Despite the fact that large law firms were some of the first high-profile businesses to implode in the troubled economy, many small and mid-sized law firms are doing well, especially compared to their super-sized counterparts.   

Ross Simmons created The Simmons Firm ALC in 1997 to advise small businesses in dispute-avoidance strategies and transactions.   

The Supreme Court's conservative justices led a sustained attack Wednesday on a key element of the Voting Rights Act, questioning whether one-time bastions of segregation still should be held to account for past discrimination.   

A House panel was expected to approve legislation Wednesday that would outlaw the kind of "liar loans" and other questionable bank practices that helped drag down the economy.   

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C), which has received $45 billion in federal bailout funds and potentially could have to raise more capital based on "stress test" results, is requesting permission from the Treasury Department to pay out special bonuses to certain workers, The Wall Street Journal said late Tuesday.   

The Supreme Court has made it harder for defendants to keep their comments to jailhouse informants from being used against them at trial.   

The federal court overseeing Google Inc.'s (Nasdaq: GOOG) settlement over its book-scanning program is giving authors four more months to opt out of the deal and review its potential pitfalls.   

The Obama administration joined a federal judge Wednesday in urging Congress to end a racial disparity by equalizing prison sentences for dealing and using crack versus powdered cocaine.   

A federal appeals court on Tuesday ruled that a subsidiary of Chicago-based Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) can be sued for allegedly flying terrorism suspects to secret prisons around the world to be tortured as part of the CIA's "extraordinary rendition" program.   

Studies show the majority of jurors reach a preliminary determination on behalf of plaintiff or defendant at the conclusion of opening statements, and 80 percent of those jurors retain that determination at the conclusion of trial. These statistics make clear the necessity of a powerful and persuasive opening statement; and in turn, the growing popularity and success of trial presentation technology in the courtroom. Indeed, today's pervasive multimedia-based communication combined with television shows such as "C.S.I." and "Law & Order" have raised juror expectations.   

As if the possibility of losing one's home in a foreclosure isn't scary enough, the thought of being a victim of a foreclosure rescue scam is even worse. Foreclosure rescue scams have been on the rise due to the increase in home foreclosures.   

The former head of American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. has agreed to pay nearly $2.5 million to settle federal civil charges of accounting fraud and concealing the company's deteriorating finances as the subprime mortgage crisis hit in 2007.   

The issue of reverse discrimination first reached the nation's highest court in the 1970s, when a student with good grades named Allan Bakke accused a University of California medical school of twice denying him admission because he was white.   

The effects of an uncertain financial landscape have rippled through the economy, with broad implications for business entities and the law firms that represent them. With federal regulation and some business transactions on the increase, many companies will seek out the help of corporate attorneys. The Daily Transcript asked local attorneys to share their expertise on the legal consequences of running a business during these tough times.   

Almost 220 years ago, Benjamin Franklin wrote "Nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." These words still ring true today. The Federal Estate Tax (commonly referred to as the "death tax") is scheduled for repeal as of Jan. 1, 2010.   

It is an understatement to say the economic and banking crisis, and even the future of capitalism and free markets, have been in the headlines lately. Regulation -- governmental control of business behavior -- is being discussed to an extent unimaginable in the last 30 years. On March 17, the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Courts and Competition Policy held hearings on "Too Big to Fail and the Role of Antitrust Law." The consensus, not surprisingly, was that antitrust had a significant role to play in the economic recovery.