August 21, 2015 nº 1,661 - Vol. 13
 

"He who knows best knows how little he knows."

Thomas Jefferson

In today's Law Firm Marketing, How to promote your law firm when you hate marketing

_____________

Read Migalhas LatinoAmérica in Spanish every Tuesday and Thursday. Visit the website at www.migalhas.com/latinoamerica

_____________

Get Migalhas International on your mobile

You can now read the newsletter on your mobile device, through the migalhas.com/mobile website. The content of the main sections is the same as that found on the newsletter, but optimized for small-screen displays on mobile devices. Migalhas International Mobile, advancing legal news.

  • Top News

Authors group seeks DOJ probe of amazon

A group of prominent authors says Amazon.com Inc. has "unprecedented power" over the book publishing market and wants the US Department of Justice to begin an investigation of what it claims is a monopoly. On Thursday, the Authors United group submitted a formal request to the DOJ's top antitrust official. The group formed last year in response to Amazon's bruising negotiations with publisher Hachette Book Group, primarily over pricing. They said Amazon has repeatedly blocked or limited the sale of thousands of books on its website, sold some books below cost to gain market share, and attempted to compel customers to buy books from its own imprints rather than from other companies. "We respectfully request that the Antitrust Division investigate Amazon's power over the book market, and the ways in which that corporation exercises its power," Authors United said.

Brazil business supports Rousseff to stem deepening crisis

Brazil's most powerful business groups and its bar association will urge Congress to support measures to put a contracting economy back on track. The national confederations for transport, industry and agriculture, as well as the Brazilian Lawyers Organization are preparing a statement that would ensure Dilma Rousseff support for proposals to avoid a credit-rating downgrade and speed Brazil's recovery from a looming recession. "It's not about political support, it's a movement to ensure governability and the rule of law so Brazil can attract foreign capital," Robson Andrade, president of the National Industry Confederation, said. "We're still discussing the details." The statement from industry groups could help Rousseff defuse impeachment calls that had grown louder as economic growth slowed and corruption probes reached the upper echelons of her ruling Workers' Party. Senate chief Renan Calheiros was the first this month to propose a pact to maintain fiscal discipline, improve the investment climate and ensure welfare benefits. O Globo newspaper also backed Rousseff by criticizing Congress for feeding political turmoil that aggravates the country's economic crisis. "More people in the business community and the private sector realize that without any support for Rousseff, the economic situation could worsen further," said David Fleischer professor emeritus of political science at the University of Brasilia.

Federal government approves off-shore Arctic drilling

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement announced on Monday that it has approved a permit for Royal Dutch Shell to drill off the coast of Alaska in the Arctic Ocean. Shell was approved because it acquired a piece of equipment designed to shut an oil well in the event of an emergency loss of control. Shell is prohibited from maintaining active drill rigs less than 15 miles apart to avoid negatively affecting the walrus population in the Arctic. The drilling will take place at the Burger Prospect in 140 feet of water approximately 70 miles northwest of Wainwright. The US Department of the Interior has also released proposed regulations to ensure the safety of future drilling activities in the US Arctic Continental Shelf.

In bribery law, a new tool to scrutinize Wall Street

If you want to succeed on Wall Street, you have to build relationships. So firms will do almost anything to please clients, catering to their wishes in the hope of winning the next underwriting assignment or new assets to manage. Bank of New York Mellon has now learned that helping a client can get you tangled up in the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act as it settled charges that it gave something of value to keep a large investment with the bank. That law prohibits giving "anything of value" to a foreign official to obtain or retain business with a government entity. The settlement shows Wall Street that its business practices are being put under the uncomfortable glare of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department, which are using the law aggressively to police practices that many might consider standard fare for financial firms trying to win business. The settlement requires BNY Mellon to pay a $14.8 million civil penalty for hiring three interns who were relatives of two officials of a Middle East sovereign wealth fund that had invested $711 million with the bank.

Visit our new 'Magic Eye' page and boost your career

Migalhas International, with the support of executive search firms, brings the best career and professional development opportunities to its readers. We call this service the "Magic Eye". Click here to go to our special webpage and find your next lease on life.

_____________

100% Migalhas: www.migalhas.com

_____________

  • MiMIC Journal

China: owners of Tianjin explosion site used influence to avoid regulations

Tianjin Mayor Huang Xingguo said Wednesday that the owners of the hazmat facility that exploded in the city last week used their political connections get the facility built despite violating a great deal of safety rules. One rule barred storage of hazardous chemicals within 3,200 feet of residential areas, much farther than the facility was located. One owner, Doug Shexuan, is the son of a former police chief and the other owner, Yu Xuewei, is a former executive at a state-owned chemical company. The two men purposefully concealed their ownership in the company so that they could secretly use their personal relationships with government officials to obtain licenses for building the facility. The explosion involved sodium cyanide and other chemicals and killed at least 114.

Chinese netizens mock global city rankings

China's cities of Beijing and Tianjin have been rated as increasingly ‘liveable’, but Chinese netizens remain unconvinced. They have expressed scorn and skepticism about the Economist Intelligence Unit's improved rankings for Chinese cities in 2015. According to the annual report, Beijing and other Chinese cities have climbed up the table "largely due to a lower threat from civil unrest". Pollution remains a major problem in China.

China: 15,000 detained for Internet crimes

Chinese police announced Tuesday that they have arrested approximately 15,000 people in connection with alleged cyber crimes. Over 7,400 cyber crime related cases have been investigated across the country and they include online fraud, illegal sale of personal data, and hacking. The arrests follow a special six-month operation to aggressively eliminate threats to the internet which began in July. The Ministry of Public Security has claimed that the operation has caught suspects who hacked into company, bank, and government agency websites. China has been extremely strict in recent years with regulating factual inaccuracies proclaimed over the internet. Earlier this week a man was detained for exaggerating the death toll from blasts last week in the city of Tianjin. A women who falsely claimed that her father was killed in the bombings and sought out donations from the public as a result was also arrested. (Click here)

  • Law Firm Marketing

How to promote your law firm when you hate marketing
By Tom Trush

For many attorneys, a dislike for marketing is as common as business cards at a networking event.

And that's understandable.

After all, marketing is often seen as a necessary evil -- an expense that steals attention from product or service development, client work, and sales

But if you're among those with an aversion to marketing, ask yourself this ..

Do you hate marketing, or do you hate the lack of response you get when marketing?

You see, I find the dislike frequently comes from frustration. After all, if your marketing generates responses that lead to more sales, how could you hate it?

Furthermore, when your marketing performs, it becomes an investment -- not an expense -- that produces a measurable return.

Right?

So let me give a few quick tips for making your marketing more successful ..

> Communicate with prospects/clients on a regular basis If you're not building lists of these people right now, you're overspending on your marketing. Worse yet, you're missing major opportunities to position yourself as a trusted resource in your industry.

> Deliver more value than your competitors. In today's world, value is often in the form of help. Prospects expect you to dedicate resources, share you expertise and make their well-being a priority before you pitch your product or service. So don't hold back -- give away great tips.

> Remove the risk of working with you. As I detail in my new book, people don't trust you. So you must overcome this disbelief. What concerns keep people from contacting you? Address and prove these fears wrong -- and don't hesitate to guarantee a desired outcome.

> Market consistently. Avoid running promotions only when you need leads or revenue. If you want to build trust and establish yourself as a helpful resource, then reach out to prospects/clients for reasons that benefit them more than you. Remember, consistency creates trust.

> Create an experience. Most marketing gets ignored because it's boring. But the fact is, the more boring your industry, the more opportunities you have to attract attention. Solve problems, share tools, tell stories, interview experts, ask and answer questions, and just be willing to do the unexpected.

Read more at https://www.escapetheexpected.com.

---
© Trey Ryder
FREE LAWYER MARKETING ALERT: If you'd like to receive Trey Ryder's weekly Lawyer Marketing Alert, send an e-mail to [email protected]. Write "Subscribe LMA" in the subject line and write your name and e-mail address in the body of the message.

_____________

Tell your friends and colleagues you’ve read it in Migalhas International

_____________

  • Historia Verdadera

Caso Petrobras

El Procurador General de Brasil, Rodrigo Janot, presentó cargos formales contra el presidente de la Cámara de Diputados, Eduardo Cunha, y otra contra el ex presidente Fernando Collor por delitos de corrupción y lavado de dinero dentro de la trama de sobornos en contratos con la petrolera estatal Petrobras.

(Presione aquí)

PL - Antidroga

El Congreso peruano aprobó un proyecto de ley que permite a la Fuerza Aérea volver a interceptar y hasta derribar avionetas que transporten cocaína. La medida busca reducir el número creciente de vuelos de avionetas ligeras que exportan la droga desde una remota zona andina y selvática de Perú hacia la vecina Bolivia, país de tránsito de la cocaína que termina en los mercados de Brasil, Europa, Asia y Estados Unidos. (Presione aquí)

Energía

Las autoridades chilenas aprobaron el estudio de impacto ambiental para la construcción de un millonario proyecto de almacenamiento de energía solar que aportará unos 260 megavatios al principal sistema eléctrico del país. SolarReserve planea desarrollar en la norteña región de Atacama con una inversión estimada de US$ 2.000 mlls.

  • Brief News

Greek PM steps down, calls new elections, in wake of bailout deal

Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has announced he is resigning and has called an early election. He was only elected in January. He said he had a moral duty to go to the polls now a third bailout had been secured with European creditors. "The political mandate of the 25 January elections has exhausted its limits and now the Greek people have to have their say. I want to be honest with you. We did not achieve the agreement we expected before the January elections," he said. Tsipras said he would seek the Greek people's approval to continue his government's program. The election date is yet to be set but earlier reports suggested 20 September. Tsipras will lead his leftist Syriza party into the polls, but he has faced a rebellion by some members angry at the bailout's austerity measures. He had to agree to painful state sector cuts, including far-reaching pension reforms, in exchange for the bailout - and keeping Greece in the eurozone.

Brazil speaker Eduardo Cunha facing corruption charges

Brazilian prosecutors investigating a major corruption scandal have filed charges against the speaker of the lower house of Congress, Eduardo Cunha. He is accused of taking $5m in bribes to secure contracts with the state oil giant, Petrobras. Cunha denies the allegations and says they are politically motivated. Brazil's Attorney General, Rodrigo Janot, has accused Cunha of corruption and money laundering. He is an outspoken critic of President Dilma Rousseff. Charges have been submitted against ex-President Fernando Collor de Mello who was in power between 1990 and 1992, when he resigned hours before the Senate was due to vote on his impeachment for corruption. The charges against Collor de Mello have not been disclosed. The Supreme Court will now have to decide whether to accept the charges. As congressmen, both men would be tried by the Supreme Court.

North Korea orders troops on war footing after exchanging fire with South

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered his frontline troops to be on a war footing, state media says, after an exchange of fire with the South across their heavily fortified border. Kim declared a "semi-state of war" at an emergency meeting late Thursday. It threatened action unless Seoul ends its anti-Pyongyang border broadcasts. The North often uses fierce rhetoric when tensions rise and it has made similar declarations before. Although this ritual of aggression often sees such language escalate to the firing of ammunition, this time the rhetoric is fiercer and artillery shells are now in use.

Peru approves shooting down of drug smuggling planes

The Peruvian Congress has approved legislation that allows the country's air force to shoot down small planes suspected of carrying illegal drugs. Peru produces more cocaine than any other country and anti-narcotics agents say most of it is smuggled to the US. The bill was passed unanimously 89-0 and is expected to be signed into law by President Ollanta Humala. However, officials say the US has expressed its opposition to restoring so-called aerial interdiction.

Former Iran prosecutor acquitted of killing prisoners

Former Iranian prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi was acquitted Wednesday of murder charges relating to the 2009 killing of three prisoners which he oversaw. The prisoners were detained in 2009 for protesting against former President Mahmous Ahmedinejad's disputed re-election - an issue that drew significant global criticism aimed not only at Iran's government, but also the treatment of those arrested following the election. Although Mortazavi was acquitted of the murder charges, he was also found guilty, and sentenced to serve six months in prison, for unlawfully receiving a salary while illegally serving as the head of the social security fund. Mortazavi, on top of the prison sentence, will have to pay back said salary.

Zimbabwe parliament passes workers' protection law

Zimbabwe's parliament has passed a new labor law, despite calls by the opposition, employers and workers to have it amended. Zimbabwe's opposition legislators walked out of parliament Thursday in protest after Labor Minister Prisca Mupfumira refused to incorporate their proposed amendments to a new labor law. The opposition and employers said the new law, which awaits President Robert Mugabe's signature, would further scare investors away from Zimbabwe by making labor very expensive. Workers say the new law gives too much power to the government to control unions. Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions Secretary General Japhet Moyo said the unions were not consulted about the law.

US cinema chain starts introduces bag search

One of America's largest cinema chains, Regal, is now searching bags of film-goers following several attacks on movie theatres across the US. Regal's updated policy says it wants customers and staff "to feel comfortable and safe" in its cinemas.

'Female Viagra': Libido pill Addyi approved by FDA

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a libido-enhancing drug for women dubbed the "female Viagra". Flibanserin, a drug produced by Sprout Pharmaceuticals and marketed as Addyi, recently passed an FDA advisory committee meeting. It has been criticized as having only marginal benefits. Do the benefits outweigh the risks? Unlike Viagra, which affects blood flow to the genitals, Addyi is designed to help women regain their sex drive by boosting levels of brain chemicals. Trials had shown an increase "in the number of satisfying sexual events", although experts suggest the test results were modest. It was rejected by the FDA twice for lack of effectiveness and side effects like nausea, dizziness and fainting. Sprout Pharmaceuticals has agreed a $1bn takeover offer from Valeant Pharmaceuticals. The deal is subject to regulatory approval but Valeant said it should go through by the end of September. Under the terms of the deal, Valeant will pay $500m when the deal is finalized and a further $500m during the first three months of next year.

(Click hehe)

Macedonia declares state of emergency to block surge of migrants

Macedonia has been a hub for migrants traveling through Greece to more affluent European Union nations. Many people are escaping the violence in Syria.

France's Le Pen forced out of far-right party he founded

The longtime head of France's anti-immigration National Front was expelled at the behest of his daughter, the party's current president, following remarks he made downplaying the Holocaust.

Colombia's new 'femicide' law targets violence against women

Colombia's new law on femicide is a key step to combat violence against women, but forensic experts and prosecutors will need to change the way they investigate gender-related killings to win convictions, officials said. In this Latin American country of 47 million people where on average one woman is killed every two days, the issue of femicide — defined as the killing of a woman by a man because of her gender — is under the spotlight. The law, which came into effect July 6, makes femicide a distinct and legally defined crime, with jail sentences of 20 to 41 years. The challenge now is enforcement of the law and ensuring that police, prosecutors and forensic experts are trained to identify and investigate cases of femicide. The prosecutor's office needs to "change the way femicides are investigated from the scene of the crime to the courtroom." Experts say new protocols and techniques for autopsies on murdered women and guidelines on clues to possible femicide — such as torture, rape, genital mutilation — need to be implemented. Colombia follows 15 other countries in Latin America that have passed laws in recent years that define and punish femicide as a specific crime.

Government inquiry into Clinton emails likely to widen

The FBI investigation into the Clinton email controversy could soon go beyond whether classified information passed through the private server she used as secretary of state.

New Egypt counterterrorism law threatens press

Human Rights Watch on Wednesday criticized Egypt's new counterterrorism law saying it infringes on freedom of the press. The new law also gives prosecutors the power to detain suspects without a court order. The HRW Deputy Middle East and North Africa Director stated in response to the issues with the new law, "[t]he government has equipped itself with even greater powers to continue stamping out its critics and opponents under its vague and ever-expanding war on terrorism." Critics worry that the fines, (some upwards of $25,000), imposed on journalists for reporting contradictory reports to what government statements say could effectively shut down small news agencies and deter them from reporting important events.

Spain woman among first fined under new security law

A women in Petrer, Spain was fined 800 Euros ($885) on Monday for taking a photograph of a police car parked in a handicap spot and posting it temporarily to her Facebook page. The Citizens' Security Law, which went into effect in July, aims to protect the safety of police and their families. Among many other infractions, it outlaws burning the national flag, protesting outside of parliament buildings, and distributing photographs of police officers that could threaten their operations. Many opponents also argue the law prohibits free speech. The officers claimed they were parked in the handicap spot because they were responding to a report of vandalism which they say was an emergency and that the photograph attacked their honor.

(Click here)

Uber sued by 'Annoyance Lawyer' for anti-De Blasio robocalls

An attorney who calls himself the "Annoyance Lawyer" sued Uber Technologies Inc. over its robocall campaign attacking New York Mayor Bill de Blasio over his proposal to limit the number of drivers. Todd C. Bank sued on behalf of recipients of thousands of recorded calls the ride-hailing company made during the campaign telling city residents "we need your help" to defeat the proposal, he said in a lawsuit. "Uber ended the days when you couldn't get a ride home because cabs didn't want to leave Manhattan," one script for the calls read, according to the complaint filed Tuesday in federal court in Brooklyn, New York. "Now Mayor de Blasio is trying to bring the bad old days back because his millionaire taxi donors are telling him to." Last month, de Blasio dropped the plan to cap the growth of the service after it ignited backlash from the public, Governor Andrew Cuomo and even model Kate Upton. Under federal law, robocalls for commercial purposes are usually illegal unless a consumer consents to receiving them.

  • Daily Press Review

Federer through but Nadal out of Cincinnati Open
Al Jazeera, Doha, Qatar

Is season 2 of 'True Detective' a new form of art or just another wannabe?
Haaretz, Liberal daily, Tel Aviv, Israel

Corbyn promises Labour apology on Iraq
BBC News, Centrist newscaster, London, England

Kim Jong Un orders troops into 'wartime state'
CNN International, London, England

Jenson Button speaks out for the first time about robbery
Daily Mail, Conservative daily, London, England

Charles Day Palmer's photographs reveal World War II horror
Daily Mail, Conservative daily, London, England

Israel retaliates against rocket attacks from Syria
EuroNews, International news, Ecully Cedex, France

North Korea orders frontline troops onto war footing
France 24, Issy-les-Moulineaux, France

Millennia-old Urartian site in Van still has secrets
Hurriyet Daily News, (Liberal, English-language), Istanbul, Turkey

Dee Barnes assault conveniently cut from 'Straight Outta Compton' script
Independent The, London, England

Major Ukrainian TV provider drops Russian channels
Moscow News The, Independent, Moscow, Russia

North Korean troops ordered onto war footing by Kim Jong-un: live
Telegraph The, Conservative daily, London, England

The celebrities have landed: 12 Stars spotted arriving at airports
Telegraph The, Celebrity news, London, England

Cabinet OKs plans to boost economy
China Post, English-language daily, Taipei, Taiwan

Tax Revenue Soars
Chosun Ilbo, Conservative daily, Seoul, South Korea

Sri Lanka: Prez Sirisena's followers to join unity government
Hindustan Times, New Delhi, India

Japan Pension Service failed to prepare for cyberattacks, report says
Japan Times, Independent centrist, Tokyo, Japan

Chaos at Macedonian train station packed with migrants
New Zealand Herald, Conservative daily, Auckland, New Zealand

Ukraine President cancels trip over protests in eastern Ukraine
Straits Times, Pro-government, Singapore

Beat the post holiday blues
Sydney Morning Herald, Centrist daily, Sydney, Australia

Sharp China factory slowdown in August raises global growth fears
The Economic Times, Business, Mumbai, India

Ceremony held at Thailand bomb site, but no known progress in manhunt
Canadian Broadcasting Centre, Toronto, Ontario

Four new fires break out at site of China's Tianjin blast site: report
Globe and Mail The, Centrist daily, Toronto, Canada

Liberty Reserve Brought Down By 'Joe Bogus': How The Feds Arrested Arthur Budovsky
International Business Times, Business news organization, New York, U.S

Feels like 1986: Oil on track for longest weekly losing streak in 29 years
Reuters, Business News, New York, U.S

Thailand increases reward for bombing suspect
Reuters, World News, New York, U.S

Owners of AshleyMadison.com hit with class action suit
Toronto Star, Toronto, Ontario

Kenyan pastor charged over crash
BBC News, Centrist newscaster, London, England

-----

How are we doing?

We would like to hear from you how we perform. What you like and what we should change or add… Send us an email; we aim to please!

Tell your friends and associates…

to subscribe to Migalhas International! www.migalhas.com

Express yourself

Want to share your opinion, your experience, your questions? You are welcome to do so. This forum is yours. Please contact the editor: [email protected]

Events

We welcome information about your events or conferences to come. Please contact the editor.

Sponsors

Become a sponsor. Spread your name in the business and legal spheres around the world in Migalhas International.

Subscription

To subscribe:  Register your name and your address at https://www.migalhas.com

To unsubscribe:  Send your name and e-mail address to in the subject line.  We will remove your name soonest.

Address changes:  If you want to continue to receive Migalhas International, please make sure we have your current e-mail address.

Contact

Michael Ghilissen, editor: [email protected]

Miguel Matos, publisher: [email protected]

Please feel free to send your comments, questions and suggestions to the editor.

Your comments

We always welcome information, articles, testimonials, opinions and comments about something you've read in Migalhas International. Please forward your contributions to the editor.

Confidentiality

When you add your name to Migalhas International, you can be sure that it's confidential. We do not share, trade, rent or sell this list.  Our "privacy policy" contains no fine print.  No one gets our list.  Period.  Your e-mail address is safe with us.

Sharing Migalhas International

If you'd like to share this Migalhas International with friends and colleagues, feel free to forward this issue including the copyright notice.  Or, invite them to subscribe so they receive their own Migalhas International every week. 

Sources

The content of the Migalhas International newsletter is edited for purposes of news reporting, comments and education from several sources, including: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, The London Times, Le Monde, Frankfurter Allgemeine, The Financial Times, Radio Netherlands Worldwide, Google News, International Herald Tribune, Paper Chase (jurist.law.pitt.edu), The World Press Review: https://www.worldpress.org, Forbes, Fortune, Time, Newsweek, Harvard Business Review, American Bar Association, American Lawyer Media, FindLaw.com, The National Law Journal, Reuters, Associated Press, Internet Business Law Services, Folha de S. Paulo, O Estado do S. Paulo, Lexis Nexis, West Law, CNN, The Globe and Mail, The Los Angeles Times, Wikipedia and more.

Fair use notice

This newsletter contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of legal, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material in this newsletter is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. 

The messages that appear in this newsletter are for informational purposes only. They are not intended to be and should not be considered legal advice nor substitute for obtaining legal advice from competent, independent, legal counsel in the relevant jurisdiction.

Transmission of this information is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. The information contained on this list may or may not reflect the most current legal developments.

www.migalhas.com

Copyright 2012 - Migalhas International