It used to be that the only thing lawyers tried to recruit was new clients. But these days, seemingly every firm has a group of attorneys pushing to bring aboard something else entirely: iPhones. And they want them badly.

"I have probably 15 people who continue to e-mail me about it," says the IT director at an Am Law 100 firm who asked not to be identified. "This one attorney, he goes out and finds someone who says he can solve any iPhone problem for $175," he says. "These attorneys, they want this thing so much, they are off trying to solve my problems. God bless them, but they don't know what they're doing."

The issue isn't technical. It's relatively simple to hook an iPhone into a corporate network, since it can use the same Microsoft Exchange Server that most firms already use for their BlackBerrys. Instead, IT directors' reluctance boils down to this: The BlackBerry was designed from the ground up to do one thing: transmit e-mail securely. Other features have been tacked onto newer models, but robust, secure, immediate e-mail was -- and is -- at the BlackBerry's core. The iPhone, on the other hand, is more of a consumer device with e-mail tacked on. Law firms shied away from the iPhone because it couldn't match the BlackBerry on security. And security -- well, that's at the core of a law firm IT director's job. "The original iPhone and the later 3G model had no local encryption, which meant that everything on the device was stored in clear text," says the IT director. "The simple passcodes many users had -- if they used any passcode at all -- could be hacked, and then everything would be viewable. We told our attorneys this was a deal-breaker."

But with the release of the latest iPhone, the 3GS, along with the new iPhone 3.0 operating system, the platform is looking more business-friendly. Forget about the consumer-oriented enhancements (like the upgraded camera on the 3GS, capable of shooting video). The real story, at least for law firms, is the vast array of enterprise-focused improvements. The 3GS phone now has local encryption along with more memory (up to 32 gigabytes) and a faster processor. And with the 3.0 OS, law firms running Exchange can require the use of strong passwords (the complicated ones, with numbers and letters, that no one except IT administrators want to take the time to create and use) and remotely wipe devices that have been lost or stolen. Users get a long-awaited, cut-copy-paste feature (a glaring omission on the iPhone until now), a landscape keyboard option for easier typing, and the ability to search the "from," "to," and "subject" headers (but not, alas, the body) on their e-mail, as well as their iPhone contact list, calendar and notes.

New York-based CIT, one of the nation's largest lenders to small and midsize businesses, has been devastated by the downturn in the credit markets and is attempting to restructure its operations to remain in business. CIT received $2.3 billion in federal bailout aid last fall, a $3 billion emergency loan in July from some of its largest bondholders, and bought back $1 billion in debt but still needs to reduce its debt burden to survive.

The company said late Thursday that its restructuring plan has been approved by its board and by the steering committee of its bondholders. Under terms of the deal, bondholders would exchange their current notes for a portion of five series of newly issued secured notes, with maturities ranging from four to eight years, and/or newly issued preferred shares.

The exchange offers will expire just before midnight Oct. 29. However, for the out-of-court debt restructuring to be successful, CIT said at least $5.7 billion worth of debt must be able to be wiped off of its balance sheet.

Therefore, CIT also is asking most bondholders and other holders of CIT debt to approve a prepackaged reorganization plan so the company has the option of filing for and quickly exiting Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the event the debt swap doesn't achieve its goals.

Burford Capital said it will start out by investing in disputesbetween companies in the U.S., as well as in those going tointernational arbitration. Later on, it might expand into to otherjurisdictions, it said. A typical investment is expected to be for morethan $3 million and as high as $15 million.

By providing cash to companies to help foot their legal costs, theGuernsey company will be hoping to pick up a share of any awards orsettlements and then pay out money to its shareholders in the form ofdividends.

It didn't say what percentage of proceeds it would ask for, but similar funds take between 20% and 45%.

The company's investment adviser is Burford Group Ltd., set up by U.S. lawyers Christoper Bogart and Selvyn Seidel.

"Third-party commercial dispute finance is a high growth market,helping plaintiffs or defendants get civil justice," Bogart said in astatement. He said these kinds of investment can generate highlyattractive returns that aren't tied to the performance of stockmarkets.

Bogart's previous jobs include serving as executive vice presidentand general counsel of Time Warner Inc., and as chief executive of TimeWarner Cable Ventures. More recently, he was CEO of Churchill VenturesLtd., a special purpose acquisition vehicle, or SPAC, that dissolved inDecember without having made an investment. He is also general partnerat a private fund, Glenavy Arbitration Investment Fund LP, with asimilar strategy to Burford Capital.

Read more...

Last year we wrote that Dannon Co.was being sued for claiming that some of its yogurts provide a healthbenefit that other yogurts do not. A class action suit filed inCalifornia’s Los Angeles federal court accused Dannon of falselyadvertising its Activia, Activia Lite, and DanActive products andclaimed Dannon initiated a massive false advertising campaign toconvince consumers to pay more for yogurt containing probiotic bacteria.

Now, reports the LA Times, Dannon just settled the false-advertising lawsuit.The yogurt giant also agreed to create a $35-million fund meant toreimburse those consumers who bought Dannon’s Activia and DanActiveyogurts. Dannon denied the claims and did not admit to any wrongdoing,said the LA Times, but stated that it settled because it wished “toavoid the distraction and expense of litigation,” quoting spokesmanMichael Neuwirth.

Probiotic is a term that means “for life.” The human intestinaltract is filled with a huge amount of helpful, probiotic bacteria,which is a good thing since the human body is designed to havesymbiotic relationships with probiotic bacteria that assist indigestion and destroy harmful microorganisms. Science indicates that asthe body ages, the intestinal tract becomes more rigid at onlyaccepting intestinal flora it recognizes; it is difficult for the bodyto recognize or tolerate new good bacteria. Also, good bacteriadecrease; therefore, it is important to supplement with probiotics,initiating this process early on in life.

Anecdotal evidence suggests friendly bacteria help a variety ofdigestive problems; however, in the United States, no health claims forprobiotics have been approved. The United Nation’s Food and AgricultureOrganization defines probiotics as live microorganisms … which confer abeneficial health effect on the host. In other words, for bacteria tobe considered a probiotic, it must be beneficial to humans. As aresult, if food manufacturers label a food as containing probiotics,the benefits must be proven by research.

Read more...