A Day In The Life Of A Blue Sky Paralegal

"Blue Sky Laws" are state laws that regulate the offering and the sale of securities to protect the public from fraud.
I have been working as a Blue Sky paralegal for more than 10 years. In this role, I am responsible for reviewing the offering memorandum and serving as a liaison with clients' in-house counsel to gather the information that is needed to complete the appropriate forms. After completing the forms, I coordinate the signature pages and have them signed by the authorized signatory. I then prepare the cover letters to the states and to the SEC, including an executed copy of the necessary forms together with a check to cover the filing fee.
I greatly enjoy the constant contact I have with attorneys and clients, and I also enjoy building relationships with the states regulators. While it is sometimes difficult to track down clients to get the information needed for the forms, I have found that creating a calendar and sending a reminder memo to my clients on a monthly basis has expedited the process.
My advice to any paralegals who may be considering pursuing Blue Sky as their area of expertise is to get as much training as they can in researching states laws, rules and exemptions. In addition, during the filing process, I'd recommend creating a file for each fund and maintaining a status chart to keep the work organized. Attention to detail, strong organization, and verbal and written communication skills are very important in this line of work.

Getting Sued Hiding Assets

You just had a car accident causing a fatality or a disability. You are handed a ticket and released with a warning not to leave the state. You call your lawyer, you're getting sued, you ask about hiding assets.
Your lawyer is going to tell you, there's nothing you can do.
In my book, it's better to do something than nothing. Exposing your open wallet for every potential creditor is not in my vocabulary. Your insurance company is your first line of defense. They will send a team of lawyers limited to your insurance coverage. But the Insurance Company is not going to cover your negligence.
Taking stack of what you own and how it's going to evaporate between legal fees and court decisions, completely out of control.
Your lawyer is partially incorrect. A judge is going to decide how much guilt you are going to bear. Your police are going to determine the amount of negligence and possible criminal prosecution. You will have to defend yourself on both fronts. Most people will hire one attorney to handle the civil and criminal. In my opinion, that's wrong. Criminal attorney are trained differently. The criminal side of life is to put up defenses to keep you out of jail. The civil attorney is to keep your assets. They are different defenses with different objectives.
4 THINGS YOU CAN DO IMMEDIATELY TO PROTECT YOUR ASSSET:
(1) Reposition your asset(s) with an independent trustee through an irrevocable trust, before the lawsuit is filed.
(2) Have your documents notarized and filed with the registry of deeds.
(3) Avoid fraudulent conveyance by transferring asset at less than it's fair market value.
(4) Hire an expert defense lawyer.
Will it work? It depends. But it's better to give them the run around to your assets than a straight line to your bank account.

Mouse Tails

Have you sighted our new Web? We netted it on the Inter surf.
The mice go where the action is. We know they curse over the small soft things like excel, word and outlook and use their launching pad to get to the Explorer. Once there, with the Cyber Pages heralding their arrival, they refresh themselves frequently with their favourites and google around for a better connection.
When they find a site they like they take small bytes and click left and right. A bunch of Genius Mice found our new site yesterday and clicked so loudly we could not hear the other surfers coming in by the wave to score hits.
Once, there was such a crowd that a collision took place. Of course they were trapped on the wrong side of the firewall in the collision domain for far too long and their screams broke the MHz barrier. They were taken to the NAP and immediately Ethernet, the anesthetic of choice, had to be administered to push them beyond the baseband gateways into unconsciousness so that the surgeons could commence building backbone.
They are highly communicative and sentimental and they message each other frequently. When they meet a prospective mate, they can be observed spending entire romantic evenings blissfully involved with what is commonly called parallel port and, for those with stamina, multiport repeaters! They wrap their long tails around each other and, if the bandwidth is satisfactory they can be quite productive. Once their multiplexing has taken place, it is usually fruitful and a little later the motherboard becomes creative and another one comes along.
Then they DE or discard eligibility in favour of DNA testing, for their protocol and sense of responsibility is faultless and can be rated highly. They actually measure their amplitude using the base 10 system and their final datagram is placed high up on bricks for all to see.
Our mice have other hobbies, for example, some are bit part actors, and others write bios about the more enterprising and spectacular of their species.
Some of the mice got together and tried to form a musical group but unfortunately it did not work owing to the fact that all of them were bass players; there was 10Base5, 10Base2, 10BaseT, and 100BaseT; this was a string quartet like no other. However, we did hear later that all of them had recently been released from the collision domain and were still quite high on Ethernet!
It was further reported that at this time, owing to the anaesthesia levels not dropping quickly enough, these mice became confused as to where they lived and kept changing addresses and showing up at the wrong houses. It was then that the ARP or Address Resolution Protocol was introduced. This was done out of necessity because the mice are so moral and it was causing embarrassment. So each house was given a different coloured application layer. One good thing came out of this; they began to appreciate their own architecture.
Then get back to us with serious critique; your honest opinion. We're always up for a little quality control and this time, your candour might just get you a high score and win you something; more than applause that is!
Whether there is spam on the main menu, or you are blogging or profiling, navigate your way to our domain; you'll be at home with us.

Of Dentures and Rubber Stamps

Rubber stamps have an interesting history for those who don't know that they might have been inspired by dentures. Yes, it's true: dental dentures! But first off, Charles Goodyear had to discover the secret to vulcanization. This is the process of "curing" rubber such that it can be molded as needed. Before Goodyear's discovery, rubber -- in its natural state -- was not very practical to work with. It is sticky but would not stay set in any one particular shape. With vulcanization, rubber, once cooled, would hold the shape in which it had been molded.
Many applications were thus found for rubber (poor Mr. Goodyear, incidentally, did not benefit financially from his invention, however, though he was publicly recognized by the Emperor of France and decorated with highly prestigious medals). One of these was dentures. Rubber was found to be a most welcome replacement for the dentures of that era, which were often made out of metal or even wood! Dentists were making their own dentures, and one of these dentists, it eventually turned out, had a curious nephew who started manufacturing rubber stamps for the U.S. Postal Service. This nephew, James Woodruff, is credited with inventing the quality rubber stamp we have come to know. There are numerous, in fact, numerous origins claimed of rubber stamps, and depending on how a rubber stamp is to be defined such geneses could even stretch back to Mayan civilization! The version just presented here is among the most widely accepted ones for those marking devices which we today would most immediately recognize as being rubber stamps.
Another very popular and widely accepted contender for the title of Inventor of The Rubber Stamp was L.F. Witherell, who went so far as to compose a document with the name of "How I Came to Discover the Rubber Stamp". He claimed to have gotten inspiration from his time as a foreman at a manufacturing facility of wooden pumps. Apparently, there was an identification marking problem of some kind where the paint would run, creating blotches on these pumps. Witherell hit upon the idea of creating stencils out of thin sheets of rubber packing. But while making the stencil, he thought to simply create thick letters out of the rubber, then gluing them to a backing of wood, with which he could make repeated impressions of his own initials.
The candidate considered least likely to be the inventor of rubber stamps, Henry C. Leland, was actually championed, ironically, at the time by no other than in an issue of the "Stamp Trade News" from a manufacturer of rubber stamps. But no matter the actual origins, there is no doubt that the rubber stamp itself has made quite an impression on history.

Your Essential Guide to Buying a Property in France

Step 1
You find a property in France and intend to finance the purchase with a French Mortgage using no less than a 20% down-payment from your own funds - Remeber the total fees payable to the notaire can be in the region of 7% - 10% of the purchase price. The whole process of completing a mortgage on a French property from the moment you sign the compromis de vente takes around 60 days. Consider appointing your own English-speaking notary to co-ordinate the transaction.
Step 2
You will sign the Compromis de Vente (sales agreement), ensuring that it contains the 'Clause Suspensive' stating that the purchase is dependant on obtaining of a French Mortgage. If the bank declines the loan then all monies including the deposit will be returned to the buyer in full. There will be a time limit for applying for the mortgage stipulated in the 'compromis de vente'. Normally this is around 30-45 days.
Normally the date set for the signing of the title deeds of the property is set around two months after signing the compromis de vente. This is the time it takes for the notaries and the authorities to take care of all the due diligence procedures associated with transferring the title deeds of a property.
It is important that the financial details of the operation: the loan amount, the name of the lending bank, the interest rate, the length of the loan are all defined in the compromis de vente to avoid problems later. In many cases we suggest you fax a copy of the compromis de vente to your Independent Mortgage Broker in France so that we can ensure that the financial details of the purchase are correctly defined to protect your interests.
If you do not intend to obtain a loan, you are expected to write in your own handwriting that you intend to give up your rights under the law. This is not always wise, should you subsequently decide to obtain a loan, and fail, then you will lose your deposit.
Your Independent Mortgage Broker in France will describe the different types of French Mortgages and loans available to you and will help you to select the best type of loan based on your circumstances and the banks lending criteria. Independent Mortgage Broker in France will send you a quotation to give you an indication of your monthly payments and will ask you to provide some further basic financial details.
At this point you may wish to appoint your own notary to oversee all aspects of the transaction. Contrary to many reports, the appointment of your own notary does not incur any extra costs. Your Independent Mortgage Broker in France can recommend English-speaking notary services at no extra cost to the purchaser. Be wary of signing a compromis de vente without an escape clause in the event of your mortgage not being approved.
Step 3
You complete the lenders application form provided by your Independent Mortgage Broker in France for the loan, along with a medical questionnaire and send it to your Independent Mortgage Broker in France together with photocopies of the supporting documentation.
Note:The original application form and medical questionnaire will need to be returned along with photocopies of all of the other documentation required.
Step 4
Your Independent Mortgage Broker in France will confirm receipt of all the documentation and advise you of any documents still to be provided. Your Independent Mortgage Broker in France will then pass the complete file on to the lending bank for a "first reaction." at this point arrange the opening of a French bank account.
Step 5
The lending bank will provide your Independent Mortgage Broker in France with their first reaction. This usually consists of a conditional loan approval subject to obtaining any missing documents from the original list. Your Independent Mortgage Broker in France will immediately forward this report to you.
Step 6
You supply missing documentation (if any) to your Independent Mortgage Broker in France, which is passed on to the French bank. The file/dossier, once complete, then proceeds to the French bank's lending committee for final approval.
Step 7
At the same time the bank will authorise an independent valuation of the French Property that you are purchasing. It will be necessary to coordinate with the owner/real estate agent for the independent evaluator to access the property.
Note: Make sure your Independent Mortgage Broker in France has the contact details of all the relevant parties in the transaction in order that we can short-cut any potential problems.
Step 8
Within 10 days of receiving all the required financial information, the lending bank will be able to give a decision on your French Mortgage loan application. Often the response is "Yes", subject to life assurance.
Note: Talk to your Independent Mortgage Broker to advice you on putting this poilcy in place.
Step 9
Once all the medical formalities have been taken care of, the French Mortgage Offer will be issued and sent by post to your normal postal address. A duplicate will be sent to your notary so that they can start drawing up the final documents for the title deeds. The notary needs a copy of the loan agreement before he/she can draw up the final documents. At the same time your Notary be able to calculate all the fees including the land registry fee which is a percentage of the loan amount. The notary will be able to tell you the exact amount of these fees and you should be ready to pay them by a French bank cheque or transfer them from your domestic account on or before the day of signing.
Note: Make sure your local GP completes the medical forms provided by the bank. Most medical officers representing the banks will not accept medical information more than three months old.
Step 10
Once you receive the loan offer contact your Independent Mortgage Broker in France will give you precise instructions on how to complete the acceptation letter and answer any questions you may have about the loan. Remember, under French law, there is an 11 day cooling off period before you legally accept the French bank's loan offer.
Step 11
Once the loan acceptance letter has been returned to the French bank, the bank will transfer the funds you have borrowed to the notary, usually in the 48 hours preceding the date set by your notary for signing the final act. You will arrange for the transfer of the down payment plus notary fees to the notary's account. The notary is responsible for informing you of the precise sums. Make sure you leave sufficient time for the funds to arrive in the notary's account; especially if the funds are being transferred from abroad. You may wish to use the services of a specialist foreign currency provider to obtain the best exchange rate. Your Independent Mortgage Broker in France can advise you on this issue.
Step 12
Congratulations! Finally you sign at the notary's office. Be prepared for a minimum of two hours at the office. Usually a translator is provided for a small fee, payable to the notary by a French bank cheque on the day. It may also be possible to sign by proxy; you should set up this arrangement (if required) well in advance with your notary.
Note:Your first mortgage repayment will come from the direct debit you have set up with your French bank. Within six weeks the bank will also draw down any bank arrangement fee as stated in the loan offer (usually between 700 and 1200 Euro). You should make sure there are sufficient funds in the French bank account to cover both the first monthly payment and the bank's arrangement fee. Remember your property is at risk if you do not keep up your mortgage payments!

Matt Frost, the founder and managing director of French Mortgage Xpress, established the company in 2004 after working within the financial services industry in France and realising that there was a demand for an English speaking brokerage service specialising in loans for non-residents.
French Mortgage Xpress soon became a major force for non-resident French Mortgages, with a reputation for speedy responses and a reliable service in a difficult area of French finance. French Mortgage Xpress has now processed more than 500 mortgages for non-residents buying in France and has built up a wealth of experience to assist the first-time buyer in France. Similarly, French Mortgage Xpress has a solid reputation with the French Banks, ensuring that all the clients of French Mortgage Express are guaranteed a first-class service when their loan request is presented to the lending banks.

Custom Embosser - Prepare Your Logo for Embossing

Let's get this out right away, not all logos will convert to a great custom embosser. The reason, embossing logos are black and white artwork. Today, logos come in color and half-tone images.The good news, most of these logos can be converted to black and white images.
Most large corporations already have generated black and white versions - you just have to ask for it. But what about the rest of us that are small businesses or organizations, you have got to do it yourself. If your logo was designed as a vector file, you can easily convert the colors to black and white. Gray scale images also can be easily converted. The problem is with bitmap images. Here most likely you will have to hire a graphic artist to make the changes.
Resolution of Your Logo
Another big issue is the resolution of the artwork. To turn into an embosser, you need at least 300 dpi resolution. An easy way to tell is print your logo on your computer printer about the size of an embosser. If the edges of the artwork are smooth or almost smooth, your logo will work as an embosser. If the edges are jagged, your logo will not work as an embosser.
Thickness of Logo Lines for Embossing
Logos with very thin lines are a problem using as an embosser. You see, an embosser pushes up the paper to make an embossed image. The thinner the line, the less likely the line will show up on the paper. A good rule is to have no lines less than 1 point thickness. If you're going to emboss thicker paper, the rule changes to 2 point thickness.
What papers can be embossed?
Papers up to 25 lb. work fine with most embossed logos. When you go thicker is when problems start to happen - you start to lose the sharpness of the image. A good rule, the thicker the paper you use, you need a bolder logo to emboss. There are some tricks to use an embosser on a thicker paper. You can double pump the embosser. Another trick is to use a perfume bottle and fill it with water. Lightly spray both sides of the paper about 10 minutes before embossing. This softens the paper and now you can improve the embossing image on the paper. Doing this trick, you can get some thin card stocks to emboss.

For more information go to http://www.embosserconnection.com. Rex M. Tubbs has been in the embosser and engraving business for over 30 years. Rex is the past national president of the Awards and Recognition Association and is a seminar speaker.
We produce from address embossers to corporate logo embossers.