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Sunday, January 27, 2013
Women Who Opt Out: The Debate over Working Mothers and Work-Family Balance
Bernie Jones, Associate Professor of Law at Suffolk University Law School, discusses her new book, "Women Who Opt Out: The Debate over Working Mothers and Work-Family Balance." To learn more about Professor Jones' book, visit http://bit.ly/H6Fd2W.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Sponsors Of Assault Weapons Ban Hope Newtown Shooting Changes Minds
Gun control advocates acknowledged they'll face big obstacles in Congress to a new ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. But they say the shooting last month of 20 schoolchildren in Connecticut could make a difference.
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Future Law Office: Top Technology Trends Reshaping the Legal Field
In this video podcast of The Robert Half Legal Report, Charles Volkert, executive director of Robert Half Legal, and Robert Ambrogi, co-host of Lawyer2Lawyer on the Legal Talk Network discuss how law firms and corporate legal departments are leveraging technology to improve services and streamline workflow. They share key findings from Future Law Office, Robert Half Legal’s annual research program that examines important developments in the legal profession.
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Judge Scheindlin’s Collection Case and Florida E-Discovery Amendments
One of the attributes that makes for a great e-discovery lawyer is the ability to wade through the digital mire that separates preservation from collection. The ESI Report’s Michele Lange, Attorney and Director of Thought Leadership at Kroll Ontrack joins e-discovery expert David Kearney, Director of Technology Services at Cohen & Grigsby, to discuss Judge Shira Scheindlin’s recent opinion in the case, National Day Laborer Organizing Network et al. v. United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, et al. On the Bits & Bytes Legal Analysis segment, Kroll Ontrack Legal Correspondent, Elliot Westman analyzes recent e-discovery amendments to the Florida Civil Procedure Rules.
Dayton includes across the board funding increases for the courts in budget
He is asking for an increase in overall spending and funding increases for much of the justice system.
Under Dayton’s budget:
- Civil Legal Services would get a 4.5 percent increase
- The Board of Public Defense would get a 6.5 percent increase
- The Supreme Court would get a 4.3 percent increase
- The Court of Appeals would get a 5.9 percent increase
- The District Courts would get a 6.2 percent increase
- The Guardian Ad Litem Boar would get a 4.3 percent increase
- The Tax Court would get a 19.5 percent increase
- The Judicial Standards Board would get a 33 percent increase
Much of the new money would go to paying for new employees, raises, investments in technology and to up the contribution to the employee retirement fund for branch employees.
The legislature and the Governor will meet in the coming weeks to finalize a budget for the coming biennium.
Chief Justice Lorie Gildea released a brief statement after the recommendations were released.
“We appreciate Governor Dayton’s support for our budget request and look forward to working with the Legislature in the months ahead.”
From Focus to Warm and Fuzzy (Update)
When Robb Fickman was the president of the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association, he did something that mattered. He put his ass on the line by taking a position that angered people in power, challenging a sitting judge who acted like a tyrant. By doing so, he courted retaliation. Robb didn't care.
The judge he grieved, Joan Campbell, is retiring, Chron reporter Brian Rogers writes a glowing homage to this fine jurist for the time she wasn't cruel and arbitrary, but instead did the job for which she was paid. What a wonderful judge. How good of her to be thoughtful in sentencing one defendant. When someone retires, graciousness dictates that we only remember the good, as if the bad never happened.
But Fickman chooses not to be gracious, just as he wasn't afraid of the potential retaliation against him. Mark Bennett questions whether Fickman's strength and boldness has given way to a different perspective.
The new come in for other reasons, some because they want to go from unknowns to players in the field, or seek validation, or want to network, are joiners, like the kids nobody notices in high school who are in every club. These are not the sort of people who take risks. They certainly won't put themselves as risk.
Criminal defense lawyers love telling people they are the gladiators of the legal system, gunslingers who are ready at a moments notice to stare down Goliath with their slingshot at the ready. it's so romantic, and fills their bloomers with self-worth. Maybe they are when facing the institutionally acceptable enemy, though most collapse like an empty suit when the mere hint of a threat against them is uttered. Tough guys, until it isn't easy.
There is an aphorism that covers this situation, much as there is one that suffices to justify whatever people want to do:
Be nice to judges. Don't make waves. Don't challenge them or, when they do wrong, call them out. That, the new guys say, is how we should be. Don't make enemies. It's less a belief than a rationalization for wimpiness. They're afraid, and this is how they explain why they cower in the corner whenever they are asked to pick sides.
It was bad enough when I watched this happen in my own home, the New York State Association of Criminal Defense lawyers, compelling me to resign as vice-president, and again as a board member, in disgust after I personally failed to sway enough people to put themselves at risk by focusing on the mission of the institution. The mission, always couched in a lovely platitude, honored in the breach.
I'm told that we must be less aggressive, less offensive, less strident, or we will make people angry with us. And so the best we can do is ride the coattails of the bold, pale facsimiles of those who aren't afraid of being the first to take a stand. Or worse, get so caught up in arguing amongst ourselves that we end up doing nothing. Stand for nothing. Be nothing. But at least no one was offended.
It's painful to watch this happen to the HCCLA, as the warm and fuzzy voices of not making waves predominate. A judge may do harm to their clients, but better to not offend the judge and stay on their good side. After all, if they act, the judge might get angry with them and, oh my god, do something. They tremble at the very idea of someone being angry with them.
There has to be a name for this phenomenon. It happens too regularly for there not to be. But no matter how warm and fuzzy the view, there is one immutable fact that remains. The powerful will still hate us because of who we are, and the lies we tell ourselves won't change that.
Update: Mark Bennett explains how I completely misapprehended the situation with the HCCLA by projecting my assumptions onto his scenario. The truth is that it never occurred to me, not for an instant, that what he wrote about could have possibly been different than my experience.
This shows the power ot assumptive thinking and projection, and one can be utterly wrong without ever considering alternatives. My bad, and my apologizes to Fickman and the young bucks of Harris County.
© 2012 Simple Justice NY LLC. This feed is for personal, non-commercial & Newstex use only. The use of this feed on any other website is a copyright violation. If this feed is not via RSS reader or Newstex, it infringes the copyright.
The judge he grieved, Joan Campbell, is retiring, Chron reporter Brian Rogers writes a glowing homage to this fine jurist for the time she wasn't cruel and arbitrary, but instead did the job for which she was paid. What a wonderful judge. How good of her to be thoughtful in sentencing one defendant. When someone retires, graciousness dictates that we only remember the good, as if the bad never happened.
But Fickman chooses not to be gracious, just as he wasn't afraid of the potential retaliation against him. Mark Bennett questions whether Fickman's strength and boldness has given way to a different perspective.
Maybe there's some variant of entropy that applies only to criminal defense lawyer bar associations, where they start out bold and purposeful, with a clear understanding of why they exist and whose voice they express. But over time, the strong grow old and weary, and new people come into the organization. The old were there out of a sense of duty, and they were willing to risk their personal comfort and welfare to achieve greater goals.I say, “the criminal-defense bar’s view,” but of course there is more than one view represented in Harris County’s criminal-defense bar. Some criminal-defense lawyers—at least one of whom aspires to be the next president-elect of the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association—would vocally disagree with Fickman telling the truth about Campbell. These lawyers take the position that “we should avoid making enemies” is a good excuse for not doing the right thing. They would rather give judges (metaphorical?) handjobs or kolaches than file judicial-conduct complaints.
The new come in for other reasons, some because they want to go from unknowns to players in the field, or seek validation, or want to network, are joiners, like the kids nobody notices in high school who are in every club. These are not the sort of people who take risks. They certainly won't put themselves as risk.
Criminal defense lawyers love telling people they are the gladiators of the legal system, gunslingers who are ready at a moments notice to stare down Goliath with their slingshot at the ready. it's so romantic, and fills their bloomers with self-worth. Maybe they are when facing the institutionally acceptable enemy, though most collapse like an empty suit when the mere hint of a threat against them is uttered. Tough guys, until it isn't easy.
There is an aphorism that covers this situation, much as there is one that suffices to justify whatever people want to do:
You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar.
Be nice to judges. Don't make waves. Don't challenge them or, when they do wrong, call them out. That, the new guys say, is how we should be. Don't make enemies. It's less a belief than a rationalization for wimpiness. They're afraid, and this is how they explain why they cower in the corner whenever they are asked to pick sides.
That's right. Nobody likes us. Not the judges. Not the prosecutors. Not even the clients. Nobody. While it may well be that they don't dislike you nearly as much if you just sit there with your mouth shut and do nothing, that's not the same as liking you. Yet you are willing to fade into non-existence, pointlessness, to avoid anyone thinking ill of you?Robb Fickman is made of sterner stuff than the H&K crowd. He belongs to the criminal-defense wing of the criminal-defense bar. If something needs saying, Fickman is not going to be deterred by the fact that saying it will make him enemies.
Fickman is a real criminal-defense lawyer, and that’s what real criminal-defense lawyers do. By definition, the job requires bucking the opinion of the majority. When we are doing the job, we say the things that nobody wants to admit are true; we point out that the emperor has no clothes; we save Frankenstein’s monster from the mob. So the mob doesn’t much care for us.
It was bad enough when I watched this happen in my own home, the New York State Association of Criminal Defense lawyers, compelling me to resign as vice-president, and again as a board member, in disgust after I personally failed to sway enough people to put themselves at risk by focusing on the mission of the institution. The mission, always couched in a lovely platitude, honored in the breach.
I'm told that we must be less aggressive, less offensive, less strident, or we will make people angry with us. And so the best we can do is ride the coattails of the bold, pale facsimiles of those who aren't afraid of being the first to take a stand. Or worse, get so caught up in arguing amongst ourselves that we end up doing nothing. Stand for nothing. Be nothing. But at least no one was offended.
It's painful to watch this happen to the HCCLA, as the warm and fuzzy voices of not making waves predominate. A judge may do harm to their clients, but better to not offend the judge and stay on their good side. After all, if they act, the judge might get angry with them and, oh my god, do something. They tremble at the very idea of someone being angry with them.
There has to be a name for this phenomenon. It happens too regularly for there not to be. But no matter how warm and fuzzy the view, there is one immutable fact that remains. The powerful will still hate us because of who we are, and the lies we tell ourselves won't change that.
Update: Mark Bennett explains how I completely misapprehended the situation with the HCCLA by projecting my assumptions onto his scenario. The truth is that it never occurred to me, not for an instant, that what he wrote about could have possibly been different than my experience.
This shows the power ot assumptive thinking and projection, and one can be utterly wrong without ever considering alternatives. My bad, and my apologizes to Fickman and the young bucks of Harris County.
© 2012 Simple Justice NY LLC. This feed is for personal, non-commercial & Newstex use only. The use of this feed on any other website is a copyright violation. If this feed is not via RSS reader or Newstex, it infringes the copyright.
Source: http://blog.simplejustice.us/2013/01/17/from-focus-to-warm-and-fuzzy.aspx?ref=rss
Court to Decide if a Stolen Hard Drive Is Worth $4 Billion
Whoever broke into Sutter Medical Foundation in 2011 probably didn't realize the computer they stole could be worth $4 billion. The PC's hard drive contained information for 4 million patients, and California law provides nominal damages of $1,000 per individual for negligently released data. Now, a state appellate court has intervened in the case, which poses enormous stakes for California's entire health care industry.
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Railroad Chugs Forward Despite Wildlife Concerns
A federal appeals court in San Francisco has denied a challenge by environmental groups to a controversial railroad extension that would run through a wetlands-area in Alaska and link one of the state’s deep-water ports with a railroad running to the state’s interior.
Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2013/01/23/railroad-chugs-forward-despite-wildlife-concerns/?mod=WSJBlog
Turning TECHSHOW Topics into a Technology Agenda
Each Spring, ABA TECHSHOW takes center stage as one of the premier legal technology conferences. While there is great value in attending legal tech conferences, all lawyers can benefit simply by seeing what's on the TECHSHOW agenda. Organizers put a lot of thought into their agendas, so we can all learn where to put our technology focus by seeing what topics these shows cover. Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell use TECHSHOW 2012 as an example of how to assess your current technological agenda, talk about the major topics being covered at TECHSHOW, and suggest ways you can use the TECHSHOW topic list to set your technology priorities for 2012. After you listen, be sure to check out Tom & Dennis’ co-blog and book by the same name, The Lawyers Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies.
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Friday, January 25, 2013
Revisiting Citizens United in an Election Year
Since 2010, there has been great debate over the controversial ruling, Citizens United. Most recently, the Montana Supreme Court challenged the decision while Senator McCain called it "one of the worst decisions I have ever seen." Lawyer2Lawyer co-hosts and attorneys, J. Craig Williams and Robert Ambrogi welcome, Attorney Joseph M. Birkenstock, former chief counsel of the Democratic National Committee and Bradley A. Smith, Chairman and Co-Founder of the Center for Competitive Politics and former Commissioner on the Federal Election Commission, for an in-depth discussion on the impact of the ruling during an election year and its influence on the upcoming Presidential election.
Fund Manager Doug Whitman, Prosecutors Spar Over Sentencing
A war of words has broken out between federal prosecutors and lawyers for hedge-fund manager Doug Whitman as he prepares for sentencing after he was convicted of insider-trading charges last year.
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The Healthy Workplace Bill
Professor Yamada, director of the New Workplace Institute at Suffolk Law, describes the Healthy Workplace Bill, anti-bullying legislation he has written that is the template for bills across the country. Read his blog at newworkplace.wordpress.com.
Source: http://legaltalknetwork.com/podcasts/suffolk-law/2012/02/the-healthy-workplace-bill/
Recent tax law changes of 2013
On January 2, 2013, President Obama signed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 into law. Summarized below are highlights of those and other changes to Federal tax laws affecting income, payroll, gift and estate, and generation-skipping transfer taxes beginning in 2013.
New top federal marginal rates – ordinary income, capital gains, and qualified dividends
39.6% top ordinary income tax rate
In tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2013, for individuals above the threshold taxable incomes listed below, the highest marginal ordinary income tax rate increases from 35% to 39.6%. The 39.6% rate is a reinstatement of the highest rate from before the 2001 Bush-era tax cuts.
| Filing Status | Threshold taxable income amounts |
| Single | $400,000 |
| Married filing jointly | $450,000 |
The threshold amounts will be adjusted for inflation annually.
20% top capital gain and qualified dividend tax rate
In tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2013, for individuals above the threshold incomes listed above, the tax rate on long term capital gains and qualified dividend income increases from 15% to 20%.
3.8% Medicare tax on net investment income
For individuals above the threshold “modified adjusted gross income” amounts listed below, the net investment income tax, or NIIT, of 3.8% applies. The NIIT applies to a wide range of investment income, including certain long term capital gains and qualified dividends. In effect, the top tax rate on long term capital gains and qualified dividend income will be 23.8% for those whose income exceeds $450,000 ($400,000, if single).
The NIIT also applies to certain short term capital gains, ordinary dividends, interest, rental and royalty income, nonqualified annuities, income from businesses involved in trading of financial instruments or commodities, and income from businesses that are passive activities for the taxpayer.
| Filing status | Threshold modified adjusted gross income amounts |
| Single | $200,000 |
| Married filing jointly | $250,000 |
Phaseout of itemized deductions reinstated
Beginning in 2013, the itemized deduction phaseout will be reinstated for taxpayers above the applicable threshold amount listed below. The phaseout reduces itemized deductions by the lesser of 3% of the adjusted gross income amount above the threshold amount, or 80% of the otherwise allocable itemized deductions.
| Filing status | Threshold adjusted gross income amounts |
| Single | $250,000 |
| Married filing jointly | $300,000 |
Permanent AMT relief
Beginning in 2012 tax years, the AMT exemption amounts are permanently increased as listed in the table below and will be adjusted annually for inflation.
| Filing status | Increased 2012 exemption amounts |
| Single | $50,600 |
| Married filing jointly | $78,750 |
0.9% additional FICA Medicare tax
Beginning on January 1, 2013, an additional 0.9% FICA Medicare tax applies to earnings above the threshold amounts listed below. The highest applicable FICA Medicare tax rate for employees increases from 1.45% to 2.35%, and for the self-employed from 2.9% to 3.8%.
| Filing status | Threshold earnings amounts |
| Single | $200,000 |
| Married filing jointly | $250,000 |
Expiration of 2% FICA Social Security tax cut
Beginning on January 1, 2013, the 6.2% rate is reinstated for the employee portion of FICA Social Security tax. This is due to the expiration of the temporary 2% rate reduction in the employee portion of FICA Social Security tax from 6.2% to 4.2% on December 31, 2012. For the self-employed, the FICA Social Security tax rate of 10.4% reverts to 12.4%. The FICA wage base for 2013 is $113,700 and will be adjusted annually for inflation.
Section 1202 tax break extended through 2013
The 100% exclusion of certain gains from the sale of qualifying small business stock, or QSBS, under Section 1202 has been extended to acquisitions of QSBS from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2013. Generally, QSBS must meet the following conditions: the stock was acquired at original issue from a domestic C corporation with gross assets of no more than $50,000,000, the C corporation met certain active business requirements, and the stock was held for more than five years. The amount of excludible gain is limited to the greater of $10,000,000 in aggregate gains, or 10 times the aggregate basis in QSBS.
Section 1374 built in gains relief extended through 2013
The previously reduced five year recognition period for computing built-in gains tax of an S corporation under Section 1374 has been extended to taxable years beginning in 2012 and 2013. The recognition period was to increase to ten years in 2012 until the five year recognition period was extended through 2013.
This tax applies if, during the recognition period, a C corporation converts to an S Corporation and then sells, for a gain, assets that were appreciated in value at the time of the conversion. Those “built-in gains” are taxed at the highest marginal corporate tax rate of 35%. Normally, the recognition period is the ten year period from the first day of the first taxable year for which the S election is effective.
Gift and estate tax exclusion, rates, and portability of deceased spouse’s unused exclusion amount
$5,000,000 gift and estate tax exclusion
The gift and estate tax, and generation-skipping transfer tax exclusion amount has been permanently set at $5,000,000, adjusted annually for inflation. The exclusion amount for 2013 is $5,250,000. Without this change, the exclusion amount would have fallen to or around $1,000,000 as of January 1, 2013.
40% top gift and estate tax rates
The gift and estate tax rate on transfers as of January 1, 2013 above the exclusion amount were increased as listed below. The highest rate increased from 35% to 40%. Without the new 40% rate, the highest marginal gift and estate tax rate would have increased to 55%.
Portability of deceased spouse’s unused exclusion amount made permanent
A surviving spouse’s election to include his or her deceased spouse’s unused exclusion amount will now be a permanent option. This portability election would have expired on December 31, 2012 without this change.
Source:
http://www.corporatesecuritieslawblog.com/tax-recent-tax-law-changes-of-2013.html
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SEC Sheds Light on Cyber Threat Disclosure
Edward Mikolinski JD '12 discusses his recent blog post, "SEC Sheds Light on Cyber Threat Disclosure" in the Journal of High Technology Law. Read the post at http://bit.ly/zuradT.
Source: http://legaltalknetwork.com/podcasts/suffolk-law/2012/03/sec-sheds-light-on-cyber-threat-disclosure/
Medicare Set Aside Arrangements and Mass Torts
On Ringler Radio, host Larry Cohen is talking about Medicare Set Asides with colleague and co-host, Lynn DeMauro Clark and guest, Attorney John "Jay" F. Kearns III from the firm Kearns & Kearns. They take a look at mass torts and the facts surrounding the US v. James J. Stricker case. In addition, Jay explores the Medicare Medicaid SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 (MMSEA) and how it has created an uproar among insurers and personal injury lawyers and talks about Stricker’s overall significance to plaintiff attorneys.
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Obama Chooses Former U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White To Head SEC
White, who prosecuted terrorists during her time as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, would succeed Mary Schapiro, who stepped down in December. The president is also planning to renominate Richard Cordray to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Butzel Long seeks government relief for underfunded pension plan
In a rare move for a law firm, 140-attorney Butzel Long has asked a federal agency to take over its pension plan due to a major shortfall in funding. The Detroit-based firm, which focuses heavily on the automotive and aerospace industries, has lost about 100 lawyers since 2009. Its pension plan has about 450 participants, 350 of whom are no longer with the firm, according to the firm's president.
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Thursday, January 24, 2013
Putting the Web to Work for You
Have you ever wanted one action on the Web automatically trigger another action? For example, if you post a tweet, it automatically becomes a LinkedIn or Facebook update or if you star a blog post in Google Reader, it automatically gets added to your Evernote account. IFTTT (If This, Than That) is a web service does exactly that. In this episode of the Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss web automation and IFTTT, how it might make your life a little easier, and the role this type of service might play for the busy lawyer.
Source: http://legaltalknetwork.com/podcasts/kennedy-mighell-report/2012/08/putting-the-web-to-work-for-you/
Sign Had To Go, Rules Fourth Circuit
A federal appeals court ruled that a North Carolina town didn’t violate the First Amendment rights of a homeowner when it ordered him to scrub away a protest sign scrawled on the face of his house.
Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2013/01/22/sign-had-to-go-rules-fourth-circuit/?mod=WSJBlog
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