Firm Insights

Severance Agreements Attempting to Muzzle Departing Employees Can Backfire Businesses don’t want employees badmouthing them on the way out the door. However, attempts to muzzle former staff members can often backfire. Two federal regulators, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), are increasingly cracking down on the use of […]

Investment Advisers’ Top Five Compliance Fails As investment advisers conduct their annual review, they can learn a lot from their peers. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) recently issued a Risk Alert detailing the five compliance topics most frequently identified in deficiency letters that were sent to registered investment […]

A recent newsletter stated that a common business structure for independent broker-dealers suffered a setback in Tax Court when the IRS prevailed. The individual, a broker-dealer held several series licenses to annuities and other financial products. The individual, not his corporation, signed contracts with LPL and Mass Mutual. The corporation elected S status and in […]

What’s the Difference Between Copyright and Trademark? Many people faced with intellectual property laws wonder whether they should copyright or trademark their creations. These two aspects of intellectual property law are both vital to business operations but are very different in how they are applied and defended, and in what aspects of your business they […]

One of the world’s most popular and long-running horror film series, “Friday the 13th,” and its production companies, Manny Company, Horror Inc. and Georgetown Productions, have found themselves in the midst of a heated legal debate as to who owns the rights to the franchise. Payments not enough Sean Cunningham, an American film director, approached […]

Making Sense of Four Key Financial Statements Financial statements aren’t just for accountants. All business owners and executives should have a basic understanding of what information certain financial statements contain and why they are important to your business.As the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) states in its “Beginners’ Guide to Financial Statement” publication, “If you […]

New York Equal Pay Act Wage Transparency Provisions Take Effect The New York Department of Labor (NYDOL) recently adopted new regulations that place limitations on the discussion and disclosure of wages in the workplace. The amendments to Section 194(4) of the New York Labor Law took effect on February 1, 2017.Generally, Section 194 of the […]

Sessions appointment puts legal marijuana industry on hold The trend toward popular approval of medical marijuana and recreational legalization continues steadily forward. A total of 28 states, including New Jersey, have approved or implemented medical marijuana programs, and eight states and Washington, D.C. have approved sale and adult use of non-medical marijuana. In large part, […]

Patent vs Copyright: Which Is The Correct IP Protection You Need? Patents and copyrights are two vital aspects of intellectual property law, but many people are confused as to the difference between the two. This can present a serious problem when your business produces something in need of intellectual property protection.So, what is the difference […]

Even talent agreements with the entertainment industry’s most well-known recording artists aren’t safe from copyright infringement lawsuits. Messy lawsuit A federal lawsuit filed in a New Orleans courthouse in early February is aimed at superstar Beyoncé—and is seeking damage claims of $20 million, The New Orleans Advocate reported. Angel Barre, sister of now-deceased Anthony Barre, […]

When someone dies, the people left behind are often stunned and shocked by the taxes they have to pay. They hear all kinds of scary terms like “estate tax” and “inheritance tax,” and they don’t know what the difference between the two is, or even if there’s a difference at all. People fear what will […]

What Can We Learn From Trump’s Tweets Regarding a Social Media Crisis Response Plan? Donald Trump’s use of social media to air his grievances with corporate America is making many businesses very nervous. As Nordstrom recently learned, the President is willing to use his personal twitter account as well as the official @POTUS account to target […]