Tax

A Likely Tipping Point For Nonlawyer Ownership Of Law Firms

The Arizona Supreme Court's recent decision to eliminate prohibitions on nonlawyer ownership of law firms may show that the organized bar's long-standing rhetoric that such rules are essential to protecting the legal profession's core values is overblown, say Anthony Sebok at Cardozo School of Law and Bradley Wendel at Cornell Law School.

Managing New IRS Global High-Wealth Audits

Global high-wealth individuals on the receiving end of an audit letter under the Internal Revenue Service Large Business and International Division's new program should prepare for a thorough examination process that includes their entire network of persons and affiliated entities, say attorneys at MoFo.

A Road Map For Drafting Persuasive Discovery Motions

Best practices that can help litigators write convincing discovery motions include thinking about the audience, addressing a few key questions, and leaving out boilerplate from supporting briefs, says Tom Connally at Hogan Lovells.

How Congress Can Depoliticize The Supreme Court

Congress has multiple means to take the politics out of federal judicial nominations and restore the independence of the U.S. Supreme Court — three of which can be implemented without a constitutional amendment, says Franklin Amanat at DiCello Levitt.

COVID-19 Crisis May Make M&A Earnouts More Attractive

Earnouts are poised for a resurgence in the pandemic-churned M&A market, making it important to weigh the structure’s advantages as a way to close valuation gaps between buyers and sellers, as well as consider potential federal income tax disadvantages, say Efren Acosta and Ron Scharnberg at Baker Botts.

IRS Notice Helps Unpack Part-Time Worker 401(k) Eligibility

As sponsors struggle to evaluate whether and how to include employer contributions when 401(k) plan eligibility is extended to long-term, part-time workers on Jan. 1, newly released IRS guidance may clarify some of the administrative burdens, say Anne Hall and Katharine Finley at Hall Benefits.

Opinion

The Case For A Nonpolitical Federal Judiciary

For the last 20 years, at the insistence of both parties, U.S. Supreme Court nominations have been fierce ideological battles — which is bad for the country and bad for the public's perception of the legitimacy of the court, say Judge Eric Moyé, Judge Craig Smith and Winston & Strawn partner Tom Melsheimer.

The Keys To A Better Privilege Logging Paradigm

Current privilege logging practices to identify what information is being withheld from discovery often lead to costly disputes, so practitioners should adopt a system based on trust and good faith, similar to the presumptions embedded in the business judgment rule for corporate directors and officers, say Kevin Brady at Volkswagen and Charles Ragan and Ted Hiser at Redgrave.

Class Arbitration May Meet Its Demise At High Court This Term

While the Second Circuit’s 2019 opinion in Jock v. Sterling Jewelers and the Ninth Circuit’s recent decision in Shivkov v. Artex exemplify how two interrelated inquiries have rescued class arbitration, the U.S. Supreme Court will likely address the issues this term and extinguish the practice, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.

White House Due Process Memo Could Reform Enforcement

A little-noticed memo recently issued by the Trump administration in response to the pandemic, directing federal agencies to provide greater due process to individuals and companies under regulatory investigation, represents a long-overdue sea change in the way justice is carried out in enforcement proceedings, say Joan Meyer and Norman Bloch at Thompson Hine.

Law Firm Hiring Considerations In A COVID-19 Economy

Financially robust law firms are entering the recruiting market aggressively knowing that dislocations like the COVID-19 crisis present rare competitive opportunities, and firms that remain on the sidelines when it comes to strategic hiring will be especially vulnerable to having their best talent poached, says Brian Burlant at Major Lindsey.

Ohio Tax Talk: Structuring And Defending Drop-Down LLCs

The recent Ohio Board of Tax Appeals decision in Cleveland Metropolitan Schools Board of Education v. Cuyahoga County Board of Revision highlights factors that courts use in evaluating drop-down LLC transactions for property tax purposes and reminds taxing authorities of their high burden of proof in these cases, say Martin Mooney and Christopher Tassone at Frost Brown.

Opinion

Lawyers Must Act To Preserve Democracy This Election

COVID-19 concerns and glaring gaps in registration threaten to dampen voter turnout in the 2020 election, so attorneys should take on the problem by leveraging their knowledge and resources in seven ways, says Laura Brill at Kendall Brill.

How To Effectively Defend Witnesses In Remote Depositions

When a witness is isolated from the defending lawyer during a remote deposition, carefully planning the logistics and building witness confidence are critical to avoiding damaging admissions, say Jessica Staiger at Archer Daniels and Alec Solotorovsky at Eimer Stahl.

Whether And How To Compel Remote Arbitration

Excerpt from Practical Guidance

As the pandemic delays in-person arbitration hearings, mediator and arbitrator Theodore Cheng provides arbitrators with a checklist to examine the rationale and authority for compelling parties to participate in remote hearings.