JD Scoop

Here's a look at some of the latest lawyers and law firms to be publishing their work on JD Supra. We're happy to welcome them to the site:

 

Cole, Schotz, Meisel, Forman & Leonard, P.A. with offices in New Jersey, New York, Maryland and Delaware. The firm represents businesses, institutions and individuals.

Featured Doc: The Annual Real Property Tax Appeal Countdown Has Begun

 

Diaz Reus' lawyers handle corporate formation, licensing, tax, mergers and acquisitions, immigration, trust and estate, and family law matters--in addition to litigating complex, high-profile business and commercial disputes, criminal and regulatory matters and government investigations and security portfolio analysis from offices in Miami, Shanghai, Caracas, and Frankfurt, and an affiliate in Bogota, Sao Paulo, and Monaco.

Featured Doc: China's Rising Interest in Latin America

Shawn McCammon, attorney at Liberty Law, which offers outsourced general counsel services to Northern California businesses, and estate planning for individuals.

Featured Doc: Make sure your supervisors are implementing employees' accommodations 

 

David Haenel, representing clients in DUI, criminal law, and traffic ticket matters at the firm of Finebloom and Haenel, which has offices througout Florida, particularly Sarasota, Orlando, Tampa, and Clearwater.

Featured Doc: Motion to Terminate Florida Probation Early

 

Ronald Shapiro, whose immigration firm serves businesses and individuals in Illinois and nationwide.

Featured Doc: Naturalization and Citizenship - E-Newsletter January 25 2010

Anne E. Raduns, whose firm provides marital and family law legal services to men and women, parents, and couples without children. The family law practice includes legal advice and representation in a range of family law matters, including: Divorce & Marital Dissolution, Paternity, Child Custody/Support, Property Division, Rights of Out of State Parents, Parental Relocation, Spousal Support, Child Visitation, Modifications, and Domestic Violence/ Restraining Orders.  

Featured Doc: Florida Contested Adoption: Helping Father's Get Their Child Back

Howard Ankin, a workers compensation and personal injury attorney at Ankin Law Firm. 

Featured Doc: State Trial Practice - E-Newsletter January 25, 2010

Carolann Swanson, commercial litigation and agriculture. Partner and Senior Litigation Counsel at Stokes Law Office, concentrating in commercial litigation matters including agricultural trade and litigation and perishable agricultural commodities.

Featured Doc: Communicating for Business

Katz, Friedman, Eagle, Eisenstein, Johnson & Bareck, advising labor unions and individuals on the laws concerning the National Labor Relations Act, ERISA, insurance coverage, work-related injuries, employment discrimination, benefit and disability law, class action lawsuits and serious personal injury claims.

Featured Doc: A Summary of the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act

 

Chris Chua, a Singapore corporate lawyer with over 8 years' experience in commercial and corporate legal practice. She specializes in advising businesses in all stages of its life cycle - from start-up and growing it through acquisitions and restructures; to retiring from the business by selling or handing it over to the next generation.

Featured Doc: Doing Business in Singapore - Top 5 Issues in a Shareholders Agreement  

 

What about you? Are you looking for an effective way to showcase expertise and connect with new clients, colleagues, and the media?

Join JD Supra. Create a professional profile and start posting your legal work online! 

We're pleased to announce the launch of  a new Facebook page for Clio, the legal software as a service (Saas) company. As you know, Clio provides a suite of web-based online practice management tools for solo lawyers and small firms.

Powered by our own in-house applications, Clio's Facebook page:

• automatically streams the company's blog and JD Supra document portfolio,
• allows visitors to sign up for Clio's monthly newsletter (as well as connect to the firm's other online platforms, like LinkedIn and Twitter),
• publishes a daily social transcript of tweets on any subject (at time of writing, all tweets for "goclio"), and
• features a custom-built About Clio section, complete with press mentions, a tour of Clio's software offerings, and the ability to sign up for the Clio service.

In the words of company president and co-founder, Jack Newton:

We see this as an excellent way to engage with fans and clients on a more personal level, and look forward to building an active community around Clio on Facebook. We'll be able to keep our readers informed and up-to-date with daily posts and with the tools JD Supra has provided us, such as our Blog connection, Social Transcripts, and JD Supra Documents.

As we've noted elsewhere, we are big fans of the way Facebook pages allow businesses to engage with their readers by delivering "shared" content into Facebook news streams. Clio is able to create community with content using many of the apps we've built into their page.

For regular updates about software as a service, online practice management tools, company news and information, become a fan of Clio's Facebook page today!

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Related:

- You Should be on Facebook - Here's Why
- 3 Apps for Your Law Firm's Facebook Page
- Lawyers and Law Firms on Facebook

Want a custom, professional presence on Facebook? Start here.

For your reference, here's what JD Supra contributors are writing about President Obama's December, 2009, extension of the COBRA premium subsidy program.

JD Supra Employment Law Update: The COBRA Subsidy Extension

The COBRA Premium Subsidy is Not Over! - by Miller & Martin PLLC:

While the rest of us were busy putting the final touches on our Christmas packages, on December 19, 2009, President Obama signed into law the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2010 ("DDAA"). This law extends both the eligibility period and the length of the COBRA premium subsidy created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 ("ARRA")...

COBRA Subsidy to Continue - by Shawn McCammon:

...the 2010 DOD Act extended the COBRA premium reduction eligibility period for two months, through February 28, 2010 and increased the maximum period for receiving the subsidy from 9 to 15 months.

COBRA Premium Subsidy Provisions - by Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP:

The Department of Labor has just published the new model notice to be used for COBRA. The notice must be sent to all eligible individuals by February 17, 2010...

COBRA Subsidy Extended - by Dinsmore & Shohl LLP:

The Act also includes a period for the retroactive payment of premiums for individuals who were entitled to the subsidy but whose subsidy period expired on November 30 and who failed to pay their premium for December coverage. The retroactive period is 60 days, commencing with the enactment of the provision or, if later, 30 days after provision of notice...

Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Alert: COBRA Subsidy Extended - by Mintz Levin:

Not all COBRA "qualified beneficiaries" are entitled to take advantage of the subsidy. Rather, a qualified beneficiary is eligible if he or she is an "Assistance Eligible Individual" (AEI), defined as a COBRA qualified beneficiary who becomes eligible for COBRA, during the period beginning September 1, 2008 and ending February 28, 2010, due to the involuntary termination of employment of the covered employee...

- Earlier COBRA Updates & Related Commentary:

• Much Anticipated New Model COBRA Notices Released - by Williams Kastner
• Questions and Answers Regarding COBRA Subsidy (July, 2009) - by McAfee & Taft
• DOL Issues Model COBRA Notices to Reflect Changes Mandated by the Stimulus Package (March, 2009) - Foley Hoag LLP
• COBRA Changes Effective Immediately (Feb, 2009) - Williams Kastner
• COBRA Subsidy in New Stimulus Law Adds Administrative and Notice Requirements for Employers (Feb, 2009) - McAfee & Taft

.....

Labor & Employment Law on: JD Supra | Facebook | Twitter

Ready to add your work to the mix? Do so now.

The Department of Homeland Security has granted Temporary Protected Status to Haitian nationals residing in the United States as of the date of Haiti's devastating earthquake (January 12, 2010). For more information, see the following updates by JD Supra contributors: 

Temporary Protected Status for Haitians - by Sands Anderson Marks & Miller:

Temporary Protected Status is sometimes granted to countries when conditions temporarily prevent nationals from returning safely, or in certain circumstances, when the country is unable to handle the return of its nationals adequately. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano temporarily halted the removal (deportations) of Haitians with standing removal orders. Those who do not have removal orders, but are detained in detention centers, will remain jailed...

Temporary Protected Status Granted for Haiti - by Collins & Collins, P.C.:

The Temporary Protected Status is for a period of 18 months. Individual nationals of Haiti are eligible. In addition, aliens having no nationality who habitually resided in Haiti are also eligible. To be eligible, the individual must have been continuously present and continually residing in the United States as of January 12, 2010, the date of the earthquake in Haiti. Eligible individuals have 180 days to register for Temporary Protected Status. Those eligible may also apply for employment and travel authorization...

More Information on Haitian Deportation - by Robert Kraft:

The administration has clarified the earlier announcement regarding the suspension of deportation of Haitian citizens. The Haitians must have been in the United States before the earthquake January 11, and any Haitians who arrive here illegally after that date will be deported...

Related:

Adoption Process of Haiti Orphans Expedited by Homeland Security - by Collins & Collins, P.C.:

DHS has announced a humanitarian parole policy to allow orphaned Haitian children to enter the United States under temporary protected status. The policy is part of the U.S. government's ongoing relief efforts to assist Haiti following the devastating earthquake. The humanitarian parole will allow eligible children entry to the United States on an expedited basis to insure that they receive the care they need...

For information on how you can support the disaster relief in Haiti start with Google's crisis response center.

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Immigration Law: JD Supra | Facebook | Twitter

 

File under: weekend reading.

Here's a quick look at some of the articles and news (mainly to do with online matters) that recently grabbed our attention.

Meant to be helpful, this reading list is by no means comprehensive. Before we file away, we thought we'd share with you:

• Facebook Now Allows Comment Replies by Email (Facebook blog)
• How Google Ranks Tweets (Technology Review)
• Why Are We Still Debating? (Are You Writing This Down?)
• LinkedIn Wants Users to Connect More (WSJ)
• Social Media Marketing Explained in 61 Words (WebInkNow)
• 3 Ways to Use Search & Authenticity in Personal Branding (Personal Branding Blog)
• 30 Content Marketing Truths for 2010 (Junta42)
• Seven Ways to Get Your Marketing Back on Track (Clickz)

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[Updated January 22, 2010] For your reference, here's a look at how lawyers and law firms on JD Supra are making sense of the 2010 repeal of the Federal Estate Tax. For more information on why the estate tax was repealed, and the myriad of consequences, start with these articles:

2010 Federal Estate Tax: Estate Law Updates on JD Supra

Estate Tax Repeal is Here - by Cole Schotz:

To the surprise of most estate planning practitioners, the arrival of January 1, 2010 brought with it a federal estate tax repeal. Congress was unable to compromise prior to year end on legislation that would have either maintained the status quo ($3.5 million applicable exclusion amount and a 45% estate tax rate) or implemented new exclusion amounts and/or tax rates. As a result, the following rules apply in 2010...

2010 Federal Estate Tax Repeal - What Does It Really Mean? - by Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP:

The 2010 federal estate tax repeal has been nine years in the making, yet we can honestly say that no one saw it coming. Congress did not act, and we now find ourselves in a system created by what some commentators are calling "congressional malpractice" and what the Senate Finance Committee Chairman describes as "massive, massive confusion." Here is the bottom line of how the estate tax landscape has changed and what to look out for over the next 12 months...

Estate Tax Uncertainty in 2010 - by McAfee & Taft:

The future of the federal estate tax laws remains uncertain. Many planners believe it is likely that legislation, when it is passed, will result in a return to something akin to the 2009 rules, which provided for a $3.5 million per person federal estate and GST tax exemption and a tax rate of 45%...

Estate and Gift Tax Update - Changes in 2010 and Beyond - by Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP:

"No matter what Congress does or does not do, many estate plans allocate assets among trusts or beneficiaries through the use of formulas that assume the existence of a federal estate tax. Plans prepared in the last several years may have anticipated the 2010 temporary repeal..."

Would Retroactive Reinstatement of the Federal Estate Tax be Constitutional? - by Randy Spiro:

The perfect storm for estate planning arrived on January 1, 2010 when the federal estate tax was repealed, but only for persons dying on and after January 1, 2010 but no later than December 31, 2010. Adding to the mystery is Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus' pledge that the Senate will pass a bill reinstating the tax, which legislation the House of Representatives previously passed on December 3, 2009. But would a retroactive reinstatement pass constitutional muster for persons dying on and after January 1, 2010 and before the date of the bill's passage and signing by the President?

The Stealth Estate Tax of 2010 - by Kaufman Law Group:

"In 2001, Congress revised the federal estate tax schedule, gradually increasing the individual exemption from estate tax from year to year. Pursuant to this legislation, the exemption was raised to $3.5 million per person ($7 M per couple) in 2009, and there is a scheduled one-year exemption from all federal estate tax for 2010. But not many people realize that this one-year "gift" is really a Trojan tax horse! " (Also from Kaufman Law Group: Avoiding the Stealth Estate Tax)

Is the Estate Tax Dead or Only Sleeping? - by Jeffrey Crown:

"For the present, there is no Federal estate tax. But there are two reasons not to celebrate yet. First, the estate tax is being replaced by a moratorium on "stepped up basis at death." Secondly, there is a possibility that Congress may reinstate the tax retroactively..."

Uncertainty On Existing Estate Plans And Gifting Strategies Due To Repeal Of The Federal Estate Tax - by Fox Rothschild:

"In the context of Federal Estate Tax repeal, some wills use technical language that may have the effect of reducing the surviving spouse's actual share of the decedent's estate to zero.This result may be completely unintended..."

Temporary Tax Repeals May Alter Your Estate Plan - by Dinsmore & Shohl LLP:

"Estate tax changes next year could include elimination or significant restriction of wealth-shifting opportunities currently available, including restrictions on valuation discounts and on the use of Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs). While current law applies, and values and interest rates remain low, planning opportunities are available..."

Tax Law Change May Reinstate Estate Rules - by Sands Anderson Marks & Miller:

Everyone expects (yes, that crowd of everyone again) Congress will pass a more permanent extension of the estate tax law setting the tax-free amount at a higher level, but Congress is full of surprises and, with an election coming up, Congress could easily do nothing about further estate taxes (just as happened this year) and let the exemption drop back to $1,000,000...

The Temporary Repeal Of The Federal Estate Tax And Its Effect On Your Estate Plan - by Morrison & Foerster LLP:

Although some would see this as another cause for celebration, for many the repeal will create more problems than it solves. In addition, the repeal of the estate and GST tax laws -- even though under current law it will only last for one year -- requires most individuals to consider whether their wills and trusts still operate as planned or instead leave their beneficiaries facing unintended consequences...

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More information on...
 
JD Supra: Trusts & Estates Law | Tax Law - Twitter: Trusts and Estates | Tax Alerts - Facebook: Estate Law & Lawyers | Tax Law ...

Ready to add you own work to the mix? Post it now. Find a larger audience with JD Supra.

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[Updated January 20, 2010] - For your reference, here's a reading list to make sense of recent amendments to the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) and how these latest changes have increased protections for military families:

FMLA Amended Again By The National Defense Authorization Act for 2010 (by Duane Morris): On October 28, 2009, President Obama signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010, Public Law 111-84 ("NDAA for 2010"). Primarily a defense appropriations law, the NDAA contains several amendments to the family military-leave provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA")...

Family and Medical Leave Act Further Helps Military Families (by Sheppard Mullin): The bill increases protections for families of military personnel who wish to take leave from work under the Family and Medical Leave Act. The new amendments expand on changes implemented less than a year ago requiring that certain employers provide unpaid leave for qualifying family members of military personnel...

Recent FMLA Amendments Regarding Military Leave (by Dinsmore & Shohl): This new entitlement is now extended to an employee whose spouse, son, daughter or parent is a member of the regular Armed Forces - not just the National Guard or Reserves - and is deployed to a foreign country, rather than only when deployed in support of a contingency operation.

FMLA's Military Leave Provisions Expanded (by Ford & Harrison): The NDAA also extends the scope of military caregiver leave to families of certain veterans, who previously were not covered by the provision. It also permits military caregiver leave for serious injuries or illnesses that are the result of pre-existing conditions that were aggravated by service while on active duty.

The FMLA Gets (Yet ANOTHER) Facelift! (by Miller & Martin PLLC): Most of the news media's focus has been on the financial and other "support for our troops" aspects of this law. However, it has serious human resource implications as well...

FMLA - Background Reading & Archived Updates:

• Family and Medical Leave Act E-Newsletter (Howard Ankin) - January, 2010.
  
• DOL Clarifies FMLA Amendments Related to Servicemember Care and Other Military-Related Exigencies (Littler Mendelson) - November, 2008.
• President Signs Bill Expanding FMLA Protection for Military Family Members (Ford & Harrison LLP) - January, 2008.
• Highlights of the Final Revised FMLA Regulations (Dickinson, Mackaman, Tyler & Hagen, P.C.) - January, 2009.
• Proper documentation may have helped resort in FMLA lawsuit (Fox Rothschild) - December, 2009.
• Tackle Tough FMLA Issues (Denise Drake, Spencer Fane) - 47-page resource guide, Oct. 2009.

Additional information is available in JD Supra's Military Law center, or by following @MilitaryLaw on Twitter.

Got FMLA-related news and analysis to add to the mix? Please do so now.

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