A&FP Congratulates Bill Brennan
February 24, 2005
Legal management consultancy Altman Weil, Inc. has named our Board Member William F. Brennan, CPA, CMA, as the firm's newest principal.
Joseph A. Bailey, Jr. Rejoins A&FP Board
February 24, 2005
<i>A&FP</i> warmly welcomes back PwC Tax Partner and U.S. Law Firm Tax Services Leader Joseph A. Bailey, Jr. for a new tour of duty on our Board of Editors.
Can Your Firm Serve Small Clients Profitably?
January 27, 2005
In one chapter of his 2004 book, <i>The First Myth of Legal Management is that It Exists</i>, Ed Wesemann argues that small clients disproportionately drain the resources of law firms while providing a disproportionately small contribution to firm profits. He proposes ways to help firms focus on serving larger clients, while also improving the profitability of small clients who stay with the firm.
Welcoming Ed Wesemann to A&FP's Board
January 27, 2005
<i>Accounting and Financial Planning for Law Firms</i> is pleased to announce that H. Edward Wesemann has joined our Board of Editors.
New Tax Rules May Affect Payments To Retiring Partners
January 27, 2005
One of the most important provisions of the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 establishes a new regime for taxing deferred compensation. Newly created Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code likely will affect every arrangement now in place or hereafter adopted that promises the payment of deferred compensation to current and former employees, directors and other service providers. Such an arrangement may well include a partnership's unfunded retirement program for its partners.
Book Review: <i>The First Myth of Legal Management Is That It Exists</i>
January 27, 2005
Written by our new Board of Editors member, Ed Wesemann, and published in 2004 ' with profits donated to the ALA ' this collection of skillfully crafted essays provides illuminating observations and pithy advice on a wide range of challenges facing law firms and lawyers. The book's first chapter, on profitability problems larger firms have with small clients, was the springboard for this month's roundtable discussion
High Court OKs Double Tax on Some Contingent Fees
January 27, 2005
In a pair of cases with potential pocketbook impact on lawyers and their clients, the Supreme Court ruled on January 24th that the contingent fee portion of lawsuit settlements and awards is taxable to the client, even if the money goes directly to the attorney. But initial reaction to the 8-0 decision was more muted than expected because a law passed by Congress last fall limits the ruling's implications, and the decision won't doom the contingent fee system, which fuels a broad range of private litigation.
Tax Shelters: New IRS Disclosure Requirements Carry Serious Penalties
January 27, 2005
Touted as one of the most substantial overhauls of the Internal Revenue Code in years, the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 was signed by the President on Oct. 22, 2004. Like any number of omnibus Congressional tax bills, the "Jobs Act" is a broad-reaching collection of miscellaneous tax provisions. <br>Title VIII of the Act, in Subtitle B ' "Provisions Relating to Tax Shelters," contains new provisions that limit the benefits of tax shelters. Among these new provisions are requirements that govern how certain transactions must be reported to the IRS. While reporting rules existed prior to the Jobs Act, these new requirements carry substantial penalties to encourage compliance and curb participation in abusive tax shelters.
A New World for Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plans
January 26, 2005
Employment lawyers have been inundated in the last few weeks with calls from clients asking how and whether the new American Jobs Creation Act affects various severance pay plans and other deferred compensation plans. If you are still recovering from the recent presidential election, or are preoccupied by the pending elections in Iraq, this one may have slipped by you. The smart thing to do would be to consult your benefits partner, as I did. In this article, I explain this new law in layman's terms and help you respond to those callers clamoring for information about this creatively titled statute.
Second Opinion: New Tax Requirements for Nonqualified Deferred Compensation
January 26, 2005
The American Jobs Creation Act (the "Act") was passed by the House of Representatives on Oct. 7, 2004, and received final approval from the Senate on Oct. 11, 2004. President Bush was expected to sign the Act into law before the end of 2004. The Act enumerates an array of requirements intended to curb perceived abuses in the realm of executive compensation. In many ways, the thrust of the new requirements is to conform a number of aspects of the operation of nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements to those applicable to tax-qualified "401(k)" plans. Consequently, to be tax-effective under the new requirements of the Act, deferred compensation arrangements will need to operate in a fashion more akin to true retirement arrangements.
