Alternative Legal Services Providers: Changing Buyer Perceptions
A common perception of today's legal services industry is that buyers of legal services have many more choices because legal services are disaggregating and unbundling. No longer are law firms the only option for clients with legal work; they now have a wider menu of providers from which to choose.
SEC Takes Aim at Political Contributions By Investment Advisers
While it remains unclear both when the regulators will invoke their authority to enforce the nearly limitless strict liability provision of the "pay-to-play" rules and how they will determine the appropriate remedy, the recent settlements and the SEC's handling of exemptive relief petitions may provide some clues.
Changing Compensation Strategies Put Partners under Pressure
The legal profession has never been more cutthroat. As the race for revenue intensifies, firms are putting more pressure on their partners to perform in a number of criteria. If they don't, it will be reflected in their compensation, title and possibly their place in the firm.
Proposed Regulations for Partnership Interests Permits Estate, Income and Charitable Planning Opportunity
The new Administration has areas of taxation estate planning and philanthropy on the front burner. No one is sure what will be happening with the minority discounts regulations of § 2504 in turmoil and proposed guidance of the modification of charities partnership interest and unrelated business taxable income (UBTI). By integrating a number of tried and tested tools, we may create a platform for substantial savings.
Financing and Leasing Technology Is a Strategic Advantage
Advances in technology and software are being made at an increasingly rapid pace. As a result, IT hardware obsolescence cycles are shrinking too. This period of exponential improvement with which we are all now familiar has shown time and again that there will continue to be breakthroughs in technology that deliver better, less expensive, and/or more robust products. How are you equipping your firm to succeed both in the present day and into the future?
Survey Reflects Growth in How Corporations Manage and Protect Information
Many organizations are changing their approach to leveraging cybersecurity intelligence through enhanced cooperation, detailed information sharing, and broad-based collaboration. To characterize those shifts and offer perspectives that empower effective benchmarking, for the third consecutive year, Nuix engaged my firm to interview corporate security officials. The report reflects the perspectives of 29 cybersecurity executives across a range of industries.
Deferred Compensation and Safe Harbor Plans
The Department of the Treasury has issued final regulations addressing deferred compensation and safe harbor planning utilizing §§ 409A(d)(1), 457(e)11 and 31.3121(v)(2). These regulations set forth how plan sponsors can provide death benefits on a permissibly selective basis.
Make-Whole Mayhem
<b><i>Uncertain Treatment of Make-Whole Premiums Upon Bankruptcy-Induced Acceleration and Redemption of Indentures</b></i><p>Make-whole premiums are essentially prepayment penalties imposed on borrowers when loans are paid off in advance of their maturity dates. These premiums remove the borrowers' incentives to refinance whenever interest rates drop, and provide stability and predictability to the world of secured lending.
Structuring and Managing Practice Groups
There is no question that today's sophisticated clientele is placing more emphasis on the full service concept. Multi-disciplinary practices are a good example of how clients want all or most of their outside services handled by the same organization. The Walmart one-stop shopping idea has become part of the legal profession. Thus, the firm needs to determine how it can best deliver its legal services with this full service concept in mind.
