Insurance Limited Partnerships As an Alternate Estate Planning Tool
January 31, 2016
Valuation discounts in estate planning has permitted the transfer of assets from one generation to another in an economically efficient manner. Two of the various discount methods claim lack of control (minority interest discount) and lack of marketability. The IRS has traditionally objected to these approaches in intra-family transfers, while Congress has attempted to legislate away these "loopholes" unsuccessfully and the Treasury Department is contemplating new regulations to accomplish this goal.
Extract Maximum Value from e-Discovery Service Providers
January 31, 2016
The unfortunate reality is that companies regularly involved in litigation can expect to pay service providers (a.k.a., "vendors") a substantial sum of money for e-discovery services. Estimates indicate that companies will spend nearly $10 billion annually on e-discovery in the coming years. Are companies getting their money's worth for these services? What can companies do to extract maximum value from their e-discovery service providers?
2015 Tax Legislation: Extenders Plus More
January 31, 2016
2015 was an eventful year for tax legislation for law firms, their clients and their employees. In addition to the extenders package, that has become an annual tradition in Congress, there were some other significant tax bills that passed over the summer.
Contextual Leadership
January 31, 2016
Leadership development has traditionally focused on the leader, with little thought about the variety of people the leader needs to engage, or the context in which he or she must operate. This is an outdated perspective for law firms and law departments in a world whose future is uncertain and unclear, whose context is volatile and complex, and where formal authority and expertise aren't as powerful as they once were.
<i><b>At the Intersection</i></b>Manterruption Redux
January 31, 2016
Last August and September, we published a two-part article on the phenomenon called "manterruption." We commented on some important social research discussing men's pervasive tendency to interrupt women in group meetings or settings where the power stakes were high ("manterruption") and to appropriate women's ideas as their own ("bropropriation"). These posts triggered a torrent of response, some of which was gratifying to us and some of which was pretty bewildering.
'Watch Your Attitude, Petitioning Creditors!'
January 31, 2016
The Bankruptcy Code contains relatively clear and straightforward requirements and standards regarding the eligibility of creditors to file an involuntary bankruptcy petition against a debtor. If such criteria are met, do the creditors' intentions, which are not specifically referenced in this context in the statutory framework, come into play at all?
Opening the Books
December 31, 2015
The criminal fraud trial of three former executives of Dewey & LeBoeuf last year cast a spotlight on an arcane, often tedious but essential part of the operations of any big law firm: accounting practices.
Law Firm Accounting: Opening the Books
December 31, 2015
The criminal fraud trial of three former executives of Dewey & LeBoeuf last year cast a spotlight on an arcane, often tedious but essential part of the operations of any big law firm: accounting practices.
