Articles Posted in Business Law

For those of us that actually read the bottom of their lawyer‘s email you probably noticed the arcane “IRS Circular 230 Disclosure” that stated the advice contained in this email is not intended and cannot be used for tax avoidance purposes etc… You then probably thought to yourself, but I was just confirming lunch, what…

The Supreme Court continued its trend of significant decisions today, issuing rulings in favor of copyright holders over technological innovation (ABC v Aereo) and in favor of upholding privacy rights in the face of police searches (Riley v California). While the decisions were broad in scope, they also both created substantial unanswered questions that the…

In June the Supreme Court held that an inherited individual retirement account (IRA) was not protected by federal bankruptcy law. Specifically, the Court considered whether an inherited IRA is a “retirement fund” within the meaning of the bankruptcy code and thus entitled to federal bankruptcy protection. The Court surprised everyone by ruling inherited IRAs are…

The Pennsylvania Superior Court recently examined what impact, if any, the Pennsylvania Uniform Written Obligations ACT (PUWOA) has on an employment agreement that contained a covenant not to compete entered into after the employee started working with the employer. The short answer is – no effect at all. First a little background is in order.…

The United States Department of Labor recently revised the notice and distribution requirement notices to take into account that employees now have the ability to choose health insurance through the newly created Health Insurance Marketplace. The Department of Labor’s website contains both revised notices and can be found by clicking this Link. DOL is also…

I came across an interesting blog that was posted by a professional hacker whose job is to find vulnerabilities in top corporations’ IT security. His official title is “penetration tester”. Rather than just summarize what is already a short blog, I decided to just let the hacker speak for himself and tell you directly what…

These are dangerous times to be starting your new business. The economy is tight, money is not readily available and your legal budget is next to nil. You’ve heard that you need to incorporate to protect your family assets and you keep hearing on the radio that you don’t need a lawyer. In fact, you…

The SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower (OWB) awarded individuals over $14 million in 2013 for their “significant and original contributions” to successful enforcement of the securities laws. The OWB is now in its 3rd full year and the number of tips and complaints is trending upward. OWB reports that it received 3,001 tips and complaint…

Just last week a new law went into effect in Pennsylvania with very little fanfare but it’s likely to have a major impact on anyone who buys, sells, or owns real estate in the Commonwealth. Act 93 changed the tax lien law, making real estate tax judgments personal. What does this mean? Before this new…

Late last year the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it had entered into its first deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with an individual who worked in an administrative capacity at a large hedge fund. The DPA allowed the SEC to successfully go after hedge fund manager Berton Hochfield who reportedly stole more than 1.5 million…