Month: March 2007

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Pestilence, War, Famine, Death…and Unemployment?: An Analysis of the Internet Message Boards’ Impact on Law Firm Recruitment

I: Common Sense is Not So Common    

Polished black shoes. Dry-cleaned charcoal gray suit. Freshly pressed royal blue dress shirt. Red power tie. I ran through this checklist for every on-campus interview and call back interview this fall. Emails from my Career Services Office reinforced this sartorial splendor constantly. Eventually I began to notice that the CSO included several new items. “Make sure your Facebook and MySpace profiles do not have/reveal anything incriminating about you. Employers will check before an interview.” Come again? The hiring partner of a Vault 100 firm is going to “friend” me?

As incredulous as I was, I began to see this advice echoed throughout a variety of mediums. As TheNew York Times reported: “…recruiters are looking up applicants on social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, Xanga and Friendster, where college students often post risqué or teasing photographs and provocative comments about drinking, recreational

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China approves bill to end preferential tax treatment for foreign companies

In a move toward a market economy, China recently approved a bill creating a unified enterprise income tax of 25% for companies, thereby ending nearly three decades of preferential tax treatment for foreign companies.  [1]  This new enterprise income tax (EIT) law will become effective on January 1, 2008. [2]  Under the new EIT law, foreign companies in China, currently benefiting from the present preferential tax regime, are expected to experience a significant increase in their tax costs while domestic companies in China will see a noticeable reduction in their tax burdens. [3]

Currently, domestic companies in China pay more income taxes than their foreign counterparts.  Although China’s present corporate income tax law imposes a statutory income tax rate of 33%, this rate applies mainly to domestic firms and very few foreign companies that do not qualify for preferential tax treatment e.g., foreign services companies. [4]  Foreign companies that invest

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Finding REIT Investors through the EB-5 Visa Program

Real estate investment trusts looking for new investors should consider participating in an increasingly popular US immigration law program.  Each year, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) allocates 10,000 visas through the fifth category of the employment-based paths to permanent residency (EB5) to foreign-nationals who invest in the U.S. [1]  Sometimes referred to as the “million dollar green card”, the EB5 has been wrought with frustration due to stringent standards and wary would-be applicants.  In an attempt to make the program more attractive, the USCIS made key amendments and set aside 5,000 visas (of the 10,000 total) to foreign nationals investing in designated “Regional Centers”. [2]

There are generally three paths to the EB5. [3] First, a foreign-national may actively invest $1 million and hire ten employees anywhere in the United States. [4] Second, a foreign-national may actively invest $500,000 and hire ten employees in an area where the

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Anatomy of a Tax Protester

I. Introduction

To a certain extent, most everyone becomes a
tax protestor of sorts come tax season.  The goal in filling out one's
tax return is to ensure that one receives every penny back that can
possibly be justified — not that one pays the appropriate amount of
tax given one's circumstances.  And yet, most of us do indeed pay. 
Among those that do not pay in full can be found at least two distinct
categories of shirkers: the tax evader, and the tax protestor.  The tax
evader is content to freeride off of the compliance of the rest of
society, choosing not to pay taxes but not without tacit reliance on a
system that requires taxation.  The tax protestor, on the other hand,
eschews taxation as a matter of course, proclaiming his distaste for
this or any system of taxation by not taking part therein.  While the
net effect … Read the rest

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Will Congress Kill the “Death” Tax?

Estate and gift taxes have been a thorn in the side of the affluent for ages, while serving as an efficient stream of revenue for the federal government. Gift and estate taxes are two different types of taxes. Gift taxes apply to lifetime transfers of assets, while assets transferred at death are subject to estate taxes. [1] The Federal estate tax is levied “on the transfer of the taxable estate of every decedent who is a citizen or resident of the United States.” [2] The current status of the estate tax is governed by the Federal Economic Growth and Tax Reconciliation Act of 2001 (“EGTRRA”). [3] Under EGTRRA, the estate tax has a ceiling of 45% of an individual’s estate in 2007 through 2009, a ceiling of 35% in 2009 and is fully repealed by 2011. [4] However, a sunset provision means that if Congress does not reenact the relevant … Read the rest

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The Classical Legacy of Admiralty: The Roman Experience (Part Two of a Two-Part Series)

Last month we examined some pre-Roman beginnings of modern admiralty doctrine, starting from pre-history through the Greek city states.  [1]  This month we will continue our study of the classical beginnings of admiralty and maritime law by examining mighty Rome – what its legal system was like, how Rome’s laws evolved and amplified the admiralty that came before them, and most importantly how Rome’s influence on maritime legal matters influenced a wide array of modern doctrines from maritime tort and contract liability to general average.  I highly recommend reviewing my last article, published on February 15, before continuing on.  [2]  This will set the stage for understanding what Rome inherited and what she gave back to the western legal tradition after her downfall.

At the height of her power, Rome stretched from Scotland to Persia to Spain to Romania.  [3]  The economic and military might of the Empire was the

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Automated Document Review: Cost Saver for the Startup Firm?

     Paper cuts, tired eyes, and boredom are all terms associated with the task of document review.  Lawyers may spend countless hours poring over documents for a single word, phrase or name.   Those hours quickly add up, especially when there are hundreds or thousands of documents.  Document review might be an income generator for a large firm that can afford to let a new associate sit in a room and sift through stacks of paper, but the same task might cripple the operations of a small firm or solo practitioner. [1]  “With discovery requests growing exponentially, the legal department’s challenge is to get smarter and faster or to spend more money and time in reviewing documents.” [2] The American Bar Association reports that 48 percent of attorneys are solo practitioners. [3] Furthermore, only 14 percent of attorneys work in firms with more than 100 attorneys. [4] Is there anything that … Read the rest

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IRS Study Confirms the Obvious

I. Introduction

Tax exempt organizations, by design, do not
have to answer to shareholders.  The executives of these organizations
do not feel the same pressures as do executives of taxable, for-profit
organizations to run the entities in the most streamlined
shareholder-interest-maximizing manner.  Instead, the taxpaying public
(who arguably subsidizes the activities of the tax-exempt sector)
relies on detailed government regulation, the vast majority of which is
found in the Internal Revenue Code, to ensure that the tax exempt arena
neither becomes a black hole for this country's resources nor a
playground for the very wealthy.  As part of this monitoring charge,
the IRS recently completed a three-year investigation into the
compensation of executives of tax-exempt corporations.[1]  This article
discusses the objectives and methodology of this investigation, its
findings and its minimal impact.

II. Analysis

The Executive Compensation Compliance Project (aka "The Project")
was initiated in response to a budgetary reorganization

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Don’t Franchise Me! The NFL’s Emerging Dilemma

I. Introduction

This past National Football League ("NFL") off-season, four Pro
Bowl-caliber defenders were eligible for free agency in some form. [1] 
Two received contracts that guaranteed approximately $20 million each,
while the other two agreed to contracts that guaranteed less than half
this amount. [2]  The four defenders were linebackers – Adalius Thomas
and Lance Briggs and corner backs – Nate Clements and Asante Samuel.
[3] All of them hoped to sign lucrative contracts with a significant
portion of that contract guaranteed.  While Clements and Thomas cashed
in, Briggs and Samuel were not as lucky – they were designated with the
franchise tag. [4]  Accordingly, Samuel and Briggs threatened to
hold-out until deep into the season to voice their disgust with the
stigma of franchise designation. [5]  By holding out, a player refuses
to take the field until his contract situation is remedied. [6]  In
light of this summer's … Read the rest

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Turning Brownfields into Big Green: Practical Concerns Regarding Contaminated Real Estate

I.  Introduction

Greenfields, otherwise known as pristine tracts of land, are becoming scarce as demand for residential property continues to rise, yet environmentalist groups are fighting to preserve these undeveloped areas. [1] How, then, can we provide more residential areas to meet the increasing demand, while refraining from construction on previously unused land?  Brownfields very well may be the answer to this fundamental conflict.  Brownfields are “real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.” [2] Some authorities report that there are more than 500,000 abandoned brownfields scattered throughout the United States. [3] While the thought of turning polluted land into a residential area may at first seem unappetizing, brownfield redevelopment is gaining more acceptance as lenders and insurers begin to give financial support for these projects. [4] As more and more builders are

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