Its the business, stupid bringing strategy tools into the practice of law

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A lawyer who has not studied economics is very apt to become a public enemy” Brandeis J. Law schools do not generally teach anything about business, as opposed to business law. As a result, lawyers learn about business legal forms and contracts, but nothing about the non-legal imperatives of running a business like corporate finance, marketing, or corporate strategy. Furthermore, as members of an inherently conservative profession many lawyers resist engaging in any topic that goes beyond the four corners of their legal brief (“I only give legal advice”).

This is highly problematic for business, because every legal problem comes within a business context, and lawyers who are not willing or able to understand that context cannot give good advice; Brandeis J.s dictum is as applicable with respect to business knowledge as it is with respect to economics, and there remains a significant knowledge gap between the practice of law and the practice of business.

In some cases lawyers address this knowledge gap by specializing not only in a particular field of law but also in a particular industry, and in this way they develop industry expertise in substitution of more general business knowledge. At the same time the scale of the knowledge gap can be masked by the natural hubris of the legal professionlawyers who are at the pinnacle of every information and decision making-tree they are associated with can suffer from the illusion of knowing more, not less, than their clients.

A great deal has been written about alternatives to lawyers billing by the hour, or lawyers working from home instead of at a desk in a big law firm, but in my view these topics are relatively trivial. A much more significant topic is bringing business financial and strategy tools into the practice of law in order to develop a multi-disciplinary approach to the delivery of legal services.

In a litigation context for example the focus of lawyers should not be on winning their clients case but on solving the underlying business problemsthe disputes which were the reason clients came to them in the first place. One very simple example of this would be to compare the cost of litigation with the cost of buying the other sides companyif the two numbers bear some similarity then a rare opportunity for a litigator to participate in value creation instead of value destruction may exist.

Business clients want to know how much their case will cost, how long it will take, what the risks are, and the probable result. These four basis elementscost, risk, time, and reward, are the foundation of the financial analysis of any business proposal, and there is no reason why lawyers cannot make reasoned and reasonably reliable assessments of these elements in any given legal contextthe law is no more uncertain than many projects undertaken by business, and in many cases is substantially more certain.

Once we have attached numbers, or a range of numbers, to the four elements then we can financially model them the same way we can model any other business proposal. We can start with a simple spreadsheet comparing cost to risk-discounted reward, or add time to give a net present value calculation (which will show how high the reward would have to be to justify the risk over time, all other things being equal). Nor does it stop therewe can go on to decision tree modeling to assess the value of certain choices and options, and use sensitivity analysis or tornado diagrams to identify the assumptions in the model around which most of the risk in the model revolves; this in turn allows us to go back and further assess the assumptions.

I am aware of no lawyers anywhere in the world who consistently adopt this multi-disciplinary approach in their practices. Discovering such lawyers, and developing a framework with readers to put some flesh on the bones of this theoretical multi-disciplinary approach, is a key objective of this Journal.

Significance Of Hiring Employmentlawyers

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Everybody is struggling to establish their career as the economy is going through some crises. For you to have a good job, you must double the effort that you usually do since employment competition is on the higher level now. Nevertheless, the economy isn’t always stable, and when recession sets in, businesses will be pushed to lay off a few employees. In lots of cities like New York, business abuses are undeniably present. As a matter of fact, a few workplaces are discriminating the jobless.

In the present times, individuals are not hired due to some reasons. Cronyism is just one of these reasons. Only those people who have connections are the ones who can simply get the job. As it is, it is harder for most New Yorkers to search for a job than to find a property. This is because the present unemployment rating is on the rise. It has also become harder for people to secure their current jobs.

Navigating the modern workplace is extremely tough that is why you need the help of NYC employment lawyer. When it comes to employment and civil litigation matters, they are the ones who can help employees from large and small companies. Usually, their services aren’t just limited to the local community because they give it internationally also. Employees’ race, age, sex, disability and religion discrimination is not new to them. Businesses will offer people a chance instead of stereotyping others through their assistance.

Whether your case involves harassment, gender equality issues, sexual harassment, breach of contract, executive compensation, or problems within partnerships, the employment lawyers can surely assist you. Counseling and advice for financial institutions and also other companies in different states, assistance concerning new business initiatives, acquisitions, joint ventures and the likes, drafting and revising employee handbooks, as well as other employment-related documents are also offered by the employmentattorney. What they do is to maintain a sense of fairness and equality among all employees. They prevent businesses from abusing their authority to merely undermine the rights of their employees. Through them, every staff would be treated with utmost professionalism. Keep in mind that laws are implemented so that both parties can benefit.

Other than the above mentioned services, employment lawyers are also helping out companies and businesses in keeping a strong connection to their employees. Several companies give their employees “value exchange. It turns the workplace into an enjoyable and engaging environment for workers to do better in their work. This is to turn the workplace into a different environment. Apart from providing employees a sense of freedom, this will also help them to become productive as they are very pleased with what they’re doing.
When it comes to legal issues regarding your business and job, it is best to have the help of the employmentattorney. They know how discrimination revolves around a certain workplace for both social and professional classes. Additionally, they can be of service to financially incapacitated small businesses that are bombarded with legal issues. With the aid of their expertise, skills and experience in civil legal actions, you can be sure that you’re in the safe zone. To discuss things up regarding your legal issues, you can personally visit their office.

law as social engineering

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SOCIAL ENGINEERING BY ROSCOE POUND

ISSUES IN LEGAL AND POLITACAL PHILOSOPHY

Submitted By: SAI ABHIPSA GOCHHAYAT PG 21005 West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION: Man is a social animal and needs a society for his leaving, working and enjoying life . A group of individual forms a society. Society has become an essential condition for human life to develop his or her personality. Therefore society and human life always go together . Every human being has also born with some desires and expectations which are inherent in nature. From childhood to till old age, every human being expects that his or her desire is to be fulfilled for which their arise conflict of desires or claims which comes under the term -interest’. It is impossible to fulfil all the desires of a human being. So to fulfil the desires of maximum human being for the welfare of society the concept of Social Engineering was emerged and which was coined by Roscoe Pound . The force which asks for the adoption of Social engineering is nothing but the conflict of interests of individuals. Interests more particularly the conflicting interest are the subject of Social Engineering. Social engineering is based on the notion that Laws are used as a means to shape society and regulate people’s behaviour. It is an attempt to control the human conduct through the help of Law . According to Pound, -Law is social engineering which means a balance between the competing interests in society’ , in which applied science are used for resolving individual and social problems. For this purpose this paper is going to discuss about the mechanism of Law in bringing Social Engineering. This paper is divided into three parts. Part II will discuss about the object of the paper. Part III will give suggestions and conclusion.

CHAPTER II ISSUES: Conflict of interest and the order of priority – To which interest importance will be given so that balancing of interest, can be achieved for the benefit of society by sacrificing other interest and how law helps in bringing social engineering. The object of the paper is to find out how Law helps in harmonizing conflict of interests. According to Pound, Law is Social Engineering . He says that -like an engineer’s formulae, laws represent experience, scientific formulations of experience and logical developments of the formulations, also inventive skill in conceiving new devices and formulating their requirements by means of a developed technique- . He called this theory as -Theory of Social Engineering’. Here Pound has used two words i.e. -Social’ means group of individual forming a society. The second word is -Engineering’ which means applied science carried out by engineers to produce finished products which are necessary for the society and which fulfil all their needs. By combining these two words he tries to say about engineers and what they do. They use the formula which is based on continuous experimentation and experience to get the finished product by means of an instrument or device. Therefore Pound represents -experience with law’, -instrument with organs of government, -engineers with judge and lawyer’ and -finished product with the wants of human beings’ and -society with a factory’. He says that like engineers, the lawyer should apply law in a court room so that the desires of the people are fulfilled. Therefore he calls law as Social Engineering and says that the aim of Social Engineering is to build as efficient a structure of society as possible which requires the satisfaction of wants with the minimum of friction and waste. It means Law should work for balancing of competing interest within the society for the greatest benefit. In a society everybody is motivated by their own interest and wants that preference be given to his or her interest over the other. Conflicts between interests arise because of the competition of the individuals with each other, with the public in order to satisfy human wants. Therefore it is needed to recognise the interest to which law should take account . For this purpose a legal system has to i.Recognize certain interest ii.Define the limits within which such interest are to be legally recognized and given effect to it. iii.And finally the above interest should be secured. Suppose I want to stand first in the exam. It is my desire. But this desire cannot be fulfilled because there is no legal recognition as there is no state’s interest in standing first position. Therefore law has to take into account the desires which need recognition. For the purpose of satisfying human interests, Pound defined interest as -claims or wants or desires which men assert de facto about which the law must do something if organised societies are to endure’ . Pound classified various interests which are to be protected by the law under three categorise which are the following : 1.INDIVIDUAL INTERESTS: These are claims or demands involved from the stand point of the individual life which consists of interest of personality, interest in domestic relations and interest of substance. 2.PUBLIC INTEREST: These are the claims or desires asserted by the individual from the stand point of political life which means every individual in a society has a responsibility towards each other and to make the use of things which are open to public use. 3.SOCIAL INTEREST: These are the claims or demands in terms of social life which means to fulfill all the needs of a society as a whole for the proper functioning and maintenance of it. It is found that there is overlapping of interest between Public and Social Interest because both are same. Pound is silent about the overlapping of interest and discussed the problem of interests in terms of balancing of Individual Interest and Social Interest . He has classified the interest into three categories but talks about the balancing of only Individual and Social Interest. It is also found that interests are the subjects on whom law has to apply social engineering. How to evaluate the conflicting interests in due order to priority? What are the guidelines on the basis of which social engineering should be carried out? Pound’s answer by saying that every society is based on basic assumptions which help in ordering of interest . One interest is of more value than that of other and the object of law should be to satisfy the interest which is in the benefit of the maximum people. Thus these assumptions are identified as jural postulates which are based on hypothesis . According to Pound, jural postulates are not the absolute one and they keep on changing as the needs of the situation, place and time demands. In 1919, Pound summarised the postulates which every individual in civilised society must be able to take it for granted that : i.Others will not commit any intentional aggressions upon him. E.g. Assault, battery, wrongful restraint etc. ii.Others will act with due care and will not cast upon him an unreasonable risk of injury. E.g. Negligence iii.He can appropriate what he has created by his own labour and what he has acquired under existing economic order for his own use. E.g. agricultural land and usufruct as property. iv.The people with whom he deals with in the general intercourse of society will act in good faith. E.g. Defamation v.He must keep the things within his boundary and should look after those things so that their escape should not harm others. E.g. Ryland vs. Fletcher case In 1942, Pound added three new postulates in the list which are i.A person will have security as a job holder. E.g. ruled by labour law, law of contract ii.Society will bear the burden of supporting him when he becomes aged. E.g. 1/3rd concession in railway ticket, ceiling of income tax range is more. iii.And the society as a whole will bear the risk of unforeseen misfortunes such as disablement. E.g. reservation quota for physically disabled person in education, travel etc. The jural postulates are to be applied both by the legislators and judiciary for evaluating and balancing the various interests and harmonizing them. Somehow Pound has told about the procedure of evaluating interests. But he has not said anything about the interest which will be given more priority over other. Whether balance between Individual and Social Interest can be achieved or not? According to Pound, balance of competing interest means satisfaction of maximum interests with less friction and waste. It means to reconcile and adjust the social and individual interest. But in practice two interests cannot be balanced. It is also found that Pound has not given much detailed attention to the way one conflicting interest is to be compared with another. Balance can only be done only when two things are able to be compared. Here, the -balancing’ metaphor is misleading . If two interests are to be balanced, that presupposes some scale or yardstick to measure and two things should be able for comparison . For balancing of anything, mathematical calculation or ratio is the outcome. For e.g. in case of ecological balance, the amount of CO2 in terms of % is to be balanced with O2 which means reduction of CO2 by aforestation or increasing the level of O2 by aforestation so that ecological balance can be attained. Therefore balance means to upgrade one thing at par with other so that neither of the two things loses anything. As per Pound’s theory, there is a clause relating to the protection of natural environment coming under social interest. There is no doubt that every society wants a healthy environment and the factory producing nuisances and pollution needs to be closed. It is in the interest of whole public for which factory is closed and the maximum satisfaction of people is achieved. But the owner of the factory having Individual Interest suffers a lot. In this circumstance, though maximum interest of the people is satisfied with least sacrifice of individual interest of the owner but balance between Individual and Social Interest has not been achieved because one has to suffer and other has to gain. When there is a matrimonial dispute between a husband and wife and wife gets a divorce decree against her husband, in this case interest of wife prevails over the husband and balance of two Individual Interests is not there because husband has to give maintenance to wife and children for which the husband suffers a lots. Exception is in case of Divorce by Mutual Consent in which both husband and wife are satisfied with divorce decree and their individual interests are fulfilled. By above discussion it is opined that conflicting interests can be satisfied by reconciliation and adjustment and the word balance is not the appropriate one for conflicting interest. How does the satisfaction of the maximum of wants with the minimum of friction and waste can be done? Pounds theory asks for the maximum gain with least friction and waste i.e. maximum satisfaction of human wants or expectations with least sacrifice. Here Pound wants to bring social control in the society. According to him social control means satisfaction of the maximum of wants of the human being in a society. Pound says that for social control, interest is the only thing which should be taken into account and Law is a means of social control. Thus law should work for balancing of interest within the society i.e. satisfying maximum interest with least waste. Somehow this theory gives prime importance to interest of public at large over individual interest and if interpreted strictly then they may result in eliminating individual interest. Here law is not supposed to deal with individual interest but bunch of interest. The tool is given in the hands of law to set them at their right position for the maximum outcome. It is true that law and order plays an important role in a society. Law and order are carried out by the Judiciary and they keep on harmonising the conflicting interests of the individual and the public through the process of social engineering. It has been witnessed through the action of Supreme Court in Vellore Citizen’s Welfare Forum Vs. The Union of India in which Kuldip Singh J. delivered the judgment that -even if the industries are of vital importance for the countries progress as they provides employment but having regard to the pollution caused by him, the principle of -sustainable development’ has to be adopted as a balancing concept between ecology and development- . In this case the two principles emerged i.e. -precautionary principle’ and the -Polluter Pays’ principle. In a land mark case of Union Carbide Corporation vs. Union of India , the Supreme Court laid down the rule of Absolute Liability in which it was held that -where an enterprise is engaged in a hazardous or inherently dangerous activity and harm results to anyone on account of an accident in the operation of such hazardous activity, then the enterprise involved is strictly and absolutely liable to compensate to all those who are affected by the accident- . In this case regarding the compensation the Court said that the measure of compensation must be correlated to the magnitude and capacity of the enterprise because such compensation has a deterrent effect for future accident.

After this case, Central government passed an Act known as -The Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster (Registration and Processing of Claims) Act, 1985′ in which sec.5 of this Act says about the categorization and registration of claims . The various claims of the each individual relating to their own body, property and the claims arising from damage to flora and fauna were registered. Under sec11 of this Act, the quantum of compensation payable to the claimants was decided.

From this judgment it can be said that law gives first priority to social interest over individual interest of substance i.e. in conserving natural resources and in the protection of natural environment which is required by the whole public against the private individual who is the owner of the enterprise. Finally the maximum claims of the people were satisfied with least sacrifice of individual interest. By this act it can be seen that how various claims were categorized and compensation were given, which ultimately says that law is an instrument of social change.

In Deepa vs. S.I of Police It was held that the interest of society should be given paramount consideration over the individual interest of those who are running the show for profit and who are also earning livelihood by performing the cabaret dance in a hotel . It was a situation where the whole public says that the dance was obscene in the eyes of onlookers, which is an offence u/s 294 of IPC 1860. Hence it is found that Social Interest prevails over the Individual Interest. But this is not true in many cases. Social Engineering deals with as many satisfactions of human wants which means law should play an important role in bringing social change by fulfilling the interest of the society as a whole. There are also instances where individual interest has priority over social interest. According to Sec122 of Evidence Act 1872, marital communication between husband and wife which is an individual interest in domestic relation are privileged . Then Social Interest can be fulfilled by securing privilege communication (matrimonial communication) in which individual interest in connection with domestic relation is first privileged and which in turn secure the social institution of marriages.

Law has given preference to the interest of backward classes through reservation in government jobs, educational institutions, which not only hampers the interest of eligible candidate but also it hampers the interest of the public at large. By this type of law general people cannot tell that this reservation policy which comes under constitutional law is a bad law for them. Sometimes bad law becomes good law. Here Law helps in social engineering by giving special protection to the minority class having individual interests over social interests so that there can be ultimate social progress by bringing the minority class equally to the standard of upper class.

CHAPTER III CONCLUSION: By analysing this paper it is concluded that, Law plays an important role in reconciling and adjusting conflict of interests. Both the Social Interest and Individual Interest prevail over each other. Priority is given to both the interests. Roscoe Pound has given the concept of Social Engineering for the American Society but this concept is followed by other countries in resolving disputes. India has also followed the same concept in establishing a welfare society. Both Judiciary and Legislators play an important role in enacting the statutes which fulfil the various desires of human being. In this techsavvy society desires of human being grows and to fulfil their desires new policies, strategy has been developed.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1.SHANKER RAO, C.N. Sociology Primary Principles. 3rd ed 2000. Published by S. Chand & Company Ltd New Delhi.

2.MAYNENI, S.R. JURISPRUDENCE (LEGAL THEORY.2nd ed reprint 2007.S.P. Gogia (Asia Law House)Hyd.

3.MAHAJAN, V.D. JURISPRUDENCE AND LEGAL THEORY.5th ed reprint 2006. Eastern Book Company. Luknow.

4. POUND ROSCOE. JURISPRUDENCE.VOL- III.2000. The Law Book Exchange Ltd.

5.MANI TRIPATHY, B.N. AN INTRODUCTION TO JURISPRUDENCE LEGAL THEORY.15th ed 2004. Allahabad Law Agency

6. FREEMAN, M.D.A THOMSON. LLOYD’S INTRODUCTION TO JURISPRUDENCE. 8th ed 2008. Reuters legal Ltd

7.PANDEY, J.N. CONSTITUTIONAL LAW OF INDIA. 42nd ed 2005.Central Law Agency Allahabad.

8.MISHRA, S.N .IPC.16th ed 2008. Central Law Publication.

What to do if you are injured in a slip & fall accident

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If you have been injured in slip and fall accidents due to a person who failed, or neglected, to put up warning signs, clean up spills, or other duties related to the responsibility of possessing property, makes him liable. Persons injured in slip and fall accidents may recover for various types of damages including past and future pain and suffering, lost wages, medical expenses, loss of future earnings and much more.

Personal injury attorney from Bronx, Mr. William H. Cooper1, who has been giving best representation possible in personal injury law tells–When you or a loved one is injured it is very important that you have a lawyer who knows how to deal directly with the insurance company for the responsible party that caused you to be injured. Fair compensation is not something that the insurance company will offer without proper legal representation and the opportunity for settlement is greatly increased with the right attorney on your side. If you are the victim of an accident that resulted in an injury, make sure that you have a lawyer to fight for your legal right to get compensation for your injury.-(Ref: Marvin A. Cooper P.C., http://cooper-law.com/ ) Things to do if you are injured in a slip & fall accident 1. If you have been injured in a slip & fall accident, seek medical attention immediately.

2. Once your medical needs have been addressed, it is also important that you contact an attorney to insure that your legal rights will be protected.

3. Keep in mind the location and the circumstances of the accident & the weather conditions.

4. Take witness’s phone number & keep in touch with him.

5. Take photographs of defect or ask people around you to take if you are not able to do so.

6. Find out who is the owner of the land on which you were injured or who is legally responsible for the safety of the property.

7. Note down what kind of defect caused your injury.

8. Contact an experienced personal injury lawyer immediately. Do you need a lawyer for slip and fall accident? Slip and fall attorney in NY, Mr. Fatos Dervishi2 tells–While injuries due to physical harm from unsafe property conditions are frequent and common, premises liability can also include the failure to adequately light buildings and parking lots and an assault and/or mugging takes place as a result. If you have been injured, an experienced New York Premises Liability Lawyer can help you seek compensation for your pain and suffering! If you, a family member or a friend have suffered a serious injury from a premises liability accident, contact a New York Premises liability lawyer. (Ref: Dervishi Law Group P.C., http://www.dervishilaw.com/areas-of-practice/trip-and-falls/ )

If you have suffered a slip and fall accident because of the negligence of the property owner, then a personal injury lawyer can assist you. An experienced personal injury attorney can help guide you through the complicated legal process.

Disclaimer: The contents of this page are general in nature. Please use your discretion while following them. The author does not guarantee legal validity of the tips contained herein.

1.William H. Cooper:William H. Cooper began practicing law in a large New York City law firm before joining the law firm of Marvin A. Cooper, P.C., in 1991. Over the years, he has established himself as one of the most successful personal injury law practices in the New York Metropolitan Area. Since 1960, the law firm of Marvin A. Cooper, P.C. has provided expert legal advice, services and representation to clients residing in the Bronx, Westchester, Kings, Queens, New York, Rockland & Nassau Counties.His office is located at245 Main Street, Suite 510, White Plains, NY 10601. For more information, visithttp://www.cooper-law.com/or email . You can also call him at914-357-8911/?212-385-1954/?718-619-4215 or Fax at (914) 428-4126.

2.Fatos Dervishi:Fatos Dervishiis a Personal injury attorney in New York. He has also served as the Deputy Attorney General of Albania from 1994 to 1998. The goal of Dervishi Law Group, P.C is to offer comfort in times of need, unyielding dedication to clients and their families and to give a sense of trust and confidence. Call Dervishi Law Group, P.C at718-619-4525 or917-300-0797 or Fax: 718-484-4758. Office is located at 2322 Arthur Ave., Suite 3A Bronx, New York 10458. Visithttp://www.dervishilaw.com/for more information or you can e-mail .

Easton Fastpitch Softball Bats Stealth Clarity & Synergy

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Before 1969 bat manufacturing was a pretty straight forward affair. That all changed when Easton released the first aluminum bat, a radical change in technology that launched the little known company into the limelight. Since then Easton has continued to innovate, with each item in their complete line of fastpitch softball bats, gloves and bags reflecting the careful consideration they give to functionality and technology. Their exclusive, patented technologies such as Carbon Nanotube (CNT), Vibration Reduction System (VRS) and Visual Composite Technology (VCT or Clarity), just to name a few; raise the bar in both functionality of a fastpitch softball bat and integrity of the game.

The Easton Clarity models, in particular, bring to the game a new era of bat integrity and performance. Its well known that once these composite bats are fully broken in they become more flexible and give more pop when hit. Although this is great for the individual user, it provides an unfair advantage in competition and is not allowed in league play. To counteract this, the various governing boards have set guidelines for bat usage; but until Clarity, there was no way to tell when a bat has been used beyond its legal limit. Clarity is an ultra-thin see through layer that encases the surface of the bat. This layer will start to develop tiny white cracks along the surface as the composite material starts to break down. By the time the bat is beyond legal usage it will be completely white, making it easier for Umps to determine the eligibility of the bat, thereby effectively maintaining the integrity of the ball game.

Of the Clarity models, the 2009 Easton Stealth Clarity is the most popular fastpitch softball bat around, and for good reason. The bat features ConneXion, the patented 2-piece technology that acts like a hinge and provides the most efficient energy transfer from handle to barrel. Also featured is CNT, a composite material that delivers both strength and flexibility, effectively lengthening the sweetspot. This combination of ConneXion and CNT make for a fast swinging bat with maximum head speed driving power into one of the longest hitting zones.

Another popular option is the Easton Synergy Clarity. This Easton fastpitch softball bat is also made of CNT, giving one of the longest hitting zones, but also features VRS (Vibration Reduction System) which eliminates vibration from hitting, making this one of the most comfortable bats to use. The Easton Synergy Clarity complies with all bat performance standards including ASA, USSSA, NSA, ISA, SSUSA, and ISF. Unlike the Easton Stealth Clarity, the Easton Synergy doesnt use ConneXion technology, delivering peace of mind to those who worry about breakage.