ALFA International Publications

For more than one hundred years, highway vehicles have been powered by internal combustion engines that burn gasoline or diesel fuel. In the last 20 years, however, vehicles powered by alternative fuels have proliferated, viewed as a means of reducing the world’s dependence on fossil fuels, lowering fuel costs, and lessening environmental pollution. The most widely used alternative vehicle fuel is…

The conversion from internal combustion engine (“ICE”) vehicles to electromobility is perhaps the most ambitious and largest world-wide public-private sector collaboration not prompted by a world war. It will have an extraordinary impact on the day-to-day mobility of millions of citizens on all continents who are dependent on personal vehicles, as well certain segments of those who rely on public …

The ready availability of construction equipment and the materials used to construct projects is critical to construction project delivery in every corner of the world. Whether by pandemic, inflation, war, protective tariffs or increased competition for a finite supply, scarcity of parts and materials and their price volatility have triggered project delays, and worse still, project cancellations.…

Disney’s Bob Iger recently announced that remote staff will be required to return to in-office work four days a week, beginning in March.[i]  Last fall, even as Covid-19 cases were still manifesting in rollercoaster peaks and valleys, Tim Cook confirmed Apple’s hybrid work policy would now mandate three days in the office.[ii]  Both CEOs insisted that there is no substitute for in-person collabora…

The “process of Creative Destruction is the essential fact about capitalism.” Joseph SchumpeterCapitalism, Socialism, and Democracy Over the past decade, society, its members, and the economy have undergone what seem to be unprecedented shocks, changes, transitions, and disruptions. Brexit, the “Great Recession” triggered by the mortgage-backed securities meltdown, Covid-19, immigration, the war…

The Jetsons, Dick Tracy, Blade Runner, Star Wars and numerous other fictional characters and stories forecast a picture in the 1960’s and 70’s of what our future world would look like with computers, robots, communication devices, holograms and other “whimsical” inventions. We are now seeing these fantasies of the past become our reality as smart phones, tablets, laptops and virtual meetings have …

The world today is a global village. The rapid advance in technology has only made it easier for companies and corporations to conduct business across the borders of their domestic countries. Trade, transactions and partnerships occur every day between entities from different countries.  Of course, with increased interactions, there can be an increasing number of problems, sometimes resulting in l…

For better or worse, in modern society more and more of social and business interaction is conducted through our cell phones. While we may cringe when looking at data about how many times we pick up and look at our phones each day, or how much time we spend on social media, as business people and legal professionals it is important to recognize how this digital interface drives business and the le…

Litigation alleging “negligent security” as a consequence of isolated criminal assaults is not new to the hospitality and retail industry. In fact, it is well known that such lawsuits represent potential high exposure, particularly in certain venues.[i] However, the increasing number of “active shooter” and “mass shooting” incidents has brought greater focus on the broader risk to multiple victims…

In today’s legal environment, trials are no longer a certainty; however, it is clear, beyond peradventure that every case will be referred to mediation. Since Chief Justice Burger’s original admonition to the American Bar Association that the legal profession needed to do something about the plethora of cases being litigated and that the Court would do something about it if their lawyers did not, …