See our Summaries for the latest updates in federal law, and see our Commentaries for our expert lawyers' opinions as to their significance.
January 06, 2009
The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) has laid down an expedited process that will make it easier for financially distressed homeowners to avoid having a federal tax lien block refinancing of mortgages or the sale of a home. More...
January 06, 2009
The Senate has passed by unanimous consent and sent to the U.S. President legislation that would temporarily waive the excise tax on seniors who fail to make the required minimum withdrawal from their defined contribution retirement accounts More...
January 06, 2009
Holding: The U.S. Tax Court has affirmed the deficiency determination made by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) against a couple, and held them liable for self-employment taxes. The issue here was whether petitioners were liable for self-employment tax on funds that were distributed from their law firm to their PLCs to… More...
January 05, 2009
Commentary: In a closely-watched decision, the California Supreme Court has confirmed California’s bright line prohibition against post-employment restrictions such as covenants not to compete. Edwards v. Arthur Anderson, 44 Cal. 4th 937 (Cal. 2008). The Court rejected the 9th Circuit’s deviations from this rule in which the 9th Circuit upheld “narrow… More...
December 31, 2008
Commentary: In Guyden v. Aetna, 544 F.3d 376 (2nd Cir. 2008) – a case of first impression in the federal circuit courts -- the Second Circuit confirmed that arbitration provisions are enforceable against an employee who claims that her termination violated the whistleblower protections of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The opinion confirms… More...
December 16, 2008
Commentary: In an opinion seen as a major development in open source jurisprudence, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled in Jacobsen v. Katzer, 535 F.3d 1373 (Fed. Cir. 2008), open source licenses create conditions on the scope of the license, and failure to comply with those conditions may… More...
December 15, 2008
After Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont filed in April 2007 a bill entitled "Patent Reform Act of 2007," Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl of Arizona filed his own bill that he called "Patent Reform Act of 2008. More...
December 15, 2008
Holding: A jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas returned a verdict finding products made by Samsung Electronics Ltd. willfully infringed two patents for plasma display technology held by Tokyo-based Pioneer Corp. Specifically, the jury awarded Pioneer more than $59 million for lost profits and royalties,… More...
December 15, 2008
Holding: In a rare full court opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has rejected a patent application covering a method for hedging risks in commodities trading for not meeting patent eligibility requirements under Section 101 of the Patent Act. Specifically, the Federal Circuit found that while the… More...
December 15, 2008
Holding: The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC) has finalized settlements with Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. (“Citi”) and UBS Securities LLC and UBS Financial Services, Inc. (“UBS”), that will provide nearly $30 billion to tens of thousands of customers who invested in auction rate securities before the market for those securities froze… More...
Read the latest news relating to the world's most important law firms and most prominent lawyers, and to the legal industry in general.
January 06, 2009
The U.S. Supreme Court is reviewing the case of a woman who says that a forced traumatic exorcism at a church in Texas when she was 17 years old left… More...
January 05, 2009
Louay Kezy, a 43-year-old Arab- and Muslim-American man, has filed a $12 million lawsuit against Wal-Mart, claiming that the employees in his local Wal-Mart discriminated against him and fired him… More...
January 05, 2009
The U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen for the Eastern District of Michigan has cut legal fees in the $303 million settlement between General Motors Corp. and investors. More...
January 05, 2009
The New York City office of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal has announced its plans to hire 100 lawyers (and a bunch of support staff) from dying Thacher Proffitt & Wood,… More...
December 31, 2008
A Delaware judge has approved a $115 million settlement in a lawsuit brought by shareholders against former executives of insurance giant American International Groups, Inc. The settlement was reached in… More...
December 31, 2008
It should come as no surprise that Dreier LLP has filed for Chapter 11 protection in a Manhattan bankruptcy court. In the petition, the firm claims to have liabilities of… More...
December 31, 2008
The Illinois Supreme Court has refused to hear a challenge brought by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan that Ill. Gov. Rod Blagojevich is unfit to serve as governor due to… More...
December 30, 2008
The New Jersey Supreme Court has ordered a new trial for a former PaineWebber in-house attorney who claimed she was fired in retaliation for complaining to her supervisors about unethical… More...
December 30, 2008
A Los Angeles County Superior Court jury sided with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences in the Academy’s efforts to prevent the heirs of silent film star Mary… More...
December 30, 2008
The court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has refused to dismiss a libel suit against Rite Aid Corp. brought by a former employee who claims the company falsely accused… More...
Enter our NEW discussion forums to interact with other readers.
The lawyers at Zuber & Taillieu LLP have top credentials, and offer exceptional services in all areas of law found on LawUpdates.com.
