Settling the Tab for Entertainment Expenses
The conventional wisdom is that only 50% of the cost of routine meal and entertainment expenses is deductible. However, law and other professional service firms that spend a significant sum on these items should be aware of instances where they are fully deductible. Financial advisers can help find them.
Dealing with Merger Financial Data
When two law firms undertake merger discussions, they eventually exchange financial information. Typically, this exchange is anticipated from both a curiosity standpoint as well as a practical standpoint. Ultimately no merger will occur if it does not make good economic sense; therefore, critical financial review is essential.
Helping Associates Transition to Partnership
Unfortunately, many firms fail to prepare their associates for the change in financial status that will occur upon their election to partnership. As a result, they can be distracted by financial concerns, and much of the goodwill generated by their elevation to partnership is lost. At the same time, those firms that prepare their associates for the change and lend a helping hand in the transition develop strong loyalties and better long-term partners.
Bracing for Troubled Waters
A primer on how to manage your firm during an economic downturn.
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Case Notes
Recent rulings of interest to you and your practice.
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The Threshold Limit Values Controversy
The establishment of safe thresholds for human exposure to toxic substances has proved to be among the most controversial issues in the environmental and occupational safety and health arena. This article discusses how the Threshold Limit Values ("TLVs") are typically used in toxic tort litigation, explores the dimensions of the controversy surrounding their use, and addresses a recent industry lawsuit.
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The General Reference
There is a general distrust and downright loathing of referees in the sports world. In the legal industry, however, lawyers are learning that the referee can be a powerful ally in deterring litigation and resolving cases early and successfully. While the legal profession will always have its fair share of Bobby Knights and John McEnroes, the referee appears to be gaining the upper hand.
Practice Tip: Lessons from the 'Bumbo Baby Sitter' Recall
In the wake of a consumer product company's decision to offer revised warning labels for roughly one million of its baby seats, plaintiffs' lawyers have filed at least two new product liability lawsuits against the company and one of the seat's retailers, including a putative nationwide 'economic loss' class action. This 'recall' highlights significant risk management issues for consumer product manufacturers, including a possible 'disconnect' between written warnings and advertising that allegedly depicts improper usage of their products.
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Avoiding the Adverse Effects of Causality Assessments
Unfortunately, adverse drug reaction reports collected and causality assessments made in the course of post-marketing surveillance have increasingly become fodder for plaintiffs' attorneys attempting to prove causation. Courts, however, properly have precluded plaintiffs from presenting post-marketing surveillance materials, most recently refusing to allow plaintiffs to introduce company causality assessments based on adverse drug reaction reports as evidence of causation and from using these reports and assessments as bases for expert opinions on causation.
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