Tamara E. Kolz
Same-sex couples may enter into legally recognizable relationships in various states in the country. While only Massachusetts extends the right to marry at this time, several other states have extended marriage-like rights and responsibilities to these couples by way of a domestic partnership, civil union or reciprocal beneficiary relationship. In addition, many couples cohabit, and mix their income and assets, without any formal legal agreement, recognition or protection. Of course, some relationships end. In the event a relationship with commingled assets or income ends, there may be a transfer of cash or property between members of the couple. Depending upon the manner in which the transfer is characterized, any transfer between a same sex couple may have taxable consequences. Even if a same-sex couple receives recognition of their relationship at the state level, such recognition is not available at the federal level because of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Accordingly, same-sex couples will need to face the complex matter of potential tax ramifications resulting from the agreements they have made upon such dissolution of their relationship relative to their assets and income.
Features
David A. Martindale
Retaining a mental-health professional to review the work of an evaluator and possibly to testify concerning deficiencies in the evaluator's methodology only makes tactical and economic sense if the mental-health professional has the necessary expertise and, if called upon to testify, will be perceived by the court as credible in spite of the fact that s/he has been retained by one side in an inherently adversarial proceeding. The reviewer's role is to educate the court.
ALM Staff
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Law Journal Newsletters
The nation's first campus clinic in civil rights impact litigation concerning lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgendered people is set to open this fall at Columbia Law School. Suzanne B. Goldberg, co-counsel in two cornerstone gay-rights victories in the U.S. Supreme Court, has been tapped as director of the new Sexuality and Gender Law Clinic.
Howard K. Weber
Since leasing was first used as a financial tool, pricing has been a complex matter. To price properly, many variables must be taken into account including: funding date, credit rating of lessee, residual assumed, tax rate, term of the transaction, desired spread over an index, etc.
Robert Galatzer-Levy
Divorce lawyers are more often the objects of violence and threats of violence than any other group of attorneys. A 1997 survey of ABA Family Law Section members found that 60% of respondents had been threatened by adverse parties; 17% by their own clients. Twelve percent had actually been assaulted by a client or opposing party. Remarkably, only a quarter of these respondents took steps to protect their safety. There is a natural reluctance to recognize danger, and this is partly because most of us have no realistic idea how to protect ourselves.
Features
Jonathan Fales
A growing number of lessors exhibiting cautious optimism are slowly, but successfully, knocking down the 'great wall' that separates them from turning lease financing into a mainstream financial product in China. Investing in the Chinese leasing market can be a sound decision for lessors whose customers are asking for leases there; who can effectively manage the risks; and who are equipped to deal with major differences between the United States and China, which include language, culture, and the number and nature of business regulations.
Features
ALM Staff
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Law Journal Newsletters
Recent rulings for your review.
Features
ALM Staff
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Law Journal Newsletters
National cases of interest to you and your practice.
Philip M. Berkowitz
Many have noted the unanticipated consequences of Sarbanes Oxley's (SOX) whistleblower protection. One significant question has been how, in light of the statute's remedial nature but its focus on remedying securities fraud, courts should construe its definition of protected activity. In particular, courts (and the Department of Labor administrative law judges who generally hear these cases at the outset) have struggled with SOX's requirement that to be a protected whistleblower, the employee must complain about conduct that he or she 'reasonably believes constitutes a violation of ' any rule or regulation of the [SEC], or any provision of Federal law relating to fraud against shareholders' (<i>see</i> 18 U.S.C. ' 1514A).
Features
ALM Staff
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Law Journal Newsletters
The United States Supreme Court has resolved a significant issue regarding coverage under Title VII: whether the 15-employee threshold for determining whether an individual or entity is an 'employer' covered by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a substantive element of plaintiff's claim for relief, or a jurisdictional issue. (Arbaugh v. Y & H Corp., No. 04-944 (2006)). In Arbaugh, the Supreme Court, reversing the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, held that the 15-employee threshold is an element of a plaintiff's claim that must be challenged prior to trial on the merits. The Supreme Court's decision is significant because evaluating the number of employees as a substantive issue would allow a federal court to exercise supplemental jurisdiction and to retain discretion to hear pendent state law claims even if it dismisses the federal claims for failure to state a claim.
