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The Fair Pay Act and Related Wage Laws Within California’s Entertainment Industry

Stephen Danz July 13, 2016

Recent headlines showcase a large number of combined pay-related and gender discrimination lawsuits. One of these was brought by a group of former female employees against Merck and Co., one of the largest U.S. pharmaceutical companies in the world. Last month, the former employees brought a $250 million lawsuit alleging violations of the Equal Pay Act and that the employer

Impact of Tattoos on Consular Processing

Alan Diamante July 13, 2016

Tattooing has been consistently practiced around the world since at least Neolithic times. Today, a tattoo can be a scarlet letter that precludes someone from legally immigrating into the U.S. Under 8 U.S.C. §1182(a)(3)(A) (ii), any applicant for a visa who a consular officer knows, or has “reasonable ground to believe,” seeks to enter the U.S. to engage “solely, principally,

Challenges in Managing The CEO’s Divorce

Mitchell Reichman July 13, 2016

Representing a high-level executive in his or her divorce presents unique and recurring challenges to a family law practitioner. While every client’s divorce has its own particular circumstances, representing high net worth senior level executives have certain commonalities among them regardless of their profession and industry. These include the absence of time to devote to divorce-related tasks and difficulties accepting

Inventing Is A Team Sport

Z. Peter Sawicki and James L. Young July 1, 2016

Who owns an invention (and the patent rights to it)? For a business owner seeking product exclusivity, ownership of the intellectual property rights for that product may be quite valuable. In the United States, we start with the premise that initially, the “inventor” owns an invention. However, the product development process from conception to production and then to sale doesn’t

Understanding How Personality Disorders Can Impact Divorce Cases

Kathleen Newman July 1, 2016

Attorneys who practice family law are often forced to deal with the challenging mental health issues of their clients and opposing parties. Some mental health issues can be addressed by referring a client to a psychologist for talk therapy or a psychiatrist for medication. Others, such as personality disorders, are much more difficult to address. Often, a client will refuse

Structure Matters, Just Ask The Three Little Pigs

Janel Dressen July 1, 2016

With the enactment of Minnesota’s Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company Act, new limited liability companies (LLCs) (and effective as of Jan. 1, 2018, existing LLCs) are no longer governed by a single board-managed governance structure. Does that matter? In answering this question, I am reminded of the children’s fable, “The Three Little Pigs.” As it turned out, the three little

Silence Is Not Golden: Resale Disclosure Statements and Minnesota Statute 515B

Brenda Sauro July 1, 2016

Seldom are there situations in Minnesota where a prevailing party in litigation can have a debt forgiven, recover attorney fees, court costs and even, potentially, punitive damages. Successful litigants bringing claims under the Minnesota Common Interest Ownership Act, Minn. Stat. §515B (MCIOA) are the rare exception who stand to recover their legal fees and additional damages for claims brought under

How to Spot a Potential Class Action in Your Practice

Frank Bartela June 15, 2016

One of the most common questions we receive from other attorneys is, “How do I spot a potential class action?” Th e answer is much simpler than you think; you just need to know what to look for. In the last issue, we spent some time explaining what a class action is and how it can be used as a

The Castle Doctrine & Jury Instructions: It’s Not Just For Intruders Anymore

Eric Long June 15, 2016

It is generally understood that a person acting in “self-defense” is not criminally liable for injuring – or even killing – their assailant. Unfortunately, the legal requirements for establishing “self-defense” and the specific instructions to be given to the jury are not always clear. This is particularly true in instances where the assailant and the party claiming “self-defense” have an

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