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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.

During an electronic-document review, attorneys may come across an e-mail message that is responsive to the document request that they received. But here's how one of those many thorns pops out to put a pain in the side of litigators reviewing documents: What if that e-mail has an attachment, and what if the attachment is not responsive? How should the review team code the attachment ' should it be identified and then labeled as responsive or as non-responsive? Should the e-mail message be produced by itself, or should the e-mail and the attachment be produced together?

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.

How much would it cost to house 37,000 Libraries of Congress? It's not so much a vapid philosophical question as one that opens the door to serious contemplation of economies of scale, because that's how much new electronic data is created in a single year, according to one study.<br>Fortunately, the data is stored in computers and not in a monumental building, but the place where it's being stored ' on hardware, with software ' doesn't mean the costs of creating, storing and managing data aren't significant and growing for all businesses.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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