Features
Should You 'ERISA-fy' Your Severance Plan?
Employers with severance plans need to know whether or not their plans are subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). And if the employer finds that they are not, it may wish to consider amending the plans to bring them under ERISA.
Features
New USPTO Rules for Post-Grant Trials
New changes to rules for post-grant administrative trials before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) went into effect on May 2, 2016, after much public comment and gnashing of teeth. Among the plethora of rule changes that were announced, two in particular stand out as most substantive for both patent owners and their challengers.
Features
Millennials Approaching Partnership: Now What?
Although legal professional development administrators continue to fight the good fight with respect to new associate development and integration, they must now, more than ever, start focusing on the fact that Millennial lawyers are getting closer to partnership. .
Features
Fundamental Issues In U.S. Taxation of Foreign Entertainers and Athletes
The United States taxes its citizens and resident aliens on their worldwide income; nonresident aliens are taxed on their U.S. source income and income that is effectively connected with a trade or business in the U.S. These seemingly simple terms have spawned volumes of regulations, rulings, cases and articles, the essence of all of which is to determine who is subject to tax in the U.S., and on what. This article introduces the U.S. federal income tax issues.
In the Courts
On April 8, the Seventh Circuit reversed the conviction and ordered the acquittal of David Weimert, a former executive at AnchorBank, on five counts of wire fraud related to a real estate deal he negotiated in 2009. Here's a look at the ruling.
Features
'Best Efforts,' 'Commercially Reasonable' and Other Terms No One Understands
In this article, the authors explore why vague contractual terms are routinely used, explain how they have been inconsistently interpreted by the courts, and offer some practical tips to minimize the havoc ambiguous terms can wreak.
The Panama Papers: A Small Part of a Larger Challenge?
The Panama Papers has become a new buzz phrase. Information contained in the Panama Papers ' the unprecedented leak of 11.5 million internal documents from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca ' illustrates the dangers of noncompliance for U.S. taxpayers and for citizens of other countries with whom the U.S. has exchange of information agreements.
Columns & Departments
<b><i>e-Discovery and Security</b></i> The Inevitable Reinvention of the e-Discovery Industry
The e-discovery industry is on the precipice of major change yet again, and this time it is all about security. What will distinguish the winners from the losers in the next few years will be an organization's ability to do one of three things: consolidate, innovate or reinvent.
Features
Exit Strategies: Think Like a Start-up
Whether businesses sell hard goods, license technology or dispense advice ( e.g. , law firms), the common thread is that they are all businesses founded by one or more individuals, all of whom will someday exit the business. Law firms are businesses, and all too often partners and founders lose sight of that basic premise.
Features
'Consent to Assignment' Clauses Held Unenforceable
After a loss, an insurance policy's consent-to-assignment clause is unenforceable. In fact, California, which had until recently been in the minority on this issue, now has corrected course.
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