As the year comes to a close, many people are wondering what will happen to the infamous Bush Tax Cuts. There are three main possibilities for what could happen to the tax cuts: extend them for everyone, let them expire for everyone or let them expire only for the “rich,” while keeping them in place for everyone else. While many people are arguing their views back and forth, chances are whatever happens (or doesn’t happen) to the tax cuts won’t solve our economy’s overall problems. Many will agree that our economy is faulty at its best and utterly failing at its worst. While there is a lot of curiosity about what will happen at the close of the year, in relation to the tax cuts, there is a bigger picture. In order to really work towards improving our economy, it is necessary to look towards more stable and permanent changes. Further, in order to avoid a “two steps forward, one step back” sort of progress, we need to stop fighting each other every step of the way and start working together. [More]

The practice of law has changed substantially with the advent of computers, the Internet, and the “Information Age.” In many ways, these changes in the legal landscape are not surprising, as they roughly parallel those in the personal and commercial worlds. Much of the technology that has made its way into widespread use has focused on improving and streamlining existing methods. Though we certainly interact now in ways that we could not have 30 years ago, this has largely been within a scheme of roughly incremental changes – the word processor can act as a much more efficient typewriter, and hard drives can act as a very large file cabinet (or library). Court filings, collaboration, and record keeping, among many other tasks, have been streamlined; previously inaccessible sources of information are available even to those with the smallest budget; young law students may seem “dependent” on online services for their research, but they, in turn, don’t shudder instinctively at hearing the name “Shepard.” However, there is a deeper level of change occurring in virtually every area of commercial and academic pursuit. Some of the literally unprecedented advancement in data gathering, storage, and analysis is moving from behind the scenes into the forefront, and the potential pitfalls faced by the legal system in accommodating this already pose a risk of becoming a significant problem. [More]

On October 13, 2010, the Seventh Circuit handed down their ruling in Lumbermans Mutual Casualty Company v. Broadspire Management Service, Inc, LLC. In that case, the court reiterated its position that questions of procedural arbitrability are not for the courts to consider, but rather for arbitrators to assess. While this decision may seem dangerous at first glance, it is actually a well-reasoned approach that promotes arbitration. This article will consider why Lumbermans and other similar cases are rightly decided and promote desirable incentives in potential litigants. [More]

Domestic Workers are legally marginalized under current labor and employment law. They are currently unprotected under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). Further, they are de facto excluded from protection under a number of laws, like Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which exempt employers who employ fewer than a specified number of employees. Section 2(3) of the NLRA explicitly excludes domestic workers from its protection because the term “employee” is defined to “not include any individual employed … in the domestic service of any family or person at his home” including nannies, housecleaners, caregivers, companions, etc. While some states have begun to take steps to remedy the situation, millions of workers still find themselves vulnerable to violations of basic labor and employment laws [More]

Democrats are notorious for criticizing Republicans’ support of worldwide American companies who “outsource” (i.e., move operations and workers) to nations like India. While Democrats’ opposition to outsourcing was initially meant to incite sympathy and support from voters on “Main Street”, it has begun to alienate wealthy and influential Indian-American voters, most of whom were previously supporters of Democratic candidates. This article questions the political and legislative support of outsourcing of jobs, particularly to India. [More]

The New York statute that has given Attorneys General the power to take on Wall Street, and catapulted many of them into the governor’s mansion, is about to undergo a radical change if a Southern District judge’s ruling is upheld. In Anwar v. Fairfield Greenwhich, the court found that New York's Martin Act does not preempt private tort actions. This article considers the potential effects of such a ruling on the securities law landscape. [More]

The Creating Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, Pub. L. No. 111-240, 124 Stat. 2504 (Title II, H.R. 5297) became law on September 27, 2010. The Joint Committee on Taxation (Committee) estimates that the tax provisions will provide $56 billion in relief to small businesses in 2011. However, the act's actual value is questionable. This article will analyze the potential effects of the legislation. [More]

Many television commentators and academics claim that executive compensation is skyrocketing out of control. While the commentary on television is most likely rooted in populism, academics explain this contention by resorting to board capture theory. According to board capture theory, corporate boards of directors are dominated by their firm’s top executives. Thus, when an executive negotiates his compensation, he is effectively negotiating with himself and people who want to keep him happy. Therefore, executives get substantially more favorable compensation packages than they would if their contracts were negotiated in an arms-length and adversarial manner.

This article will examine a recently presented solution to this problem. Professor Harwell Wells and Professor Randall Thomas argue that the courts can step in to solve the problem of executive over-compensation based on board capture in their working paper “Executive Compensation in the Courts: Board Capture, Optimal Contracting and Officer Fiduciary Duties.” [More]

The current financial crisis ushered in by the collapse of the sub-prime mortgage market has shaken the foundations of our financial markets, exposed numerous Ponzi schemes, most infamously that of Bernard Madoff, and resulted in a tremendous increase in home foreclosures and bankruptcies. In many of the current bankruptcy cases the line between a fraudulent conveyance and a legitimate transfer can make a difference of millions of dollars for the legitimate creditors. In the realm of real estate, this situation has placed on the courts the burden of deciding which is more important: fair and equitable distribution of assets among creditors, or the historical distinctions between fraudulent conveyance law and foreclosure law. [More]

On September 2, 2010, 3G Capital announced that it planned to acquire Burger King Holdings. The deal itself is valued between $3 billion and $4 billion with 3G currently working on the tender offer of $24 per share for the company’s outstanding shares. With Burger King being the world’s second largest hamburger fast-food chain, it was not difficult for 3G to find financing for this highly-leveraged buyout. However, is 3G truly ready to tackle Burger King’s problems? [More]