Category: Client Update

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Noncompete, Overtime Rules Change, But Legal Challenges Remain

April 23, 2024, was a big day for the Biden Administration, as the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) and Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) almost simultaneously launched new revamped rules which will affect millions of employers and employees nationwide. There are important items and deadlines for both rules which employers will have to comply with absent…
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Short-Term Rental Proposal is Latest Threat to Airbnb/Vrbo Business Model

In many states, the tide appears to be turning against short-term rentals. With restrictions on short-term rentals, such as Airbnb and Vrbo, on the rise, businesses operating short-term rental properties are running out of options. Such restrictions are not unheard of in larger vacation hot spots such as Miami or Nashville, seemingly with the goal…
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Should Solar Developers Pursue Community Solar? Incentives Can Be Key

With the proliferation of renewable energy and sustainable technologies, individuals of every income range have tried to find ways to benefit from the technological advances. Those who have the resources and interest may purchase an electric vehicle; those who want to minimize their carbon footprint may use more efficient heating and lighting; but those who…
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Allocating Risk in Real Estate Sales: Representations and Warranties

Although a majority of buyers in real estate transactions rely on their own inspections of property, most real estate purchase and sale agreements contain some seller representations and warranties regarding key factual matters that the buyer cannot independently verify. These representations and warranties serve as closing conditions as well as a basis for post-closing indemnification.…
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Amid Shifting Policies, Employee Handbooks Can’t Be Static Manuals

As we’ve said before, one of the easiest and least expensive tools for businesses to reduce liability and insulate from (at least some) risk, is often the one most frequently overlooked. Creating, promulgating, and most importantly enforcing an employee handbook is a simple and efficient way to communicate company policy and expectations to your employees…
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How Bonus Depreciation Can Be A Timely Tool in Real Estate Deals

So, you’re a real estate investor accustomed to tax mitigation strategies and you are starting to think about your next big project. With that comes so many streams of thought — location, timing, interest rates, partnerships, and, possibly, the most crucial thing, tax incentives. In recent years, bonus depreciation in connection with real estate transactions…
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Buyer’s Market? Real Estate Broker Verdict’s Effect on Marketplace

A recent federal jury verdict in Missouri has gotten the attention of real estate industry professionals around the country. The jury in Sitzer v. National Association of Realtors et. al (Case No. 4:19-cv-00332-SRB) ordered the National Association of Realtors (“NAR”) and a number of the nation’s largest real estate franchises to pay $1.78 billion in…
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New Federal Focus on AI, Data Privacy and Civil Rights Protection

On October 30, 2023, President Biden issued an Executive Order on the safety, security, and trustworthiness of artificial intelligence (the “Executive Order”).[1]  Given the recent adoption and integration of digital tools and services utilizing artificial intelligence, such as ChatGPT, that can quickly generate content, the Executive Order establishes new standards to protect the civil rights…
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How DOJ’s Safe Harbor Policy Rewards Honesty Within M&A Deals

Be you a merger and acquisition attorney, corporate compliance officer, or counsel to an acquiring entity or target entity, you should review the Department of Justice’s new Merger and Acquisition Safe Harbor Policy (“Policy”) to enhance your law firm’s diligence process, to educate your company’s compliance personnel, and/or to incorporate procedures to report criminal conduct…
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New York Times vs. OpenAI: Fair Use Fight with Billions at Stake

On the third day of Christmas, Microsoft Corp. (“Microsoft”) and OpenAI, Inc. (together with its named affiliates, “OpenAI”) didn’t get any French hens: Instead, the software giant and leading artificial intelligence research and deployment company were named as defendants in a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by The New York Times (the “Times”) in the United…
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