Lawyers Kingston

Letting the Word Out: â??Iâ??m Selling my House!â?

Posted on 09. Mar, 2010 by admin in General

Soâ?¦.youâ??d like to sell your house? Great! Everyoneâ??s doing it.  But this is your first time and youâ??ll be doing the sale yourself.  Nervous?  Of course!The fact is, itâ??s only unnerving because you havenâ??t got a clue about the dynamics of selling a house â?? your house.  Itâ??s the one asset you have where youâ??ve plunked down your lifetime savings.  Now you want it all back!  That equity you were slowly building over these years will come back to you a hundredfold because youâ??ve thought about it long enough to realize that there is a handsome profit waiting to be made.  Donâ??t worry!  This episode in your life doesnâ??t need to be a drama of horrors.  In this book, weâ??ve collected important tips for you â?? the first timer – all 101 of them, in fact.  And when that check finally lands on your hands and the last box has been shipped out of your house to make way for the new owners, it will be exhilarating â?? more exhilarating than youâ??ve ever imagined it to be.Study the tips.  Some you already know, no doubt.  But even with 101 or 1001 tips, youâ??d still need professional advice â?? you managed to eliminate the real estate agent, but youâ??ll still need your lawyer (or notary) and your accountant.  You need to consult with other professionals as well â?? like the professional house inspector who can dish out valuable advice about repairs and maintenance.    These tips can help you map out a selling strategy for your house, and when you turn the lock for the last time, youâ??ll come out of the experience wiser.  And yes, wealthier, too.The confidence you gain by getting your feet wet the first time could â?? who knows? â?? make you want to do it the second time, and then a third timeâ?¦and more!

Letting the Word Out:  â??Iâ??m Selling my House!â?

Get the word out!

Okay, youâ??ve had your house inspected and youâ??ve done your own inspection. Itâ??s time to let the word out.

You can announce the sale of your house through word of mouth or putting an ad on your paper.

Do an experiment: tell your colleagues at work that youâ??re selling your house. Make a note of the questions they ask. Their questions can serve as an accurate indication of what prospective buyers are also likely to be asking you.

Reach out far and wide!

Your announcement can be published in the national and local community paper. The more people you reach, the more prospects you have. You may also announce in trade papers that are published by real estate associations or the housing authority.

Use as many resources as you can. You have no idea how much more successful you will be in selling when there is a larger audience involved.

You may be slightly inconvenienced by the number of inquiries youâ??ll get, but if you want to sell that house in a hurry, itâ??s a question of statistical proportions.

The more you spread the word around in the media, the more people you reach.

Word of mouth is just as powerful as advertising

Ask your office colleagues to tell their families and friends about your house sale. They may know of people who are moving into the area and looking for homes.

The more colleagues you tell, the more you increase your chances of reaching people you donâ??t even know.  After youâ??ve told them, follow up after a week and ask if they had any questions about your house that youâ??d be pleased to clarify. Make it known to them that youâ??re serious about selling, that way they take you seriously and some of them will even want to help you.

Can the company help me?

After you tell your colleagues, speak to the human resources manager of your organization and tell her that if there are executives relocating to your area, you have a house to sell.

Youâ??ll never know what the human resources individual can come up with.

Someone may actually be moving to the area to take up a position in your organization; or your human resources manager may have been approached by other human resources professionals from other companies who are desperately looking for houses for their expatriates or returning executives.

Ah, the old reliableâ?¦the bulletin board!

Go one step further: use the public bulletin board to post your house sale. Donâ??t forget to leave tabs with your telephone number that can be torn out of the main sheet so that people can call you or pass them on to their friends.

Post a clear picture in color with your ad on the bulletin board. You know how the saying goes – a picture is worth a thousand words.

Am I missing the sugar?

Before you even sit down to word that ad for the papers, think about the ingredients of the recipe for successfully selling of your house.

There are five ingredients you need to have, according to Barb Schwarz, a successful realtor.

Letâ??s take the first ingredient: location. You canâ??t physically uproot your house to take it to a better location. Note that the price of your house must realistically reflect its location.

Have you been negligent?

Second ingredient for a successful sale: Condition. Remember that this is where a professional inspector and a thorough personal inspection by you can make a lot of sense. Schwarz said that the upkeep of the property is a crucial factor in obtaining the highest possible price for a home. Price, like location, must reflect a houseâ??s condition.

How much do I want?

Third ingredient: Price. This is the # 1 deciding factor in the sale or no sale of a house. Thereâ??s a belief among real estate circles that a house is really only worth what a buyer is willing to pay a seller to gain ownership of that house.

Price must have a direct correlation to all the other ingredients for a successful sale. Never mind what the listings or other people say. If your house is overpriced, you wonâ??t have any offers, or else it may take a long time to receive offers.

Will the buyer ask for flexibility?

Fourth ingredient: Terms. The more terms you have on the property, the more potential purchasers you reach. Again, the price of your house must reflect the kinds of terms available to purchase it.

Is this a good time to sell?

Fifth ingredient: Market. Market conditions are influenced by key factors such as interest rates, supply and demand of houses in your area, competition and the general state of the economy.

Real estate is a cyclical phenomenon. The beginning of 2000 witnessed a surge in home building. All of a sudden homes were being sold faster than contractors could build them. When thereâ??s a real estate boom, this is an excellent opportunity to make a killing!

The truth will come outâ?¦

So keep those five ingredients uppermost in your mind at all times. Now youâ??re ready to word that ad.

Be honest.

Donâ??t say you have a house in excellent condition when your inspection report has a long list of deficiencies and repairs your house will require.

Donâ??t say you have 3 full bathrooms when you really have only two bathrooms and one powder room. A powder room, as we all know, does not qualify as a full bathroom.

Also, donâ??t say that you live in a quiet neighborhood when in fact your house is located near a university campus where you hear students partying all night. If you mention that your house has an alarm system, it better work.

Umm, how will I word this ad?

If you arenâ??t good with words, that is, itâ??s taking you painstakingly long to draft an ad, go with ads placed in the local and regional papers that you FEEL works for you.

This means putting yourself in the buyerâ??s shoes: you read the ad, it makes you curious, and you take down the number. If an ad pleases you or strikes you as effective and persuasive, copy the style and content of the ad.

Another alternative would be to refer back to some of the books you read on successful real estate sales and mull over the model ads.

Can you just state the bottom line please?

When youâ??re ready to write out an ad, clarity and brevity must be your parameters. If your price is reasonable and realistic and you put the ad in the right strategic places, youâ??ll get at least 20 calls.

Do your thinking before picking up that phone

Donâ??t do what many people do. They call the classified ads department of their local and regional papers and craft the ad with the person in the other line.

Donâ??t waste time by providing information only while youâ??re on the phone. Instead, figure everything out in advance.

And when we say everything, we mean that by the time you call the classified ads person, you know ahead of time what your ad will look like, what it will say, where to put it, what abbreviations to use and whether or not it should have a border (experts say you donâ??t need a fancy border for your ad to catch the readersâ?? attention).

Bill Effros who sold his house in five days said that you donâ??t need a double column or a fancy border for your ad.

Wait and see.

Be careful about how long you want your ad to run. An ad thatâ??s been around too long will give readers the impression that your house is not selling because of major problems. It will also tell them that maybe buyers are coming to see the house only to walk away disappointed.

Some experts say a five-day ad is sufficient. If you donâ??t get a sufficient number of serious callers, pull out the ad, wait a few weeks, and start all over again. Review the adâ??s wording. Perhaps thereâ??s something in the ad that doesnâ??t sound right that you didnâ??t notice the first time.

Where should I publish?

Put it in two sure places where it will get read. Again, pretend youâ??re the buyer looking for a house. Where would you most likely look? Thatâ??s the section where you should place your ad.

Your local paper with a small circulation and your regional paper with a much larger circulation should be your target destinations for your ad.

One is enough.

Buyers often donâ??t really want to buy 4-5 newspapers to look for houses for sale. Theyâ??d much rather concentrate on one paper and encircle the ads that could lead to potential visits. They usually go for the paper which is the most popular with the highest number of readers. Thatâ??s the paper where your ad must also go.

Cyberspace? Do I really want Martians buying my house?

What about placing my ad on the Internet, you ask? If our guess of the human tendency is right, people may look at the Internet for houses for sale, but may not necessarily be serious buyers.

So the Internet for now would be an alternative to traditional newspaper advertising. Just watch people in cafes who are reading the classified ads. They usually mark the paper, circling those ads that theyâ??re interested in.

On the Internet, the buyer would either copy contact details by hand or print the ad â?? this can be cumbersome. At least with the newspaper at hand, people can just toss it in the seat of their cars as they drive off to visit the property, and can look at the ad again, if needed.

Do you want to write a house story? Try the home section, not the classified ads

Think twice, even three times before you get that pencil or word processor moving. Avoid flowery words. Avoid expressions like â??it will capture your heartâ?, or â??a house of your dreamsâ?, or â??hereâ??s a house where you can have many memorable daysâ?.

People are not really looking for something to captivate their hearts or memories.  Theyâ??re looking for a real house to live in, for a roof over their heads. The dreams and memories can come later, but at this point, buyers are only interested in a physical structure that they claim ownership of.

What should I say?

Word your ad so that it answers the questions that buyers would want to know: location, the fact that youâ??re selling it yourself (no brokers or agents please), brief description of house, a starting reasonable price.

Mention that youâ??ll take the best reasonable offer, and put your area code and telephone number. These are the only points that buyers are initially interested in. Other details like amenities and extras and true value can be discussed face to face or during a follow-up telephone call.

This is EXACTLY how I want it

Bill Effros recommends that your ad should be positioned as follows: location, upper top left andâ??BY OWNERâ? right hand side top.

Type of house (condo, duplex, cottage, etc) on the next line.

Brief description of major feature on the following line.

Then your starting price, e.g. â??$150,000 or best reasonable offerâ? on the next line, to be followed by inspection times (e.g. Sat-Sun 10-5).

Last line on low bottom left, the words: â??HIGHEST BIDDERâ?, and your telephone number beside it.

Note: your ad is meant to give you as many callers as possible. Details about the property can be provided to them on the phone if they request them.

And to play safe, email or fax the copy of the ad exactly as you want it to appear in the paper. You could be dealing with an ad taker who is taking ads for the first time and may not understand what â??flush leftâ? or â??flush leftâ? mean.

Screen calls.

If youâ??re a busy person with a full time job, you may want to filter your calls. Before you call the paper to have your ad put, make sure you set yourself up with an answering machine or an answering service.

You donâ??t want to be called in the middle of the night or at meal times to answer questions about your house and be forced to make a visit appointment. With an answering machine, you decide who you want to call back.

You will also be able to tell who the serious buyers are versus the frivolous ones. People who leave their names and numbers and are brief in their message make a good impression.

You want to avoid receiving callers who talk incessantly or ask questions the answers of which are already in the ad.

Be wary of people who also try to negotiate the price down over the phone without even asking to see the property.

This should raise your antennas to the fact that one, they probably canâ??t afford the price to begin with, or second, they canâ??t get their bank to finance that amount.

Add â??Or best reasonable offerâ?

A famous real estate writer says that itâ??s not so much the description of the property that will get you a sufficient number of callers; it is the stated price on your ad.

If it is within their price range, they will call.  If not, theyâ??ll go on to the next ad. So make sure you donâ??t omit this detail but add, â??or best reasonable offer.â?

Itâ??s my favorite day of the week!

Only you will pick the days you want your ad to appear. The approach is to reach as many readers as possible. In the United States, Sundays are when the ads run in the hundreds, and in Canada, Saturday has the highest number of readers.

Wednesday is also ad day in Canada but to a lesser extent than Saturday. Donâ??t let the ad taker convince you to put your ad on certain days of the week. Go with what you know and what common practice is.

Bear in mind that unless people are really looking for something particular in the paper, they donâ??t look at the paper during the week.

They are more relaxed during weekends and are likely to pick up the paper from the kitchen table.  For anxious buyers however, they deliberately read the papers every morning with the hope that they find the â??house of their dreamsâ?.

Would you repeat that please?

Once your ad is published, buy the paper and read your ad a few times, ensuring that all details are correctly listed.

Look at your phone number and make sure it was listed correctly. Do not forget to list your area code.

The same city may have two different area codes â?? one for the east end district and another for the west end side of town. You could lose hundreds of potential buyers with this omission.

How do I sound?

So the ad has been placed. Brace yourself for calls! They will increase in number as people read your ad and then pass it off to friends and family.

Rehearse your lines. Youâ??ll want to give the impression that youâ??re a serious seller, so you expect the same from them as buyers.

Donâ??t panic if youâ??re getting too many calls or none at all on the first day. Take a deep breath and get ready for the avalanche. While having an answering machine is a good idea for the sake of filtering serious callers from the frivolous, itâ??s perfectly alright for you to take the call yourself if you feel like it.

Take it down

Have pen and paper ready. Take down each callerâ??s name and number. Jot down their questions. This will give you an idea of future questions, and youâ??ll know how to answer them properly the next time.

Are you a (phone) grouch?

When you answer calls, come across as friendly. The impression you DONâ??T want to give is that of a tired, harassed seller whoâ??s sick and tired of answering questions on the phone.

Practice basic courtesy. Be professional. And sound like one!

Letâ??s get serious here.

Hereâ??s an important tip: if you get 25 calls by the third day, your ad worked. Getting 25 calls means that 25 people read your ad and dialed your number.

Donâ??t expect 25 buyers though. Callers and buyers are two separate people.

Helpful Tips to Finding Entry Level Positions after Graduation

Posted on 09. Mar, 2010 by admin in General

Helpful Tips to Finding Entry Level Positions after Graduation

Graduating from university is one of the greatest accomplishments a person can achieve.  You spend endless hours in lecture halls studying, and many sleepless night’s writing papers, all in pursuit of that piece of paper that will secure your future.  The special day finally arrives and you walk onstage to receive your diploma.  Celebration ensues with flowers, family pictures, and overall happiness.  You think your future is sealed, but in reality your journey is just beginning.

 Graduating from university is the first step in what can be a long and frustrating road to seeking gainful employment.  A university degree is an advantage but not a guarantee in finding a job.  Many graduates find that they are unable to find entry level positions in their prospective fields.  Their only option is to do jobs completely unrelated to their degree to support themselves and repay student loans.  University is excellent in providing the knowledge one needs to work on a job, but lacks in providing the important hands on experience that is favored by potential employers.  The key to gaining this experience is getting on the job experience before leaving school.

 I attended college before university and I found college more beneficial in preparing me for the workforce. It should be noted that the term “college” and “university” differs in my country of Canada than in the United States.  The term “college” in the U.S. tends to be broader and refers to all post secondary undergrad education, whereas “college” and “university” in Canada are regarded as separate institutions.  In general, a college in Canada is a more technical and career oriented college, which offers a diploma or a certificate, while a university offers a three or four year degree.  For me, college was more hands on, allowed more one on one time with professors, provided a more intimate learning environment with fewer students, and required mandatory field placement consisting of 500 hours. 

 I was able to learn the in’s and out’s of the job during my field placement.  I was able to determine if the job was suitable for me.  I made the necessary connections I needed to secure a job.  In my case, I realized the career I had chosen in corrections wasn’t for me and decided to further my education by attending university.  However, the vast majority of my peers had secured jobs before they even graduated and are still employed to this day.  Finding contacts within your college or university is crucial in gaining access to entry level positions post graduation.  Here are some helpful hints to aid in your success:

The successful completion of these steps along with your newly acquired degree or diploma can greatly increase your chances of getting hired into an entry level position.  Finding a job may not happen overnight, but hard work and determination have always had a way paying off in the end.  Be consistent and confident.  In no time you will see that your efforts will be rewarded and you will be settling into your new job.

Law Legal Job FAQ

Posted on 07. Mar, 2010 by admin in General

A secretary make more than me. I am an accountant. How do I bar this? I work as a payroll accountant. She(secretary) joined about 6 months back me. She was working in Accounts payable, but she couldnt do her assignment and was demoted to a secretary. She graduated next to an english major. I graduated next to a bachelors in Accounting and Marketing. We live in NY. We are tight on currency, and no one has gotten a elevate since early 2006. This girl has get two raises in the recent past three months. She is now making $14 an hour, while I am making $11.71 for doing payroll. Her position is replaceable (as all she have to do is pick up phones), whereas if I am not here, people dont get rewarded. I know I shouldnt be jealous, but I am. It just feel as if her worth is more than mine, for just picking up phones and being pretty. How do I feel this ?A trade as a Lawyer? So, I am a little all over the place when it comes down to a job. I am getting a degree in business, and am interested surrounded by so many different fields. Such as,authentic estate, health care…etc. I am exceptionally good at reading people. I can hold someone all figured out contained by a short amount of time, and can very easily put myself within someone elses shoes. Its crazy. So, I think I may be a good attorney. What is a type of job that I can get if this is something I want to pursue? Something that I can do while I am still within school?A vehicle agency requested a coupé loan minus my assent is in that any court performance that I can give somebody a lift? My husband recked a truck that we are currently still paying . We purchased this vehicle from the same agency where the loan be requested, my husband thought it would be a good idea to trade it within as is for another one the thing is that he did it without my okay, behind my back and the truck is underneath my name not his so he went to the agency they took the recked truck and give him another one but I never agreed to trade in my truck for another one and the agency went ahead prepared adjectives the paper work for me to sign (which I never did) they had already asked for a loan from different bank without even considering it with me first or have any proof that I gave them permission to ask for the loan. So please if you hold any advice for me please do so, and let me know if it’s officially recognized or illegal for them to do these kinds of things minus permission from the people and if I can steal legal action against them. Thanks to adjectives that answer.A worked for a top investment firm and a guy call me a ******…what should I do? Subsequently, the firm said that he did not violate their discrimination and harassment policy. I be fired several months later over some BS about training. However, I be trading on the stock market, setting records and bringing surrounded by more money than 99% of the people in my department. I be a stellar performer. I was even complimented on my running and was asked to train my team within sales so that we could remain number one! What should I do? I get so angry when I reason about this crap. There are people still working near who are incompetent and do not deserve to be working where they are. I have documentation of several other cases of annoyance and unfair practices at this firm. The blacks who are still there do not appear to want or need to stand up for themselves. I know that it is because we are taught to “roll beside the punches”. F that.A world far-reaching company put in the picture you to work manotory weekends. even though u haved worked 12hrs a afternoon?anything illeg n CAlifornia. Is there any legal issues concerning mandatory Sat “6th day” Working on an hourly base,even though you have worked 12hrs a day(mon-fri-) dont they supose to afford you a 24hr notice?There is alot of workers pending this answer? I know for a certainty that this company twist many Legal issues bar this type of labor code. If someone please help.Lawers,HR.anyone ..Any information.. websites would greatly help. thank you for your timeA year ago I be fired from my livelihood, be never given a plea, what are my likelihood of getting my undertaking put a bet on? When I was fired they didn’t give me a defence, I was employed by the company for close to 2 years & was never reprimanded. They have hired another secretary so her husband would join the company and let me dance. What are my chances of getting my job hindmost? { let me add, the soul they hired to replace me and a few since then have with the sole purpose lasted a few months}ABH charge.would ANY COMPANY take into service them..do you reflect? I know some jobs, such as working with adjectives people are out of the question…but are here any types of jobs that would employ someone who have been convicted of ABH?About California Alien Employment? i’m only 15, and will be 16 in 2 months and i’m currently applying for a green card, but it have been 4 years since i applied. My visa is H-4 i’m wondering if i can get a available job in fastfood places. Taco Bell asked me for an alien #. i’m wondering if i give it to them and go and get hired…will the federal law check and kick me outside the country or it is officially recognized to work there. thanksAbout employment of nifty food places? i’m just wondering why do they need an immigrant’s alien number for application to work in attendance. do they use it for tax purposes,or just identify purposes? ThanksAbout how much would the total income be if I am a paralegal and my boyfriend is a cook? I’m only talking for my adjectives references. After we graduate and go to college.About lawyer…? Im 15, and looking to become a lawyer in my adjectives life. However I’m not entirely sure on what subjects I should take for A-level, prominently law, but are there any philosophy on what other subjects would be beneficial? Also does anyone know how long the training process is?About Workers Compensation? I hurt myself at work lifting a very heavy item. My stern is hurting so bad … I have not turned it into workers comp or even complained to the owner.. because I am afraid I will lose my commission, which would render me without income .. I have responsibilities raise two kids and bills to pay… what should I do.. It hurts really really bad!About working at Law Firm…? I got a job bestow working at a law firm. The problem is I will be assisting one attorney. It is very small firm and it is not too nippy paced. Have you worked as personal assistant before working below one person? if there is not too much work to do from times to times, will I take chance of being let go since the lawyer is not too busy and she might not need me anymore? any experiences? working at small organization environment? or just working under one employer?Absences and your review is it officially recognized? My job metric for POC=percent of contribution. I haven’t been sick for eight years getting top reviews for adjectives metrics. This year i was sick for two days bringing my review score down. This manner insteaad of a 6.5% increase I will be getting a 5.0% increase. Losing .32 cents an hour. Which over the course of the year comes out to $614.40. My job says they discharge for sick time but at the end of the year in our reviews it is simply taken away from us. My Question is this actually LEGAL?Abused children…? when im older i would really love to work for somthin that helps abused children catch away from there families or where on earth ever the abuse is comin from but i dont kno were to even start. close to wat would i study in college? or is there even a undertaking that does this? and i mean a job beside social services end but not least is there really somethin approaching the law and order:special victims sectionAcademic Results, Job? When looking for a job or at any stage during your professional career own you been asked to verify your academic results? By verify i parsimonious your employer has asked you to sign a form giving the institution permission to release your results to your employer..If so, can u please describe the firm/company?Access to personnel files? I was recently terminated. The termination memorandum claimed At-Will employment, but I was told something else by corporate on the termination phone call, and my co-workers be told yet something else by corporate and the local manager when they announced my termination to the group the subsequent day. I was also told during the phone bid that I had been talk to in the past. I have not been! I had NO singing or written warnings. Other employees have warnings, but I did not. In fact, I have just been told 3 weeks back the termination, by corporate, what a great job I was doing and thank me for all of my hard work. Questions: Can I request copies of my personnel files from the local superior and from HR at the corporate office? If so, what is the procedure and statute of limitations for making the requests?Accidents at work…? When you have an incedent, and you have to budge down to take a Pee test for a drug screening, are you supposed to be “on the clock” or “off” when you do this. In Oregon BTW…Accounting quiz: I be remunerated twice, once electronically after after I quit the checks come within the letters..? I worked for a Kohl’s clothing store a few months ago, for 1 month. They deposited my paychecks directly into my bank account weekly. So I received 4 payments total, for that 1 month. About a month after I quit, I get 4 checks in the mail, for respectively payment that was already made. So it seem they are paying me twice. My question is: is it safe to deposit/cash these checks? What be it that caused this to happen? Can I get hold of in trouble if I do cash em’?Accused for stealing at work.. I wondered if someone could help me, my bosses manager took me surrounded by the back today at work and told me that one of the bar manager had said i had be stealing.. apparently i stole two drinks, anyway, when i told him that i hadn’t taken any drinks and that actually a customer had bought me a drink i have put a black card into my tip jar to let my bar proprietor know that i had a drink brought for me, but nevertheless he said that i had taken two drinks on that hours of darkness… now what i don’t get is if i have taken two drinks that night, why did my manager not confront me? why be i not shown any cctv? why didn’t he give details as to how i had taken or what i have taken? my other bar manager believes that i didn’t steal.. and is going to examine the other manager at a later date.. but i want to know what rights i enjoy against this? i have complained alot in times past before about one of my matured managers as he was sexually harassing me and the committee did zilch to stop this happening but simply tell me that he be planning on leaving in feb anyway which be still two months away at the time, i feel i have be poorly treated as an employee and haven’t been given a uncertainty to explain my side. i would really appreciate it if someone could give me some advice or permit me know what rights i have! thanks contained by advance.Acknowledging felony on a duty application? I live in California and, in October 2001, I be convicted of a felony, doing exactly one year in state prison and coming home in October 2002. It’s something to be precise very explainable — no one believes I should enjoy had to deal beside any of it — and has not hurt my professional or personal relationships much at all. I’m a white collar professional contained by the tech industry. I’m currently searching for a new assignment and 75% of the job applications ask whether you’ve had a felony or not. I’ve be told that you only have to disclose it if it happen within the last seven years. Does anyone know the California legalities losing this? It’s something I plan on disclosing anyway, but only once the interview process has begin. Any help would be appreciated.Admin worker warning? Worked for company for bout 2 years as admin worker. been based at same workstation. I’m the solely fulltime person in our department except the manager, other fulltimers changed to parttime re: family commitments. 1 have just had a babe-in-arms is returning to work shortly parttime. she doesn’t want to be at her workstation anymore, she wants to in her words verbs to bigger & better things. She sits at reception desk & our manager has promised that as she’s done it for 3 yrs in a minute she doesn’t have to do it anymore as from June. manager have asked everyone else in our office to do reception & every1 say no as they see it as too much extra work, no extra pay & demotion. Manager said to me-being full time it’s likely I’ll enjoy to move to the reception desk. I said to her I feel it’s unfair making me do this of late cos I’m full time and we all feel it would be better shared but our overseer doesn’t think sharing will work. Do I have any rights to demur this? 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Uranium Antitrust Litigation

Posted on 07. Mar, 2010 by admin in General

CRA Limited (now known as Rio Tinto) Corporate Counsel, Rohan George Skea, was one of the key lawyers on CRA’s Australian legal defense team, comprising Sir Roderick Carnegie, Executive Chairman of CRA, other CRA in-house counsel, Australian lawyers, Arthur Robinson & Co, and CRA’s US Counsel, Robert Osgood of Sullivan & Cromwell in New York, involved in the application of the Australian Government’s international antitrust “blocking” and “claw-back” legislation.  The blocking and claw-back statutes were enacted by Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser’s Australian Government in response to the USD7.5 billion antitrust treble damages claim launched in 1976 by Westinghouse Electric Corporation (“Westinghouse”) against 29 foreign and US domestic uranium producers.  Westinghouse alleged those producers were co-conspirators in an international cartel controlling the supply and price of uranium.
The CRA defense team, including Rohan George Skea, worked together with the Australian Government, the Australian Attorney-General’s Department and other agencies in relation to the application and implementation of policy and legislative responses of the Australian Government in relation to the attempts by US Courts, with the support of the United States Government, to extraterritorially apply United States antitrust laws to the alleged activities of CRA, Rio Tinto (UK) and other Australian and foreign corporations.
The Westinghouse Uranium Antitrust case was for nearly 10 years the most significant foreign relations problem between the United States Government and the Governments of the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and South Africa.
Westinghouse alleged that the Uranium Producers’ Cartel comprised the major suppliers of uranium.  The companies allegedly involved represented some of the world’s largest resource companies, together with the world’s major uranium suppliers. The alleged members, being defendants in the case, were, Rio Algom Limited, Rio Algom Corporation, Rio Tinto Zinc Corporation Limited, RTZ Services Limited, Rio Tinto Zinc Corporation, Conzinc Rio Tinto of Australia Limited (“CRA”), Mary Kathleen Uranium Limited, Pancontinental Mining Limited, Queensland Mines Limited, Nuclear Fuels Corporation, Anglo-American  Corporation of South Africa Limited, Engelhard Minerals and Chemicals Corporation, Denison Mines Limited, Denison Mines (U.S.) Incorporated, Noranda Mines Limited, Gulf Oil Corporation, Gulf Minerals Canada Limited, Kerr-McGee Corporation, the Anaconda Company, Getty Oil Company, Utah International Inc., Phelps Dodge Corporation, Western Nuclear, Inc., Homestake Mining Company, Federal Resources Corporation, Pioneer Nuclear, Inc., Atlas Corporation, Reserve Oil and Minerals Corporation, United Nuclear Corporation, and Atlas Alloys, Inc. Because of the strategic and defense interests of the nations involved in the uranium supply industry , the commercial dispute between Westinghouse and the alleged members of the Uranium Producers’ Cartel inevitably and quickly became elevated into a serious clash between the governments of the companies involved .The case also escalated into a bitter and hard fought legal fight between the United States and the claimed extraterritorial application of its domestic antitrust laws, and the sovereign rights of each of the other governments involved to make and enforce laws within their respective territorial jurisdictions. 
The international legal controversy at the core of the jurisdictional dispute was not new, as the clash between the claimed extraterritorial application of US antitrust laws and the international legal principles of comity has had a long jurisprudential history.  The Westinghouse fight, while conducted within the polite “language” of international diplomacy, represented a serious rupture in the otherwise long-standing cooperation on international legal issues among allies and friendly governments, and caused inquiry and policy soul searching on all sides of the debate long after the Westinghouse case was settled in 1982. The settlement decision was facilitated by the election of Ronald Reagan as President in late 1980.  President Reagan needed the producers on board to gain privileged access into the Japanese market.  It has been asserted that access to the Japanese market was also a long-standing goal of the Australian Government.
Following the Westinghouse settlement, CRA developed close links with the Reagan Administration in relation to its proposed major foreign investment initiatives in respect to special steel production in the United States.  These initiatives were quickly launched by CRA following the settlement with Westinghouse.  Mr Skea was a one of the key executives in CRA’s US business development team and was deeply involved in the confidential discussions in Washington and California with the Reagan Administration’s White House executive team.  Those discussions involved the negotiation of Federal and California State tax relief and the government support package to support CRA’s proposed massive investment in leading edge US steel technologies and manufacture at the mothballed Kaiser Steel plant at Fontana in California. 
In addition, CRA’s negotiating team, led by Ira Davidson (former executive vice-president of Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation) and Rohan Skea, developed extensive US political connections and support to secure CRA’s entry into main stream steel manufacture in the United States by regular contact and meetings in Washington with key Senators and Congressman on Senate and Congressional Committees dealing with foreign investment, taxation, industry and labor relations, and with the California Governor’s office (under Governor Jerry Brown and later under Governor George Deukmejian) and State legislature representatives. 
Davidson and Skea, received powerful support in building US political and business links from CRA’s US lawyers, O’Melveny & Myers, who were engaged in relation to CRA’s US steel technology and manufacturing investment.  Rohan Skea worked closely with the O’Melveny & Myers legal team led by Chairman, Warren Christopher and senior partner, Charles Bakaly Jr. In particular, Warren Christopher’s Washington connections were impeccable.  Christopher had been the Deputy Secretary of State under President Jimmy Carter and was widely acknowledged as the person responsible for successfully negotiating the release of 52 U.S. diplomats who were held hostage in Iran for 444 days from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981, after a group of Islamist student radicals loyal to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini took over the American embassy in Tehran.  It has been suggested by some former hostages that one of those student radicals was Mahmud Ahmadinejad, now the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and who is currently locked in a serious international controversy with President George W Bush and
International Atomic Energy Agency director Mohamed ElBaradei over Iran’s uranium enrichment program and the threat of an Iranian nuclear weapon .  President Ahmadinejad has denied his involvement in the taking of the hostages.  The student radicals, named Muslim Student Followers of the Imam’s Line, demanded the return and trial of  Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, who had been permitted to enter the US for medical treatment following intervention on the Shah’s behalf by influential figures including former United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Council on Foreign Relations chairman David Rockefeller,  The hostages’ ordeal transfixed the world and reached a climax when after initial failed attempts to negotiate a release, President Carter ordered the United States military to attempt a rescue operation, Operation Eagle Claw, on April 24, 1980, which resulted in an aborted mission, the crash of two aircraft and the deaths of eight American military men. Following Christopher’s lengthy and skilled negotiations the crisis ended with the signing of the Algiers Accords in Algeria on January 19, 1981. The hostages were formally released into United States custody the following day, just minutes after the new American president Ronald Reagan was sworn in. Christopher also spearheaded the Sino-American relations with the People’s Republic of China, helped to win ratification of the Panama Canal treaties, and headed the first interagency group on human rights. President Jimmy Carter awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award, on January 16, 1981.  In addition, Christopher went on to be appointed by President Bill Clinton as the 63rd Secretary of State on January 20, 1993, and served until 1997. Christopher negotiated an end to the bloody war in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, through the Dayton Peace Agreement. He also negotiated a peaceful resolution to the military takeover in Haiti, and restored the democratically elected president Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
In the space of several years, CRA, assisted by the efforts of its US business development team, led by Davidson and Skea, and Warren Christopher’s  team from O’Melveny & Myers, turned CRA’s reputation around from an alleged antitrust violator, as claimed by Westinghouse, and being unable to transact business in the United States because of proceedings in the Westinghouse case, to a significant and welcome foreign investor with powerful links in the political elite in the US ranging from the Reagan White House Administration, to both sides of politics in the US Senate and Congress, through to the  California Governor’s mansion.  As a direct result of these high level and confidential activities, CRA negotiated access to generous Federal and State tax and other incentives supporting its proposed US investments.  At the height of the Westinghouse battle, when CRA executives could not travel to the US for fear of arrest and imprisonment, such a privileged and influential position in the US was barely imaginable.
While the Westinghouse case was settled, the issues revolving around international comity and the extraterritorial application of United States antitrust and trade laws, and the enforcement of antitrust judgments in foreign countries, are far from settled and the potential for serious controversy remains between the United States and the governments of foreign countries over these issues.  In the period since 1982, the United States Government, and governments of various other countries, have been steadily introducing legislation which has the potential to underscore a major fall out between Western governments over the extraterritorial application of United States antitrust and trade laws.
The Westinghouse case procedures triggered the first legislative responses in Australia to the extraterritorial application of United States antitrust laws in the form of blocking legislation. The Westinghouse Uranium Antitrust case was itself a response by Westinghouse to various suits launched against it by US energy utilities for breach by Westinghouse of uranium supply contracts entered into by Westinghouse as part of its sales of US nuclear power plants. Westinghouse’s defense to those suits was the commercial impossibility or impracticability of its obligations under the uranium supply agreements due to the alleged price and supply fixing arrangements among the members of the Uranium Producers’ Cartel .  Westinghouse alleged the conspiratorial activities of the members of the Uranium Producers’ Cartel had restricted the supply of world uranium, and had so increased the price of that uranium, that Westinghouse was unable to supply the uranium without suffering a massive loss. The cost to American consumers if those increases were passed on was estimated in the billions of dollars.  The Uranium Antitrust Case centered on the alleged actions of the members of the cartel in limiting and allocating the production and sale of uranium outside the US.
The Westinghouse case proceeded under the Sherman Act which applies to anti-competitive activities in trade or commerce within the United States and with foreign nations.  Unlike other countries competition laws, the extraterritorial application of US antitrust laws is potentially very wide.  The US approach is that where there are direct, substantial and foreseeable “effects” upon the US market, and that it is “reasonable” to exercise jurisdiction, the party concerned is subject to US antitrust laws.  For that purpose, it does not matter where that party is incorporated or where the offending conduct took place.
An important feature of US antitrust laws is that enforcement can be initiated by Government agencies and by private parties .Public enforcement can be by criminal or civil proceedings by either the US Attorney-General , or the Federal Trade Commission .  However, in private proceedings the plaintiff is entitled to seek treble damages for the damages or losses incurred as a consequence of the alleged antitrust behavior of defendants.  In addition, plaintiffs are entitled to injunctive relief for any threatened damage likely to be caused by a defendant’s anti-competitive conduct.  The combination of the threat of treble damages, and extensive injunctive relief available to US plaintiffs under US laws has proven a powerful weapon against domestic and foreign anti-competitive conduct.
In the face of massive losses in its breach of contract disputes with the US nuclear energy utilities, Westinghouse commenced a treble damages suit against the members of the Uranium Producers’ Cartel and applied for various forms of injunctive relief.  In addition, the US Justice Department initiated an official investigation into the activities of the alleged cartel, and empanelled a Grand Jury to determine whether criminal sanctions applied.  Both Westinghouse and the Justice Department made document discovery and witness deposition requests against all the defendants in the cartel.  These interlocutory requests, if enforced, had the potential to apply to millions of documents in the possession of the defendant corporations and would have involved corporations and individual witnesses becoming subject to in personam jurisdiction in the US.  As part of the process of enforcing its right to discovery of documents and taking of evidence, Westinghouse issued letters rogatory to the Supreme Court of New South Wales seeking the Court to enforce its discovery and deposition requests.  Similar letters rogatory were addressed to the Supreme Court of Ontario and the High Court of Justice in England.
A number of defendants, including the Australian defendants, refused to appear in the US courts to defend the proceedings.  The defaulting defendants comprised four Australian companies: Conzinc Rio Tinto of Australia Ltd (“CRA”), Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd, Pancontinental Mining Ltd and Queensland Mines Ltd; two British companies: Rio Tinto Corp. Ltd. (“RTZ”) and RTZ Services Ltd.; two South African companies: Nuclear Fuels Corporation of South Africa and Anglo American Corporation of South Africa Ltd.; and one Canadian corporation, Rio Algom Ltd.  In effect, the RTZ Group, comprising RTZ, RTZ Services, CRA, Mary Kathleen and Rio Algom, refused to appear in US Courts and acknowledge the extraterritorial jurisdiction of US antitrust laws.
In addition, the defaulting Australian defendants banned their executives from traveling to the US, refused the document discovery requests, and refused to submit themselves or their executives to in personam jurisdiction.  Accordingly, the battle lines were drawn between Westinghouse and the defendants who had defaulted in appearance and the issues were quickly elevated to an international judicial and policy stand-off between the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada and South Africa.
The international stand-off produced both civil and governmental responses. Westinghouse swiftly retaliated against the defaulters and successfully obtained interlocutory orders in the US against the defaulting defendants which severely constrained the ability of those companies to conduct business in the US and with US companies. These orders placed the flow of funds into and out of the US based entities, and the disposal of assets, under the control of US courts.  Some of the defaulting defendants continued to flagrantly ignore those orders and attempted to transfer funds out of the US resulting in further orders being successfully sought by Westinghouse.  These orders were very stringent. For example, Westinghouse successfully enjoined RTZ subsidiary, Rio Algom Corporation, from making deposits in bank accounts outside the United States; from making any transfers out of the United States without twenty days’ prior notice to the Court; requiring Rio Algom to deposit the revenues of its Utah mining operation in United States banks; and enjoining the officers, directors and employees of Rio Algom Limited from making withdrawals from bank accounts of Rio Algom Corporation.
The foreign governmental responses were equally swift, and were devastating to Westinghouse’s ability to conduct its case and, ultimately, prevented the enforcement of the interlocutory proceedings in several key countries and threatened to prevent enforcement of any final judgment in those countries.
Australia reacted quickly to the initial Westinghouse proceedings, and the issue of letters rogatory seeking document discovery and evidence from the four Australian defendants, and enacted the Foreign Proceedings (Prohibition of Certain Evidence) Act 1976 (Cth) (“FPA”).  The FPA prohibited the production of documents or the giving of evidence in foreign proceedings where a foreign court had failed to comply with international law or comity, or where it was considered necessary to protect national interests.  The Orders made under the FPA thwarted Westinghouse’s attempts to gain production of
documents in Australia or the giving of evidence by executives of the four Australian defendants .  However, the passage of the FPA and the Orders were controversial and resulted in an unsuccessful High Court challenge. Although the FPA was a significant step, it was not sufficient to stop Westinghouse.  Westinghouse obtained default judgments and injunctions against the defaulting defendants.  To block the enforcement of those judgments and injunctions the Australian Government quickly enacted the Foreign Antitrust Judgments (Restriction of Enforcement) Act 1979 (Cth) (“FAJA”). The FAJA empowered the Australian Attorney-General to order certain foreign antitrust judgments to be unenforceable in Australia if the Attorney-General was satisfied that the foreign court had exercised jurisdiction in a manner inconsistent with international law or comity, or if the judgment may be detrimental, or adversely affect, Australian trade or commerce, or if it was in the Australian national interest. 
In addition, the FAJA enabled the Attorney-General to declare, in the case of judgments involving a specified sum of money that, for the purposes of enforcement, the amount of a judgment could be reduced to a specified amount. This meant that the Attorney-General could allow an antitrust judgment to be enforceable but exclude the treble damages element from enforcement.
The Australian Attorney-General subsequently made an Order under the FAJA declaring that the judgment on the issues of liability given in favor of Westinghouse against the nine defaulting defendants, together with the interlocutory injunctions in favor of Westinghouse, would not be recognized or enforceable in Australia.
The Australian Government sought to justify its “blocking” policy and legislation on several grounds.  As a matter of national interest, the extraterritorial application of US antitrust laws directly conflicted with Australia’s policy for the development and marketing of Australian sourced uranium.  It also conflicted with international marketing arrangements supported by the Australian and other non-US governments for the orderly marketing and sale of uranium.  However, the support of the Australian and other foreign governments did not amount to “sovereign compulsion” under US law which meant that the defense of “foreign sovereign compulsion” was unavailable to the foreign defendants.  Further, even if that defense did apply it would not necessarily prevent the application of in persona jurisdiction.  All of the nine defaulting defendants were determined to avoid coming within US jurisdiction. 
The Australian Government was also seriously concerned with the potentially devastating consequences for the Australian economy if the USD7.5 billion damages claim was enforced against the Australian defendants.  This was a real and legitimate issue.  The Australian defendants were all major resource companies and directly and indirectly had a profoundly significant place in the Australian economy.  Further, the Australian Government was also concerned that US courts had not given sufficient weight in the balancing of interests required under international comity before the extraterritorial application of US antitrust laws was ordered.
The Australian and other foreign blocking and claw-back legislation forced Westinghouse and all the defendants to entertain a compromise and commercial settlement.  The settlement details were not left to the commercial parties but involved the closest support, guidance and approval of the foreign governments at the highest levels.  The confidential discussions among the parties to the case, and the side discussions, consultations and ultimate approvals sought and obtained from the foreign governments were tortuous, lengthy and at times stretched relationships to breaking point.  Neither side was a willing participant in the settlement, but pragmatism prevailed.  Nonetheless, Westinghouse obtained a workable outcome, but vastly short of its claim.  On the other hand, the defendants, were required to pay Westinghouse a not insignificant sum, rumored to be USD100 million, and some of the defendants agreed to supply Westinghouse uranium on favorable terms.  Additionally, the defendants were relieved of costly inhibitions to trading in the US and with US corporations.  As for the foreign governments, the sobering lesson was that international government “sponsored” collusion against the interests of US corporations and consumers, which did not extend to OPEC style governmental “Acts of State” and thereby gaining immunity from prosecution , was ultimately unsuccessful and threatened their very relationships with the US across all levels. 
Australia recognized the dangers of any future conflict between the Australian national interest and the extraterritorial application of US antitrust laws and resorted post-Westinghouse to diplomatic initiatives to address some of the disputed jurisdictional dispute issues.
Australia commenced a process of negotiation with the US and after several years concluded the Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the United States of America Relating to Cooperation on Antitrust Matters. The Antitrust Cooperation Agreement instituted a notification procedure between Australia and the United States with the intention being to avoid conflicts between the two countries and their “..laws, policies and national interests and for the purpose to give due regard to each other’s sovereignty and to considerations of comity”.
Under the Antitrust Cooperation Agreement each country has notification rights. Australia may notify the US of Australian governmental policies that may have antitrust implications in the US.  The US is to notify Australia if the Department of Justice or the Federal Trade Commission “…Undertake[s] an antitrust investigation that may have implications for Australian laws, policies or national interests” .  In addition, following notification, either country may request consultation if the other country’s antitrust policies adversely affect the requesting country.
However, notification and consultation does not necessarily mean or guarantee a resolution of any future conflict.  To date, the record of intergovernmental agreement on extraterritorial antitrust issues is not encouraging. Further, the problem of private extraterritorial enforcement of US antitrust laws,being the very problem at the core of the Westinghouse case, remains without a firm resolution, even with the advent of the Antitrust Cooperation Agreement.   
The Antitrust Cooperation Agreement has a number of important limitations. Article 6 of that Agreement provides that the Australian Government may request the US Government to participate in private antitrust proceedings where the proceedings relate to conduct, or conduct pursuant to a policy of the Government of Australia, that has been the subject of notification and consultation between the Governments under the Agreement. In those cases, the US Government is required to report to the court on the substance and outcome of the inter-governmental consultations.
While this approach is an improvement on the situation that applied during the Westinghouse proceedings, it is by no means a resolution of the jurisdictional issues which plagued that case and caused the strained relations between Australia, other foreign governments, and the United States. The Antitrust Cooperation Agreement is quite limited in the case of private prosecution of US antitrust laws.  The Agreement simply excludes private prosecutions which have not involved conduct that has been the subject of inter-governmental consultations. In simple terms, this means the Agreement will not apply to a repetition of the very circumstances which gave rise to the Westinghouse case.  The Uranium Producers’ Cartel was formed in secret with the support and encouragement of respective foreign governments, and with deliberate non-disclosure to the US Government, in order to achieve certain commercial and strategic advantages. Whether the strategy was ever directed specifically at Westinghouse or against US commercial interests has been the subject of much speculation .That it had that effect is undeniable.  It is unlikely that such a conspiracy, if ever repeated, would be disclosed under the Antitrust Cooperation Agreement as any such disclosure would be antithetical to the nature and object of such a conspiracy. Accordingly, the effect of the Westinghouse case and the Antitrust Cooperation Agreement is that there is little incentive for the Australian or any other foreign government to engage in or encourage similar cartel behavior in the future.  To that extent, the Westinghouse case and the Antitrust Cooperation Agreement has, for practical purposes, put a stop to any such blatant cartel behavior or, at the very least, ought to cause any party contemplating such behavior to give serious consideration to alternatives given the consequences which will likely follow .In addition, the Agreement effectively only applies to conduct that has been encouraged or mandated by Australian Government policy.  This means the Agreement excludes parties whose conduct does not fall within that imprecise ambit.  The precise boundary of that ambit may not always be clear as was demonstrated in the Westinghouse case .
Australia continued to develop its legislative response to the Westinghouse case and the threat of future private extraterritorial enforcement of US antitrust laws by repealing the FPA and FAJA and enacting the Foreign Proceedings (Excess of Jurisdiction) Act 1984 (Cth) (“FPEJA”).  The stated purpose of the FPEJA was to “. Consolidate and expand Australian laws which protect Australian trading interests and policies against extraterritorial enforcement of foreign laws”.  The introduction of this law was not without Parliamentary controversy and concern at Ministerial level that the enactment may provoke an adverse response from the US Government.  However, the Government remained seriously concerned at the threat to its exercise of sovereignty and to its trade policies of private extraterritorial antitrust prosecutions.  In simple terms, the Australian Government recognized that international consultations with the US Government would not stop a determined US plaintiff seeking extraterritorial application of US antitrust laws within Australia and, more importantly, the economic chaos which could occur through the enforcement of injunctions or asset seizures pursuant to such actions.  Given that the large majority of US antitrust cases have been initiated by private parties, the threat was real and was not resolvable by reliance on the limited provisions of the Antitrust Cooperation Agreement .Under the FPEJA the Australian Government responded to the threat of private extraterritorial prosecution of US antitrust laws by adopting a five pronged approach comprising:
Prohibition of Giving Evidence
The FPEJA adopted the same provisions dealing with the prohibition of giving evidence to foreign courts as were contained in the FPA.
Blocking Foreign Antitrust Judgments
The FPEJA also adopted similar provisions to those in the FAJA relating to blocking foreign antitrust judgments.
Non-Compliance with Foreign Orders
The FEPJA empowered the Attorney-General to prohibit a person from complying with (non-monetary) foreign judgments requiring an act to be performed in Australia if this act would be contrary to the national interest. The Australian Government’s intention was that the provisions could be used to combat divestiture and “cease and desist” orders made under US antitrust laws.
Claw-back
The new and controversial development was the enactment of antitrust specific defensive measures which incorporated claw-back rights.  These provisions, which were modeled on equivalent provisions contained in UK legislation introduced by Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, conferred a right of action on an Australian defendant in foreign antitrust proceedings where the Attorney-General has made an order that a judgment against the defendant should not be enforceable in Australia (in whole or in part).The FPEJA took the UK approach to blocking legislation and expanded the scope of the provisions. Under the FPEJA an Australian defendant can institute an action in Australia for recovery from a foreign plaintiff of an amount equal to the judgment sum granted in the foreign antitrust proceedings, together with a limited right to recover reasonable costs and expenses incurred by it in defending private antitrust proceedings.
Reciprocal Enforcement Arrangements
The FPEJA empowers the Australian Government to enter into reciprocal enforcement arrangements with other countries that have similar claw-back provisions. This was included because the UK had made provision for such a system in its blocking legislation and had expressed an interest in reciprocity to address the position of multinational defendants, such as CRA and Rio Tinto, who had substantial assets at risk in both the UK and Australia. Australia and the UK signed an agreement relating to the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of judgments in 1994.
Blocking Foreign Commercial Orders and Decisions
The antitrust focus of the FPEJA was expanded so as to empower the Attorney-General, where considered desirable for the protection of the national interest, to make orders blocking actions or decisions of foreign governments under laws relating to trade or commerce that impose an obligation upon an Australian person or company that has to be performed in Australia.
To ensure compliance with the FPEJA the Australian Government imposed a range of sanctions.  The Act provides that contravention of an order made under the FPEJA is an offence punishable by a fine not exceeding AU$50 000 or imprisonment for a period of up to 12 months for a natural person and a fine not exceeding AU$250 000 for a corporation.
Since the Westinghouse case the focus of the extraterritorial application of US antitrust and trade laws has diffused and shifted to include the various responses by the EU and Canada to the Helms-Burton Act  and the D’Amato Act  in relation to trade with Cuba, Iran and Libya. The threat of Westinghouse type private US antitrust actions affecting Australian corporations and interests has receded and there have been no protective or blocking orders made by the Attorney-General under the FPEJA.
However, the introduction of the Helms-Burton Act and D’Amato Act raised again the issue of extraterritorial application of US laws and the clash with Australia’s national interest.  In brief, both Acts employ a variety of methods, including secondary boycott sanctions, to affect US foreign policy with respect to Cuba, Iran and Libya. These US extraterritorial trade controls have the potential to cause new clashes with Australia. The provisions in these laws represent a new and different approach by the US to use secondary boycott sanctions, private treble damages suits and exclusion from the US as a means for pursuing US foreign policy objectives.
Australia, unlike Canada and the EU, has not responded to these potential threats with any modification of the FPEJA.  Canada introduced amendments to its antitrust blocking legislation to respond to the new ways in which US extraterritorial legislation was being used, and similar action was taken by the EU.
The Australian Government’s decision not to respond legislatively to the Helms-Burton Act and the D’Amato Act appears to reflect a cautious approach in managing its judicial relationship with the United States and acknowledges the limited interaction of Australian interests with Cuba, Libya and Iran.  This was notwithstanding that the US foreign policy underpinning the Helms-Burton Act was in direct conflict with the Australian Government’s foreign policy with respect to Cuba; a policy which allows Australians to trade with Cuba and encourages a multilateral international approach to Cuban reform.  Australia has also stated that it has “urged the US to step away from extra-territorial measures and to adopt a cooperative approach to shared foreign policy interests rather than going it alone”. The Australian Government, while sharing US concerns over the pace and depth of economic and political reform in Cuba, nonetheless was of the view that engagement rather than isolation was more likely to be successful in bringing about positive change in Cuba.
The D’Amato Act was designed to further US foreign policy with respect to Iran and Libya by imposing sanctions on persons who invest in the Iranian or Libyan oil or gas industries, or sell specified goods, services or technology to Libya. The US classified Iran and Libya as sponsors of terrorism and acquirers of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), and considered that the two nations ‘endanger the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States’ and its allies .
The US position recognized that the economies of Iran and Libya are primarily supported by income from their oil and gas industries. Consequently, blocking foreign investment in the oil and gas sectors was likely to have a major impact on the countries’ economies and, in turn, upon their governments’ revenue and ability to fund terrorist activities.
The specific policy objectives of the United States Government in relation to Iran were to deny Iran the ability to support acts of international terrorism and to fund the development, acquisition and supply of WMD. The Libyan sanctions were designed to press Libya to comply with its obligations under several United Nations Security Council Resolutions to end all support for acts of international terrorism and to impede efforts to develop or acquire WMD .The US has maintained economic sanctions, in various forms, against Iran and Libya for several decades as a means of exerting pressure to cease their involvement in terrorist activities. The US has also used primary boycott sanctions prohibiting domestic trade and investment with Iran and Libya as a means of pursuing its foreign policy objectives.
In addition, the UN has also introduced economic sanctions against Libya in an effort to curb terrorist activities.  The D’Amato Act was the first secondary boycott measure adopted by the US against Iran and Libya.
From Australia’s perspective, the D’Amato Act was more of an issue than the Helms-Burton Act in terms of its adverse impact upon Australia, as Australia has more investment in Iran than Cuba.
Unfortunately, the FPEJA was primarily designed to combat the effects of the enforcement of US extraterritorial antitrust legislation, and does not adequately respond to the Helms-Burton Act or D’Amato Act sanctions .On the other hand, the EU and Canada perceived the threat and adopted blocking legislation specifically targeting the effects of these new US extraterritorial trade sanctions.
The EU supported the US policy objectives involved in the Helms-Burton Act and D’Amato Act but strongly criticized the method adopted by the US. The EU responded to the US unilateral economic sanctions against Cuba, Iran and Libya by introducing comprehensive legislative blocking measures and initiating World Trade Organization (“WTO”) proceedings challenging the legality of the Helms-Burton Act.
The EU blocking legislation, Protecting Against the Effects of the Extra-Territorial Application of Legislation Adopted by a Third Country (‘EU Regulation’) , was directed at the Helms-Burton Act, the Cuban Democracy Act, the Cuban Assets Control Regulations and the D’Amato Act. The EU Regulation was modeled on, but is more comprehensive than, the UK PTIA.  It includes prohibitions on the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments or administrative decisions giving direct or indirect effect to the sanctions covered by the EU Regulation; claw-back provisions; recovery of any damages, including legal costs, caused by the application of the sanctions; and forbids compliance by EU persons with the requirements of the listed instruments, whether it be direct or indirect (through a subsidiary) or by active or deliberate omission. On the other hand, the EU Regulation pragmatically provides that where non-compliance would seriously damage the interests of the affected person or those of the EU, the person may be authorised to comply fully or partially with the US sanctions.   The EU Regulation also prevents compliance with foreign orders requesting documents or evidence. Finally, the EU Regulation requires EU persons, including directors, managers and other persons with management responsibilities, to report within 30 days to the EU Commission instances in which their economic and/or financial interests are directly or indirectly affected by the sanctions covered by the EU Regulation.
Canada introduced blocking legislation specifically aimed at reducing the impact of US extraterritorial trade laws. Canada passed sanction specific amendments to the Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act (‘FEMA’) .  FEMA was introduced in response to the Westinghouse case and was modeled upon the UK PTIA blocking legislation.  While FEMA incorporated powers to deal with US boycott legislation, even though it was originally designed to block US antitrust litigation, the Canadian Government considered that FEMA should be amended in order to respond to the US secondary boycott legislation and acted swiftly in introducing the amendments.
The powers of the Canadian Attorney-General under FEMA are triggered where he or she considers that the foreign judgment or measures significantly affect Canadian trading interests or infringe Canadian sovereignty. The Act includes various powers and provisions including: the power to prohibit Canadian records and/or information being produced or disclosed to a foreign tribunal, including prohibition on the giving of evidence by a Canadian citizen or resident in foreign proceedings; the power to issue orders forbidding the enforcement of foreign antitrust judgments in Canada and foreign trade laws that the Attorney-General considers, with the concurrence of the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, violate international law and comity (the only foreign trade law listed in the FEMA schedule to date is the Helms-Burton Act); claw-back powers which also apply to judgments made under the Helms-Burton Act; a right for a Canadian defendant in foreign proceedings, brought under an instrument listed in the FEMA schedule, to sue in a Canadian court to recover the judgment sum, expenses and consequential  loss or damage suffered by reason of the enforcement of the foreign judgment; and the Act permits the Attorney-General, with the concurrence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, to make orders blocking the application of foreign measures taken by a foreign state or foreign tribunal that adversely affect, or are likely to adversely affect, Canadian interests or infringe upon Canada’s sovereignty.
The latter provisions authorize the Attorney-General to make orders requiring Canadian citizens or residents to give notice to the Attorney-General of any directive, instruction, intimation of policy or other communication relating to such measures from a person who is in a position to direct or influence the policies of the person in Canada.  The terms are sufficiently broad to cover directives issued by a foreign parent company to a Canadian subsidiary to abide by the laws applicable in the country where the foreign parent corporation operates .The Act also empowers the Attorney-General to prohibit compliance by Canadian nationals with foreign measures or directives, issued by persons in a position to direct or influence the policies of the Canadian person, that are adverse to Canadian trade interests.
The Foreign Extraterritorial Measures (United States) Order (1996) (“1996 FEMA Order”) contains notification and non-compliance obligations targeting the US Cuban legislative embargo measures. With respect to the notification obligation, the 1996 FEMA Order requires Canadian corporations and their directors and officers to “forthwith give notice” to the Attorney-General of any policies or communications they receive relating to an extraterritorial measure of the US. The term “extraterritorial measure” is broadly defined so as to cover the Helms-Burton Act and any other instruments designed to enforce the US embargo against Cuba.
The Canadian Act also incorporates a range of penalties for non-compliance including criminal sanctions.  Section 7 authorizes the Canadian Government to prosecute violations of FEMA orders either by indictment or by summary conviction. The maximum fine for a corporation for indictable offences is CAN$1.5 million and for an individual CAN$150,000. In relation to summary offences, the maximum fine for a corporation is CAN$150,000 and CAN$15,000 for an individual and/or a maximum of two years imprisonment.  Prior to the 1997 amendments, the penalties were considerably less.  The penalties were increased to balance the US penalties for contravention of certain extraterritorial measures. For instance, breaches of the US Cuban embargo regulations are punishable by fines of up to US$1 million.
The Australian Government has not followed the lead of the EU or Canada.  The bruising lessons learned in the “power politics” of the Westinghouse litigation brought home in stark relief the asymmetrical nature of the US/Australian political and economic relationship.  Australia could ill afford another serious rift in the political, economic and judicial dimensions of that relationship, particularly where the genesis of the Westinghouse case rupture was the ill-conceived and naïve involvement of the Australian Government in supporting activities of companies involved in the alleged the Uranium Producers’ Cartel. While the case was settled, and Australia/US relations were restored, the lessons were learned when Australia felt the full force of US reaction to foreign economic conspiracies aimed squarely at US corporations and the US market . 
The United States has made its position consistently clear on this issue, particularly during the height of the Westinghouse case.  US Attorney-General, Griffin Bell Jr. enunciated the US Justice Department’s two primary objectives of U.S. policy in the application of US antitrust laws to foreign jurisdictions. First, to prevent national boundaries from providing a haven from which Americans may flout laws designed to protect US domestic competition; and secondly, to prevent arrangements made abroad, such as foreign cartels, from depriving U.S. consumers of the benefits of competition among importers and between domestic and foreign sources of supply.  Although clear, this view is not universally embraced, particularly where the U.S. is unique in its asserted right to apply US criminal laws to activities beyond its territorial boundaries.  Further, the US view has provoked protest from many countries including Britain, Australia and Canada.
However, while the private and public prosecution of international cartels has been patchy , when the US is involved, it is unlikely a future Australian government, or corporations, would ever involve themselves in similar such actions again.
To know more, please visit the site http://rohanskea.net

Note: John Connor, “Global Antitrust Prosecutions of Modern International Cartels”, Dept. of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University, Ind., Staff Paper #04-15, Nov. 2004; Simon Evenett, Margaret Levenstein and Valerie Suslow, “International Cartel Enforcement: Lessons from the 1990s” (2001) 24 World Economy 1221

Marriage Name Change â?? What are the options?

Posted on 06. Mar, 2010 by admin in General

All married women experience this situation in life. Marriage means entering into a new life; a new journey, new commitments and new dreams. Women need to cope with an extra change that men donâ??t, i.e., name change.

However, there are many options when it comes to marriage name change. You can keep your name unchanged, you can take your husbandâ??s name, you can add your husbandâ??s name at the end of your own name or, you can replace your middle name with maiden name. Whatever option you choose, you have to go through all the legal processes of name changing.

Letâ??s know more about the marriage name change options:

1] Choose to be traditional â?? take his name:

90% of married women follow this trend. Taking husbandâ??s name helps you avoid a lot of annoying queries and makes the transition easier. You donâ??t need to explain that you are married now and you can make it clear that your children are your children indeed!

If you choose to use your husbandâ??s name, you need to change your name on all legal papers such as passport, credit cards, driving license, bank, office and others.

2] Concatenate two surnames â?? creative!

There are women who find it awful to stop using the name that has brought them fame and popularity. However, as a member of husbandâ??s family, they choose to add husbandâ??s surname at the end of their name with a hyphen in between.

Thus, Nancy Miller becomes Nancy Miller-Jones when she marries Peter Jones. Their children can also adopt this hyphenated surname.

All name changing procedures must be performed if you choose to change your name after marriage. Order change name forms or name change kit to initiate the process.

3] Replace middle name with maiden name:

Some women, who wish to show their affiliation with another family but do not want to leave their own name, often go this way. They use their maiden name as the new middle name and adopt husbandâ??s surname.

Thus, Nancy Miller, after wedding Peter Jones, becomes Nancy Miller Jones. Please note that there is no hyphen in between. Her maiden name is her middle name now.

Marriage name change

You need to change your name legally in all the above cases. Your new name should be reflected on all legal documents; otherwise it may lead to serious confusions and problems later on.

Bridal name change is common in all the countries of the world. Contact your local lawyers or name registration authorities to know more about the procedures. You can also collect name change kit online to make the entire process faster.

And, if you really love your own name and you are professionally popular in your maiden name, you may choose not to change the name. In that case, you donâ??t have to go through the hectic legal processes of name changing.

California Speeding Ticket – Eliminate Your Ticket Today!

Posted on 06. Mar, 2010 by admin in General

The sunny state of California holds one of the highest penalties for speeding violation, not to mention sky rocketing insurance rates as well. Generally, a California speeding ticket costs, in rounded off amounts, $150 for speeding of 1-15 mph over the limit, $270 for 16-25 mph, and $380 if it is more than 26 mph. Getting flagged by an officer for this violation can cause you much time and effort, not to mention money if handled incorrectly. Upon answering the officer’s interrogation, remember that any statement of guilt or otherwise can be turned against you in court. Since the officer is naturally tasked by law to provide evidence for the charges, don’t give in easily by blurting out your offence when there is none.
Receiving a California speeding ticket actually offers a lot more options nowadays. Many do not opt for paying the penalty upfront especially when they think they have chances of presenting enough evidence that they are not guilty or if they are willing to be subjected to alternative options. According to California state laws, if the officer was not able to present much evidence of the charges, the case is dismissed. If, on the other hand, you are found to be over the speed limits indeed, you can go to a traffic school.
What is a traffic school?
A traffic school can be treated as a correction institution, if you may. The decision to be able to get this option is subject to a judge’s decision which prevents your offence a California speeding ticket violation from showing up in your driver’s record. Have a lawyer request and process this for you, especially for serious ticket offences, without having to go to court personally. Another upside of this is, since the violation is not reflected on your record, you will not have to welcome an increase rate in your insurance premiums. Rather than have a bad record and pay a large amount for it, taking a class once every 18 months is a more convenient choice. The traffic schools for those with California speeding ticket are now even open for online classes.
There are exemptions for the enlistment of these online or onsite traffic schools, however. These are the truck drivers, exceeding 15 mph over the speed limit, unsafe distancing from other vehicles and changing of lanes that are dangerous and improper, carrying unlawful equipments or violation of vehicle capacity which you can further check on their official site. Offences such as these are classified under the serious tickets. A California speeding ticket which is labeled serious or found guilty is filed and reported to other states, and even Canada, as well. This means that a speeding violation in California is almost like a speeding violation in another state as well. What you need to do then is look for alternatives, and seek out for the best option. If, even before the trial, you can request for enlistment in a traffic school, then by no means do so. If not, it is best advised to have a vivid recollection of the situation and a good understanding of California laws. Beat a California speeding ticket with proper knowledge and information.

Justice in North America

Posted on 05. Mar, 2010 by admin in General

We all seek justice in our lives, but the sad truth is the average person in North America can’t afford to hire an attorney to help with every day legal matters. What would you do if a minor or major legal matter arised? Would you be able to afford to hire an attorney that specializes in the area of law where you need help?

Wonder if you were in a car accident and it was not even your fault, but you were sued anyway? What would you do? To whom would you turn for help? Wonder if a store in your local mall treated you unfairly regarding a return or a defective item? Could you or would you hire an attorney to help turn the wrong into a right, even if the charge was for only $50.00? Wonder if you received a letter from the IRS stating that you were being audited for not paying $18,000 in taxes? Would this upset you and scare you? Going through an audit is an intimidating and time-consuming ordeal. Could you afford to hire a tax attorney ‘ one of the most expensive attorneys to hire? How would you handle learning that your ID had been stolen? What would you do if someone was using your social security number, setting up accounts in your name and destroying your good credit? Worse yet, what if you were wanted for a major crime you did not even commit? No one should have to experience any of these traumatic occurrences in their lives.

You might be asking yourself why all these questions? I would like to inform you of something that you may or may not know. Did you know that there are services available in the United States and Canada that provide quality legal representation to help with every day legal events for very affordable fees. These services give the average person the chance to have quality legal help when they need it most. The services even the playing field, which allows the every day person to have justice and quality legal representation, just like the wealthy enjoy. These services are not currently very common in the United States or Canada, but the people of these two countries are rapidly learning about them and seeing the value and peace of mind it gives them when they know that their legal matters of every day life events are covered. The importance of having legal coverage is very high. Just think how important other insurances, like medical, life and car insurance, protect us from catastrophic financial loss. Though we never plan on encountering the events that will force us to take advantage of the benefits of that insurance, we understand the value of having that coverage. Life is very unpredictable, and sometimes, unfortunate things happen. And when they do, the security and support that insurance brings in a time of need are invaluable.

Just imagine being in a situation where you needed to talk to an attorney right now. Would you know who to call, and if so, how much would it cost? Would you feel more secure, knowing you could pick up the phone and talk to a top-rated attorney to help you through a stressful legal situation in an emergency?

Several businesses that offer quality legal services offer memberships for a very low monthly fee. The most established service companies offer a monthly membership fee that is lower then a tank of gas. Times are changing in the legal service industry. There are new opportunities for the “common” man or woman, who in normal cases would not even consider hiring an attorney, to access quality and affordable legal advice and support, even when a case goes to court.

With this new type of legal coverage, members are able to make unlimited phone calls to an established law firm, for consultation and support on almost any legal matter. The law firms offers phone calls and letters written on behalf of the members that will help address legal matters in an effective, professional, and affordable manner. A letter or phone call from an attorney is very powerful and often accomplishes swift and amazing resolution to life’s issues. Most companies respond quickly to resolve issues represented by an attorney’s letter, rather than to issues raised by individuals with no legal representation. These services provide amazing results for their members. Stop getting treated unfairly and start seeking the justice you deserve today. Check into the service companies offering this vital protection. It’s the last service package you need in your insurance portfolio. Let’s work together to spread the word about this legal coverage which is affordable to just about everyone. Don’t allow yourself to be susceptable anymore. If you are treated unfairly by a store, a restaurant, an airline, or a dry cleaner, if you receive a traffic ticket unfairly, or if you are sued, you can now have high quality legal representation. You will have the strength and security of being able to address life’s legal events with great results, at a very affordable price.

Protecting your Trademarks in Paid Search

Posted on 05. Mar, 2010 by admin in General

Protecting your trademarks in the paid search channel is critical to maximizing the value of your brand. Here is a complete guide, with links, submitting trademark paperwork to the major engines plus strategies for dealing with affiliates and trademark bidding.

Topics Covered in This Article:

• Why Protect Trademarks?

• Search Engine Policies on Trademarks

• What about Affiliates and My Trademarks?

• What to Do Next

Why Should I Protect My Trademark?

Your trademarked names or brand names are the most valuable keywords in your paid search arsenal. As you build your business, gain customers, send out press releases, buy media and acquire traffic – more and more people will enter your brand name or URL into search engines to find you. These terms almost always convert the best regardless of what your conversion metric is.

Because of this, your trademark can be under attack by competitors, uncontrolled affiliates and companies illegally using our products (more on this later). It is imperative that you understand your options, recognize the threats and have a course of action to protect your brand.

Search Engine Policies on Trademarks

From the search engine company standpoint, refereeing the use of trademarks is a difficult and thankless task. Everyone who has a trademark thinks that they are special, lawyers get involved and search engine employees spend hours working through the issues protecting the rights of their advertising clients from illegitimate and illegal use of the trademark.

Additional considerations from the engines include whether the trademark violation is in the organic or sponsored area. If someone is improperly using your trademark and they show up in the organic area of the search engine results page (SERP) then you are out of luck from any recourse from the search engine companies. If it shows up in the sponsored (paid) area of the SERP then you have some recourse.

There are also specific procedures for whether your trademark is secured in the US, Canada, North America or Other. Most engines have a different process for Trademarks in different countries making both the problem and the solution more complex.

Ideally for the Search Engines, they would remain neutral in the use of trademarks and simply collect the money when people buy a trademark and use a trademark. However, in order to appease advertisers (aka trademark holders), the different engines have implemented different levels of trademark protection.

Google Trademark Policy:

Google is the most lazes-faire of the engines with regards to trademarks. It used to be permissible to buy and use other people’s trademarks in the sponsored link area. Today’s rules help in terms of

protecting the trademark holder, but don’t go as far as the other major search engines. Here are some of the rules:

-With the submission of the proper trademark paperwork (see link below), Google will block non-trademark owners from using the trademark in the copy of the advertisement.

-A non-trademark owner can BUY the trademarked keyword, but the editorial filtering will restrict the use of the trademark in the copy

– EXCEPT for the display URL.

-I personally find this last bit concerning as testing has proven that the display URL is an important part of the copy. I haven’t gotten a good answer on why the display URLis not included in the trademark protection. More specific information and the complaint form is available at: http://www.google.com/tm_complaint_adwords.html

Yahoo! Search Trademark Policy

Yahoo! has taken a stronger stand on trademark protection than Google which has also evolved over the years. You used to be able to buy competitor terms as long as you sent the traffic to a comparison page of products or services. That allowance has been eliminated if you are a competing site. Here is what they do allow:

-If you are a retailer and are legitimately selling the trademarked good or service – you can buy the trademark keyword and use in your copy.

-If you are a non-competitive site that is providing comparison content, you are allowed to buy and use the trademarked item.

In addition to trademark protection, Yahoo! offers an additional level of complaints based on Copyrights Infringement and alse/Misleading Claims. We’ve had some success going after sites that are illegally using free software to acquire credit card numbers and email addresses using these complaints as the foundation. More specific information available here: http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/legal/trademarks.php

MSN Trademark Protection Policy

The MSN policy is very similar to the Yahoo! policy. No buying of someone’s trademark unless it is one of the following situations:

-You are a retailer

-You have a legitimate information site

-You are clearly using the trademark in an ordinary dictionary manner (Kleenex for example)

Both Yahoo! and MSN are more lenient towards advertisers with trademarks and don’t require as rigorous paper trail as does Google.Here is the MSN policy link:http://advertising.microsoft.com/Home/Article.aspx?pageid=708&Adv_Articleid=3216

What Do I Do About My Affiliates?

The decision to allow or not allow affiliates to buy your trademarked keywords in paid search is a difficult one. Here are the pro’s and con’s to allowing this:

Pro’s for letting affiliates buy trademarked/branded keywords:

-Increases the number of slots taken up by your brand on the brand search thus freezing out competitors (particularly important in Google because competitors can still buy the keyword without using it in their copy)

-If structured properly, these high value keywords can be used as a carrot to expand the non-branded keyword programs your affiliates are using to drive traffic/sales to your site

-If, for some reason, your SEO efforts aren’t effective for your keywords then you have more options for end users to click on a placement that leads to your site.

Con’s for letting affiliates buy trademarked/branded keywords:

-Affiliates care only about making money and will do, say just about anything to reduce costs and improve conversion – regardless of the reflection on your brand.

-Competitive affiliate bidding on branded keywords drives up the CPC of your branded terms increasing the cost per action of that keyword category.

-Branded keywords are “easy money” for affiliates and unless managed appropriately will only spend energy on these terms vs.expanding your overall program.There are three options for working with affiliates with regards to branded keywords:

-Do not pay for any sales, service or leads generated from your branded keyword list. The trend in the industry is to move more towards this position in order to reduce costs and have more control over the brand messaging.

-Give affiliates unfettered permission to use branded keywords in their paid search programs. This will result in the most sales and the happiest affiliates, but at higher costs and risks to the brand.

-Establish a set of messaging and bid-cap rules for affiliates with regard to using branded keywords including:

1.The maximum cost per click they are allowed to bid in the engines. This is a hard rule to monitor as none of the major engines give you exact data on what the affiliates max bid is. However, you can closely monitor your CPC for the category and ensure that you are in the #1 position. If your CPC for the #1 position goes over the max bid cap – you have reason to “talk” to the affiliates.

2.Stipulate a % of sales, leads, etc. that can come from branded keywords. Do this by using a unique linking URL for branded keywords by affiliate. This will let you see how much traffic/business is being generated by each affiliate.

3.Have a clear list of do’s and don’ts with regards to the messaging and copy that can be used with the branded keywords. Make sure to give the affiliates lots of examples of what they CAN say in conjunction with very strict guidelines of loaded keywords, numbers,amounts, discounts, etc. that are off limits.

4.Set aside time on a regular basis to monitor the affiliates. Engage your top affiliates to help monitor the rules as well so that you have more eyes keeping the playing field level.

5.Have strict two strikes rules on your affiliates. You can give an affiliate (especially a new one) one strike with regards to these rules. Second strike should be an immediate restriction of those keywords and/or exclusion from the program. Do not waffle on this or your will get into issues of “fairness” with the broader affiliate group.

What to Do Next

1.Get the trademark documents from your (or your clients) legal department for as many countries as you have trademark rights for. These should be in a PDF form that you can submit with the paperwork to the engines.

2.Decide what you are going to do with affiliates. If you submit trademark paperwork to the engines and do not give them an exclusion list for the affiliates – you will shut out your affiliates from the branded keywords inadvertently.

3.Assemble a list of “approved” affiliates/vendors that can use your trademarks. Get URLs, official email addresses and account numbers for each engine for each approved affiliate/vendor to use your trademarks.

4.Alert your account managers for the various engines with regards to what you are doing so they can help. Many account managers can help smooth the flow of decision making to get these rules in place more quickly.

5.Visit the URLs listed above to submit trademark protection concerns. You can also see the URLs on the Brand Digital Resource page at http://www.branddigital.net/internet-marketing-resources.htm

6.Persevere. This is not an easy or smooth process for anyone. Lots of questions will arise, lots of people can get involved and there needs to be lots of communication to all parties to be effective.

7.Monitor, monitor, monitor. Just putting rules out there without a consistent vigilance to monitor is wasted energy. You have to set aside time and stay on top of your terms and who is saying what with regards to them in paid search (and online for that matter – a different article).

8.Send this email to someone you care about and want to help.

9.Send me feedback on what you liked/didn’t understand about this issue. scott@branddigital.net.

Are You Having Difficulties With Your Health Insurance Plan Coverage?

Posted on 05. Mar, 2010 by admin in General

If you have health care insurance I have news for you: the health insurance company is concerned and worried most not about your health, but their pocketbook and charts and graphs with nice color and upward lines. Be glad that you are not in Canada with socialized medicine. There the doctor’s responsibility is to faceless, vanilla bearcats not to you or anyone else. At least you have the ultimate threat: to take your health insurance coverage business elsewhere.
What can you do to ensure that you get the best health care coverage – not only for your money but first and foremost the health of your family? First of all if you are hospitalized and treated do your best to stay within the system. Leaving your own network costs you extra. Watch out especially for in hospital “out of network doctors” such as radiologists or anesthesiologists. Speak up and ask ahead of time.
Always check into the coverage of your plan. There may be useful upgrades at little or almost no cost, which are worthwhile in terms of coverage of benefits. In addition your state may mandate that certain medical procedures or tests (many of them expensive) must be covered by any firm wishing to do business in the state. The glossy brochures that you will have been given by the insurance company are printed by head office for the country as whole and may not indicate your total coverage and benefits. If in doubt ask. If you do not get a complete and comprehensive answer phone the state government authority.
It goes without saying that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. If you are really not getting anywhere within a more than reasonable period of time – time to draw attention to yourself by notching up your symptoms. The internet is a wonderful source of information easily accessible. Just don’t be abusive and don’t cry wolf.
Interestingly enough in all legal questions the first rule of any lawyer is “Don’t sign anything”. The same can be said here in dealing with forms that you do not understand or you are not comfortable with. Remember the insurer has to provide coverage in the meantime. Not to say that some forms are essential for medical procedures. However if you are not sure, do not sign, delay. You can always take the forms for legal advice just to make sure.
If you do have problems or concerns along the way it is best to communicate these via writing – email, fax, and letter. The key thing is that the documentation is in writing. The health insurer cannot wriggle out of it saying either you misunderstood a phone call or this is not policy. Written documentation is standard fare. In cases of disagreement the documentation stands alone – it’s a third party. The argument and challenge is against their written response, not against you personally. It goes without saying, if you are not sure what the response means, ask again, or clarify by return written communication. Always place a date on any documentation of well. It provides additional and further proof of times and events.
Lastly remember the pinnacle of the health care team is the doctor. In our society the word (or signature of a licensed trained doctor) takes inordinate weight. Use the doctor and this power for your good purpose. Specialists carry even more weight. A medical specialist’s signature on a request or report will jump across the room to the health insurance plan officials. As they say “Go with the flow”.
In the end it’s all about your health. If you cannot do a little extra work and effort for you or your families health who will?

Pedestrian Accidents

Posted on 05. Mar, 2010 by admin in General

When the roadways of our country are shared by motor vehicles and people, an accident is to be expected. Sadly, however, these accidents almost always leave the pedestrian severely or fatally injured.

Pedestrian Accident Statistics

Transport Canada published a report in 2004 outlining pedestrian accidents and fatalities covering the period of 1992-2001. Surprisingly, pedestrian fatalities fell 24%, particularly among children under the age of nine. Still, one person is killed each day on average on Canadian roads.

At greatest risk are seniors over 65. Approximately 70% of all fatalities and 95% of all injuries occurred in urban locations. This may be due to the assumption that motor vehicle drivers travel faster on rural roads, so a rural collision with a pedestrian is more likely to be fatal.

In many cases, accidents occurred where no traffic signals where present. Some cases involved children running out into the street, people crossing against the normal flow of traffic, or crossing between intersections. In fact, intersections scored highest as the most likely location for a pedestrian accident. Later in the day, particularly during fall and early winter when dusk arrives early, was a prime time for pedestrian accidents. Of course, alcohol consumption plays a big part in pedestrian fatalities, Over 40% of these accidents involved alcohol use over the legal limit.

Avoiding An Accident

Pedestrians are advised to follow these guidelines to avoid an accident:

Despite the many reasons cited for pedestrian/motor vehicle accidents, the greatest contributing factor is driver negligence. Drivers who fail to signal a turn, run stop signs and red lights, or talk on cell phones while driving are acting recklessly and without regard for the safety of others. Without a doubt, speeding is a very common reason for accidents. These statistics about speeding are interesting to note:

Other contributing factors to pedestrian accidents and death include:

In some cases, a government entity may be held liable. In others, such as accidents occurring on someone else’s property, premises liability laws may come into play.

Even pedestrians themselves may be at fault for their accident.

What to Do in the Event of an Accident

Regardless of the cause, your first goal is to obtain proper medical treatment. File a police report. Get the personal information of any drivers and witnesses. Then contact an experienced, established accident law firm immediately. Taking photographs and beginning an investigation as soon as possible are steps crucial to your claim. Statutes of limitations may also apply, limiting the amount of time within which you can file a claim, especially if a government entity is involved.

A law firm experienced in personal injury will have the resources available to hire the right investigators and experts in accident reconstruction to ensure your rights are protected.

Here are some tips on what to do in the event of an accident: