Report from Counsel Employees are discovering that cloud storage services are a great way to access work-related data at home and on the road, and to collaborate with co-workers, especially those who work remotely.
Unfortunately, they’re also a great way to make your confidential data insecure – which is why you may need a thoughtful policy covering their use.
Often, one of the hardest decisions people make in the estate planning process is how much (and when) to tell their children or other heirs about their plans.
There’s no single right answer for everybody; what to do depends on the nature of your planning and your family circumstances. But it’s worth giving the issue some consideration.
If you’re wondering at what age your children or grandchildren will be old enough to handle an inheritance, well, you’re not alone. U.S. Trust recently conducted a survey of wealthy Americans (with assets of $3 million or more) and asked them that precise question. The issue is important because many parents leave assets in a … Read more
Business-people who have agreed on the general terms of a deal often sign a “letter of intent” that lays out these terms in writing. The idea is to make sure that everyone is on the same page while a formal contract is being drafted.
But what happens if you sign a letter of intent with someone, and then they walk away from the deal? Is that okay?
In general, the answer is yes – a letter of intent isn’t a binding contract; it’s merely an expression of a plan to negotiate a binding contract.
But that’s not always true.
Michael Holton was the president of a cancer radiation services company. When he took his job, he signed an agreement saying that if he left, he wouldn’t disclose any confidential information or trade secrets to a competitor for at least a year. After the company merged with another business, Holton was terminated. A month later … Read more
The Federal Arbitration Act requires courts to enforce clauses in commercial contracts that require arbitration of disputes. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that transportation workers engaged in interstate commerce are exempt from the Act. For other types of workers, the effect of the Supreme Court ruling was to reaffirm the enforceability of mandatory arbitration provisions in agreements entered into by workers engaged in interstate commerce.
The Act’s requirement that workers be engaged in interstate commerce is not especially difficult to meet, given the interconnectedness of the economy. When a nurse at a hospital tried to avoid binding arbitration of her wrongful discharge claim by arguing that her employment agreement had no impact on interstate commerce, the argument failed. The court pointed out that the nurse’s employment depended on the constant use of supplies purchased from other states and that the hospital treated many out‑of‑state patients. More often than not, similar connections can be made between most jobs and the flow of interstate commerce, especially for large employers.
To say that employers and employees generally may
The U.S. Department of Labor publishes a guidebook to provide businesses with general information on the laws and regulations that the Department enforces. The guidebook describes the statutes most commonly applicable to businesses and explains how to obtain assistance from the Department for complying with them. The authority of the Department of Labor extends to … Read more
In a variation on the typical “bait‑and‑switch” scheme, a bank made a promotional offer of a “no annual fee” credit card, then changed the terms mid‑year to require such a fee. A credit card holder sued the bank under the federal Truth in Lending Act (TILA). She alleged a violation of the requirement in TILA that an issuer of a credit card disclose the terms of the card accurately and without misleading statements. A federal court allowed the lawsuit to continue.
The Federal Trade Commission Act prohibits advertising that is untruthful, deceptive, or unfair, and it requires advertisers to have evidence to back up their claims. There are also other federal laws applicable to advertisements for specific types of products and state laws that apply to ads running in particular states.
An advertisement is unfair if it causes “consumer injury.” The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) uses a three‑part test to determine if a consumer injury has occurred or is likely to occur as the result of an advertisement: (1) the injury must be
Even if you have a relatively modest estate, life insurance can be an important aspect of estate planning for the obvious reason that it can substantially increase the value of your estate. Where the death of a person is premature and a young family is in need of support, life insurance may be the primary means for the family’s financial survival.
Even in larger estates, life insurance can be useful by providing the liquidity necessary to pay estate taxes and expenses without the necessity of selling off assets that a family would prefer to keep intact. Additionally, life insurance, unlike many other assets, does not have to go through a time‑consuming administrative process before it becomes available to beneficiaries. Therefore, life insurance can be an immediate source of funds for a surviving family.
As is true of any aspect of estate planning, one objective is to minimize the federal estate tax effect that life insurance can have. The primary tax issue that arises is whether the insurance proceeds are included in the estate for federal estate tax purposes. Including the proceeds could generate additional estate tax liability and reduce the amount of the proceeds that are available to the decedent’s heirs.