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The following excerpt is taken from Sailing in Dangerous Waters: A Director's Guide to Data Governance by E. Michael Power and Roland L. Trope, Copyright 2005 by the American
Bar Association. Reprinted here with permission. The material contained herein represents the
opinions of the authors and editors and should not be construed to be the action of either the
American Bar Association or the Section of Business Law unless adopted pursuant to the bylaws of
the Association. Nothing contained herein is to be considered as the rendering of legal advice for
specific cases, and readers are responsible for obtaining such advice from their own legal counsel.
To request reprint permission, contact the Manager, Copyrights and Licensing, at (312) 988-6102.
For the complete excerpt, click here
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Message from the Chair, Alvin W. Thompson
"As a public citizen, a lawyer should
seek improvement of the
law . . ."
This ideal, from the preamble to the Rules of Professional Conduct, is
incorporated into the Section's mission statement: "The Mission of
the . . . Section is to serve the public, the profession and the Section by
furthering the development and improvement of business law . . . "
Numerous committees are making important contributions in support of this
goal of the Section, and if you are not already involved, I encourage you
to get involved in a project that is of interest to you. You will find
such involvement both personally and professionally satisfying. The
following are just a few examples of some of the things committees are
doing at this time:
- The Committee on Nonprofit Corporations is working on a revised model
nonprofit corporations act.
- The Committee on Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation has
established a task force to analyze proposals for pension legislation as
they are put forth and make technical (rather than policy) comments as the
legislation proceeds through the various Congressional committees.
- The Committee on Business Bankruptcy has a SABRE group that is engaged in
the process of making "good government" reform proposals to the
current Bankruptcy Code.
- The Committee on Federal Regulation of Securities recently submitted
comment letters to the SEC on proposed rule modifications for
non-accelerated filers and proposed amendments to the SEC's soft dollar
rules.
- The Committee on Commercial Financial Services is an active participant in
the Joint Task Force for the Deposit Account Control Agreements, which
regularly holds drafting meetings addressing issues related to deposit
accounts and control agreements, and the Committee's Aircraft Financing
Subcommittee has appointed a representative to the advisory board of the
International Aircraft Registry, which is being established under the
Capetown Convention.
- The Committee on Cyberspace Law and the Committee on the Uniform
Commercial Code
have a joint Working Group on Transferability of Electronic
Assets
that is involved in an effort to provide a framework for analyzing
when and if a party is able to show control over electronic chattel paper
pursuant to UCC § 9-105.
- The Committee on Business and Corporate Litigation has a Task Force on
Litigation Reform and Rules Revision that is studying and commenting on
proposed amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure as they pertain
to electronic discovery; also, the Subcommittee on Business Courts has been
instrumental in assisting lawyers and judges in creating new business
courts and improving existing ones.
To find out what is going on in the committee(s) in your area of interest,
please visit that committee's web page.
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Alvin W. Thompson
Chair, Section of Business Law
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Directors' and Officers' Liability Insurance. A summary of recent
developments in claims against directors and officers, particularly in the
banking and financial services industry.
Perfecting Security Interests for Loans to Foreign Debtors.
Practical tips for perfecting security interests in personal property
securing loans made to foreign debtors.
Bankruptcy Code and Secured Transactions. A discussion of the
impact of the recent amendments to the Bankruptcy Code on personal property
security interests.
Recent LLP and LLC Decisions. Summaries of recently decided cases involving
limited liability partnerships, limited liability companies, and other
unincorporated business enterprises.
Securities Offerings and Registration. A summary of the recently-adopted changes to
the registration process for securities for seasoned public companies,
including an analysis of the liability implications of the new rules for
outside directors of such issuers.
Recent Judicial Decisions and Administrative Actions in Securities. Summaries of
recently decided cases involving federal and state securities laws.
Small Business Title Insurance. A summary of the underwriting criteria, protection
features and liability limitations contained in a special endorsement
designed to protect the interests of mezzanine lenders.
The New Bankruptcy Act Summary. A summary of the key business provisions of
the new Bankruptcy Act.
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Committee Spotlight
To learn more about or join the committees that contributed to this month's practice points, just click on the committee name below.
Section members are eligible to join the Section's committees at no
additional cost. Become involved or simply stay in the information
flow. It's FREE!
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The Section maintains an online library of materials from all CLE programs
offered at Section meetings. Now, with the new search function in the
library, you can search by meeting, by sponsoring committee, by any word in
the title, or by broad subject area. It is easier than ever to find the
materials of interest to you. Visit the online materials library by
visiting www.ababusinesslaw.org and clicking on the link to "Search all
Program Materials" in the Online Materials Library box located in the upper
right hand corner. NOTE: This is an exclusive benefit for Section members,
and you will need to be logged in to the ABA website to view materials.
The Section's Committee on Diversity is seeking nominations for its 14th
Annual Jean Allard Glass Cutter Award. The Award will be presented on April
7, 2006 during the Section Luncheon at the 2006 Spring Meeting in Tampa,
FL. The Jean Allard Glass Cutter Award is presented to an exceptional woman
business lawyer who has made significant contributions both to the
profession and to the Section of Business Law. The Award is named for Jean
Allard, the first woman to chair the section. For more information
and to submit a nomination, please click here.
The Committee on Pro Bono annually presents two
National Public Service Awards. One recognizes
the pro bono contributions of an individual and
the other recognizes those of a firm/company.
The Awards recognize significant pro bono legal
services that demonstrate a commitment to
providing services to the poor in a business
context and the achievements resulting from the
public service work for the clients and the
client groups represented. The recipients of
the Award will have undertaken a significant
public service project(s) that provided free
business law representation to the poor or to
an organization that predominantly serves the
poor, or improves the provision of such
services. The Award will be presented on April
7, 2006 during the Section Luncheon at the 2006
Spring Meeting in Tampa, FL . A complete
nomination package must be submitted to the
Section office by February 10, 2006. For more
information on the Award or to submit a
nomination, please click here. Please
help us solicit nominations by forwarding this
information to your colleagues.
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