Tax

Expert Analysis

• Law Firms Must Beware Risks In Nontraditional Financing

  

  Law firms in today's financial crisis may be looking at nontraditional arrangements such as portfolio funding or factoring to provide liquidity and cash support, but firms must first consider lawsuits brought against Pierce Bainbridge and other recent developments, says Katherine Toomey at Lewis Baach.

• Multinationals Should Review Their Transfer Pricing Methods

  

  Tax directors should review their transfer pricing methods for 2020 as the relatively simple way that traditional models allocate risk and profit for tax purposes may exacerbate the financial effects of the pandemic on multinational corporations, say managing directors at Duff & Phelps.

• Opinion

  Minn. Ruling Represents Sensible Stance On Legal Finance

  

  The Minnesota Supreme Court's Maslowski v. Prospect Funding Partners decision this week reaffirms that the doctrine of champerty is archaic, impedes important litigation finance activity, and should be abolished in the handful of states where it remains alive, says Andrew Cohen at Burford Capital.

• Tax Compliance Issues For Rapidly Growing Media Cos.

  

  Our recent survey reveals that while many communications and media companies are planning new corporate structures or product offerings to keep up with their industry’s exponential growth, they need to improve how they identify and address indirect communications tax compliance, says Toby Bargar at Avalara.

• Best Practices For A Paperless Law Practice

  

  A significant challenge in practicing law remotely is the use and handling of documents without paper, because common digital tools such as email or even secure file transfer applications are problematic, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

• Unpacking CARES Act Tax Breaks For Real Estate Investors

  

  Real estate investors should take time to properly understand how the CARES Act has opened the door for significant tax refunds, which could mean the difference between solvency and bankruptcy during the COVID-19 crisis, says Julio Gonzalez at Engineered Tax Services.

• What Happens To IPO Costs When A Co. Later Goes Private?

  

  Although the Internal Revenue Service recently released two memos to help clarify a private corporation's ability to deduct costs from an earlier public offering, it is unclear how taxpayers would show that no synergistic benefits from the original transaction remain upon completion of a second transaction, say attorneys at Skadden.

• Opinion

  Lawyers Must Address Racial Injustice With Radical Candor

  

  The legal industry is uniquely positioned, and indeed obligated, to respond to the racial disparities made clear by the recent killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, but lawyers must be willing to be uncomfortable, says Tiffani Lee at Holland & Knight.

• How Lawyers Can Network Better, Virtually And In Person

  

  The current decrease in formality and increase in common ground due to the work-from-home environment can make it easier to have a networking conversation, says Megan Burke Roudebush at Keepwith.

• NOL Carryback Rule Changes Bring Benefits For M&A Parties

  

  New federal tax rules in the CARES Act, allowing the use of net operating loss carrybacks, bring previously unavailable tax benefits and negotiation opportunities for parties to mergers and acquisitions, say attorneys at Polsinelli.

• Practical Tips For Presenting Your Case To Litigation Funders

  

  One mistake that attorneys commonly make when presenting a case to a third-party funder is focusing almost exclusively on liability and giving short shrift to the damages analysis — resulting in an aspirational damages estimate that falls apart under scrutiny, say Cindy Ahn and Justin Maleson at Longford Capital and Casey Grabenstein at Saul Ewing.

• Ohio Tax Talk: Unemployment Ruling May Offer M&A Savings

  

  The Ohio Supreme Court's recent decision in Delphi Automotive v. Ohio Department of Job and Family Services sets an acquirer-friendly precedent for unemployment tax rates in mergers, acquisitions and reorganizations, which could be especially important in the wake of pandemic-related layoffs, say Jeremy Hayden and Christopher Tassone of Frost Brown.

• Avoiding Inadvertent Privilege Waivers In E-Communications

  

  Attorneys at WilmerHale highlight recent developments in privilege law, the significant challenges raised by nontraditional working arrangements popularized during the pandemic, and ways to avoid waiving attorney-client privilege when using electronic communications.

• Opinion

  Don't Cancel Your Summer Associate Programs

  

  While pulling off an effective summer associate program this year will be no easy feat, law firms' investments in their future attorneys should be considered necessary even during this difficult time, says Summer Eberhard at Major Lindsey.

• Pandemic Elevates Cos.' Compliance Risks In Latin America

  

  While Latin American governments respond to pandemic-related financial needs, multinational companies face elevated compliance risks from increased interaction with government officials, and new enforcement policies related to the misappropriation of funds, expedited government contracting, increased transparency and monitoring, and international cooperation, say attorneys at K&L Gates.