Feature

New Media, New Contracts By Juliette Youngblood and Deborah Ann Henderson

New media is a term that describes the digital technologies used to create and distribute media since the late 1980's. New media is at its core a disruptive technology. For centuries, dating back to before the printing press, each emerging disruptive technology has upset the existing order and forced the media industry to revise its revenue models and even sometimes to create new models from scratch. Despite the fact that disruptive technologies have been emerging and revolutionizing the media industries for centuries, digital media appears to be different. Never before has the distribution of discreet copies of media products had such a low marginal cost that it is nearly free.

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Message from the President By Scott Vick

Now, more than ever, we as lawyers -- members of the most powerful and influential profession -- need to help others without regard to billings and fees.

While some legal practices are thriving in this current economic climate (bankruptcy comes to mind), we know full well that other practices are not. The recession that fell on us so quickly has hurt a great many people in almost all industries, including many lawyers who have lost their jobs or who, due to a leaner workloads, aren't earning what they once were. And, of course, almost all of us have watched our retirement accounts dwindle.

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SAG Contract Ratified; Now What? By Jonathan Handel

In a stunning defeat for the hardline Membership First faction, SAG's TV/theatrical contracts passed overwhelmingly on June 9, by a 78%-22% margin (almost 4 to 1), those numbers according to the guild.

Significantly, even in the faction's stronghold, the Hollywood division, the vote was an enormous 71% to 29% in favor, or almost 3 to 1. In NY, it was 86% to 14%, and in the regions it was 89% to 11%. There was a large turnout-35% of eligible members voted, well above the typical 20%-25%. The ballots went out to 110,000 paid-up members.

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An In-House Perspective On How The Current Economic Climate Has Changed The Practice of Law
	By Chas Rampenthal and Brian D. McAllister

1. How is your company managing to deal with its current legal workload -- and possibly growing workload -- in an economic environment that may be putting pressure?

Brian McAllister (CB Richard Ellis): Even before the financial crisis, our internal legal team was largely self sufficient, cost conscience and, as much as possible, interdisciplinary. We have approximately 30 lawyers in the U.S., with a few more in Asia-Pacific and Europe. In the U.S., with certain exceptions, our field lawyers who handle real estate transactions also handle directly, or manage, litigation related to real estate transactions. We also have lawyers who specialize in litigation, labor, SEC reporting and mergers & acquisitions, but are able to pitch in and handle overflow work from other areas. This has been a key strength in an environment of revenue contraction and cost containment.

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