CAFTA and Costa Rica: A Diorama of Globalism vs. Nationalism

Yesterday's referendum in Costa Rica on the proposed free trade on a free trade pact appears to be headed toward approval.  My Tico friends -- Costa Ricans refer to themselves as "Ticos" -- are pretty solidly divided on the issue: half believe that approval of the treaty is an indispe...

Jose E. Latour Oct 08, 2007

Faulty Logic

Today a U.S. District Court in San Francisco begins examining the legality of a planned U.S. government crackdown which, if implemented, will, among other things:make the cost of your produce skyrocketparalyze the few remaining active sectors of the U.S. construction industryshut down restaurants an...

Jose E. Latour Oct 01, 2007

“Astronomical” Bonuses, Marble Lobbies and Other Legal Fictions

The headline with the biggest font on the front page of this morning's WSJ is captioned: "A Stingier Job Market Awaits New Attorneys."  The piece is pretty significant and well researched, attributing the glut in lawyers to a variety of factors. The critical component is demand: more ...

Jose E. Latour Sep 24, 2007

“Astronomical” Bonuses, Marble Lobbies and Other Legal Fictions

The headline with the biggest font on the front page of this morning's WSJ is captioned: "A Stingier Job Market Awaits New Attorneys."  The piece is pretty significant and well researched, attributing the glut in lawyers to a variety of factors. The critical component is demand: more ...

Jose E. Latour Sep 24, 2007

(Starship) Enterprise Management

Whether you are an in-house attorney at a busy corporation or in private practice, you can probably relate to this scenario:  your paralegal -- with whom you have a codepenency rivaling that of the most dysfunctional sitcom couple -- is finally off for a week-long vacation he/she planned a year...

Jose E. Latour Sep 06, 2007

Okay, I really HAVE to get a new photo on this…

Went to visit my 85 year old mother for lunch and when I showed her the new blog, she said (translated from Spanish):"Wow, that looks very interesting...and complicated...and who's the young man in the picture, your boss?..."As Hootie and the Blowfish complained..."Time...why you puni...

Jose E. Latour Sep 05, 2007

“Compassless” Colleges: Why America Will Increasingly Rely on Imported Talent

This morning's Wall Street Journal features a provocative editorial by Peter Berkowitz, a professor at George Mason University's School of Law.  Berkowitz, a senior fellow with the Hoover Institution, is an astute observer of trends in American education.The editorial piece, entitled "Our ...

Jose E. Latour Sep 05, 2007

The Immigration Crackdown: the End of Corporate Complicity

Today's Miami Herald screams the main front page article loud and clear: "IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN"Drive through the urban portions of Miami, my de facto hometown (well, since I left Cuba at the age of four) and you will see them, lunch buckets in hand and hard hats perched on their noggins.&...

Jose E. Latour Sep 04, 2007

How much is TOO much? Attorneys fees are out of control

From the August 22, 2007 Wall Street Journal:"The hourly rates of the country's top lawyers are increasingly coming with something new -- a comma"Quietly and without much fanfare, leading law firms have been steadily increasing their hour billing rates and the WSJ's timely article broke th...

Jose E. Latour Sep 01, 2007

The Perils of Thinking Inside the Visa Box

The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday on companies which are "getting creative" to deal with U.S. visa bottlenecks.  I eagerly started reading to see what creative juices were flowing in the pretty uninspired world of immigration compliance.  I was disappointed to see that, ...

Jose E. Latour Aug 28, 2007