Men Report Changed Attitudes Toward Work And Life
February 24, 2005
At last some hard data on what men want from life and work! The results of a study released in October 2004 titled "Generation & Gender in the Workplace" documents many things that change the equation regarding workplace attitudes. It was conducted by the Families and Work Institute and sponsored and funded by the American Business Collaboration (ABC), a group of eight major businesses, including two accounting/consulting firms, that believe collaboration can accomplish more than working alone.
Quarterly State Compliance Review
February 24, 2005
This edition of the Quarterly State Compliance Review looks at some of the legislative enactments and court decisions of interest to corporate lawyers that occurred over the last 3 months. Included is a look at three new limited partnership acts, a Delaware decision granting shareholders access to a corporation's privileged communications, and an Illinois decision holding that an internal corporate memo could be the basis of a defamation action.
A Picture May Be Worth A Thousand New Clients
February 24, 2005
People say a picture is worth a thousand words, but Mountain View, CA-based Stratify Inc. is hoping that a picture may well be worth new clients, too. To that end, the e-discovery software firm launched its next-generation suite ' Stratify Legal Discovery 5.0 ' at the recent LegalTech 2005 show in New York.
Executive Compensation: Are You In Compliance?
February 24, 2005
What does the in-house lawyer need to be doing today to be prepared for the upcoming Proxy Statement season and to ensure that his client's deferred compensation plans and agreements are in compliance with (or exempt, <i>ie</i>, grandfathered, from) IRC '409A?
Surviving a Malpractice Fiasco: 10 Views
February 24, 2005
Recently I asked members of <i>A&FP</i>'s Editorial Board and several new contributors for their thoughts on how a law firm might best deal with the financial blow of an unusually large settlement or penalty assessed against the firm. <br>Although a large financial hit could arise from many scenarios, including a client slipping on a banana peel near the firm's negligently wide-open elevator shaft, our 10 discussants immediately zoomed in on professional malpractice as the source of liability on which to focus.
Leasehold Improvements: New Window of Opportunity for Tax Savings
February 24, 2005
Perhaps inadvertently, Congress gave a double profitability boost to law partners when it recently enacted the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 ' a provision of which slashes the recovery period for leasehold improvements. To take advantage of these benefits, however, firms must invest in qualified leasehold improvements during 2005.
Health Savings Accounts: Recent Improvements
February 24, 2005
The federal government is bending over backwards to simplify, liberalize and encourage the use of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). In a recent announcement, for example, the Treasury Department detailed just how easy it is for banks to offer HSAs to their customers. Recent guidance from the IRS has tried to allow as many taxpayers to qualify as possible.
New China Franchise Regulation
January 28, 2005
The world's most populous country, China, is opening its door to foreign franchisors, in accordance with its WTO commitments. To accommodate this new reality, the Chinese government has published a new franchise regulation. On Dec. 31, 2004, the Ministry of Commerce ("MOFCOM") published Measures for the Regulation of Commercial Franchise Operations (the "Measures").
Malpractice in the Line of Duty: Who Catches the Bullet?
January 28, 2005
A traditional requirement in many sophisticated equipment leasing and financing transactions is the closing opinion, in which an attorney or law firm is requested to opine on a variety of relevant topics, ranging from proper corporate or partnership approval of the transaction in question, to the legality, validity and enforceability of one or more material agreements. Oftentimes, there may be multiple closing opinions issued in respect of the closing, with certain opinions being rendered by internal counsel for one or more of the transaction participants, and another set rendered by external counsel.
Around the Firms
January 28, 2005
Movement and news among major law firms and corporations.
