NY's Paid Family Leave Program
<b><I>What Employers Need to Know</I></b><p>Effective Jan. 1, 2018, New York State will have its own "Paid Family Leave Benefits Law." Since the payroll deductions supporting the Law began July 1, 2017, it is not too early to begin reviewing your employer obligations.
Landlord & Tenant
A look at a case involving a landlord's action to enforce a commercial lease provision regarding appraisal of real property.
Is Trump the New Obama?
<b><I>Possible Regulatory Enforcement Against Business After All</I></b><p>Immigration is now the focus of the Trump administration. Last year, ICE released "Guidance for Employers Conducting Internal Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 Audits." Employers would do well to review and familiarize themselves with it. Additionally, employers should also seek the advice of competent counsel to ensure their self-audits are useful without creating the smoking gun that the government audits are hoping to find.
Divorce and the Undocumented Spouse
<b><I>Divorcing Women Immigrants and VAWA; Part Two of a Two-Part Article</I></b><p>The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) includes a procedure that gives legal status to immigrants who were abused by their U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse, who often use the immigration law as a cudgel of power and control.
How Firms Should Be Measuring the Profitability of Matters
Matter profitability matters. Yet most firms struggle to measure it in a manner that is accurate, focused on the levers partners control, and inclines partners to take action. Using margin per-partner-hour (MPH) to measure profitability delivers on these objectives.
Forensic Mythologies and Custody Evaluations
<b><I>Part One of a Two-Part Article</I></b><p>As forensic psychologists and psychiatrists agree to accept appointments as evaluators or take the stand to testify about a custody matter, there are often many assumptions about forensic practice floating among those in the legal community, and even on the part of litigants, that are questionable at best.
Communication and Why It Matters
The art of speaking, understanding, asking and developing dialogue has been eliminated in this fast-paced, quick-reply, "do it now" universe we now live in. Sure, we can communicate around the world in seconds, and conduct business at extraordinary speed; however we have lost the "human" elements of conversation. And it matters!
Smaller Firms' Message To Big Law on Alternative Fees: Join the Club
Microsoft's vow to make its outside lawyers bill nearly all their work under alternative fee arrangements caused a stir, given large law firms' traditional devotion to the billable hour. But for a growing number of mostly smaller firms, those anxieties highlight a Big Law business model they've already left behind.
