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Before 1985, there was no way to attach the assets in a qualified pension plan for a spouse in a divorce proceeding. While a state court may have awarded a portion of the benefit, a plan administrator could not comply based on the federal laws governing pension plans (there were some exceptions for benefits already in pay status). The Retirement Equity Act of 1984 altered that by adding to the Internal Revenue Code ' 414(p), which allows qualified pension plans to divide plan assets if ordered through a properly drafted Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO). The rules surrounding QDROs are complex; guidelines now abound, including guidance from both the IRS and the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation. What follows are some tips to assist drafters in avoiding common traps in these subtle documents.

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Resultor LLC has announced the release of Resultor Direct & Confidential, which is designed to help publicly traded companies comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act's requirement to provide an anonymous and confidential procedure for employees to surface accounting issues for the audit committee. It is the only Sarbanes-Oxley disclosure product that also promotes a corporate culture encouraging legal and ethical practices and better business results.

'Metadata' ' 1. Confidential information that ends up being electronically distributed thereby causing embarrassment and allowing your law firm to be placed at great risk in the hands of any and all outsiders to your firm! Now I realize that I may not be Webster when it comes to defining words, but I think that this really is the definition of the word Metadata!

My client finally got deposed ' and then some. I thought I had explained the deposition process well: I pointed out what a deposition was, how it worked, who would be there; I told my client to tell the truth, and not to answer questions that she didn't understand. I explained what objections I could make, and so forth. Well, I left out a little something that my client promptly pointed out after her deposition was taken '

My firm, Shartsis, Friese & Ginsburg LLP (SFG), San Francisco, is a mid-size law firm that specializes in litigation, real estate, business transactions and other commercial areas of law. Prior to 1999, before I began working here, our firm used a calendar system that required manual calculation and research of court rules and statutes, which was extremely time consuming.

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In the past several years, new technology, including video evidence presentation systems, video conferencing and electronic transcription systems, have been installed in federal and state courts across the nation. Courtrooms today vary a great deal not only in size and layout, but especially with regard to the types of technology made available. All of these factors significantly affect the presentation strategy a lawyer will use during a trial. When brainstorming presentation strategy, courtroom presenters consider the most subtle factors including, the amount of ambient light, the distance and line of sight between counsel and trier of fact and the location of monitors and screens. Most lawyers agree that it is a great advantage to argue a case in a familiar setting; something as trivial as showing a witness where he or she will sit in the courtroom prior to trial can be important.

Cases of interest to you and your practice.

You're right ' it can't possibly be tax time again, and yet ' here we are, wondering if each Easter egg constitutes a taxable capital gain. Tax time brings special problems for taxpayers affected by divorce. Should your clients file separately or jointly? Which spouse gets to claim the exemptions for the children?