Features
House Proposes Tax Reform Plan
In an attempt to raise revenues and simplify the tax code, the House Ways and Means Committee has proposed a draft tax reform plan containing sweeping changes to the Internal Revenue Code (the Code), including a number of major executive compensation and benefits changes. The most significant of those could be the elimination of deferred compensation and nonqualified pensions.
Columns & Departments
Bit Parts
Blurred Lines" Post-Verdict Posturing<br>Hey 19, New York Judge Says in Streaming Royalties Dispute<br>Magistrate Changes Mind in Twitter Subpoena Controversy
Features
The New Attorney General and You
Loretta Lynch, formerly United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, likely will be the newly confirmed Attorney General of the United States by the time you read this. As spectacle, a changing of the guard is always worthy of note. But for others who are embroiled in or worried about investigations, the change may matter a great deal.
Features
Effect of Omnicare On Private Placements in Film Ventures
In the entertainment industry, we frequently see private placement memoranda seeking to raise capital for films and that refer to success stories and independent films that became box office hits. But the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in <i>Omnicare v. Laborers District Counsel Construction Industry Pension Fund</i> should make all producers think twice about whether, or how, to include these success stories.
Features
Workplace Bullying Laws and Litigation
In recent years, there has been growing awareness about the serious and sometimes tragic effects of bullying. It is a serious concern on social media, in schools, and at work. While no state, or the federal government, has adopted laws explicitly outlawing bullying in the private sector, employers are well advised to proactively take steps to prevent workplace bullying.
Features
The Internet User's Duty of Care
The duty one Internet user has to another has changed, particularly with respect to cybersecurity and privacy. Negligence by Internet users has enabled hackers and creators of viruses to exploit computer systems and engage in crime and unwanted computer intrusions.
Features
The Times, They Are A-Changin'
As more and more commercial clients move their legal teams in-house, competition among law firms continues to grow. With the legal industry still feeling negative impacts from the financial crisis, a considerable number of law firms have been pooling expertise and gaining market share through mergers and acquisitions.
Features
Subjective Intent Does Not Save $1.5B Secured Claim Against GM
Sometimes, the simplest of errors can be the most costly. Such was the case with a large syndicated secured loan made to General Motors Co. Due to a simple filing error, what the lender and borrower had always intended to be a secured loan will now be treated as a general unsecured claim.
Features
Best Practices for Law Firms to Meet Cybersecurity Requirements of Inside Counsel
Whether or not your clients have suffered a data breach, cybersecurity is undoubtedly a critical concern. Many of your clients are actively searching for and plugging any gaps in their security. And if your clients haven't done so already, they're also going to focus their attention on what could potentially be an Achilles Heel for them ' their law firms.
Features
The Case for the GC
In a time of increasing regulatory risk, global complexity and shareholder activism, the role of the corporate general counsel in the boardroom has never been more important. Yet, companies have been slow to recruit general counsels or seasoned attorneys to serve as independent directors.
Need Help?
- Prefer an IP authenticated environment? Request a transition or call 800-756-8993.
- Need other assistance? email Customer Service or call 1-877-256-2472.
MOST POPULAR STORIES
- Protecting Innovation in the Cyber World from Patent TrollsWith trillions of dollars to keep watch over, the last thing we need is the distraction of costly litigation brought on by patent assertion entities (PAEs or "patent trolls"), companies that don't make any products but instead seek royalties by asserting their patents against those who do make products.Read More ›
- Private Equity Valuation: A Significant DecisionInsiders (and others) in the private equity business are accustomed to seeing a good deal of discussion ' academic and trade ' on the question of the appropriate methods of valuing private equity positions and securities which are otherwise illiquid. An interesting recent decision in the Southern District has been brought to our attention. The case is <i>In Re Allied Capital Corp.</i>, CCH Fed. SEC L. Rep. 92411 (US DC, S.D.N.Y., Apr. 25, 2003). Judge Lynch's decision is well written, the Judge reviewing a motion to dismiss by a business development company, Allied Capital, against a strike suit claiming that Allied's method of valuing its portfolio failed adequately to account for i) conditions at the companies themselves and ii) market conditions. The complaint appears to be, as is often the case, slap dash, content to point out that Allied revalued some of its positions, marking them down for a variety of reasons, and the stock price went down - all this, in the view of plaintiff's counsel, amounting to violations of Rule 10b-5.Read More ›
- Meet the Lawyer Working on Inclusion Rider LanguageAt the Oscars in March, Best Actress winner Frances McDormand made “inclusion rider” go viral. But Kalpana Kotagal, a partner at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll had already worked for months to write the language for such provisions. Kotagal was developing legal language for contract provisions that Hollywood's elite could use to require studios and other partners to employ diverse workers on set.Read More ›
- Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar InvestigationsThis 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.Read More ›
- The DOJ Goes Phishing: The Rise of False Claims Act Cybersecurity LitigationWhile the DOJ Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative is still in its early stages and cybersecurity regulations are evolving, whistleblower plaintiffs have already begun leveraging the FCA to pursue alleged noncompliance with government cybersecurity requirements.Read More ›