invested with Madoff, came less than two weeks after the trustee seeking money for Madoff victims separately filed an amended $19.9bn lawsuit against JPMorgan, accusing it of enabling Madoff's fraud and ignoring red flags. The trustee, Irving Picard, is trying to use the same racketeering law to recover as much as $58.8bn from dozens of European defendants in his largest Madoff lawsuit.

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  • Crumbs

1 - News of the World to close amid hacking scandal - click here.

2 - More bad news for law grads: They're earning less - click here.

3 - Government to review Nortel patent auction - click here.

4 - Family ordered to pay $750,000 for wildfire that burned Albert Einstein papers - click here.

5 - Appeals court suspends enforcement of "don't ask, don't tell" policy - click here.

6 - Survey: law firm malpractice claims on the rise - click here.

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  • MiMIC Journal

Chinese 'rogue executives' dodge Singapore law

Singapore investors are demanding tougher rules to prosecute executives of China-based companies traded in the city-state after scandals from New York to Hong Kong have wiped out the market value of such firms.

  • Law Firm Marketing

Reach and influence prospects by adding them to your mailing list

by Trey Ryder

If you have a blue-ribbon list of potential clients you'd like to represent, add their names to your mailing list.

In my CLE seminars, I've found that many lawyers think it's unethical to add names to their mailing list without the prospect's permission. But the bar counsel whom I've heard address this subject say it's fine. (Ethics rules vary from state to state, so to be sure, check with your local bar counsel.)

Some state bar associations forbid direct contact with a person known to need legal services, such as the accident victim whose name you get from the police report. The distinction bar counsel make is that a person "known to need legal services" is different from a person "who might at some future time need legal services."

If you have key companies or prospects you'd like to represent, from what I've heard, you're free to add their names to your mailing list. Then you can send them your newsletter, invite them to seminars, offer to present seminars in-house, and so forth. The same holds true for sources of referrals.

If you're targeting companies in particular, don't limit yourself to adding just one person to your mailing list. Call the office and ask for the names and mailing addresses of key people you want on your list. Then send your communications to all of them.

Before you start communicating with prospects on your mailing list, make sure your marketing materials are designed to generate interactions with prospects. And make sure your materials contain a powerful educational message. This will increase the odds that your prospects will contact you to inquire about your seminars and services.

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© Trey Ryder

FREE LAWYER MARKETING ALERT: If you'd like to receive Trey Ryder's weekly Lawyer Marketing Alert, send an e-mail to [email protected]. Write "Subscribe LMA" in the subject line and write your name and e-mail address in the body of the message.

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  • Historia Verdadera

Banca

El Banco de la Reserva de Australia se querelló en contra de ex directivos de dos de sus filiales, por sobornos que se habrían entregado entre 1999 y 2005 con miras a ganar licitaciones para imprimir billetes a países de Asia y África. La acusación pesa en contra de dos casas de moneda de las que el Banco Central de Chile es cliente.

Crédito

La Agencia Francesa de Desarrollo otorgó un préstamo al gobierno mexicano por 300 mlls. de euros. Este financiamiento respaldará las actividades en materia de manejo integral de recursos forestales, reducción de emisiones por deforestación y degradación de tierras, así como conservación y manejo de bosques sustentables.

Polar

Un seguro contratado por la multitienda La Polar cubriría los gastos de los procesos legales que involucran a los directores del retailer . Se trata de una cobertura de responsabilidad civil para directores y ejecutivos de Chubb Chile, de unos US$ 5 mlls. En Chile hay 150 firmas con estas pólizas, con coberturas por hasta US$ 30 mlls., según la aseguradora Chartis.

  • Brief News

News of the World to close amid hacking scandal

This Sunday's edition of the News of the World will be its last, News International chairman James Murdoch has said, after days of increasingly damaging allegations against the paper. The 168-year-old tabloid is accused of hacking into the mobile phones of crime victims, celebrities and politicians. The News of the World, which sells about 2.8million copies a week, is famed for its celebrity scoops and sex scandals, earning it the nickname, the News of the Screws.

The Politics behind the debt-ceiling drama

Democrats and Republicans remain "far apart on a wide range of issues" in budget talks aimed at averting a looming default on US government debt, Obama has said. Talks would resume on Sunday. The deadline to raise the $14.3tn US debt ceiling is 2 August. But as the August deadline creeps closer, and the specter looms of having to choose between paying the military or sending out Social Security checks, the "Deal or No Deal" drama over the nation's budget, deficit and debt ceiling appears headed for an end that will reverberate long into the 2012 election season.

U.S. debt ceiling option is obscure legal concept

Call it the nuclear option: President Obama, unable to work out a deal to stave off a default, invokes an obscure section of the U.S. constitution and unilaterally orders new debt to be issued. That scenario is taking hold in the political punditry, even though most scholars admit it is unlikely. A rarely-invoked section of the Constitution's 14th Amendment could allow the president to issue new debt instruments to cover existing debt if there were a default. The section specifies that the "validity" of government debt "not be questioned." It dates from the post-Civil War era, and has been addressed in only one Supreme Court decision. Obama has so far pushed aside the idea, saying he wants to work out a budget deal with congressional leaders.

Honduras Truth Commission rules Zelaya removal was coup

The Honduras Truth and Reconciliation Commission has concluded that the removal from office of former president Manuel Zelaya was a coup. It said the move was illegal and not a constitutional succession as some of Zelaya's opponents said.

World food prices near record high

Global food prices rose sharply in June, according to the UN FAO - Food and Agriculture Organisation, after a steep increase in the price of sugar. The price of sugar rose by 14% last month, as a result of high demand and lower production in Brazil. The FAO's food price index reached 234 points in June, close to February's record level of 239. High food prices - particularly those of wheat, rice and corn - have sparked civil unrest in a range of countries where people rely on them for the bulk of their food intake. They were one of the factors that drove people on to the streets of Arab countries earlier this year. A global food crisis in 2008 also triggered mass protests, including riots in some developing countries.

Russia rights council urges amnesty for economic crimes that would cover Khodorkovsky

The Russia Presidential Council on Civil Society and Human Rights urged amnesty for economic crimes in a meeting with Russian president Dmitry Medvedev Tuesday that would include amnesty for the crimes of former Russian oil executive Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Medvedev was receptive to the granting amnesties with the Council in the South Caucasus city of Nalchik, but the issue of amnesty is the authority of the State Duma. The Council head said the amnesties would not exclude certain criminals convicted under the crimes, thus freeing Khodorkovsky, who was once CEO of Yukos Oil and one of the richest men in Russia.

Illegal film downloads up 30%

The number of illegally downloaded films has gone up nearly 30% in five years, new figures suggest. Film industry bosses say it is costing millions every year and putting thousands of jobs at risk. The research also shows a big rise in TV shows being pirated online. There are four main reasons for the increase; (1) We've seen increases in technology like faster broadband. (2) The methods of piracy have become easier, with quicker downloads and easier to find content. (3) We have a generation online now who aren't really bothered about downloading things illegally. (4) Finally it's an issue of availability - there's a lot of American content which a lot of people are desperate to download that they can't get hold of legitimately.

ICTY defendant Seselj pleads not guilty to third set of contempt charges

Former Serb nationalist politician and war crimes suspect Vojislav Seselj pleaded not guilty Wednesday in the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to a third set of contempt charges for failing to remove confidential information from his website in violation of a tribunal order.

Italy court sentences 9 former Nazis to life in prison

An Italian military tribunal in Verona on Wednesday convicted and sentenced nine German soldiers for participation in the murder of approximately 350 Italian civilians during World War 2. Three alleged participants died before the trial. The accused were all members of the Hermann Goring Division and killed Italians to stifle the resistance movement toward the end of the war, terrorizing five villages in Northern Italy.

US and Mexico end cross-border trucking dispute

US and Mexico have signed a deal to allow their trucks to use each other's roads, after a 17-year dispute. The 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement called for Mexican trucks to have full access to US highways, but they were kept to a border buffer zone. In 2009, Mexico imposed higher tariffs on dozens of US products in response. Officials said the deal would address safety concerns over Mexican vehicles. Business groups welcomed the accord but US trucking unions have condemned it. Under Nafta, US and Mexican carriers were authorized to cross the border.

Brazil's transport minister quits in corruption scandal

Brazil's transport minister has resigned over a corruption scandal in his ministry. Alfredo Nascimento stepped down after a magazine alleged staff at his ministry were skimming off money from federal infrastructure contracts. He denies any wrongdoing, and says he will co-operate with any investigation. He is the second member of President Dilma’s cabinet to resign over corruption claims in the past month.

The IMF and Madame Managing Director

The new managing director's "town hall meeting" with staff on her first day in the job, on Tuesday, was full of people and by all accounts plenty of goodwill. But the IMF can't rely on goodwill alone, in fact sometimes it needs to inspire the exact opposite. Lagarde said" there would need to be a more comprehensive solution than has been attempted in the past," and said that "European governments' approach in the past had been too ad hoc." It's easy to say, but she didn't give much indication how she would force such a solution in practice. Governments often need the IMF to be the outsider, forcing them to do what they lack the political will to do on their own. Plenty of people wonder whether she can possibly take that approach in the eurozone, when only days ago she was negotiating on the other side. But as she said herself, with her typical grasp of English cliché, "the proof of the pudding will be in the eating".

Apple files trade commission complaint against Samsung

Apple filed a complaint against Samsung Electronics Tuesday with the USITC - US International Trade Commission in an effort to bar importation of Samsung's smartphones and tablets. Apple claims Samsung's "Galaxy" line copies its iPhone and iPad technology. Apple's latest move comes just a week after Samsung filed a similar complaint seeking to prevent Apple from importing iPads and iPhones. Samsung claimed that Apple violated five patents also related to smartphones and tablets. In addition, Samsung filed a patent infringement suit against Apple in the High Court in London last week.

Federal appeals court rules AIDS funding cannot be conditional on anti-prostitution stance

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled Wednesday that the US government cannot withhold HIV/AIDS funding to organizations based on their prostitution stance, finding a violation of the First Amendment. Upholding the injunction issued by the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, the court agreed that the US Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003 violates free speech with Section 7631(f): "[n]o funds made available to carry out this Act ... may be used to provide assistance to any group or organization that does not have a policy explicitly opposing prostitution." The court ruled that this unconstitutionally requires potential fund recipients to "espouse the government's views."

NYSE Euronext shareholders approve deal with Deutsche Börse

Even after Thursday's vote, executives at the operator of the New York Stock Exchange conceded that they had more work to do to complete the merger.

No plans to drop DSK charges, no plea deal-source

New York prosecutors have no current plans to drop charges against former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn and they sought no plea deal at a meeting on Wednesday with his defense lawyers. The Manhattan district attorney's office indicated that prosecutors wanted at least two or three more weeks to investigate Strauss-Kahn and his accuser, and there was "no expectation" that they would drop the sexual assault charges. There was "no plea deal on the table" during discussions.

Puerto Rico coast still ruled by 1886 law

A Spanish law crafted in 1886 still governs development along Puerto Rico's sprawling coastline, worrying activists and legislators who say the ancient mandate has allowed construction along ecologically sensitive beaches. But replacing the law's vague wording and its scant references to environmental protection has been a challenge. A bill that addresses those concerns has been stuck in the legislature since 2009, while complaints about limited access to public beaches and construction in environmentally delicate areas have increased.

  • Daily Press Review

Yemen president Saleh appears on TV
Al Jazeera, Doha, Qatar

Gunmen kill 39 in 3 days in Karachi
Arab News, Pro-government, Jidda, Saudi Arabia

Yemen VP presents new transition plan - Saleh stays
Asharq Al-Awsat, Pan-Arab daily, London, England

Libya tribe members in Egypt, see talks with rebels
Egyptian Gazette, English-language, Cairo, Egypt

Knesset set to discuss bill to outlaw boycotts against Israel
Haaretz, Liberal daily, Tel Aviv, Israel

MIDEAST: Egypt-Israel gas pipeline targeted
IPS Middle East, International cooperative of journalists, Rome, Italy

Arabic becoming the language of Facebook
JPost, Conservative, Jerusalem, Israel

Fatah group claims responsibility for Gaza explosion
Ma'an News Agency, Bethlehem, Palestinian Territories

French boat to Gaza blocked in Crete: organiser
Times of Oman, English-language daily, Muscat, Oman

L&T eyes constructions in Gulf, aims to double orders
Times of Oman Business, English-language daily, Muscat, Oman

President Saleh affirms sharing power through constitution for saving Yemen
Yemen Observer, Sana'a, Republic of Yemen

Murdoch's scandal-hit News of the World to shut down
CNN International, London, England

South Sudan poised for independence
Daily Express, Conservative tabloid, London, England

Atlantis at the mercy of mother nature: 70% chance of storms delaying last shuttle launch
Daily Mail, Conservative daily, London, England

Thousands protest civilian deaths in Afghanistan
EuroNews, International news, Ecully Cedex, France

UK: News of the World to close over phone-hacking scandal
France 24, Issy-les-Moulineaux, France

9 elderly Germans get life imprisonment in Italy for 1944 Nazi massacres
Hurriyet Daily News, (Liberal, English-language), Istanbul, Turkey

Gunman kills himself after shooting seven
Sky News, Independent newscaster, Middlesex, England

Phone hacking victims could number 4,000
Telegraph The, Conservative daily, London, England

65 killed in three-day violence in Karachi, Pakistan
Antara News, News agency, Jakarta, Indonesia

Yingluck defends economic policies
Bangkok Post, Independent, Bangkok, Thailand

Former officials describe Jiang-era cross-strait relations as 'tumultuous'
China Post, English-language daily, Taipei, Taiwan

Amazon loses EU appeal on one-click patent application
Computer World, IT information, Fairfax, New Zealand

UN chief calls for halt to Libya fighting
Dawn, English-language daily, Karachi, Pakistan

Talk of drift, corruption is propaganda: Manmohan
Hindu The, Left-leaning daily, Chennai, India

'DSK won't plead guilty in any deal'
Hindustan Times, New Delhi, India

SC: 2008 Gujarat serial blasts accused will be tried in Gujarat
India Express, News portal, Mumbai, India

Murder: Kingpin among 6 held
India Times, Conservative daily, New Delhi, India

Gunman kills self after deadly US shooting spree
New Zealand Herald, Conservative daily, Auckland, New Zealand

11 dead as Kandahar clashes enter 2nd day
Pajhwok Afghan News, (Independent news agency), Kabul, Afghanistan

New Zealand paves way for Pacific Forum with multi-purpose mission to islands
People's Daily Online, English-language, Beijing, China

Appeals court: US can't force anti-sex-work pledge
Sify News, Chennai, India

French court decides whether to probe IMF chief
Straits Times, Pro-government, Singapore

Forbes list eludes as Indian models fight odds
Thaindian News, Bangkok, Thailand

Anshu Jain in Deutsche Bank's succession race after Axel Webermove to UBS
The Economic Times, Business, Mumbai, India

Seven dead in Michigan shootings, suspect surrounded
Times of India, Conservative, New Delhi, India

Police to rely on the military to keep the peace in Monday's strike
Dominican Today, Independent daily, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

JLP bounces back - PNP lead cut in half over past 12 months
Jamaica Gleaner, Independent daily, Kingston, Jamaica

Retail, tech lead Wall Street rally before jobs data
Reuters, Business News, New York, U.S

Special Report - Can Malaysia reform and discriminate?
Reuters, World News, New York, U.S

'We shall return' Will tells adoring crowd in Calgary
Toronto Star, Toronto, Ontario

Police project in jeopardy
Trinidad Guardian, Independent daily, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad

Libya rebels advance on key town
BBC News, Centrist newscaster, London, England

'North Korea bribed us'
iafrica, Online news portal, Cape Town, South Africa

Is the Republic of South Sudan a failled (pre) nation?
Sudan Tribune, Khartoum, Sudan

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