Category Archives: PLI

New Title! Running Legal Like a Business: The Fundamentals of Legal Operations for Law Departments

PLI Press is proud to announce the publication of the new treatise Running Legal Like a Business: The Fundamentals of Legal Operations for Law Departments.

For legal professionals looking to drive operational excellence, this highly accessible handbook provides actionable advice and a single source for developing a metrics program, securing better budgets, improving your approach to diversity, equity and inclusion, and leveraging playbooks for greater efficiency. Delving into the drivers of the evolution of legal operations as an in-house function and as a profession, the book covers key elements of effective legal operations management, including:

Order a print copy today. PLI PLUS subscribers can access this title through their subscription.

What’s New on PLI PLUS

We add content to PLI PLUS every month to ensure our subscribers have access to the most up-to-date and relevant secondary source legal documents. Renowned legal experts regularly update our acclaimed Treatises, Course Handbooks, Answer Books, Transcripts, and Forms to reflect recent changes and developments in the law.

Click here to see what we added in December 2021!           

Treatise Update – Directors’ and Officers’ Liability: Current Law, Recent Developments, Emerging Issues (Third Edition)

Directors’ and Officers’ Liability is a vital treatise for corporate counsel, private practitioners, and directors and officers which provides a straightforward explanation of the obligations of directors and officers of public companies, the penalties they face if they fail to meet their obligations, and the protections that are offered them under the law or by agreement. 

The book covers the key facets of board committees; the duties of directors and officers under state corporate law and federal and state securities laws; private civil actions and public enforcement; exculpation, indemnity, and insurance; cybersecurity; contested mergers and acquisitions; Securities Act suits filed in state court; special issues in pharma and biotech; and more.

Highlights of the new release include:

  • Gender and Ethnic Diversity of Boards. State legislatures, courts, proxy advisory firms, and stock exchanges have all recently weighed in on requiring boards to maintain certain levels of diversity. See §§ 1:10 and 2:3.3[C] for discussion of the latest developments.
  • Caremark Claims. Hughes v. Hu and Teamsters Local 443 Health Services & Insurance Plan v. John G. Chou are the latest in a string of recent decisions from the Delaware Court of Chancery interpreting and applying Caremark. See §§ 3:3.14, 8:8.3, and 8:8.4 for detailed analysis.

Order a print copy today.

PLI PLUS subscribers can access this title through their subscription.

Treatise Update: Patent Licensing and Selling

Patent Licensing and Selling (Second Edition) offers complete and practical guidance for drafting, reviewing, and negotiating solid patent license agreements. Whether representing licensors of licensees, readers learn how to draft fair and litigation-free patent license and patent purchase agreements that serve clients’ interests, satisfy other parties, and shield clients from legal exposure.

Author Mark Holmes has revised and expanded the text and added useful new commentary on the following:

  • Licensee’s right to independent development: Licensors might wish to temper their granting of independent development rights with the condition that the licensee not diminish its efforts to market and sell the licensor’s products. See new § 2:11.
  • Compulsory licenses: Licensees that have already entered into license agreements with the patent owner will want to make sure that, if compulsory licensing is invoked, they are not paying a royalty rate higher than the compulsory rate. See new § 4:11.
  • Maintenance and prosecution costs: The license agreement might require the licensee to pay prosecution and maintenance fees. What if the licensor can dictate in which countries patents will be prosecuted and maintained? What is to protect the licensee from being forced to pay for prosecution and maintenance in countries in which there is likely little commercial interest in licensed products? See new § 6:3 for a discussion of how a licensee can protect itself from such perceived licensor abuse.
  • Indemnification by statute: In some states, if the license agreement is silent on indemnification, the issue may be addressed by statute, but the statutory obligation can be broad. See §§ 8:3.1 to 8:4 for a discussion of this important topic.
  • Arbitrator discretion: If you seek to limit discovery in an arbitration, beware of language that allows the arbitrator to deviate from the precisely stated limitations of discovery. See new § 14:9.1.
  • Force majeure: For a discussion of force majeure in the age of COVID-19, see § 15:10.2.
  • New contract provisions: This release includes the following new provisions for possible inclusion in a license agreement: Examples 1:69 and 1:69A (Construction and Rules of construction); Example 1:136 (Force majeure carveout); Example 1:318A (Valid patent claim); Example 2:21B (Right to develop independently); Example 3:16 (Patent family); Example 4:50 (Compulsory license royalty); Example 6:8 (Licensee responsible for maintenance and prosecution; loses rights where turns prosecution and maintenance over to licensor); Example 6:27 (Patent markings indemnification); Example 6:43 (Patent markings not an admission); Examples 8:5 and 8:5A (Disclaimer of warranties); and Example 18:1 (Seller patent marking compliance).

Order a print copy today.

PLI PLUS subscribers can access this title through their subscription.

New Title! Taxation of Intellectual Property

PLI Press is proud to announce the publication of the new treatise: Taxation of Intellectual Property.

This comprehensive treatise covers the tax consequences of creating, buying, exploiting, and selling various intellectual property assets (including patents, trade secrets, copyrights, trademarks, and computer software), as well as the tax considerations affecting intellectual property litigation.

This book is the essential reference for tax and IP practitioners who want to gain intellectual property taxation knowledge—and strategically counsel their clients on the mounting tax consequences that can affect their bottom line. It differs from other books on taxation of intellectual property in that, chapters dealing with intellectual property creation, acquisitions, and sales and licenses each begin with a general framework for analyzing the tax treatment of all forms of intellectual property. Finally, separate chapters in the book are devoted to the taxation of intellectual property held by corporations and partnership and the taxation of intellectual property held by non-profit organizations.

Order a print copy today.

 PLI PLUS subscribers can access this title through their subscription.

Treatise Update – Investment Adviser Regulation: A Step-by-Step Guide to Compliance and the Law (Third Edition)

Investment Adviser Regulation: A Step-by-Step Guide to Compliance and the Law is an essential resource for investment advisers, securities attorneys, compliance personnel, and federal and state regulators, and a useful reference for today’s investors. It guides practitioners through a maze of statutory, SEC, and state standards as well as provides advice on the practical aspects of building a practice. 

This treatise update offers expanded coverage of the rules and regulations affecting investment advisers. Highlights of this new release include:

  • Chapter 9, Chapter 13, and Chapter 14 now present enhanced guidance on drafting advisory contracts and coverage of the SEC’s and DOL’s reexamination of recent rules related to proxy voting.  Notably, Chapter 14, Privacy of Client Financial Information: An Overview, has been extensively updated to examine the federal, state, and foreign data privacy laws that are most relevant to investment advisers operating primarily in the United States, and, according to these laws, what those advisers must do to protect the privacy of their clients’ financial information.
  • Chapter 45, Chapter 46, Chapter 46A, Chapter 48 and Chapter 49B feature the latest counsel to managers, sponsors, and overlay managers of Model-Based Advisory Programs; the recent adoption of Rule 152 that contains a single safe harbor simplifying the integration framework for securities offerings under the Securities Act of 1933 (see section 46:4.1[I] of the Hedge Funds chapter); and updated coverage of the implications of federal registration for a hedge fund manager (see section 46A:5).  These chapters provide updated information for advisers to private equity funds and collective trust funds and investment advisers in the retirement market.
  • Chapter 61, Chapter 63, Chapter 64, Chapter 65, Chapter 66, and Chapter 67 call attention to new information relevant to investment and digital advisers in the areas of marketing, blockchain and digital assets, data protection, and financial services cybersecurity. Additionally, a new Chapter 65 covers model risk considerations for investment advisers and Chapter 61 contains added discussion of the SEC’s redefinition of “readily available market quotations” as it is used throughout the Investment Company Act (see section 61:5).

Order a print copy today. PLI PLUS subscribers can access this title through their subscription.





Treatise Update – Mergers, Acquisitions and Tender Offers: Law and Strategies — Corporate, Securities, Taxation, Antitrust, Cross Border

Mergers, Acquisitions and Tender Offers provides battle-tested, real-world advice on the entire M&A process. Packed with best practices, planning tips, checklists, and sample documents/agreements, this treatise offers comprehensive coverage of all aspects of the deal for domestic and cross-border mergers.

Highlights of the new release include:

Order a print copy today.

PLI PLUS subscribers can access this title through their subscription.

Meet Our AALL 2021 Raffle Winner: Annie Mellott

At AALL’s 2021 Virtual Conference in July, PLI raffled off a one-year membership to MasterClass. This year’s winner is Annie Mellott, acquisitions librarian at William M. Rains Library at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. Annie graciously agreed to be interviewed about her career in law librarianship for this blog.


Tell us a little about yourself. Why did you become a librarian?
I’ve always been drawn to learning and education throughout my own studies. While getting my MA in Religious Studies, I started working in the library. I realized it was a perfect fit for me career wise because it allowed me to be in an educational environment while helping the community of students, faculty, and staff during their own research projects.

What do you like most about your job as acquisitions librarian at Loyola Law School?
I love working in the background of the library to provide everyone with what they need. It feels really useful to be able to make information accessible to our patrons so that they have the smoothest experience possible while at Loyola Law School.

Which PLI publication do you most frequently recommend to students and/or faculty?
Honestly, I don’t do much recommending as an acquisitions librarian! We have the Loyola Immigrant Justice Clinic here and make sure to keep Fragomen on Immigration Fundamentals on standing order so it’s always available for their reference.

What did you think of this year’s conference? What was the highlight for you?
I thought this year’s conference went really well. I’m impressed with the online format working pretty seamlessly and loved the pre-recorded sessions and transcripts that I could revisit. It was also fun visiting the vendors in a safe way this year. I do miss the social and networking opportunities an in person conference allows us, but I’m glad we could convene safely.