Law Library

The American Bar Association Business Law Section has published “Global Financial Collateral: A Guide to Security Interests in Securities, Securities Accounts, and Deposit Accounts in International” that is based on a questionnaire that focuses on the choice-of-law complexities and substantive similarities and differences involved in international secured transactions.

Covering more than 40 jurisdictions, this compendium reveals the richness and complexity of commercial law with respect to  security interests in financial collateral for international transactions. Members of the Business Law Section Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) Committee’s International Law Subcommittee developed a fact pattern and questionnaire that lawyers from G-20 countries, offshore jurisdictions and other countries in Latin America, Europe and Asia completed. This questionnaire provided a common framework through which variations among jurisdictions could be readily identified, thus facilitating cross-border analysis. In one single volume, the scope of the project includes more than 40 jurisdictions worldwide.

This guidebook is a valuable resource for lawyers working on cross-border secured transactions involving common types of financial collateral, such as directly held certificated securities; directly held uncertificated securities; securities accounts (and securities credited to them); and deposit accounts. The book dedicates a chapter to each jurisdiction that is surveyed to provide general guidance when negotiating such a secured transaction in that jurisdiction. The guide aims to assist lawyers in framing their choice-of-law analysis and helping them gain insight into the substantive law complexities that can arise in transactions with this type of collateral.

Leading practitioners from more than 40 jurisdictions contributed their expertise to Global Financial Collateral, which was co-edited by Penelope L. Christophorou and Celeste Boeri Pozo. Christophorou is counsel at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, based in its New York office. She is chair of the Business Law Section and also a past president of the American College of Commercial Finance Lawyers. Pozo is lead counsel at the Inter-American Investment Corporation in Washington, D.C. She is vice-chair of the Business Law Section’s UCC Committee.

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The American Bar Association Business Law Section has published “Law and Poetry: Promises from the Preamble,” a collection of 56 poems — one for each state, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories. This anthology uses the language from the preamble to the U.S. Constitution as a structure and framework.

Editor Kristen David Adams notes the connection between law and poetry, where she reveals that poetry about the law may be the single most effective way to connect with the human experience of the law — what it feels like to be the judge, juror, attorney, witness, or even the accused. The anthology includes works by famous poets as well as others who are not as familiar. From Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Carl Sandburg to Rudyard Kipling, Jack Mapanje and Emily Dickenson, this collection of poetry attempts to share the meaning of the law.

The anthology was inspired by Abraham Lincoln’s first inaugural address in 1861 where he states, “Continue to exercise all the express provisions of our National Constitution, and the Union will endure forever.” Adams conveys that one of the declared objects for ordaining and establishing the Constitution was “to form a more perfect Union.” With this goal in mind, the collection is separated into sections using language and themes from the preamble.
Each section seeks to challenge the reader to consider how the promises and ideals of the preamble might be fulfilled by “the better angels of our nature” and to illuminate opportunities for changes that might assist in reaching those ideals.

Adams is the William Reece Smith Jr. Distinguished Professor of Law at Stetson University College of Law. She has authored seven books and is an active member of the ABA Business Law Section.

“Law and Poetry: Promises from the Preamble” is available in paperback for $34.95.  To order a copy, call 800-285-2221 or go online to ShopABA.org.

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A new book from the American Bar Association, “Meeting the Legal Needs of Disaster Survivors: Third Responders,” brings together some of the United States’ most knowledgeable experts on disaster law to provide a critical resource for pro bono attorneys and other stakeholders to understand the essentials of disaster law practice.

Part One discusses Disaster Legal Services, the partnership between the ABA Young Lawyers Division and FEMA that is a leading facilitator of pro bono legal disaster response in the U.S., and the Disaster Recovery Clinic at Hofstra University, a model for how legal education can contribute to disaster response. This section also covers strategies for managing compassion fatigue and the psychological impact of disaster response work.

Part Two provides background and guidance on key issues that pro bono disaster response attorneys encounter:

• Equitable access for non-English speakers and other marginalized groups

• FEMA Individual Assistance Program

• FEMA Individuals and Households Program

• Common complications in documenting homeownership

• Flood insurance claims

• Tenant rights and post-disaster challenges for renters

Author David Hoa K. Nguyen is an assistant professor of Urban Education Leadership and Policy Studies at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. Previously, he was an assistant professor of Educational Leadership at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and assistant professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Nguyen has a B.S. in secondary education from Indiana University Bloomington, a law degree from the Indiana University McKinney School of Law, and an MBA from the IU Kelley School of Business at the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

“Meeting the Legal Needs of Disaster Survivors: Third Responders” is available as a paperback and eBook for $69.95.  To order, visit www.shopaba.org.

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A new book from the American Bar Association, “Transforming the Global Supply Chain: Cyber Warfare, Technology, and Politics,” uncovers four MaxTrends largely responsible for the transformations already underway –– the growing presence of cyberthreats, the revolutionary impact of 3D printing, the rapid adoption of robotics and the new ways nations everywhere are seeking to protect their domestic economies from foreign competitors. The MaxTrends™ are happening, and the risks of doing nothing about them are high. The world economy as we once knew it will never return. The challenge now is for U.S. companies to figure out how to adapt to the quickly changing landscape.

The book also takes a close look at China, which is the elephant in the room when it comes to global trade. Some companies are already beginning the process of moving their supply chains out of China to other locations in Southeast Asia, India and the Americas. Those U.S. companies that are aggressively reacting to economic and political pressures by reshoring their supply chains back to America are poised to be the most successful over the long run.

“Transforming the Global Supply Chain” provides practical advice and outlines specific strategies for CEOs, boards of directors, senior managers and anyone else directly involved in supply chain activities to adopt now in order to lessen the likelihood of future disruptions to their businesses.

Author Dennis Unkovic is an international attorney, business adviser and author. He is a partner with Pittsburgh-based Meyer, Unkovic, & Scott LLP. Unkovic is an accomplished writer who has written 11 books, contributed to or edited five other books and authored more than 170 articles for professional publications around the world. Several of his books and articles have been published in Japanese, Chinese, Serbo-Croatian and other languages in addition to English.

“Transforming the Global Supply Chain: Cyber Warfare, Technology, and Politics” is available as a paperback or eBook for $59.95.  To order a copy, visit www.shopaba.org.