Law Firm News

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Law Firm News

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Choate Hall & Stewart LLP

New Partner, Karen F. Copenhaver, Licensing Expert, Joins The Firm
Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP is pleased to announce Karen F. Copenhaver has joined the firm as a partner in the Business & Technology Group.

01-18-2006

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Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP

Atossa Alavi Joins IP Group
Atossa Alavi joins Calfee as a part-time associate with the firm's Intellectual Property group. She is a magna cum laude graduate of Case Western Reserve University School of Law and earned her BDS from the University College London School of Dentistry. Atossa also has her master of science degree in endodontics and a master of philosophy in Neuroscience

01-18-2006

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Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP

DOL Clarifies Employers' Responsibilities Under USERRA
In anticipation of the return of American soldiers deployed around the world -- over 530,000 since the terror attacks on September 11, 2001 -- the Veterans' Employment and Training Service of the Department of Labor (DOL) released final rules implementing the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA). The regulations, which are set to take effect January 18, 2006, do not change the substance of employers' legal requirements under USERRA, but merely clarify their obligations to employee-veterans returning to employment after service in the armed forces.
Who Is Eligible for Protection Under USERRA?
USERRA and the new regulations that implement it apply to returning employees regardless of whether their service in the armed forces was voluntary or involuntary. In order to qualify for USERRA rights, a returning employee must:
have been in uniformed service during the absence of civilian employment;
have given the employer advance notice of his or her service;
have had no more than five years of cumulative service away from the particular employer from whom the employee seeks USERRA benefits;
either report to work or apply for re-employment within the timetable provided in the regulations; and
have received an honorable discharge or separation from service.
What Are Veterans' Rights Under USERRA?
As a general rule, employers are required to reinstate qualified returning veterans within two weeks after the returning veteran reports to work or applies for reemployment. This requirement stands regardless if the veteran's position was filled by another employee during the veteran's service, if no comparable position is currently open, or if a hiring freeze is in effect at the time the veteran applies for reemployment. The reemployment requirement is also unaffected by a veteran's service-related disability; if the disability limits the service member's ability to perform the job to which she is entitled, the employer must reasonably accommodate her disability.
The position in which the returning veteran must be placed is one of USERRA's unique features. The act has a so-called "escalator" provision, which entitles the returning veteran to a position with the same seniority, status and pay as that to which she would have been entitled had her employment not been interrupted by the service. This may mean that the returning veteran must be placed in a higher position than that which she held before service (if, for example, she would have been entitled to a promotion during her absence from employment).
Returning service members also have specific rights to continued health coverage under the employer's health care and pension plans. The regulations clarify the substance of these rights, which are similar to those provided under the Comprehensive Omnibus Budget Reduction Act (COBRA), except for the notable distinction that a returning veteran is entitled to these rights regardless of the size of the employer or the employer's status as a government entity.
What Else Does USERRA Require Employers To Do?
In addition to affording the rights described above to returning veterans, the new regulations require employers to post a newly-provided notice informing employees of their rights, benefits and obligations under USERRA. The updated notice must be posted in a prominent place to which employees have regular access. A copy of this notice is available for downloading at www.dol.gov/vets/programs/userra/poster.pdf.
For further information on this or other legal issues, call or email your regular contact at Calfee or contact: John Cernelich at 216.622.8251, jcernelich@calfee.com; Richard Goddard at 216.622.8313, rgoddard@calfee.com; Laura Kendall at 216.622.8847, lkendall@calfee.com; or Eric Baisden at 614.621.7752, ebasiden@calfee.com.

01-18-2006

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Butler, Snow, O'Mara, Stevens and Cannada, PLLC

Butler Snow Named One of Mississippi's Best Places to Work
The employees of Butler, Snow, O'Mara, Stevens & Cannada, PLLC, have declared the firm one of the Best Places to Work in Mississippi for 2006, according to a Mississippi Business Journal annual survey.
With more than 225 employees in the firm’s Mississippi offices, Butler Snow was announced winner of the Large Company category during the Awards Kick-off Breakfast for the 23rd Annual Mississippi Business & Technology Expo January 18.
“Butler Snow strives to create an environment where hard work is valued and recognized,” said Julie Yancey, Butler Snow’s Director of Human Resources. “In turn, there is a great sense of family and camaraderie within the firm where everyone is ultimately working for the overall good of our clients.”
The survey and awards program are designed to identify, recognize and honor the best places of employment in the state, and recognition is based on results from an online survey of company employees. All Mississippi-based employees were encouraged to participate in the survey, which consisted of 60 rating-scale questions, two open-ended questions and seven demographic questions. Employees were asked to rate the firm in areas including common purpose, culture and values, learning and development, performance and recognition and communication and cooperation.
Southern Research Group, an independent marketing firm, provided all analysis and findings from survey participants. Butler Snow, along with other category winners, will be profiled by the Mississippi Business Journal in a March 2006 special publication of the Best Places to Work.
Butler Snow is one of the largest law firms in the Mid-South. Recently celebrating its 50th anniversary, Butler Snow has been a leading presence in the Southeastern legal community since 1954. Butler Snow represents clients across the state, region and nation in significant business and litigation matters across a diversified group of industry sectors from its offices in Jackson and Gulfport, Mississippi and in Memphis, Tennessee. Butler Snow offers its clients a full range of legal services. For more information on Butler Snow, go to www.butlersnow.com.

01-18-2006

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Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs, LLP

Deadline Approaches for IRS Settlement Initiative
Taxpayers have through January 23, 2006 to take part in a limited-time opportunity, offered by the IRS under a settlement initiative (the “Initiative”), in order to settle a number of broad-based tax-avoidance transactions considered abusive by the IRS. Of particular interest to tax-exempt organizations, the following transactions are covered by the Initiative:
Charitable contribution deductions for abusive conservation easements transfers.
Charitable contribution deductions for abusive donations of patents and other intellectual property.
Distributions by charitable remainder trusts attributable to abusive transactions involving appreciated assets.
Health care “double dip” reimbursements or loans.
Transportation and parking “double dip” reimbursements.
The Initiative provides the following settlement terms:
The participant must concede all tax benefits and must pay 100% of taxes and interest owed.
Transaction costs (including promoter fees and fees for certain professional services) are generally allowed as an ordinary loss.
Specified percentages of the applicable maximum penalty will be assessed (a 5% penalty will be assessed for each of the above-mentioned transactions).
A participant must file an Election Form with the IRS on or before January 23, 2006.
The Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005, signed into law on December 21, 2005 (the “Act”), creates an additional incentive for individuals to participate in the Initiative. The Act imposes tougher rules regarding interest on unpaid tax liabilities for those that engaged in abusive tax shelters. The Act eliminates the previously permitted suspension of interest on unpaid tax liabilities for individuals who engaged in certain abusive tax-avoidance transactions. However, those individuals settling with the IRS under the Initiative do not lose the benefit of the interest suspension If you have any questions regarding this issue, please contact a member of the Nonprofit Organizations Practice Group at Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs, LLP.
Ronald C. Allan
330.258.6484
RAllan@bdblaw.com
Peggy S. Beistel
330.258.6515
PBeistel@bdblaw.com
Andrew W. Bernat
330.258.6504
ABernat@bdblaw.com
Robert W. Briggs
330.258.6558
RBriggs@bdblaw.com
Gerland B. Chattman
216.615.7354
GChattman@bdblaw.com
Edward C. Coaxum, Jr.
216.615.7347
ECoaxum@bdblaw.com
Lisa M. deFilippis
216.615.7345
LdeFilippis@bdblaw.com
Cathy C. Godshall
330.258.6449
CGodshall@bdblaw.com
Jeffrey A. Halm
330.491.5221
JHalm@bdblaw.com
Stephen M. Hammersmith
330.258.6417
SHammersmith@bdblaw.com
Adam W. Heller
614.629.5718
AHeller@bdblaw.com
David Kern
330.258.6489
DKern@bdblaw.com
Patricia A. Pacenta
330.258.6444
PPacenta@bdblaw.com
John P. Van Abel
330.491.5235
JVanAbel@bdblaw.com
Jean Van Ness
330.258.6462
JVanNess@bdblaw.com
Terry W. Vincent
216.615.7326
TVincent@bdblaw.com
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01-18-2006

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Brownstein, Hyatt & Farber, P.C.

Brownstein Hyatt & Farber announces the firm's newly elected shareholders
Brownstein Hyatt & Farber is please to announce the firm's newly elected Shareholders. They are Adam J. Agron, Nicole R. Ament, Jeanine M. Anderson, Jennifer Eiteljorg, Benjamin A. Kahn, Michelle C. Kales, Michael W. King, Mark M. Oveson, Bonnie J. Paisley, Elizabeth Dickson Paulsen, Carolynne C. White

01-18-2006

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Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Huntsville Office Shares with Residents in Need
The Huntsville office of Bradley Arant Rose & White LLP recently contributed to the Project Share program, which helps some Huntsville Utilities’ customers in Madison County with their gas and electric bills. The program began in 1988 to help elderly and handicapped customers during the winter and summer months. The donation made by the Firm’s Huntsville office is the largest single donation and will cover 25 to 30 individual utility bills. To read the full article published in The Huntsville Times, please click here.

01-18-2006

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