Features

Taxing Questions for Law Firms Looking to Benefit in the New Regime
The new law offers two obvious potential benefits: a 20% deduction for pass-through entities such as partnerships, and a 21% tax on corporations.
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Lender's Choice In Naming Defendants Is Under Assault
Can a foreclosing plaintiff choose whom to name as a party defendant in a foreclosure action? In New York, in the absence of prejudice to the defaulting property owner, the answer is yes. Although a recent holding of New York's Appellate Division, Second Department, tacitly suggests “no,” the case may not have addressed the actual controlling principles.
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New-Wave Legal Challenges for Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies
As the adoption of cryptocurrencies spreads throughout the business and financial sectors, so too do the concerns that lack of regulation render the new-age currency susceptible to fraud, manipulation, and to being used as a vehicle for money laundering. Nevertheless, recent efforts by U.S. enforcement agencies to apply and enforce financial regulations mean greater scrutiny than ever before.
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Reflections on the Life Partners Holding Inc. Bankruptcy
Many bankruptcy practitioners are at least somewhat familiar with the highly publicized proceedings involving Life Partners Holdings Inc. (LPHI), a company that sold fractional ownership interests in life insurance policies — referred to as life settlements. This case was as complex as any could imagine and, as the Trustee appointed to manage this bankruptcy, the author had a front-row seat.
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Effective Internal Investigations
<b><i>A Checklist for In-House Counsel</i></b><p>Every general counsel over the course of his or her career will face the need to conduct an internal investigation into events at the company. Many of these may be routine in nature, such as matters dealing with individual employees or human resources issues. But at times, the company may be required to examine issues affecting the core of its business, with potential serious impact on its financial performance or with regulatory exposure.
Features

Bitcoin Is Fueling the Ransomware Epidemic
Money is a powerful motivator, but it alone wasn't enough to fuel the ransomware epidemic. After all, the first documented ransomware infection was in 1989, but it remained relatively unknown until its resurgence over the past five years. So what changed? In short, bitcoin.
Features

Third-Party Cybersecurity Strategies Critical to Preparedness
This article examines the guidelines published by Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on managing outsourcing risk, along with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) 2013 OCC Bulletin 2013-29 and the supplemental Jan. 24, 2017, examination procedures, which are designed to help bank examiners tailor the examinations of national banks and federal savings associations determine the scope of the third-party risk management examination.
Features

Serving Two Masters: When 'Bankruptcy-Remote' Meets Public Policy
Structured financing transactions make extensive use of entities formed for the specific purpose of reducing the likelihood that assets will be involved in a potential bankruptcy proceeding. Known as "bankruptcy-remote entities," or "BREs," these entities are subject to structures and covenants in financing documents and their own formation documents, which are designed to reduce the likelihood that the BRE will file for bankruptcy protection.
Features

Forensic Accounting: When Do You Need It?
Most matrimonial attorneys have heard a client, typically the "out-spouse" in a marriage with a business interest, say, "The books are cooked," or "Personal expenses are being paid by the business," or "The accounting records are fiction." Failing to probe these issues may cost your client a lot of money when the asset division takes place, and may leave him or her dissatisfied with your representation.
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