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International Lawyers Network

The International Lawyers Network (ILN) is a leading association of 91 high-quality, full-service independent law firms.

Since 1988, the ILN has helped its members keep pace with today’s global economy, through access to the tremendous strength and depth of the combined expertise of 5,000 lawyers in 66 countries on six continents.

ILN member firms are among the most respected and most experienced counsel in their jurisdictions. Clients’ increasing need for reliable foreign counsel is well-met by the personalized, high-quality and cost-effective legal services provided by ILN member firms. Unique to the ILN are the strong personal and professional relationships among its members and their clients developed over the past 24 years. Far from a mere directory, the ILN is an affiliation of lawyers who gather on a regional and worldwide basis annually and work routinely with each other to address client requirements and needs.

Each of the ILN’s member firms is international in outlook and staffed by highly trained senior attorneys, who are experts in a broad range of practice areas. ILN members have demonstrated experience in working successfully with international companies. They are independent, mid-sized firms within their jurisdictions, and are committed to the focus of the International Lawyers Network, admitted to the Network only after a rigorous application process. The ILN provides clients with high-quality service from experienced local counsel who work in firms that maintain excellent reputations in their own countries. This means that clients have immediate access to attorneys who are native, both linguistically and culturally, to the country of interest.

The ILN’s international directory app is available for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry smartphones. To access the app, click here or log on to ILNmobile.com from your smartphone.

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TARK GRUNTE SUTKIENE team participates in Nordea Riga Marathon

On 19 May 2013 TARK GRUNTE SUTKIENE team participated in the 23rd Nordea Riga Marathon under the slogan „Lawyers for long distances”.

Maris LigutsNauris GrigalsMara StabulnieceReinis Sokolovs and Matiss Rostoks ran 21 097,5 metres long half-marathon distance, while Andis Paunins completed 10 000 metres distance.

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CIPD comments on Shared Parental Leave

As the Government’s consultation on the administration of Shared Parental Leave draws to a close, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has reiterated its support for the proposals but highlighted some technicalities that will require close attention to ensure the new system is beneficial to employers and employees alike.

The CIPD has long supported the move towards a more equal sharing of childcare responsibilities between working mothers and fathers.

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OSHA Claims Its Severe Violator Enforcement Program is “Off to a Strong Start”

By Eric J. Conn, Head of the OSHA Group at Epstein Becker & Green

Introduction

OSHA recently issued a White Paper analyzing the first 18 months of its controversial enforcement initiative known as the Severe Violator Enforcement Program (“SVEP”).  Despite mounting evidence to the contrary, the White Paper somehow concludes that the SVEP is “off to a strong start,” and that it “is already meeting certain key goals,” including:

  1. Successfully identifying recalcitrant employers who disregard their OSH Act obligations; and
  2. Effectively allocating its follow-up enforcement resources “by targeting high-emphasis hazards, facilitating inspections across multiple worksites of employers found to be recalcitrant, and by providing Regional and State Plan offices with a nationwide referral procedure.”
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Third Circuit: President Obama’s Recess Appointments to the NLRB Were Unconstitutional

By: Evan Rosen and Adam Abrahms

Yesterday, in a 2-1 decision, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals became the second appellate court to issue a ruling that President Obama’s recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) were constitutionally invalid because they did not occur during an “intersession recess” of the United States Senate.  The case comes a few months after the D.C Circuit’s ruling in Noel Canning, which similarly held that the recess appointments were invalid.  The Third Circuit and D.C. Circuit decisions, taken together, call into question the validity of a considerable number of decisions and rules that the Board has issued over the past few years.

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Trade Secret, Proprietary Information, & Regulatory Requirements Concerns Contribute To Veto of New Jersey Social Media Bill

By:  James P. Flynn

The New Jersey Legislature was overwhelmingly in favor of a measure that would have barred employers from obtaining social media IDs and other social media related information from employees and applicants. Click here for A2878 as passed. But Governor Chris Christie vetoed A-2878 because it would frustrate a business’s ability “to safeguard its business assets and proprietary information” and potentially conflict with regulatory requirements on businesses in regulated industries such as finance and healthcare. Click here for the Governor’s Veto Statement. While the Governor thought the bill well-intentioned, he conditionally vetoed it for painting “with too broad a brush,” citing the trade secrets/proprietary information concern as a primary motivation: “In view of the over-breadth of this well-intentioned bill, I return it with my recommendations that it be more properly balanced between protecting the privacy of employees and job candidates, while ensuring that employers may appropriately screen job candidates, manage their personnel, and protect their business assets and proprietary information.”

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Tark Grunte Sutkiene represented E.L.L. Real Estate, the owner of shopping mall Spice, in signing of the loan agreement for the amount of EUR 40 million

Andra Rubene, Partner and Head of M&A Practice Group in Latvia, Linda Štrause, Head of Baltic Corporate and Commercial Practice Group, and Māris Liguts, Senior Associate, member of the Banking and Finance Practice Group in Latvia, represented E.L.L. Real Estate, the owner of the shopping mall Spice, in signing of one of the most significant loan agreements with SEB bank in the Baltics in the recent years for the total amount of EUR 40 million.

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TARK GRUNTE SUTKIENE represented E.L.L. Real Estate, the owner of shopping mall Spice, in signing of the loan agreement for the amount of EUR 40 million

Andra Rubene, Partner and Head of M&A Practice Group in Latvia, Linda Štrause, Head of Baltic Corporate and Commercial Practice Group, and Māris Liguts, Senior Associate, member of the Banking and Finance Practice Group in Latvia, represented E.L.L. Real Estate, the owner of the shopping mall Spice, in signing of one of the most significant loan agreements with SEB bank in the Baltics in the recent years for the total amount of EUR 40 million.

E.L.L. Real Estate will use the loan for re-financing of its current obligations and development of new projects in the Baltics. The loan agreement is signed for a period of 5 years.

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ILN Today Post

Lawyers Urge Bahamas To Recognise Living Wills

Originally published in the Tribune 242

Bahamians too frequently overlook the certainty of death, top attorneys and a medical expert warning that the failure to leave their financial house in order can leave loved ones and family vulnerable.

It could also place an undue burden on family or doctors to make end-of-life life and death decisions in a country where living wills, so accepted elsewhere, are not legally recognised. More…

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ILN Today Post

MORE STATES BAR COMPANIES FROM DEMANDING ACCESS TO EMPLOYEES’ SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS

Nearly every state across the country is now considering, or has already enacted, legislation to prohibit employers from requiring employees and job applicants to provide access to their social media accounts, IDs or passwords. In addition, in some states, the legislation also extends to preclude universities from seeking this social media information from students or applicants. More…

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Franchises Alert: Ohio franchisors — Is your liquidated damages clause enforceable?

On October 31, 2012, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio denied a franchisor’s demand for liquidated damages against two franchisees. The case, Leisure Systems, Inc. v. Roundup LLC, provides guidelines for determining whether liquidated damages clauses are reasonably correlated to potential actual damages that could result from a breach of the franchise agreement or whether such provisions constitute an unenforceable penalty.

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