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Law School Marketing
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The Unacceptable Results of the Current Directive Law
22 Feb 2012 by Daniel Rubin / No Comments
In examining the health care proxy, it was discovered that affording the full control to proxy only when the patient is incapacitated, could lead to the proxy being unclear as to what exactly the wishes of the patient are. Additionally, the patient may change his mind over time, and discuss these changes with his proxy, yet not reflect these alterations in the form, which delegated the power initially.
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D.C.’s iGaming Craps Out Before Rolling the Dice
22 Feb 2012 by Andrew Fleischman / No Comments
April 15, 2011. Black Friday. A date that will live in infamy. Well, at least in the hearts and minds of online gambling enthusiasts, for that is the day that the FBI shutdown the three leading online poker sites, effectively ending all online gambling operations in the U.S. But then, only several days later, a ray of sunlight pierced the post-shutdown fallout: the District of Columbia had become the first in the nation to legalize online gambling!
Excitement surrounding the D.C. plan, known as iGaming, spread quickly. Officials in D.C. promptly rolled out the infrastructure and regulations to facilitate the nation’s first intrastate online casino. Industry insiders had high hopes that the plan’s success would lead other states to pass similar legislation. While some doubted the plan’s legality, the DOJ reversed its position on the Wire Act in late December 2011, clearing the way for iGaming’s launch. From the outside, all seemed well with the plan. But in February 2012, much to the chagrin of, well, pretty much everyone except for those that made the decision, D.C. pulled the plug on iGaming, killing the initiative.
As the Grateful Dead so sagely advised in the song Truckin’, “the cards ain’t worth a dime if you don’t lay ‘em down.” D.C. CFO Natwar Gandhi projected iGaming to generate $14 million in tax revenue alone for the District in the program’s first two years. So what could possibly halt D.C. from playing its valuable hand?
Good ole fashioned shady politics. While the D.C. council “legalized” online gambling, hardly anyone in the council seemed to realize. See, in December 2010, when the council was voting on a several-hundred-pages-long budget bill, Councilmember Michael Brown slipped in an unnoticed amendment that simply extended the D.C. lottery to also apply to “games offered over the Internet.” Usually when passing groundbreaking legislation, or really anything significant for that matter, there is a public vetting process. I guess Michael Brown didn’t get the memo. Essentially, no one noticed the teeny amendment and when the bill passed under a tight deadline, Vincent Gray signed it into law rather than squabble over a small piece of the gigantic budget.
When word got out that D.C. legalized online gambling without most council members realizing or any public vetting, there was a slight public backlash, but not anything that supporters expected would derail the initiative. But as opponents of the law dug a little deeper, the other shoe dropped as an investigation exposed the shady manner in which the D.C. lottery contract was awarded. It turns out the majority winner of the lottery contract to operate the online casino was a D.C. businessman with absolutely no gambling experience. On top of that, he planned to operate the casino out of his mother’s duplex. While money undoubtedly exchanged hands in some back room meeting in this blatant “pay-to-play” deal, D.C. officials are currently grappling with the idea of referring the investigation to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Regardless of whether the D.C. officials will be held accountable, the scandal thus marks the death knell of iGaming. What was once viewed as a huge potential momentum builder for the world of online gambling has instead become another black eye for an industry that just can’t seem to catch a break. So long iGaming – looks like you crapped out before you even rolled the dice.
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A Legal Look at Loss Causation
20 Feb 2012 by Erik Nygaard / No Comments
Since there is nothing left to be written about Jeremy Lin, I decided to, instead, write about Rule 10b-5 and loss causation. People generally agree that Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act and its companion Rule 10b-5 are the sexiest securities laws on the books. Corporations, despite being people too, disagree with the rest of people. Rule 10b-5, in its simplest form, prohibits fraud in the sale of securities.
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Occupy Wall Street? How About Occupy IRS?
20 Feb 2012 by David Schattner / No Comments
The IRS is apparently jealous that some banks have profited from the subprime mortgage meltdown, and have gotten into the action- Tax liens are for sale. If a property owning taxpayer fails to pay his taxes the government will secure a lien on their property. This lien allows local municipalities to secure payment when the property changes ownership, or if the taxes remain delinquent for a specified amount of time, the IRS can foreclose on the property and evict the property owner. (See, NYC’s Annual Tax Lien Sale)
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ICC Frees War Crimes Suspect: Botched Sexual Violence Prosecution
20 Feb 2012 by Kimberly E. Carson / No Comments
On December 16, 2011, the International Criminal Court (“ICC”) freed war crimes suspect Callixte Mbarushimana. Mbarushimana was the alleged “linchpin” of the Forces Démocratiques pour la Libération du Rwanda (FDLR) campaign of murder, rape, and torture of civilians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). His release marks a significant setback for the international prosecution of wartime sexual violence.
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Tribler Increases the Incentive for “Copyright Trolling” Lawsuits
17 Feb 2012 by Tony Niescier / No Comments
The federal shutdown of Megaupload and arrest of its owner Kim Dotcom last month has triggered a panic in the filesharing community. Several popular bittorrent communities have abruptly shut down, including Btjunkie, Cheggit, and Fileporn. File-locker service Filesonic disabled file sharing, and Uploaded.to blocked traffic from the U.S. Other vulnerable site owners are surely considering similar measures.
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Loud and Ugly: Local Neighborhood’s Review of Fashion Week
17 Feb 2012 by Ellie Mochkin / No Comments
Fashion Week just came to a close, and all I can think about are indemnification agreements and easements. Before you blame law school on turning me into a boring, poorly dressed student with a complex next to those beautiful breed of women called models, consider how fashion week takes over Lincoln Center’s public space, denies access to locals and inconveniences thousands of neighbors.
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New Hip Thanks To Internet Gambling or Keep Granny in a Wheelchair
17 Feb 2012 by Andrew Fleischman / No Comments
The Eighteenth Amendment has been a smashing success, effectively banning all production, sale, and transport of the Devil’s Drink in the United States since 1919. Wait – what’s that? It only lasted 14 years before it was repealed? What?! But it was such a great idea!
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The Race for Online Gaming Jackpot
17 Feb 2012 by Kilian Bryce / No Comments
The amount of money at stake grows daily and the higher it gets, the more people get interested. People start to line up for a chance to try their luck. At this point it does not seem to be so much if the Jackpot will hit, but who will get to cash it in.
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Enhancing Airlines Passenger Protections: Baggage Fees
17 Feb 2012 by Sean Barry / No Comments
In recent years airline passengers have been disgruntled by the emergence of baggage fees, overweight luggage fees, and the variety of other fees that used to be included in the airfare. Airlines make considerable revenue from ancillary fees, which include baggage fees. In the second quarter 2012 the U.S. Airlines collected a total of 887 million dollars in baggage fees.
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