2001 Articles

Appeals court holds that ADEA applies to retiree health plan By Sharon R. Cohen February 2001 In Erie County Retirees Assoc. v. County of Erie, Pennsylvania, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals held that the Age Discrimination in Employment Act applies to retirees and retiree health plans.

Balancing employee absenteeism with the Family and Medical Leave Act By Paul Bouldon February 2001 From the time the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 ("FMLA")(the "Act"), 29 U.S.C. section 12101, et. seq. became effective, employers have struggled to control employee absenteeism while providing them with rights guaranteed under the statute.

“Business associates”: why you should care about HIPAA even if you are not a health plan or an insurance company By Amy Gordon & Anamaria E. Cashman November 2001 If you think the recent Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 regulations ("HIPAA") only apply to health care providers, health plans and insurance companies ("covered entities")--keep reading.

The Business Corporation Act’s remedy for insolvency By David P. Leibowitz March 2001 As the economy enters a new phase of the business cycle, Illinois lawyers will be increasingly called upon to counsel their clients in financial difficulty.

California law now exempts highly paid tech professionals from OT rules By Michael Todd Scott January 2001 Does your company have operations in California? If so you may be interested to know that a new law in California now exempts certain highly paid computer professionals, who are paid by the hour, from California's daily overtime law.

Calling all government attorneys January 2001 The ISBA's Standing Committee on Government Lawyers wants to include you in its constituency.

Can your company store its documents electronically? By Michael Todd Scott October 2001 In today's business environment more and more records are being converted to electronic records or are originally being created as electronic records.

Changes in the law have been enacted regarding unclaimed property By Marvin B. Schaar, Donald R. Blast, & Ann M. Donahue December 2001 Recently, states have increased their focus on a long existing but rarely enforced source of revenue known as unclaimed property.

Correction to the June issue July 2001 There was an error in the June issue of The Corporate Lawyer.

Court protects severance benefit By Kyle Brown February 2001 In Bellas v. Westinghouse, a court of appeals has held that a "permanent job separation" benefit in Westinghouse's pension plan was a protected plan benefit, and thus could not be eliminated by an amendment to the plan.

Cyber defense plan By Stephen K. Anderson September 2001 Based on a presentation on cyber defense by Robert K. Foertsch, University of Illinois Security Coordinator and Stephen K. Anderson at the November 2000 Annual Meeting of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges

Cybersquatters: the legal assistant’s role in recovering corporate assets By Debra J. Monke October 2001 Last month I outlined the basics of being a "cybersleuth" in order to research alleged cybersquatters. Now it is time to put the investigative results to work.

Dealing with the government’s “ambush” interviews of executives By Steven M. Kowal March 2001 * Interview is entirely voluntary. * Each person can decide to consent, decline or postpone the interview.

Domain name infringement: investigating the cybersquatter By Debra J. Monke September 2001 Cybersquatting: The act of reserving a domain name on the Internet, especially a name that would be associated with a company's trademark, and then seeking to profit by selling or licensing the name to the company that has an interest in being identified with it.--Black's Law Dictionary, 7th Edition

Driving the after-tax dollar—Surviving the down-turn: avoiding owing Uncle Sam from restructuring By Paul Carman April 2001 With major players in the new economy seriously retrenching, cutting staff and vigorously attempting to redefine themselves, many businesses are holding their breaths to see if they can survive the latest downturn in volatile times.

Duty to disclose plan changes: Bins v. Exxon By Lynn Phillips February 2001 In Bins v. Exxon, the Ninth Circuit Court heard arguments on whether an employer violated its duties under ERISA by not informing employees that the company was "seriously considering" a proposal to offer enhanced retirement benefits, which might affect the employees' decision to retire.

The elements of a non-disclosure agreement By Deborah Gordon & Joseph Collins July 2001 The Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) is an important safety measure for a party that is disclosing confidential or proprietary information to another in the course of discussing and negotiating a possible business relationship.

Employer size—it really does matter: counseling the small business client June 2001 Over the last quarter century, the "law of the workplace" has grown tremendously. Laws have been enacted at virtually every level of government--federal, state, county and municipal--protecting the rights of employees.

The Essential Formbook, Volume II, a review By Frank M. Grenard October 2001 Although it is billed as a "tool for lawyers," the second volume in the series prepared under the auspices of the American Bar Association's Law Practice Management Section would be better marketed to office administrators and advocates for changes in billing structures.

European incentives—don’t take them for granted Part II of II By Elias S. van Herwaarden November 2001 Unlike the U.S., the European Union (EU) sets strict regulations on what type, how much and where incentives can be offered.

European incentives—seek and you shall find them Part I of II By Elias S. van Herwaarden November 2001 Today's combination of Europe's relatively weak currency and strong economic performance has put the "Old World" on the agenda for many U.S. corporations.

Federal taxation of real property by foreign corporations under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Act (“FIRPTA”) By Alexander Olsansky April 2001 Until the passage of the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act of 1980 or "FIRPTA," a foreign investor disposing of United States real property was only subject to the jurisdiction of the United States tax laws if the related gain or loss was effectively connected to a U.S. trade or business.

Fifth Circuit holds that a demand letter constitutes “other paper” for purposes of 28 USC § 1446(b) which requires defendant to remove to federal court on the basis of diversity jurisdiction within 30 days of receiving the letter By Michael Todd Scott January 2001 In Addo v. Globe Life and Accident Ins. Co., No. 99-60277 (5th Cir., Oct. 16, 2000), the Fifth Circuit addressed the issue of whether removal was timely after the defendant received a letter after the case was filed indicating that the plaintiff would seek damages exceeding $75,000.

“If being a salesperson were a crime, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” By Linda Brakeall June 2001 You may think of yourself as a lawyer or an attorney, rather than a salesperson, but if you're not selling your services daily, chances are you won't be one for long!

An in-house counsel’s guide to dealing with cybersquatters: Part II (the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act) By Michael Todd Scott March 2001 As we discussed in Part I of this article, ICANN's Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy is a powerful weapon in the fight against cybersquatters.

An in-house counsel’s guide to dealing with cybersquatters— part I (ICCAN’s Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy) By Michael Todd Scott February 2001 The Web site whatis.com, defines cybersquatting as: reserving an Internet domain name (often referred to as a "dot com" name) for the purpose of selling it later to a company that wants to use it.

Internet court records could compromise client privacy but many believe the need for open, efficient courts outweighs that danger By Diana Digges July 2001 Should the embarrassing details of a messy divorce be readily available on the Internet to neighbors, friends and enemies?

IRS issues new guidance on compensating employees with LLC and partnership interests By Michael T. Donovan & Joseph E. Bender December 2001 Partnerships and limited liability companies that compensate their employees with interests in their business have long relied on an Internal Revenue Service ruling that an employee (or other service provider) who received a "profits interest" in a partnership or LLC as compensation for services rendered generally is not taxed upon receipt

Legal considerations in seeking equity financing By Deborah Gordon August 2001 In any equity investment transaction, the attorney should be a valuable member of the company's team.

Letter from the co-editors December 2001 We are looking for readers who would like to contribute articles for publication. This is a great opportunity for our members to get involved in the ISBA and specifically the Corporate Law Departments Section.