Plain Language

Below is an amusing article about legislative attempts to make administrative agencies and Departments of the federal government write in plain language. The Plain Writing Act of 2010 attempted to mandate this, but that is not likely to happen quickly especially in the military related departments. Passive language and acronyms tend to obscure things very quickly. The legal profession isn't much better at it. 

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/19/12840181-government-gobbledygook-its-dying-a-slow-painful-death?lite
http://www.cantondailyledger.com/news/x1914867724/Plain-language-law-off-to-a-spotty-start
http://www.plainlanguage.gov/plLaw/index.cfm
http://centerforplainlanguage.org/resources/plain-writing-laws/plain-writing-act-of-2010/
Executive Order 13563 http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-01-21/pdf/2011-1385.pdf
Executive Order 12866 http://www.plainlanguage.gov/populartopics/regulations/eo12866.pdf
Executive Order 12988 http://www.plainlanguage.gov/populartopics/regulations/eo12988.pdf

s/ Kurt Koehler
308 1/2 S. State Street Suite 36
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48198
(Washtenaw County)

Arizona Immigration laws

This has been an eventful week in law on a number of fronts. The Arizona immigration case, Arizona v. United States, limited states to doing brief immigration status checks on people arrested for some other reason. http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/11pdf/11-182.pdf. Last year the Supreme Court upheld an Arizona law in Chamber of Commerce of the United States v. Whiting that sanctioned employers for intentionally or knowingly employing illegal aliens by suspending or revoking their licenses. http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/10pdf/09-115.pdf. The law also required employers to use e-verify. The Arizona law for employer compliance was not preempted by federal law. This is not just an American reaction to immigration nor is it new. The same protectionist sentiment could be found today in Europe and Asia. It was also quite prevalent into the 1850s in the United States. In fact it was A major force in the splintering and end of the Whig party at that time. Now China is also cracking down on illegal immigration. http://abcnews.go.com/International/t/story/china-law-targets-foreigners-working-illegally-16684735

s/ Kurt Koehler
308 1/2 S. State Street Suite 36
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48198
(Washtenaw County)

Supreme Court Admission

On June 4 I was in Washington and took the oath to join the bar of the United States Supreme Court.  I went with the annual Phi Alpha Delta Day at the Supreme Court.  There were a couple of other groups there as well for the same purpose.  We got to eat breakfast and wait for the court hearing in the Rehnquist dining room.  The court issued two opinions during the hearing with Justice Thomas giving the opinion summary for Reichele v. Howards and Justice Breyer giving the summary for the opinion in Armour v. City of Indianapolis.  After the opinions were read they had each of us stand in turn after our names were read as part of the motion for admission made by Tom Bentz, a PAD attorney in Washington.  The entire group was then administered the oath by the court clerk Gen. Sutter.  Afterwards we returned to the dining room for a while and then left for pictures outside.  We had a group lunch at B. Smith's in Union station.

http://www.pad.org/upcoming-events/pad-day-at-the-supreme-court/

s/ Kurt Koehler
308 1/2 S. State Street Suite 36
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48198
(Washtenaw County)

Memorial Day

Happy Memorial day! 36 USC Section 116: "The President is requested to issue each year a proclamation— (1) calling on the people of the United States to observe Memorial Day by praying, according to their individual religious faith, for permanent peace; (2) designating a period of time on Memorial Day during which the people may unite in prayer for a permanent peace; (3) calling on the people of the United States to unite in prayer at that time; and (4) calling on the media to join in observing Memorial Day and the period of prayer."

s/ Kurt Koehler
308 1/2 S. State Street Suite 36
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48198
(Washtenaw County)

Corporate Forms

The Economist has a thoughtful article out this week on the changing nature of corporate forms.  It postulates that the public corporation has seen better days and that other alternative forms such as State Owned Enterprises and hybrid limited liability partnerships and LLCs might be on the rise.   http://www.economist.com/node/21555552

The last decade has also been full of corporate scandal dated back to Enron, Tyco, and Worldcom 10 years ago.  I remember the surreal days when formerly giant companies like Worldcom or Lehman Brothers fell.  The end comes only after weeks of denials and attempts to sell the public on the enduring future of the company.   But, I don't think these scandals really say much about the future of the public corporation.   They are warnings about greed and remind us of the need for vigilant investors and regulation.  Yet these scandals are the extremes.  The middle does not follow in the footsteps of the extremes though it is affected by the regulation those scandals have inspired. 

However, the public corporation, for all its faults, is probably the best way to raise a large amount of capital if you can convince people to invest.  The downside is that return is demanded in the short term meaning that long-term investments are often overlooked.  State Owned Enterprises may have some strengths, but they also have all the weaknesses of the command economy practices in the bygone communist second world.  These include corruption, monopoly, lack of vision, fear of risk, etc.  The State Owned Enterprise might seem to be on the rise now mainly in China and in socialist states, however that is mainly due to extensive growth.  At a certain point that extensive growth will hit the wall after these emerging economies fully integrate their populations into the world economy.  Then they will have to try their hand at intensive growth which requires far more innovation and risk taking.  State Owned Enterprises have not proved particularly adept at this in the past. 

As to partnerships the article below about the problems with the law firm Dewey & Leboeuf illustrates the main disadvantage of large traditional partnerships.  Namely all of your investment is on the line and you can be adversely affected by the actions of your partners that you had little to with. 
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303879604577412452010873254.html.   

Every corporate form, whether it be a sole proprietorship, family closely-held corporation, partnership, corporation, LLC, SOE, trust, or other entity, has its pros and cons. It is important to choose the best fit for any corporation and that fit may change over time. Hybrid business forms provide more of that needed flexibility and simplicity. The rise of the LLC and its use by small and large corporations alike is a sign of the future. 

s/ Kurt Koehler
308 1/2 S. State Street Suite 36
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48198
(Washtenaw County)

Law Day

The first of May is law day.  To celebrate here is a great link to the Library of Congress: http://www.loc.gov/law/help/commemorative-observations/law-day.php.

s/ Kurt Koehler
308 1/2 S. State Street Suite 36
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48198
(Washtenaw County)

Update on the Alien Tort Statute and torture statute cases

I blogged about the alien tort statute case, Kiobel v. Shell Petroleum, a few months ago.  That case won't be decided until the next Supreme Court term.  The Court did decide a separate case,  Mohamad v. Palestinian Authority, which presented a somewhat similar issue.  The Court unanimously ruled only individuals and not corporations or organizations can be sued under the Torture Victim Protection Act.  The use of the word "individual" in the statute was decisive in the opinion written by Justice Sotomayor. 
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-18/torture-suits-against-companies-blocked-by-top-u-s-court.html

The opinion: http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/11pdf/11-88.pdf

The oral argument transcript: http://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/11-88.pdf

s/ Kurt Koehler
308 1/2 S. State Street Suite 36
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48198
(Washtenaw County)