Better Legal Billing: Win Win Client Options

In the old days of legal billing, lawyer's invoices -- usually a single page of elegant letterhead--contained only the phrase, "legal services rendered," and a hefty dollar amount. No time breakdowns, no list of activities performed or equipment and supplies used--just a final, usually shocking, charge.
But client demands and the evolution of sophisticated billing software have led to more detailed invoices today. Itemized statements have triggered discussion among businesses about whether hourly billing is the best way to be charged for legal services. As the legal profession becomes more competitive and dependent on high quality customer service, lawyers need to embrace alternate billing methods.
Fixed or flat fees, contingency fees, non-refundable retainers with discounted hourly fees, blended hourly fees and variations on those themes are becoming increasingly common. But many law firms have been slow to join this trend -- lawyers still perform approximately 95 percent of their corporate legal work on an hourly basis.
What does that mean for your small business? If your company is currently working with a law firm or looking for legal counsel, try requesting alternate billing options. While many law firms rarely initiate different options, they'll negotiate when brought to the table. If you want something better than the old "bill by the hour" deal, try presenting one of these billing structures:
Project billing for routine issues
If your legal needs include large but repetitive tasks, consider a flat-fee approach, also known as project billing. If you need legal assistance on a large research project involving several repetitive tasks with a fair amount of predictability for cost estimation and time duration, request a dollar cap for predetermined services. Be sure to compare estimated costs at the equivalent hourly rate--a projected cap that far exceeds any likely bill is really no cap at all.
Once you get a project billing estimate, don't hesitate to shop around. Making an informed decision -- shopping around, comparing prices and services with other law firms -- is good business sense, especially if you intend to hire a firm for a single project. If you anticipate establishing a long-term relationship, mention this as you're negotiating a project amount -- a firm may provide a better deal if it expects future work from your company.
Results-oriented options
Forget the image of personal injury attorneys taking a third of any verdict or settlement. Consider instead contingency fees -- fees based on the outcome of the case and the performance of your counsel. Creative use of contingency fees can create efficiencies in even the most high-level corporate settings. If you retain a lawyer to help your company avoid litigation, couple a reduced hourly rate with a bonus for successfully lowering your litigation outlays.
You also can establish an incentive based on a percentage of money won or saved in trial. If you're a defendant in a case where the plaintiff has a strong shot at a $1 million settlement, negotiate a flat fee if the case goes to trial, plus a bonus if the plaintiff ends up getting less than $1 million. If you're a plaintiff and estimate your case is worth between $1 and $2 million, you might negotiate services for a flat fee plus a percentage of any settlement over $1 million.
Contingency fees turn the matter into a shared risk or shared incentive, making the law firm your business partner, not just representation. Contingency fees can work well with both flat fee and reduced hourly fee arrangements. Because a number of variations on the "pay-according-to-success" theme exist, you should ask firms for the options they're willing to discuss.
Multi-layered tasks
If you're shopping for a firm for substantial legal work involving a number of legal specialties, consider using blended hourly fees. Rather than each attorney billing at the usual hourly rate, the firm calculates in advance an "average" rate based on the anticipated time each attorney spends on the matter.
The value of this arrangement is twofold--it helps define responsibility in a project and it provides a fair price schedule for the client, who avoids paying a senior partner's hourly rate for research that should be conducted by a junior associate
Legal "Insurance" Firms without in-house counsel that frequently hire legal services might consider contracting with a firm. In this legal billing option, firms and clients agree to a specific charge per month in exchange for a predetermined set of legal services. The contract fee permits the client to pick up the phone and talk to the attorney without needing to eye the clock. This approach works like a legal insurance policy. It encourages companies to contact their counsel on non-litigation, non-crisis matters, and to save money in the long run by engaging in more preventive legal action.

Just as in business, the impetus for change comes from consumer demand. The sooner businesses take the lead in securing more effectively tailored billing methods from their legal counsel, the sooner they'll get better, more cost-effective legal assistance.

Dan Harris is an attorney with the international law firm of Harris & Moure, pllc, which focuses on assisting small and medium sized companies doing business in or involved with Asia, Eastern Europe, or North America. http://www.harrismoure.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Daniel_Harris

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/808

Cost-Crunching Counsel: Nine Keys to Controlling Costs and Improving Legal Services for Your Busines

Attorneys are all about money, right?

We're the ones who cue our families for photographs with, "Everybody smile and say, 'Fees!'" Go ahead. Insert your own joke here. We can take it. But despite the jokes and our reputation, most of us are businessmen, too. We understand the need to control costs. We don't like wasting anyone's time, either.

We're just like you. We thrive on referrals and return business. If we gouge clients, a lot of people hear about it.

So I'm here, as an attorney, to tell you how to keep your legal costs under control. I've enjoyed twenty years in my career with firms ranging in size from more than 500 lawyers to firms with less than five attorneys. It's this simple: When companies follow these nine keys for hiring and using legal counsel, they crunch their legal costs--and actually increase the quality of their legal representation.

Key #1. Get the right lawyer for the job.

Get the lawyer whose practice focuses on the narrow area of law in which you need assistance. (This almost always means you need more than one law firm doing your legal work, by the way.)

Choosing the right lawyer can save you big money in the long run. The focus of my practice is international dispute resolution. Many times, the best way to collect a debt owed by a foreign company (particularly if that company is based in an emerging market country) is to seize an asset of that company in a foreign country. Suing these companies in the United States is very expensive. Many countries do not fully recognize U.S. judgments. You sue here and take the judgment there, only to learn you essentially need to sue again and win in your debtor company's home country. Seizing your debtor's valuable asset in a neutral third country can oftentimes be the best solution.

The problem is that many, if not most, of the contracts my clients or their attorneys ask me to collect on outside of the United States weren't written with that in mind. Why not? Because they weren't written by an international lawyer. In these cases, I'm only brought in as the specialist to do damage control long after the agreement is executed. Many of these contracts state very explicitly that the client's home city is the only jurisdiction in which any lawsuit might be brought. So what happens? Such a provision can preclude action in some foreign countries and make seizure in all of them more problematic.

I had a recent case where I am certain we could have collected a million dollars for the client in an overseas jurisdiction had there not been a provision requiring litigation in an East Coast state. My East Coast client may have saved a few hundred dollars by having his regular lawyer draft the contract, but in the end, it may have cost them a million dollars.

Choosing the specialist usually saves money in the short term as well. My next door neighbor asked me to be her lawyer in purchasing a house from her parents. (A reminder: I do international dispute resolution.) I made clear I had absolutely no real estate background and that this transfer would be far more complicated than she probably realized.

My neighbor needed an attorney with experience in these deals. I knew such a deal should be structured to legally minimize various taxes and I told her that if she used someone without experience in this specific area--like me--she increased the likelihood of missing out on some tax benefit. Still, the clincher was when I told her that it would take someone like me around 30 hours to do such a project, while someone who was familiar with the legal territory would probably get it done in half the time.

I recommended a top-flight real estate lawyer with a tax background and told my neighbor she should expect legal fees of at least $3,500. She mentioned that the lawyer I'd recommended had completed the job, tax benefits intact, for much less.

I was shocked by the low fees and called the real estate lawyer for an explanation (I actually thought he had cut my neighbor a break as a favor to me). The lawyer told me it had taken him only three hours for the job because he does about twenty of these transactions a year. That means there is no need for him to research the tax laws each time so what would take me 30 hours takes him three.

This illustrates an old adage about the best way to find the best lawyer for your particular matter: solicit suggestions from your regular lawyer, or a friend who is an attorney. However, you need to ask for more than, for example, someone who has ever done a trademark registration. In that case, you'll probably be passed off to another lawyer in his firm that has handled a few trademarks rather than getting the name of a well-respected trademark lawyer outside the firm. Using the in-firm corporate generalist for your trademark work will prove mighty expensive if that generalist misses something in the registration.

Key #2: Stay in constant communication with your lawyer.

It may seem completely counter-intuitive that constantly communicating with your lawyer will save you money, but it almost surely will.

In reality, staying in good communication with your lawyer is the rough equivalent of regularly changing the oil in your car. It costs money each time, but a blown engine or (in the case of legal services) a big lawsuit is going to cost you a lot more in the long run than a few oil changes or phone calls along the way.

This brings me right to the next key:

Key #3: Know your goals and tell your lawyer [WHAT THEY ARE}.

This is an "ouch" item. Remember the old Rolling Stones song "You Can't Always Get What You Want"? With your counsel, "You Won't Ever Get What You Want" if you don't know what you want to achieve through legal representation.

It's your lawyer's job to explain various possible outcomes of a case or transaction, but it's your job to know what your goals are. You are always going to know your business better than your lawyer.

Many years ago, a client came to me about six months into some highly contentious litigation with his business partner. The client had already spent around $50,000 on this case he had brought, but he had a vague sense of uneasiness about it. His regular corporate counsel had referred him to me for a second opinion regarding the litigation.

I met with the client for a few hours and learned that he wanted me to make sure his lawyers were handling the case properly. During this conversation, the client must have told me at least ten times that he never wanted to do business with his partner again. I told him I would review the entire case file and get back to him in a few days.

When we met again a few days later, I told him that his lawyers had been doing a fine job. Again, he kept mentioning how he never wanted to do business with his partner again.

I then asked him whether he realized that no matter what happened in his lawsuit against his business partner, they would still be partners at the end. Here's the "ouch": it turns out the client had thought that victory in his lawsuit would remove his partner from the partnership. The client had fifty grand into this process, and that goal of dissolving the partnership just wasn't going to happen.

I then spoke with litigation counsel who confirmed the lawsuit could never achieve that objective. The lawsuit was just to seek compensation from the partner for business he had allegedly diverted to another of his companies that should have gone to the partnership. We met a few times with his partner (who actually wanted out of the partnership). Within a few weeks, we achieved a settlement that removed the partner from my client's business--and ended the litigation that should never have been started in the first place.

Key #4: Avoid Litigation.

Being sued or finding yourself in a position where you have no real choice but to sue should almost always be avoided. This is easier said than done, but by living up to your agreements (and getting them in writing), spending a little up-front in legal fees and consulting with lawyers, you can go far in avoiding most lawsuits.

However, litigation is often necessary and should even sometimes be employed to further broad strategic business objectives. Nonetheless, once litigation has begun it is time consuming, difficult to control, and very expensive.

Regular communications with your lawyer will better enable her to head off problems before litigation becomes the only solution. It will also enable her to better position you to prevail in any such litigation, if it cannot be avoided.

I have found that the clients who are best at communicating with me have gone through litigation and truly understand the need to avoid it. Concentrate your efforts close to home. While great time and effort are spent on protecting against injury lawsuits (hot coffee and the like), that risk for most businesses is relatively small and, more importantly, can be insured against. For most businesses, employee and contract issues present a greater danger of getting out of hand. Ironically, these are precisely the issues that are easy to avoid up-front with proactive employment policies and clear written contracts.

Key #5: Use a law firm that appropriately outsources.

The big firms are usually set up in such a way that the profits of the partners come from the work of their associates. These associates are often recent law graduates who are likely to be far less efficient than a more senior lawyer. Put simply, 20 hours at $200 will cost you more than 10 hours at $300.

Associate time is often a lousy value. Law firms love having their associates doing legal research. The associate conducts highly profitable legal research and the law firm avoids having an inexperienced lawyer making strategic decisions. In the meantime you are paying to help train that associate. In seven years or so, he'll be ready to become a partner and use a new associate to do the same thing to some other client.

How can you avoid putting too much of your legal budget into associates? On each matter ask your lawyer whether it would be possible for her to subcontract out some of the research work by using a part-time contract lawyer or even an overseas research service.

In Seattle there are many lawyers who, for whatever reason, do not wish to work full time and so contract out their legal research services for anywhere from $30 to $70. Though your law firm will justifiably mark up these charges to cover their normal overhead, you still should expect substantial savings. There is even the possibility of using overseas lawyers to assist in initial research of some matters. With competent lawyers in India charging as little as $7 an hour for computerized legal research, there is no reason not to give them the first crack at research that your lawyer will have plenty of time to review and supplement.

The outsourcing used by your law firm should not be confined just to lawyers, either:

• Good Japanese translators are in great demand in this country and so they are quite expensive. For years we have been successfully e-mailing Japanese documents to excellent translators in Russia who charge 1/5 as much.
• We realize substantial savings for our clients by having our Chinese documents translated in China, rather than here.
• We have used Korean engineers for initial engineering review on cases, saving at least 30%.

We even encourage Vancouver or Toronto, Canada, arbitration provisions in our client's international contracts because Vancouver arbitrators, though quite competent, generally cost about half of those in the locales most commonly used for international arbitration (London, New York, and Stockholm).

Key #6: Explore alternative fee arrangements.

It almost always makes sense to at least discuss with your lawyer billing arrangements other than straight hourly fees.

Perhaps you'll both benefit from a fixed fee arrangement. Here, you and your lawyer agree on a fixed fee that covers legal services. The real advantage in this arrangement, for both counsel and the client, is the ability to budget in advance and so limit billing "surprises" for both of you.

Contingent fees are another alternative option. Simply stated, the law firm is paid contingent upon the results they achieve. Although you often hear "If we don't win, you don't pay" on TV commercials, the more common arrangement in business cases is to use contingent fees in combination with cost-reduced or limited-number hourly fees.

There are also a number of hourly billing variations to consider. One common option is to negotiate a reduced hourly rate plus bonus. Here, an agreement can put your counsel at a reduced hourly rate plus bonuses to be paid for meeting or exceeding deadlines you agree upon.

Key #7: Have your lawyer give you an estimate of the fees and costs.

It's in your best interest to get an estimate of your legal fees.

An estimate is just that: an estimate. Legal fees are often difficult to predict, particularly in litigation where the opposing party's tactics greatly influence what your lawyer is required to do. However, you still need an idea of the legal costs you're about to encounter.

From my perspective as counsel, I have learned that it is always a good idea to give an estimate because sometimes clients truly have no idea exactly what is involved in handling a particular matter. Years ago, a client called me wanting to seize the assets of a Russian company that owed his company about $350,000. Because this was the first time I had worked with the company, I wanted to impress the client and I told him that I would use my contacts throughout Asia to determine whether this company had any assets there that could be seized. I also told him I would be working with a Russian law firm to explore the likelihood of success if we needed to sue in Russia. When he agreed to that strategy, my firm did all of these things, incurring $5,000 in fees and costs. About half of that went to lawyers/agents in Korea, China, Hong Kong, and Japan and to the lawyers in Russia who had written a very good four-page memorandum outlining what would likely happen if we were to sue in Russia.

I reported back to the client within a week and gave him very clear directions on what we needed to do to recover the debt. I then sent out the bill for approximately $5,000, believing we had done a great job very quickly and efficiently. I assumed the client was very happy with our work and would gladly pay the bill. (I can assure you that my clients for whom I regularly do this sort of work would not have batted an eye at the bill.)

My assumption was wrong. The client called and said he had no idea that it would cost so much. This struck me as curious, since the client was a rather sophisticated business person whose company uses one of the big firms in town. Yet he told me that he thought that my search for assets, and my working with Russian lawyers, would basically consist of one afternoon's worth of phone calls. Because the miscommunication regarding fees was more my fault than his, I drastically cut the bill. But from then on I've tried to always give an estimate up front and then continue to update that estimate as the work progresses.

Key #8: Don't focus too much on the attorneys' hourly rate.

An in-house counsel for one of the largest corporations in America once told me that, no matter what the hourly fees were at the various firms used by her company, in the end, most of the firms tended to charge similar amounts. According to her, the firm whose partner billed out at $250 per hour simply billed more time than the firm whose partners billed out at $350. At the $350 per hour firm, more work would go to associates.

So here's the principle behind the key: Focus on lowering your total bill, not on the fees charged by individual lawyers.

Key #9: Don't forget about insurance.

One of the best investments against monumental legal fees is insurance.

Carry liability insurance and, if feasible, carry directors' and officers' liability insurance. Discuss your various insurance options with both your broker and your lawyer. Then, if you do get sued for any reason, have your lawyer check your policy to see if you have coverage. Too many times, companies have assumed their policy could never cover a particular matter when in fact it either might or it does.

These nine keys combined can form a powerful strategy to significantly control your legal costs. You may never be able to smile with your lawyers when they say "Fees!" for the firm's holiday photo, but you'll know you're making the most of your legal budget.

Dan Harris is an attorney with the international law firm of Harris & Moure, pllc., which focuses on assisting businesses in or involved with Asia, Eastern Europe, or North America. http://www.harrismoure.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Daniel_Harris

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/806

Intellectual Property Law

Intellectual Property Law can be quite confusing at times. Copyrights, trademarks and patents all have a role in protecting your hard earned content and knowing their role is half the battle.

Intellectual property in itself refers to the creations of the mind, including such things as: artistic works, literary works, inventions, names, images, symbols, and designs used in commerce. In other words, the intellect that is the possession of an organization or an individual is considered intellectual property.

Intellectual property is divided into two categories, copyrights and industrial property.

Copyrights give the authors of an exclusive work, exclusive rights to that work for a limited amount of time. Copyrights cover such literary and artistic works as novels, poems, plays, films, songs and other musical works, artistic works (drawings, paintings, sculptures and photographs) and architectural designs. Copyrights, which must be renewed periodically, allow the creators of a piece of work, the opportunity to benefit from that piece of work.

Industrial property includes patents, trademarks, industrial designs and geographic indications of source.

Patents give the inventors of a new product, a certain (limited) amount of time in which he/she may prevent others from making, selling or using the invention without authorization.

A trademark is an intellectual property protection which is used to protect the distinctive features that distinguish one product from another. Those features can include such things as: symbols, colors, brands, names, sounds, smells, shapes, and signs.

Fortunately, Intellectual property laws benefit the creator of a property, by rewarding that creator for his/her innovation and creativity. Also, society as a whole benefits from intellectual property laws, by the fact, that these laws encourage creativity, therefore allowing the rest of us to benefit from the wide range of products and services that are produced.

Any violation of a trademark, patent or copyright could constitute the grounds for an intellectual property lawsuit. If you feel that you have been victimized it would be wise to consult a qualified attorney in your area. Find an attorney or law firm, which specializes in intellectual property law. Know your rights and protect them accordingly.

You are welcome to reproduce this article: Intellectual Property Law as long as a live link to www.hugesettlements.com is provided.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joe_Regan

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4782

USCIS (INS) Continues To Expand Online InfoPass Service

Citizenship and Immigration Services (formerly Immigration and Naturalization Services, INS) continues to rollout its immigration information by appointment system called InfoPass, with three new USCIS districts added last week. Atlanta, Boston and Houston are the newest additions, making the system now available in almost all major metropolitan areas with large immigrant populations. These areas include Los Angeles, New York and Miami.

Along with the Case Status Online service (allows user to check the status of some pending applications, e.g. green card applications) which was made available earlier this year on the Internet, and the electronic filing of the 12 most popular immigration forms, (accounts for more than 50% of all immigration benefit applications filed each year) InfoPass is the newest effort intended to reduce long lines and speed up the processing backlog of services provided by the USCIS.

InfoPass allows anyone who is living in a serviced USCIS district and seeking immigration benefits to schedule an appointment with immigration officers via the Internet. The simple to use online system allows users to discuss complex immigration issues with USCIS officials, while avoiding the long lines.

The secure Internet site offers service in 12 languages and is organized in a series of prompts, asking the user to enter their name, zip code, address, phone number and a desired appointment date. Once all the information is entered, the system will generate an appointment notice. Appointments are offered in two-week blocks. The notice will provide the address of the USCIS office and any information regarding required identification and/or additional documentation, such as a green card or work permit, to be presented at the appointment.

US Immigration guide: visa, green card lottery, and immigration attorney directory. Immigration information regarding temporary and permanent visa types, and paths to legalized immigrant status in the U.S.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Victor_Motak

Converting Formats Should Be Legal

This is the official stance of K.A.P.A. (Karaoke Anti-Piracy Agency...essentially the RIAA of the karaoke world) taken directly from their website:

Q. If I own my own discs, can I load them onto a hard drive to play them in a show, etc.?

A. No, you MAY NOT load songs from other manufacturers on your hard drive. The licensing rights for music on a hard drive machine exist only between the machine manufacturer and the music provider. These rights do not extend to the owner of the machine, to load songs from other manufacturers on the hard drive player. Copying the discs on to a hard drive is still copying the discs. Legally, it is absolutely no different than burning a copy of the discs. In order to copy your discs on to your hard drive, you have to have the written permission of the company that produced the discs and owns the copyrights.

On this page I will attempt to convince you that format conversion should not be a crime and that businesses should be allowed to convert a phonorecord (That's the legal definition for a song) from one format to another. I am not making a case for piracy, the legitimacy of Peer to Peer networks, nor serial copying, but rather the simple process of encoding a compact disc to a compressed digital audio format like MP3. With piracy and serial copying, the artist is not paid for their work. With format conversion, it is assumed the work being converted was legally purchased, and thus the artist was paid his share of the royalties.

We'll begin with a little bit of history on the DJ industry. When the DJ industry first started, vinyl records were the most popular medium for their performances. How ever, these were heavy and easily damaged. Because of their weight and cost, many DJs only brought a few hundred records to a performance and much money was spent replacing records that hard worn out or become scratched. While this was good for the record industry, it was bad for consumers because it increased the costs for the DJ which were then passed on to the consumers. When the cassette tape was introduced, most DJ's began using them instead because they were lighter and more durable. It was impractical to copy records on to cassette tape because the noise of the record (especially if it was worn) combined with the tape noise made for a poor quality recording. While tapes were more durable than records, they too wore out. Again, this was good for the recording industry because it meant that DJs would have to purchase the same record they already owned in the cassette format. Of course, this cost was passed onto the consumers through higher prices charged by DJs. When the CD came out, DJs switched formats again. They now had a digital medium that wouldn't wear out no matter how many times it was played. It weighed less than a tape, and it offered the ability to find a particular track as quickly as DJs used to be able to with vinyl records. Now instead of bringing a few hundred records, or several hundred cassettes, DJs could bring one or two thousand CDs. This meant DJs had a consistent product and a wider selection of music than a band, so not surprisingly DJs are now the entertainment of choice at weddings and parties.

Now enter compressed digital audio. Most people are familiar with MP3, so I will use that term in place of compressed digital audio, however most DJs use other better compression formats than MP3. With the MP3 format, DJs can store not just one or two thousand CDs worth of music, but hundreds of thousands of CDs. Since MP3's are digital, they never wear out, and because they reside on a computer hard disk, they never get scratched. In 50 years they will sound the same as they do today. They take up less room because they are inside the PC, and not spread out on a 3 foot by 6 foot table. They are lighter because they are not a physical "thing". And since computers are really great at sorting information, requested music can be found instantly by the DJ instead of forcing him to search through thousands of CDs to find that one particular CD that has that one requested song. Compressed audio is a godsend for the DJ because it means he never has to replace a disc/cassette/record, he has less to carry, he can offer the widest selection of music possible, and reduce his cost. This is great for consumers because lower costs mean lower prices.

Some argue that compressed audio does not have the same sound quality as a CD, and I have to agree. However, it takes a very good ear and a good set of speakers to detect a difference between a high quality digital encoding and a CD. In a large hall filled with celebrating people the two are indistinguishable. Further, I would point out that CDs do not sound as good as a high quality analog recording like a vinyl record, but the public still embraced compact discs with open arms. The public seem quite happy with a good recording that is more durable than a great recording that degrades.

Unfortunately, as with every invention that threatens the status quo, it is illegal. Currently disc jockeys who convert a CD to another format (including another CD) are breaking copyright law because such a conversion is not considered "Fair Use". The courts use four factors set forth in section 107 of the Copyright Law to determine if a use is "Fair Use":

1. The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes.

2. The nature of the copyrighted work.

3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole.

4. The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

In the case of Disk Jockeys, the questions would be answered as such:

1. Commercial use for private performance. It is a private performance because Joe Public can't simply walk into Jane Doe's wedding without an invitation, nor can he attend ACME Corp.'s company Christmas party unless he works there, but because the disc jockey is charging for his service, it is a commercial use.

2. The nature of the copyrighted material is a creative work. Creative works typically afforded a more restrictive definition of Fair Use than informational works like dictionaries and encyclopedias.

3. The entire work is used in the format conversion process. This should be seen as a plus, since the disc jockey is not altering the work in any way. The DJ is faithfully reproducing the entire work as intended by the artist.

4. The effect of this conversion increases the potential market for and the value of the copyrighted work. By allowing disc jockeys to convert formats, they will be able to carry more music to a performance, and potentially bring the artist more fans and ultimately more fame and money.

To add this all up, the fact that it is commercial use of a creative work argues against fair use, but the fact that the entire work is used and its use potentially increases the market for the artist should outweigh the negatives. The fact that it is a private performance is fairly neutral.

Another reason it is illegal is because the CD is not consumed during the process of conversion, so by nature of the process one is left with 2 copies of the recording instead of the one that was purchased. In theory the DJ should pay for that second copy. Unfortunately, no method for paying for this second copy is available, and since many DJs would rather have the music in digital format than CD format you would find them selling the CD after making the conversion which would hurt record sales even more since you would now have a glut of discs flooding an already battered market. This would be legal if the DJ were forced to pay for the copy, as the original CDs carry the Right of First Sale (which means you can sell it at a garage sale, sell it on eBay, or trade it in at a used music store). Having the DJ pay for the created copy would imply its legitimacy as a legal copy in and of itself, and thereby imply the Right of First Sale to it as well.

"What can I do about this?"

If like me you feel that the music industry is trampling your rights, contact your state senators and representatives and let them know that your vote is more important than the money they get from the music industry's special interest groups.

Tim Smith is the owner of By Request DJ & Karaoke Company and has worked towards getting US disc jockeys the right to use compressed digital audio since it became legal in Canada.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tim_Smith

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4611

Payment Withheld: Can I Fight a Magazine Publisher to Get it Back?

A colleague of mine sent me a troubling question: "Dave, I recently submitted an
article to a magazine I've worked with for a few years, and they accepted it without
comment. A month passes and they've paid me 1/3 of the agreed upon fee,
claiming that their staff had to completely rewrite it prior to publication and that
cost came out of my recompense. That seems really unfair: is there anything I can
do about it?"

To clarify the issue, I asked my colleague to send me a copy of the article
assignment letter, which is basically a contract between the author and the
publisher that should - one hopes - detail exactly what's to be delivered and all the
possible contingencies, including receiving a manuscript that isn't publishable.

Before we look at the contract wording, though, what's odd about this situation is
that the author never had an opportunity to fix the article or even any feedback
saying that there were problems at all. Seems kind of fishy...

Receipt of Contributions

Publisher reserves the right of final approval of both the form and content
of each contribution from the Author. Publisher may, as it deems
desirable, adapt and edit or authorize the adaptation and editing of each
contribution. Publisher may or may not publish a contribution at its sole
discretion.

So far, that's pretty typical. Notice that there's no mention of the possible cost of
adaptation or editing in this clause of the contract. Let's continue...

Payment

In consideration of the services performed by Contributor hereunder and the rights
granted and assigned hereunder, Publisher agrees to pay to Contributor,
subject to the terms herein, an amount as set forth in Exhibit B.

Again, that's pretty straightforward. The question is, what's actually written in
Exhibit B and what kind of "kill fee" is detailed, if any. And here's the final clause, in
Exhibit B, that punctures a hole in any sort of argument that the publisher may have
with the author:

Payment for each contribution shall not be made until such contribution has been
approved for print in the magazine. In the event that a contribution is not accepted
for print, the contributor shall not be entitled to payment.

My reading of this is that it's an all-or-nothing contract. There's no legal provision
that gives them the right to withhold partial payment for any reason: either the
terms of the contribution are met as detailed in the Exhibit, or they're not, in which
case "the contributor shall not be entitled to payment."

If the difference is more than a minuscule amount I would suggest that you call up
the publisher and say that upon further reading of your contract, you do not see
that they have any basis for withholding 2/3 of your payment and that you'd like to
see a check issued for the balance of the article payment immediately.

And I'd consider finding a new publisher for your articles too.

Please note that I am not a lawyer and that this should not be construed as any sort of legal advice. You proceed with my analysis and commentary at your own risk. Thanks.

Dave Taylor is a professional writer who has been publishing since 1982. He's written sixteen books, including the best-selling Wicked Cool Shell Scritps, and Creating Cool Web Sites.

His latest projects are startup 101 [http://www.startup101.info/] and Ask Dave Taylor, where he's happy to take questions from writers about contracts and publishing.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dave_Taylor

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6055

Appraisal Basis for Texas Teachers

Texas public school teachers are appraised yearly. Here's a quick review of what to expect and what you can do if there are problems.

All classroom teachers must be appraised on the basis of classroom teaching performance, in an area for which they hold certification if at all possible.

Teachers should be appraised every year, unless the teacher has been appraised as proficient or better in every category on the most recent appraisal. If so, the teacher and district may agree to do an appraisal less often, but at least every five years.

The teacher appraisal cannot include evaluation of extracurricular duties, although there may be a separate appraisal document covering those duties.

The appraisal may be based on classroom observation, periodic walk-throughs, and written documentation. The documentation may be gathered from any source, as long as the teacher is informed it may be used on the appraisal.

Either the teacher or the appraiser may request a pre- or post-observation conference. If you have unusual circumstances in your classroom, you should always request a pre-observation conference so that you can prepare the appraiser for what will be happening in your class.

Material for the appraisal may be gathered during the enti