December 2nd, 2011  Posted at   Law Legal
, , , , arrow   |   Comments Offarrow

Kendall Coffey draws from his years of experience with high-profile cases, both as a witness and game-changing participant in the art of spinning and winning in the court of public opinion and media influence. He offers a riveting analysis of the significance of media strategies and public relations in major courtroom battles through press conferences, media interviews, and online publicity efforts, and other tactics that have become a critical part of setting up a case to win. Kendall Coffey also provides an enthralling look at cases that were won and lost outside the courtroom throughout history long before the final verdict was made, including Socrates, Joan of Arc, Aaron Burr, Martha Stewart, and many more.

With high-profile clients like Al Gore and Elian Gonzalez, Kendall Coffey has walked the walk and talks the talk in this revealing expose of the part of the legal process that happens outside of the courtroom. He reveals how he and his legal team fought and lost the emotional and highly publicized battle to keep young Elian Gonzalez, a Cuban refugee in the US as a result of Janet Reno’s cunning approach to crafting a powerful message to the American public. As a major player in the 2000 presidential election ballot recount, he details how the legal teams for both sides made history with their efforts concentrated on swaying the American public and the media that influences them.

Kendall Coffey makes a compelling case for why lawyers must be PR savvy in a media obsessed world, especially in dealing with public figures, celebrities and high-profile cases. In order to win a case in a courtroom, a legal team must be able to win it outside the courtroom first, and dealing with media, effectively spinning a story and altering the public perception is a huge part of a successful case. In order to do this, a lawyer has to understand the new onslaught of media outlets and public platforms and the best way to approach it. He explains that PR tactics have become an important part of the construction of a case that wins over jurors, judges, and key members of the influential public of a defendant’s innocence or guilt. He includes winning media strategies such as filing press friendly pleadings, constructing polished quotes for clients, creating websites that help publicize the case and serve as a platform for their own news and many more. Read more… »

December 1st, 2011  Posted at   Business, Employment Law
, , , , arrow   |   Comments Offarrow

Managers are the primary contact with most of the rank-and-file employees in an organization. Whether it is an office manager in doctor’s office, the warehouse manager in a storage facility, or an inventory manager in a retail operation, all managers interact with their staff on a daily basis. As such, maintaining an educated and informed management team will go a long way in helping your business comply with complicated labor and employment laws.

In an informal poll taken by AllBusiness (a division of Dunn & Bradstreet), managers were asked, “What is a manager’s role”? The answers were wide-ranging, but all shared the same underlying theme: daily oversight of the staff:

“A manager’s role is to provide proper oversight and direction to a group that is trying to accomplish a certain task. They may also act as a mediator between those under him. Managers may need to be called upon at times to be disciplinarians or morale boosters.”

“To make sure the place runs smoothly.”

“A manager’s role is to maintain a productive atmosphere while conserving cost. He is the communication link between the employees and upper management.”

The Manager’s Role

For a manager to effectively do their job, they must be educated on the proper methods of discipline, motivation, and management. Furthermore, managers act as a direct extension of the executives and ownership of the organization. As such, any misstep by a manager may expose the entire organization to an employment lawsuit. While much of a manager’s role may seem like common sense, they must virtually become employment law and human resources experts to do their job properly.

Dozens of State and Federal laws dictate precisely how managers can treat employees, speak to them, discipline, warn, and terminate them.

Some of the most important laws governing these areas are Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibits employment discrimination; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), which protects individuals who are 40 years of age or older; the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), which prohibits disability discrimination, and the Civil Rights Act of 1991, which, among other things, provides monetary damages in cases of intentional employment discrimination. Read more… »

December 1st, 2011  Posted at   Law Legal
, , , , arrow   |   Comments Offarrow

SOAH: An Overview

Texas’s State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) was created in by the Texas Legislature in 1991. Its purpose is to handle certain matters involving Texas state agencies and governmental entities. SOAH has seven “teams,” each of which handles different types of disputes. This article discusses one of the seven: SOAH’s Economic Team.

SOAH: The Economic Team

SOAH’s Economic Team handles a fairly diverse range of economic issues that relate to licensing and enforcement, employee and retirement benefits, contract disputes, and certain monetary issues in economic-based subject areas.

SOAH’s Economic Team handles matters from a number of agencies, including the following:
• County & District Retirement System
• Credit Union Department
• Department of Assistive & Rehabilitative Services
• Department of Housing and Community Affairs
• Department of Insurance
• Department of Motor Vehicles
• Employees Retirement System
• Ethics Commission
• Fire Fighters’ Pension Commissioner
• General Land Office
• Higher Education Coordinating Board
• Historical Commission
• Lottery Commission

The Team Leader for this SOAH division is Administrative Law Judge Gary W. Elkins.

Examples Of Matters Handled By SOAH’s Economic Team

These are a few of the types of matters handled by SOAH’s Economic Team:

• Securities. These matters include issues such as whether an individual has engaged in the unlawful sale of nonexempt securities, or whether a securities dealer engaged in fraud while selling securities. They also include agent and broker licensing and enforcement for the State Securities Board.

• Highways and Motor Vehicles. Certain challenges to decisions by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) are handled by SOAH’s Economic Team. For instance, a contractor may claim damages from a breach of a highway construction contract. Another example is an advertising company that opposes TxDOT’s cancellation of its outdoor sign permit. This SOAH team also handles issues over automobile dealer licensing and enforcement and motor carrier enforcement.

• Retirement and Pension Benefits. SOAH’s Economic Team handles retirement, disability, and insurance claims for the Employees Retirement System, the Teachers Retirement System, the Municipal Retirement System, the Firefighters’ Pension Commission, and the County and District Retirement System.

• Insurance. These disputes are quite varied. For instance, they include agent, adjuster, and insurer licensing and enforcement; insurer solvency; insurance rates; costal windstorm claims; regulation of fire extinguishers, alarm systems, and sprinkler systems for the Texas Department of Insurance; allegations that an insurance agent stole insurance premium payments; whether certain medical expenses were covered by the workers’ compensation insurance carrier; and so forth.

• Other matters. Some of the other matters handled by the Economic Team include, but are not limited to, certain issues concerning child support, lottery and bingo licensing and enforcement, blind vendors under the Business Enterprise Program, and a variety of contested hearings with the Secretary of State. Read more… »

Page 9 of 15« First...7891011...Last »

Copyright 2011 Team Law | Designed by Rebecca Ring
Powered by WordPress