Am I risking being sued?

Hi

I am about to purchase a domain name with the intention of developing a local business portal. The problem is that the domain name I plan to use is the same as that of a local news empire, except of course for the extension bit at the end. The worry here is that this will bring me in direct competition with them online, and I am concerned that I might get hit by a law suit based on the site having the same name as them(eg, cyber-squatting type ruling).

As far as I am aware their site name is not a registered trade mark. In any case, has anyone had similar experiences or know which way the law leans on such issues? Also, any advice on how to deal with potential threats made by them would be much appreciated.

Many thanks

Dmitri