Global Matters features updates about legal and business trends, the impact of changes in law and other topics of interest affecting multi-jurisdictional businesses. In addition to contributions by member firms, Global Matters provides updates on Ally Law news and other developments.
April 25, 2018On April 12, 2018, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, signed the state’s 2018-2019 budget bill. Going far beyond simple dollars-and-cents issues, the law also includes sweep...- April 23, 2018In an April 3, 2018, announcement, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) indicated that it had reached a settlement with two of the world’s largest rail equipment suppliers,...
- February 16, 2018India may be the world's fastest growing economy in 2018 with growth expected to accelerate to 7.3% year, according to the World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects Report 2...
- February 9, 2018Project work in the construction industry is typically underpinned by a chain of contracts between clients, contractors and subcontractors. In the circumstance where some...
- January 26, 2018U.S. President Donald Trump signed into law the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (Act) on December 22, 2017. The Act contains a provision that will change how employers...
- January 19, 2018What type of legal entity should I form for my business? The answer to that question depends on, among other factors, the type, the size, the management, and the inten...
- January 12, 2018Jeffrey Q. Smith of Ally Law member firm Phillips Nizer, LLP states that “trials occur rarely, typically on in the most intractable disputes”, although they used to play ...
- January 5, 2018The primary focus of the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“Act”) by the United States Congress is reducing corporate and individual income taxes. However, a number of the Act’s...
- December 15, 2017Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Michael Oreskes, Brett Ratner, Louis C.K., Charlie Rose, and Matt Lauer are names we have become too familiar with over the past few month...
- December 8, 2017This year the Intermediate People’s Court in Wuhan (IPCW) became the first court in the People’s Republic of China (China or PRC) to recognize a United States judgment. I...
- December 1, 2017Russell Kennedy Lawyers, the Ally Law member firm located in Melbourne and Canberra, Australia, has published its Doing Business and Investing in Australia Guide providin...
- November 17, 2017Chris Allyn of Ally Law member firm Moye White, located in Denver, Colorado, offers some basic guidelines on how to reduce your cybersecurity risk profile. The steps she ...
- November 3, 2017The United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Social Security Administration (SSA) have announced the various retirement plan benefit and employment tax limits for...
- October 27, 2017Civic Legal, the Western Australia Ally Law member, has written an article setting out the issues local governments – in any country -- should consider in determining whe...
- October 20, 2017The Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies, created by the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), issued its Final Report last month summarizing its rec...
- October 13, 2017The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is the Department of Homeland Security component overseeing lawful immigration to the U.S. See USCIS websit...
- October 6, 2017Restrictive employment agreements such as non-compete and non-solicitation agreements are generally disfavored in the United States. Recent developments in several states...
- September 29, 2017In May 2017, the Deutsche Bundestag adopted a draft law for the implementation of the Fourth European Union Anti-Money Laundering Directive, as well as to execute the new...
- September 22, 2017Even when care is taken to structure a business acquisition, including attempts to limit or avoid the potential liabilities of the acquired company, the transaction can r...
- September 15, 2017Large data breaches are increasingly in the news and, in addition to being costly to remedy, may lead to company liability in the courts. The latest significant data brea...
- September 8, 2017The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a U.S. federal law applying to employers with more than 50 employees. If you are among such employers, you may be required to p...
- September 1, 2017This summer the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released a Report of Investigation (Report) that represents the first major U.S. regulatory guidance for the...
- August 25, 2017Late last year, New York City enacted the “Freelance Isn’t Free Act” establishing and enhancing protections for independent contractors. This is the first such law in the...
- August 11, 2017This year Poland effected amendments to its Gambling Act, introducing a number of regulations with regard to gambling services as well as new market regulation mechanisms...
- August 4, 2017Sometimes the only path to financing your startup is through the pitching and putting together a group of “angels” and other individual investors. That path takes time an...
- July 28, 2017This month the Canadian Department of Finance released legislative proposals (Proposals) relating to tax planning using private corporations which will have far-reaching ...
- July 21, 2017A bill passed by the Hong Kong Legislative Council allows third parties to provide funding to a party involved in arbitration and mediation proceedings in return for rece...
- July 14, 2017This spring the influential Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals (having jurisdiction over Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin) split with other U.S. appellate courts, possibly ...
- July 7, 2017The members of Ally Law’s Litigation Specialty Group have prepared a multijurisdictional compendium of the law of attorney-client privilege as it relates to in-house coun...
- June 30, 2017This spring a high level federal court of Australia issued its decision in what has been described as the most significant tax case ever litigated in Australia: Chevron A...
- June 23, 2017Since the financial crisis in Greece began there has been an evolution of legislative initiatives regarding pre-insolvency procedures addressing the need to lift barriers...
- June 21, 2017IT contracts are complex and often contain terms and conditions you may not be familiar with in the daily conduct of your company’s business. When taking on a licence for...
- June 16, 2017Global Matters wrote about the expanded definition of “employee” versus “independent contractor” released by the Obama administration Department of Labor (DOL) in July 20...
- June 9, 2017Often times "intellectual property" is among the last things that an early stage company thinks about, placing behind concerns about sales, marketing, revenue, growing th...
- June 2, 2017Phone calls and sms (text messages) are becoming less and less common and have, for the most part, been replaced by the use of instant messaging applications. Among these...
- May 19, 2017Ally Law member firm Phillips Nizer LLP published the article "Law Firm Succession Planning" in the New York Law Journal’s April 24, 2017 Partnership Special Report.* Su...
- May 12, 2017Social media provides a flexible platform for companies and sellers to constantly connect with consumers and has revolutionized the direct selling industry around the glo...
- May 5, 2017Ally Law member Kemp Strang, based in Sydney, Australia, has published a white paper on multi-lender financing, the arrangement by which two or more lenders agree to meet...
- April 28, 2017The terms corporate governance and legal risk are much bandied about but hold different meanings for different people. Ally Law member firm Russell Kennedy of Australia n...
- April 20, 2017Ally Law member Varnum, LLP has published an article advising United States startup businesses about issues they must address as they set up their employment policies and...
- April 11, 2017The laws regarding religious discrimination in the workplace vary from country to country. In the United Kingdom it is unlawful to discriminate against workers because of...
- April 7, 2017A prenuptial agreement can be viewed as a rational choice when newly-weds bring assets into their marriage. Prior to getting married, a prenuptial agreement is a formal a...
- March 31, 2017The United States Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (MMWA) mandates that, among other things, manufacturers and sellers of consumer products provide consumers with detailed warr...
- March 29, 2017Ally Law has been ranked for the fifth consecutive year as a Leading Global Network by Chambers & Partners in its 2017 Global Guide. Chambers Global covers over 190 c...
- March 22, 2017The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will temporarily suspend Premium Processing for all H-1B visa petitions filed on or after April 3,...
- March 17, 2017Global Matters advised you of the changes in the Fair Labor Standards Act overtime exemption rule issued by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in May 2016: Are Your U.S. ...
- March 15, 2017On March 1, 2017 the New York State Department of Financial Services’ (NY DFS) Cybersecurity Requirements for Financial Services Companies (the Regulations) went into eff...
- March 8, 2017The U.S. Uniform Foreign Money-Judgments Recognition Act (UFMJRA) was intended to make enforcement of foreign country judgments more streamlined and predictable in this a...
- March 3, 2017Closely held United States businesses have an extraordinary failure rate, according to Harvard Business Review: 70 percent do not survive to the second generation, 85 per...
- February 24, 2017The organizers of the Women’s March, which on January 21, 2017 drew an estimated three million participants worldwide, have announced that on International Women’s Day, M...
- February 22, 2017On March 1, 2017 an amendment to the Polish Criminal Code comes into effect adding new categories of crimes including issuing, counterfeiting and remaking fictitious invo...
- February 17, 2017Not-for-profit organisations use and rely on the services of volunteers. In Australia, legal responsibilities regarding volunteers fall into two categories: (1) responsib...
- February 15, 2017While arbitration is growing in use globally, the tactics and conduct of difficult attorneys can have serious consequences for parties and threaten the public's confidenc...
- February 8, 2017The new EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was adopted in April 2016 and will come into effect on the 25th of May 2018. The GDPR has been designed to replace th...
- February 3, 2017Right-to-work laws make it illegal for unions or employers to compel workers to join a union and financially contribute to the union as a condition of employment. Startin...
- February 1, 2017French employees celebrated the New Year with a new law that offers French workers the “right to disconnect” from their email. Employers with more than 50 people will be ...
- January 24, 2017David Greene, Senior Partner at Ally Law member firm Edwin Coe, is the solicitor for plaintiff Deir Tozetti Dos Santos in the Article 50 Brexit challenge. For background,...
- January 19, 2017New filing fees in the United States Trademark Office and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (Board) and revised rules of procedure before the Board for both new and pe...
- January 13, 2017Commentators are fundamentally limited to educated guesses regarding what a Trump presidency might mean for corporate regulation given that the president-elect has never ...
- January 11, 2017In 2016 the Malaysian Parliament passed the Companies Bill 2015 (Bill) which is expected to transform Malaysia’s corporate landscape by spurring entrepreneurship and dere...
- January 6, 2017Laws, regulations, and procedures relating to real estate vary widely from country to country, state to state, and even county to county. In the United States, real estat...
- January 4, 2017Prior to concluding for 2016, the United States Congress passed the '21st Century Cures Act,' which comprises a myriad of health care measures. Within the legislation is ...
- December 30, 2016The United States Internal Revenue Code prescribes minimum imputed interest rates and time-value-of-money factors applicable to certain loan transactions and estate plann...
- December 28, 2016Kemp Strang, Ally Law member firm in Sydney, Australia, recently prevailed for its client in a contractual dispute in which Kemp Strang represented rugby league football ...
- December 23, 2016The holiday season is a good time to reflect upon shared family time. Families with shared assets – such as vacation homes passed down from parents – may suffer friction ...
- December 20, 2016Large-scale gaming sponsored by Native American tribal governments started in the United States in the early 1980s and was recognized in 1988 by Congress by the passage o...
- December 16, 2016When a child is removed from or retained in a country that is not a child's habitual residence a parent can seek to have the child returned to their habitual residence co...
- December 14, 2016Dying without a will is called dying “intestate.” Where this occurs, the local, regional, or federal law (not you or your family) determines who is entitled to your asset...
- December 8, 2016Malta is “home to a dynamic and thriving gaming industry” according to the president of the International Association of Gaming Advisors. Malta is in the process of revie...
- December 6, 2016Chambers Global, the leading international legal directory, honored two Ally Law Canadian member firms –Torkin Manes LLP (Toronto) and Kornfeld LLP (Vancouver) in its 201...
- December 1, 2016Although most U.S. nonprofits are formed under the laws of their home state, it is common for experienced nonprofit attorneys to recommend a Delaware entity. Most U.S. an...
- November 29, 2016For U.S. employers looking for something to be thankful for this season, we offer several recent defense-friendly wage and hour developments. Kicking off the season is th...
- November 25, 2016If your product or process invention or something similar to it has already been created, it is likely not patentable. Thus, before beginning the patenting process, you m...
- November 22, 2016E-commerce is on the rise and showing no signs of stopping. E-commerce grew 16 percent in the first half of 2016 in the United States, while U.S. consumers are projected ...
- November 18, 2016Sixteen Rich May, P.C. attorneys have been honored by Super Lawyers. Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have at...
- November 15, 2016The ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement (the Agreement) is a multi-lateral treaty between the ten member states of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN...
- November 11, 2016Most United States employers understand that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 requires an employer to provide a workplace free of unlawful harassment and discrim...
- November 8, 2016David Greene, Head of Group Action Litigation in Ally Law Member Firm Edwin Coe, LLP, represented winning Claimant Dier Dos Santos in the high profile case of Santos and ...
- November 4, 2016Many countries require that an employer give “reasonable notice” of planned or impending employment termination to an employee. Countries and individual jurisdictions var...
- November 1, 2016Since 1975 the United States Social Security Administration’s general benefit increases have been based on increases in the cost of living, as measured by the U.S. Consum...
- October 27, 2016The rise of the “sharing economy” has led to the enormous success of companies like Airbnb, Under The Doormat, and VRBO which facilitate people letting their homes or spa...
- October 25, 2016The U.S. Department of Labor recently released its Final Rule requiring that federal contractors provide up to 56 hours of paid sick leave per year to their employees. Th...
- October 23, 2016Under Title VII of the United States Civil Rights Act and its construing case law, sexual harassment occurs when a work-related benefit is conditioned on the granting of ...
- October 18, 2016Arbitration as means to resolve disputes is growing in use around the world and is a favored method of dispute resolution in certain industries, such as in international ...
- October 13, 2016In the United States, Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex and national origin. Title ...
- October 11, 2016In the United States, ‘lemon laws’ have existed for several decades to protect consumers from permanently defective vehicles. Lemon laws generally require manufacturers t...
- October 7, 2016Defamation cases arising out of posts on social media such as Facebook and Twitter are popping up around the globe. See, e.g., Facebook and defamation: When a post costs ...
- October 4, 2016It seems that wherever you look today you will see a tattooed body part. A recent survey revealed more than one in ten Americans admitted to having one. See ABC7News Arti...
- September 28, 2016On October 6, 2015, the European Court of Justice declared invalid the Safe Harbor program governing the transfer of personal data for commercial purposes between the Eur...
- September 15, 2016From 1 July 2016, purchasers who acquire ”indirect interests” in Australian land from a foreign resident may be required to withhold an amount equivalent to 10% of the pu...
- September 9, 2016Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) department of the British government intends to introduce a new “Requirement to Correct” (RTC) obligation in the Finance Bill 201...
- September 2, 2016In the United States the privacy and security requirements for personal health information (PHI) are set forth in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ...
- August 26, 2016A recent decision by the High Court of Australia settles the question of whether contractual late payment fees constitute impermissible penalties. In allowing the fees in...
- August 19, 2016Following the recent referendum decision to leave the European Union, the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has released a short guide offering some factu...
- August 16, 2016Ally Law member firm Phillips Nizer successfully represented the legendary rock band, Led Zeppelin, in one of the biggest copyright infringement music trials in recent ye...
- August 16, 2016Solar power is more prevalent and affordable in the United States than ever before. “Since 2008, U.S. installations have grown seventeen-fold from 1.2 gigawatts (GW) to a...
- August 5, 2016Establishing a fund and organization to privatize Greece’s assets and restructure Greek state-run enterprises has been a request – sometimes a demand – of Greece’s credit...
- August 3, 2016Once Britain formally notifies the European Union that it is leaving pursuant to the June 23, 2016 British vote to leave the EU, the process of working through the change...
- July 29, 2016A patent is a right granted by a government to an inventor to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling the inventor’s invention throughout the cou...
- July 27, 2016The cutting-edge seller enforcement practice of Ally Law member firm Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease, LLP has developed a comprehensive program combining technology, expe...
- July 22, 2016Divorce and custody disputes are by their nature painful and often exceptionally adversarial. Sometimes in custody disputes one parent seeks advantage by bad-mouthing the...
- July 20, 2016The U.S. Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) became law in 1976 with the objective of regulating chemicals in commerce that posed an “unreasonable risk of injury to human...
- July 15, 2016In May 2016 U.S. President Obama signed into law the Defend Trade Secret Act of 2016 (Act), which is the federal government’s attempt to bring uniformity to trade secret ...
- July 13, 2016Ally Law member firm partner Ruth Galea wrote the chapter for Malta in the 2016 International Comparative Legal Guide to Corporate Governance (Legal Guide), published by ...
- June 29, 2016Ally Law Member Firm Named to Prestigious Midsize Hot List The National Law Journal (NLJ) is the most respected periodical covering the United States legal industry. T...
- June 27, 2016Last month the Government of India released the Consolidated Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Policy, which incorporates the policy changes effected over the last year by ...
- June 24, 2016The vote by UK citizens to leave the EU will in due course have a major impact on employers employing EU workers, but any changes may take up to two years to decide and i...
- June 22, 2016Tomorrow – Thursday June 23, 2016 – British citizens vote on the historic referendum on Great Britain’s membership in the European Union. A recent “poll-of-polls” indicat...
- June 17, 2016The U.S. Bankruptcy Code permits a trustee or debtor in possession (of the bankrupt entity) to avoid and recover certain payments, known as preferences, made by the debto...
- June 15, 2016Despite historic resistance to alternative or external dispute resolution (ADR) by many parties in many jurisdictions throughout the world, in recent years ADR has gained...
- June 8, 2016In many countries there is an implied obligation (which is typically also added as an express obligation within the lease) that the landlord leasing to a tenant will not ...
- June 3, 2016Knowing how and for what period of time to maintain your business records for possible future use in litigation and/or government review is confusing and the rules seem t...
- May 31, 2016Use of cannabis (also known as marijuana) for medical or recreational use is illegal in most countries as a result of agreements reached in the International Opium Conven...
- May 27, 2016You have thoughtfully saved the money and prepared your child for the big adventure and important next step in his or her development: college. You have spent many hours ...
- May 24, 2016When it comes to corporations, LLCs, and other business entities, the focus tends to be on the set up rather than the dissolution of an entity; most available literature ...
- May 20, 2016It is time to review how your U.S. employees are classified for Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime pay determinations. Under the federal FLSA, most workers are clas...
- May 18, 2016Ally Law members from around the globe congregated for their Annual General Meeting in Shanghai, China last week. Close to one hundred attorneys from Ally Law member firm...
- May 11, 2016The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a United States federal law requiring covered employers to provide employees job-protected unpaid leave for qualified medical a...
- May 9, 2016The Czech parliament has approved new gambling legislation completely overhauling the existing 1990 Gambling Act. While the legislation still must be considered by the Se...
- May 6, 2016A large number of individuals utilise structures in offshore jurisdictions legitimately, e.g. for asset protection or succession planning purposes, and there is nothing i...
- May 3, 2016Is technology an important element in your business? It is for almost every company today. Ally Law member firm Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt has attorneys deeply invol...
- May 2, 2016The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is the rulemaking agency for aviation safety in the EU and certain other non-EU countries, comprising 32 member states. Its mis...
- April 29, 2016Effective May 1, 2016, China’s four-year transition from a business tax to a value-added tax (VAT) system will be complete. Those businesses still using 5% business tax w...
- April 27, 2016Much Shelist, the Ally Law member firm in Chicago, Illinois, USA, has added Ed Walsh to its established team of environmental and real estate attorneys. Mr. Walsh has mor...
- April 26, 2016Canadian courts have generally imposed minimal requirements on parties to a contract not to act arbitrarily and capriciously. The courts have used the language of good fa...
- April 20, 2016On March 24, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued its final rule regarding the advice exemption to the “persuader rule” in the Labor-Management Reporting and D...
- April 18, 2016The H-1B is a non-immigrant visa in the United States under the Immigration and Nationality Act, allowing U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialt...
- April 15, 2016The International Alliance of Law Firms sponsors several special interest groups (SIGs) comprising attorneys from defined areas of legal practice. These SIGs meet regular...
- April 13, 2016From April 6, 2016 United Kingdom-based companies and Limited Liability Partnerships must keep a register identifying “persons of significant control” (PSC) available for...
- April 11, 2016Lawrence Yeung of Ally Law member firm Boase Cohen & Collins delivered keynote speeches on intellectual property protection to audiences of 200 industry professionals...
- April 8, 2016The amendment to the U.S. Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) exempting certain businesses from the TCPA for telephone calls made in connection with “collection of a...
- April 6, 2016The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently approved new rules facilitating public offerings by emerging growth companies and smaller reporting companies. ...
- April 4, 2016Moye White, the Ally Law member firm in Denver, Colorado, U.S., is commemorating its 40th year excelling in the practice of law. For more information and to register for...
- April 1, 2016On March 23, 2016 a new regulation issued by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (“EU IPO”, formerly the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market) came...
- March 30, 2016We have written about the significant changes to the laws and regulations governing the transfer of data from European Union (EU) countries. See, e.g., Data Flow From The...
- March 28, 2016Recent changes in the United States tax and ERISA laws require preapproved, defined contribution plans, such as 401(k), profit sharing, and money purchase plans be amende...
- March 24, 2016Financial return crowdfunding models such as “crowd-investing” and “crowd-lending” have a growing popularity in the current economic environment in Greece in light of the...
- March 22, 2016Ally Law member firm Williams Parker Harrison Dietz & Getzen, based in Sarasota, Florida, U.S., provides a practical and expedient service to the public every month: ...
- March 18, 2016Over the past several decades many countries have adopted legislation prohibiting discrimination of various types in the workplace, including discrimination based on gend...
- March 15, 2016Over 80 countries have regional or federal laws governing the privacy and use of personal, health, and health care information. Some of these laws are dedicated to health...
- March 11, 2016Authorized distributors for various industries often contract to sell a companies' products on an exclusive basis. Today, however, the proliferation of diverted products ...
- March 9, 2016Malta, strategically located in the Mediterranean and with ties to mainland Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, is recognized as an international financial service...
- March 4, 2016Employers often rely upon restrictive covenants, non-competition and non-solicitation clauses, and confidentiality clauses in employment contracts (collectively “restrict...
- March 1, 2016Surveys reveal that 37% of United States employees have dated a co-worker, and 24% of these relationships involved a superior. With U.S. employees aged 25-54 spending an ...
- February 26, 2016Cybersecurity has become banking regulators’ number one priority. Financial institutions have in their possession not only customer funds but important confidential custo...
- February 23, 2016Suppose you win the lottery – a dream come true. How do you receive the money and set up your life so that you do not become a character in a movie about lottery-winners-...
- February 19, 2016Copyright laws and the vigor of their enforcement vary greatly from country to country. If you publish a photograph online, potentially distributed to thousands of person...
- February 16, 2016You have a purchase money security interest in collateral. Sometime later, the debtor transfers the collateral to another party. You were not notified of this transfer. ...
- February 12, 2016Earlier we told you about the October 2015 ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) abrogating the Safe Harbor framework for the transmission of personal data from t...
- February 9, 2016Effective 1 July 2016 the Australian Federal Treasury will make the Australian Business Number (ABN) the single numerical identifier for companies registered under the Co...
- February 5, 2016The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that the federal government has met its statutory 23% small business contracting goal for FY13 and FY14. Better yet...
- February 2, 2016In the United States, the Worker Adjustment Retraining and Notification (WARN) Act requires employers of a certain size to provide specified notice of plant closings or m...
- January 29, 2016The U.S. Health and Human Services Department (HHS) recently reached settlements with two academic medical centers and an insurance holding company relating to potential ...
- January 26, 2016In November 2015 we told you about the change in requirements mandated by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for transfer of personal data from the European Union to ent...
- January 22, 2016The U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) was established decades ago to provide a “multi-source intelligence and analytical network”...
- January 20, 2016The Ontario, Canada Superior Court of Justice recently declared unenforceable a employment agreement, valid but for the timing of its execution. The employment agreement ...
- January 15, 2016Financial experts agree the development of a Greek NPL (non-performing loans) market is essential for Greece’s financial recovery. A robust NPL market will free capital a...
- January 12, 2016Controversy surrounding the use of genetically modified organisms (“GMOs”) is globally endemic. In the United States the governmental entity regulating all things food an...
- January 8, 2016Are you a non-U.S. citizen with a home in the U.S.? If so, one of the threshold questions you face is whether you are a U.S. domiciliary for estate and gift tax purposes....
- January 5, 2016The United States government is serious about collecting tax debts and U.S. passport holders traveling internationally may be at risk if your taxes are not in compliance ...
- December 23, 2015Your jurisdiction may regulate securities either federally or through state / province / regional laws. The general notion is that securities laws apply only to large pub...
- December 18, 2015From a legal perspective, global expansion can have many forms, structures, and functions, including creating contractual relationships with distributors or licensees; es...
- December 15, 2015Crowdfunding websites have become an important source of consumer feedback and funding in many industries. To date, federal and state securities laws restrictions have pr...
- December 11, 2015Large corporations typically have entire teams devoted to the analysis and realization of a potential business acquisition. In the current market, smaller and family comp...
- December 9, 2015Jurisdictions around the globe are moving quickly to mandate actions and remedies by companies in the case of data breaches involving customer information. Whether by lo...
- December 4, 2015Asbestos exposure almost always occurs at a place of work, and the laws dealing with asbestos exposure vary from United States state to state. In states where workers’ c...
- December 1, 2015In the United States, bankruptcy is governed by the federal court and rules, with certain property rights being determined by state law. The federal Advisory Committee o...
- November 24, 2015“The 2014 ABA Legal Technology Survey found 39.4% of attorneys have generated legal business from blogging. For solo practitioners the number is 60%; for firms of 50-500...
- November 20, 2015Increased scrutiny of the oil and gas industry by the US Department of Labor (DOL) has led to investigations regarding compliance with complex regulations involving class...
- November 11, 2015A “cross-border seat transfer” is the process by which a company transfers its registered office from one European Union member country to another. As a result of Europe’...
- November 9, 2015Among its many provisions, the United States Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, signed into law last week, imposes a new audit regime on tax partnerships and certain limited ...
- November 4, 2015Earlier in the month we wrote about the speaking tour of Dr. Dennis Voigt, of member firm Melchers, on the subject of the changes to the EU data transfer Safe Harbor mech...
- October 30, 2015Concierge medicine is a rapidly growing and evolving supplement to traditional medical care. A concierge physician charges a retainer that provides the patient with servi...
- October 27, 2015The legislatures of virtually all states in the United States, and many non-U.S. jurisdictions, are considering the legality of recreational and medical use of cannabis. ...
- October 23, 2015If you have a U.S. for-profit company which also pursues artistic, charitable, cultural, economic, educational, environmental, literary, medical, religious, scientific or...
- October 20, 2015One of Thailand’s most significant land use laws is the Building Control Act (1979), empowering the Minister of the Interior to issue Ministerial Regulations (“MR”) regul...
- October 16, 2015The scope of an employer’s liability for expense reimbursement is a subject of debate in many jurisdictions. Often the requirement for reimbursement depends upon the stat...
- October 13, 2015Earlier this year we informed you of the new Clean Water Rule promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), and the controversy created by the Rule’s d...
- October 9, 2015The right to publish personal information, and legal obligations attendant thereto, is a global topic of discussion involving ethics and evolving legal mandates. Whether ...
- October 8, 2015Furthering its status as a reputable financial services hub, Malta is becoming a domicile for binary option businesses. The combination of the Maltese legal framework and...
- October 2, 2015The federal standards for protecting the privacy of individually identifiable health information is enforced by the United States Department of Health and Human Services ...
- October 2, 2015Current practice in using expert testimony in litigation requires attorneys apply Daubert and/or Frye standards to the proffered evidence in order for the court to determ...
- September 25, 2015Whether you are a retail, service, or manufacturing business, trying to bring foreign workers into your United States workforce is fraught with strictly detailed requirem...
- September 25, 2015Indemnity clauses are standard in many contracts, but their scope and enforceability is often litigated. In the case of construction indemnity clauses, not only the scope...
- September 18, 2015Native America tribes and their holdings are exempt from many state and municipal regulations and taxes by virtue of the exclusivity clauses of several federal laws to wh...
- September 17, 2015The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service recently implemented a memo intended to clarify for USCIS officers how to apply the “specialized knowledge” requirem...
- September 11, 2015Despite established rules and laws governing the confidentiality of attorney-client communications in most jurisdictions around the globe, some clients are requesting tha...
- September 10, 2015In commercial leases, uneven compliance with rental payment terms and lease renewal obligations are sometimes waived by the parties when negotiating a new lease. However,...
- September 4, 2015Estate planning falls to the wayside for many people – in fact, studies show 64% of Americans do not have a basic will. However, if you fail to make provisions for your a...
- September 3, 2015The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) recently promulgated the new Clean Water Rule for the stated purpose of protecting “the streams and wetlands that form th...
- August 27, 2015In the United States, an environmental site assessment is a critical tool for a developer to evaluate environmental risks in determining risk and potential liability for ...
- August 25, 2015Reputation is identified as the single most important strategic risk for business. It is axiomatic that today’s businesses seek positive consumer online reviews of their ...
- August 20, 2015An employee’s income level may govern how the employee is categorized for a variety of purposes, such as determination of benefits, governmental and tax obligations, etc....
- August 18, 2015Do you need to trademark something for your start up? Do you know how to establish your trademark? Do you understand the importance of priority? Do you know how to regist...
- August 14, 2015The United States leads the world in the number of and costs / awards resulting from class action litigation, which allows claimants to combine their relatively small or ...
- August 12, 2015The use of social media for employment background checks is now an established process for many employers. To protect themselves from allegations of using protected chara...
- August 7, 2015Longstanding patent law holds that the obligation to pay royalties to a patentee under the terms of a contract ends when the subject patent expires, typically after 20 ye...
- August 4, 2015Health care anti-kickback statutes make it illegal to knowingly offer, pay, solicit, or receive any remuneration to induce or reward referrals subject to reimbursement by...
- July 31, 2015Most countries distinguish between various types of workers to determine application of labor and employment laws, liability, tax issues, and benefits. In addition to the...
- July 30, 2015Most countries distinguish between various types of workers to determine application of labor and employment laws, liability, tax issues, and benefits. Misclassifying an ...
- July 22, 2015Doing business in some countries can involve payment of unofficial “fees” to government officials in order to obtain requisite permissions, licenses, etc. Aside from the ...
- July 20, 2015In June, the United States Supreme Court decided the landmark case Obergefell v. Hodges. The decision requires all states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples a...
- July 16, 2015In most countries, there are laws governing conflicts of interest pertaining to contracting and financial transactions with governmental entities. The level of scrutiny a...
- July 9, 2015A recent Ohio state appellate case underscores the importance of consulting counsel in the governing jurisdiction when drafting, interpreting, or litigating energy contra...
- June 8, 2015There are many considerations when altering structures for foreign investment in real property in the United States. When adapting these structures to achieve greater ben...
- June 1, 2015A recent United States Tax Court decision underscores the importance of expressing intent in order to defend a capital gain qualification, even if property is never devel...
- May 12, 2015Josh Leavitt, Co-chair of the Construction Law practice at Much Shelist, recently wrote an article for Construction Executive magazine that discusses 3-D printing in ...
- May 6, 2015WH Partners lawyer, Joseph Borg, published an article, eGaming Review Malta Report 2015, that analyzes the future of the Maltese gaming industry. Malta, an industry pione...
- April 23, 2015Law Week Colorado recently featured Ally Law's global approach to providing legal services with a focus on value and efficiency. To read the article, click here. ...
- April 16, 2015The Denver Business Journal featured the formation of Ally Law and its mission to provide specialized counsel unique to companies doing business in multiple jurisdictions...
- April 1, 2015WH Partners published an article in the Country Profiler, Gaming Malta Yearbook 2015, titled, "Setting up your gaming business in Malta." In the article, Partner Olga Fin...
- March 2, 2015Many industries rely on relationships to generate sales and use restrictive covenants to protect these relationships. However, in the construction industry, contractors a...
- February 28, 2015Canadian securities administrators have recently implemented new and updated prospectus exemptions to facilitate capital formation, particularly in early-stage entities. ...
