<i>Commentary:</i> America's Modern 'Throwaway': 401(K) Retirement Savings
May 01, 2018
While 401(k) cashout leakage may not stink in our streets, its economic effects are deplorable. Each year, this slow-motion train wreck robs millions of Americans of their retirement security and converts their retirement savings into wasted consumption and avoidable tax penalties.
Prior Salary Can't Justify Gender Wage Gap
May 01, 2018
<b><i>“To Hold Otherwise — to Allow Employers to Capitalize on the Persistence of the Wage Gap and Perpetuate That Gap Ad Infinitum — Would Be Contrary to the Text and History of the Equal Pay Act,” Judge Stephen Reinhardt Wrote for the Majority</b></i><p>The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled on April 9 that salary history cannot be used to justify a wage gap between men and women, in a case that employee advocates said highlights a key issue that has institutionalized gender compensation inequities.
11 Factors to Collecting Attorney Fees on a Timely Basis
April 01, 2018
Most of the time, delayed payments are a result of actions by the law firms themselves. Let's take a look at 11 factors impacting the collection of attorney fees on a timely basis and how to avoid these mistakes.
DOL's New Rules on ERISA Claims Procedure for Disability Benefits
April 01, 2018
The Department of Labor (DOL) issued regulations that revise the ERISA claims procedure regulations for employee benefit plans that provide disability benefits. The scope of the new regulations are broader than you may realize and apply to any plan, regardless of how it is characterized, that provides benefits or rights that are contingent on whether the plan determines an individual to be disabled.
The Death of the Law Firm Partnership Vote?
April 01, 2018
<b><i>With an Eye on Efficiency, Firms Are Ditching Old Methods for a More Corporate Form of Governance</b></i><p>A growing number of firms in the United States and the United Kingdom are eschewing historical partnership norms in favor of more centralized management, and with that comes fewer and fewer partnership votes.
Adding Value with a Client Visit Initiative
April 01, 2018
The increasing competition in the legal industry highlights the importance of differentiation and adding value beyond the work product. Face-to-face interactions with clients are a critical component in differentiation because they provide the opportunity to understand better the nuances of clients' businesses, develop deeper relationships, and drive productive collaboration.
Finally Finishing Unfinished Business?
April 01, 2018
<i><b>How the Recent </i> Heller Ehrman <i>Case Impacts Lawyer Mobility and Clients Choice of Counsel</i></b><p>The law of unfinished business, as applied to cases billed on an hourly basis, has been the subject of much commentary and case law. In <i>Heller Ehrman</i>, the high California court, like the New York Court of Appeals, found that a dissolved law firm did not have a property interest in hourly matters for work performed after dissolution. The case is worth exploring as it impacts, among other things, lawyer mobility and clients choice of counsel.
Offshore Restructuring Outlook
March 01, 2018
The first quarter of 2018 has seen the Dow and NASDAQ pushing through record highs, increasing consumer confidence in the U.S. and Europe. However, there are segments in the market that are expected to need continued restructuring work, both onshore and offshore through 2018, particularly: offshore oil and gas drillers; European and U.S. retail; and the highly leveraged Chinese real estate sector.
