Additional 2006 Tax Tips and Insights
July 27, 2006
following excerpts provide useful additional information on the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005, signed into law on May 17, 2006.
Federal Tax Planning and Compliance Update
July 27, 2006
Compared with the significant tax legislation of the prior several years, both 2005 and 2006 (to date) have been relatively quiet in terms of legislative changes impacting taxpayers generally ' and law firms and attorneys in particular.
Short-Term Costs of Retiring a Defined Benefit Pension Plan
July 27, 2006
Jane Austen observed, in Sense and Sensibility, that 'people always live forever when there is an annuity to be paid them.' Increasingly, private employers with defined benefit (DB) pension plans that are designed to distribute benefits as annuities are adopting Ms. Austen's view.
Hearings and Depositions: Listen ' and Ask the Right Questions
July 27, 2006
Lawyers are trained to practice law, but they are also expected to listen ' to their clients, to witnesses, to their opponents and to the court and regulatory agencies for instruction. That crucial listening skill should extend beyond what is said to things that are implied or left unspoken (would only that this advice were heeded in general!).<br>Those listening skills are especially critical when it comes to covering all the bases for electronic data as a component of discovery; the field is still so new for clients and courts alike that many people just don't understand what is involved in an e-discovery request. Clients rarely pay attention to the specific wording of requests or the accompanying instructions, and rely on their legal counsel to tell them what they are being asked to produce. That means the burden of covering all those bases falls most heavily on the lawyers.
First-Level Review: The Next Legal Service to Be Sent Offshore?
July 27, 2006
Discovery costs continue to spiral upward because of the vast amount of electronic data created daily, and the need for robust technology to reduce document sets for review, coupled with high-quality/low-cost review, is acute. <br>But the greatest success for clients, as measured by cases won and costs saved, will be realized by combining robust technology with lower-cost, offshore legal workers.
Managing Native File Production Requests
July 27, 2006
Parties are increasingly requesting ' and courts ordering ' production of electronic documents in the native file format during legal discovery. In fact, according to the American Bar Association's 2005 corporate counsel survey, 30% of survey respondents reported that they have produced electronically stored information in native format.
Lies, Damn Lies And M&A Fraud
July 27, 2006
In <i>ABRY Partners V, L.P. v. F&W Acquisition LLC, et al.</i>, Vice Chancellor Strine of the Delaware Court of Chancery addressed the circumstances in which a seller may contractually insulate itself in a purchase agreement from claims by the buyer for rescission and post-closing damages due to intentional misrepresentations concerning the business or assets being sold. The court held that 'when a seller intentionally misrepresents a fact embodied in a contract ' that is, when a seller lies,' Delaware public policy compels Delaware courts to disregard provisions of a contract that purport to eliminate certain remedies, including the remedy of rescission. <br>This article examines Vice Chancellor Strine's decision in ABRY and highlights some of its implications for buyers and sellers in M&A transactions.
Risks of Hiring Employees from Another Firm
July 27, 2006
The scenario is a familiar one: An individual decides to leave his current employment and accept employment with a new employer. As it turns out, the employee has signed an agreement with the former employer restricting his or her right to compete with the former employer (non-compete agreement), prohibiting him or her from soliciting employees or customers of the former employer (non-solicitation agreement) and/or requiring him or her to maintain the confidentiality of the former employer's trade secret and/or proprietary information (confidentiality agreement). This article focuses on the risks faced by the new employer in hiring such an individual.
