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Workers’ Compensation & Social Security Payment Effects

Erin Schmidt January 4, 2016

For many workers’ compensation clients, their injuries lead them to also apply for Social Security disability. Later, most are upset to find out that some or even all of their Social Security benefits are offset by their workers’ compensation payments (some states offset workers’ compensation benefits, others Social Security). The windfall provision, under the Social Security Act (SSA), allows for

Patently Obvious – Fact or Fiction?

Z. Peter Sawicki and James L. Young January 4, 2016

Legal fictions are everywhere. For instance, we often invent people to play roles in applying our legal standards. The most well-known is probably the reasonable person standard for a negligence determination where the liability evaluation is based on how an idealized person exercising ordinary prudence would act in a certain situation. The reasonable person is not an average person and

Hide and Seek: Determining an Accurate Value of a Business in a Divorce

Kathleen Newman January 4, 2016

Divorce is as much a financial process as an emotional one. If a party does not receive his/her fair share of the marital property, that spouse may be left facing difficult financial circumstances for some time after the divorce. That is why the failure of a party to disclose all of the assets during a divorce is a critical violation

NCAA’s Catastrophic Injury Loss Insurance Program May Expose Universities to Title IX Liability

Aalok K. Sharma January 4, 2016

Many fans have seen collegiate athletes carted off the field on stretchers and loaded into waiting ambulances. These injuries are frequently debilitating and life changing. According to the NCAA’s own statistics, there are approximately 20,000 injuries to college football players annually – with approximately 800 of those being severe neck and head trauma. Fortunately for many student athletes, the NCAA,

Going the Distance: Application of the Business Judgment Rule

Janel Dressen January 4, 2016

With the number of failed financial institutions increasing in the last decade, bank officers and directors have seen a commensurate increase in claims asserted against them by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). According to the FDIC’s website, the FDIC brought claims against directors and officers (D&O) in 24percent of the bank failures between 1985 and 1992. From Jan. 1,

Qualified Domestic Relations Orders: Avoiding Pitfalls from Stipulation to Division

Kristy Hanson December 29, 2015

A qualified domestic relations order (QDRO) is used in a divorce to divide the retirement, pension and other such interests of parties. Whether you actually draft QDROs yourself or refer your clients on to another attorney for the drafting of the QDRO following the signing of the decree of divorce, it is critical that you include proper language in the

Motive & Intent in Breach of Contract Claims

Megan Garrett December 29, 2015

In litigating breach of contract claims, litigants may focus upon a party’s motivation in terminating or allegedly breaching a contract. Plaintiff ’s counsel, hoping to paint the defendant as a bad actor, may want to introduce evidence showing the contract was breached or terminated solely for vindictive or other nefarious reasons. Defense counsel may want to reduce the dispute to

Stop That Wrecking Ball – Requests for Emergency Injunctive Relief

Arthur Boylan December 8, 2015

As long as there is business litigation, there will be a need for emergency injunctive relief to prevent the proverbial wrecking ball from smashing through your client’s business. Across virtually all businesses, situations calling for emergency injunctive relief will occur from time to time. For example, when an employee departs for the competition in blatant violation of a non-compete agreement,

Your Holiday Soundtrack

Z. Peter Sawicki and James L. Young December 8, 2015

The Copyrights of Christmas Christmas has a musical tradition like no other holiday. Celebrating the season with songs and carols dates back centuries. Now, the close association of music and Christmas extends to today’s most popular communication medium – the Internet. Sharing content using social media has become part of the fabric of our holiday celebrations. When you share a

The Unintended Gift: What Every Client Should Know

Doreen Yaffa December 8, 2015

Most people get married truly believing that it will be forever. Divorce statistics, however, indicate that “forever” is not always the case. Family law practitioners usually recommend that couples protect themselves by entering into a contract which spells out exactly what each party is entitled to in the event of divorce – pre-nuptial or post-nuptial agreements. Although this is the

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