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Grunfeld v. Grunfeld Revisited
In 1995, the New York Court of Appeals issued its decision in McSparron v. McSparron, 87 NYS2d 275 (1995), thereby abolishing the merger doctrine with respect to the valuation of professional licenses. However, in McSparron, the Court of Appeals warned that in distributing the value of such licenses, duplication must be avoided by ensuring that maintenance awards are not based on the same earnings already used in calculating the license value.
Five years later, in Grunfeld v. Grunfeld, 94 NY2d 696 (2000), the Court of Appeals expanded on this 'double-dipping' theme, stating that '[o]nce a court converts a specific stream of income into an asset, that income may no longer be calculated into the maintenance formula and payout' [citations omitted]. While Grunfeld dealt specifically with whether the husband's license income was being double counted in the determination of the wife's maintenance award, it also involved a capitalization of the value of the husband's law practice, which was distributed as a marital asset. The excess earnings ' that is, the husband's earnings in excess of reasonable compensation ' used in the valuation of the husband's law practice were not used in determining the wife's maintenance award, since that would have violated the double counting proscribed by McSparron. (Subsequent appellate division cases have similarly applied the double-counting principle to businesses that are valued and distributed in divorce actions. See e.g. Murphy v.Murphy, 6 AD3d 678 (2nd Dept. 2004); Sodaro v. Sodaro, 286 AD2d 434, (2nd Dept. 2001); Douglas v. Douglas, 281 AD2d 709 (3rd Dept. 2001). Practitioners should consider, however, that to the extent a spouse does not receive a 50% distribution of a license or business, earnings deriving from the undistributed value would be available in the consideration of a maintenance award.)
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations
This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.
How AI Has Affected PR
When we consider how the use of AI affects legal PR and communications, we have to look at it as an industrywide global phenomenon. A recent online conference provided an overview of the latest AI trends in public relations, and specifically, the impact of AI on communications. Here are some of the key points and takeaways from several of the speakers, who provided current best practices, tips, concerns and case studies.
The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs
The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.