June 03, 2016

When Supply Exceeds Demand: Buying and Selling Oil and Gas Assets in the Current Low Price Environment

By: Ira L. Herman , Thompson & Knight LLP The price of crude oil, like the price of virtually all commodities, moves up in times of high demand and down in times of excess capacity. When a mismatch exists between supply and demand, the markets are expected to self-correct. Excess supply should result in price and production cuts, while excess demand should be met with price and production increases. DESPITE THESE...

June 03, 2016

Regulation of Self-Driving Cars Headed for the Fast Lane

By: Korey Clark Development of autonomous, or self-driving, vehicle technologies by Google, Tesla Motors, and others has been progressing rapidly in recent years. But state efforts to regulate the testing and operation of self-driving cars on public roads have been moving at a more deliberate pace. Now the Obama administration wants to fast-track the regulatory process to get autonomous cars on the road more quickly...

June 03, 2016

The Developing Law of LGBT Protections under Title VII

By: Darrell R. VanDeusen and Alexander P. Berg , Kollman & Saucier The rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals remain a hot topic in the American workplace. Protection under federal anti-discrimination laws has proved elusive over the years. While terms like sex, gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity are routinely used, defining these terms and addressing the ramifications...

June 03, 2016

Investing in U.S. Real Estate by Qualified Foreign Pension Funds

By: Scott L. Semer , Torys LLP. FOR OVER 30 YEARS, NON-U.S. INDIVIDUALS AND ENTITIES who invest in U.S. real estate have been subject to tax both on operating income and gains realized upon exiting the investment. There have been limited exceptions, primarily for gains earned by shareholders holding less than 5% of public real estate investment trusts (REITs) and shareholders of domestically controlled REITs that exit...

June 03, 2016

Rights Clearance

By: Po Yi , Venable LLP. When your client plans to create new content or use existing third-party content in a new work, it must conduct a review to ensure that it is permitted to use the material. This review is known as rights clearance. UNAUTHORIZED USE OF SUCH MATERIAL COULD SUBJECT your client to liability for violating a third party’s copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property or proprietary...

June 03, 2016

Avoid Stretching Your License Beyond Its Legal and Ethical Limits

By: Devika Kewalramani, Esq. , Moses & Singer LLP. The practice of law has no universally accepted definition, but the unauthorized practice of law is well-defined in jurisdictions around the country. Most states have an assortment of rules of professional conduct, statutes, and/or court rules that establish the territorial boundaries around unauthorized practice: who can practice, where, when, and how. THE PURPOSE...

June 03, 2016

Selecting the Proper Estate Planning Device

By: Jeffrey A. Kern and Brian Goossen , Akerman. An estate plan can be described as a process to protect and maximize a person’s wealth during their lifetime, arrange for financial management and health care decision-making in the event of disability, and transfer assets to, or ensure their continued preservation for, intended beneficiaries upon death, in an orderly and cost-efficient manner. ESTATE PLANNING...

March 12, 2016

Technology Transfer with a University or National Laboratory

By: Heather J. Meeker , O’Melveny & Myers LLP. LEXIS PRACTICE ADVISOR RESEARCH PATH: Intellectual Property & Technology > IP Licensing > Patent Licenses > Practice Notes > University Technology Transfer Technology transfer is when technology that is developed in academic institutions or national laboratories is made available for development or commercialization. (All discussion of technology...

March 11, 2016

Shareholder Proposals: Predicting the 2016 Proxy Season

By: Keir Gumbs , Covington & Burling LLP LEXIS PRACTICE ADVISOR RESEARCH PATH: Securities & Capital Markets > Proxy Statement and Annual Meeting > Shareholder Activism > Articles > Excluding Shareholder Proposals and Seeking No-Action Letters This article highlights the key shareholder proposal trends and developments to expect in the 2016 proxy season. 2015 Season Statistics This past proxy...

March 11, 2016

Increasing Regulation of Daily Fantasy Sports Games

By: Lori W. Sieron LEXIS PRACTICE ADVISOR RESEARCH PATH: Business & Commercial > E-Commerce > Social Media > Articles > Sweepstakes, Contests and Prize Promotions UNTIL RECENTLY, THE ONLINE BUSINESSES THAT ALLOW people to wager on daily and weekly fantasy sports games were operating largely under the radar. That changed at the start of the 2015 NFL season, when several daily fantasy sports (DFS) companies...

March 11, 2016

Understanding At-the-Market Offerings

By: Michael Rave , Day Pitney LLP LEXIS PRACTICE ADVISOR RESEARCH PATH: Securities & Capital Markets > Post-IPO Equity Offerings > Other Equity Offerings > Practice Notes There are various ways in which companies can attempt to raise capital in the face of liquidity and capital resource constraints. One such method is an “at-the-market” offering (ATM), which provides certain publicly traded...

March 11, 2016

Recent Trends in Incremental Loan Facilities

By: Alexandra Margolis , Nixon Peabody LLP LEXIS PRACTICE ADVISOR RESEARCH PATH: Banking & Finance > Commitment Papers and Syndicated Lending > The Commitment Letter > Articles > Trends in Acquisition Finance Incremental loan facilities (also called an accordion) afford a borrower the ability to incur additional term loans or revolving loan commitments under an existing loan agreement if current and...

March 11, 2016

An Overview of Corporate Transactional Practice & Expert Witnessing

Q&A with: Neil J. Wertlieb , Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP Please tell us about your current practice and the types of transactions you typically handle. My practice at Milbank focuses on corporate transactions, primarily acquisitions, finance, securities offerings, real estate and hospitality, and restructurings. My practice also involves corporate governance matters and contracts generally. I’d...

March 11, 2016

10 Legal Issues with Fantasy Sports

By: James Gatto , Sheppard Mullin LEXIS PRACTICE ADVISOR RESEARCH PATH: Business & Commercial > E-Commerce > Social Media > Articles > Sweepstakes, Contests and Prize Promotions 1. Fantasy Sports Models Need to Avoid Federal and State Gambling and Lottery Laws Many federal and state laws are potentially relevant to fantasy sports models, including gambling and anti-lottery laws. Broadly stated, in...

March 11, 2016

A Briefing on Emerging Issues Impacting Transactional Practice 2016

HIGH-IMPACT EVENT TO GLOBAL FINANCIAL SYSTEM MORE LIKELY, PREDICT FINANCIAL PROFESSIONALS ACCORDING TO ONE MEASURE, RECENT WORLD EVENTS have financial professionals unnerved. Forty-five percent of those surveyed by the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) say the probability of a “high-impact event” to the global financial system in the next 12 months has increased. Risk managers are even more...

March 11, 2016

Personal Trusts Under New York Law

By: Ian Weinstock , Kostelanetz & Fink LLP LEXIS PRACTICE ADVISOR RESEARCH PATH: New York Business & Commercial > New York Estate Planning > Trusts > Practice Notes What Is a Trust? A trust is a legal arrangement pursuant to which a grantor (a.k.a., settlor, donor, trustor) transfers property to a trustee to administer on behalf of one or more beneficiaries according to the terms of the instrument...

March 11, 2016

Employee GPS Tracking: There's an App for That

By: Courtney King, Ice Miller LEXIS PRACTICE ADVISOR RESEARCH PATH: Labor & Employment > Privacy, Technology, and Social Media > Monitoring and Testing Employees > Articles > Video and Audio Surveillance and Eavesdropping of Employees Utilizing global positioning system tracking to monitor employees’ on-duty conduct is not uncommon. This article discusses a recently filed lawsuit that presents...

March 11, 2016

Understanding, Drafting, and Negotiating Independent Contractor Agreements

By: Jeffrey Bosley , Davis Wright Tremaine LLP LEXIS PRACTICE ADVISOR RESEARCH PATH: Labor & Employment > Independent Contractors > Agreements and Restrictive Covenants > Practice Notes > Independent Contractor and Consulting Agreements An effective independent contractor agreement will withstand both judicial and regulatory scrutiny of independent contractor status and provide a practical framework...

March 11, 2016

Profiles of Lexis Practice Advisor Journal™ Advisory Board Members - Julie Capell & Michael Overly

Julie Capell : Partner, Wintson & Strawn LLP JULIE CAPELL IS A LABOR AND employment attorney and partner with Winston & Strawn LLP. She provides strategic labor and employment guidance by crafting policies and procedures that protect employers and minimize the risk of litigation. In addition, she is well versed in the unique body of employment laws and regulations that continually evolve in the state of California...

March 11, 2016

Director Duties in a Transnational Energy Insolvency

By: Cameron Kinvig LEXIS PRACTICE ADVISOR RESEARCH PATH: Financial Restructuring & Bankruptcy > Identifying Bankruptcy Risk > Oil and Gas Agreements > Practice Notes With oil prices at multi-year lows, the upstream oil and gas industry is reeling. Many exploration and production concerns, as well as oilfield and offshore service providers, have filed for bankruptcy. Many more are likely to do so in the...

March 11, 2016

Introduction to Real Property 1031 Exchanges

By: Spencer Compton , First American Title Insurance Company LEXIS PRACTICE ADVISOR RESEARCH PATH: Real Estate > Commercial Purchase and Sales > 1031 Exchanges > Practice Notes Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code provides that no gain or loss will be recognized when property held for productive use in trade or business or for investment is exchanged for like-kind property that will also be held for...

December 01, 2015

A Briefing on Emerging Issues Impacting Transactional Practice

ENERGY DEPARTMENT UNVEILS ROADMAP SEEKING TO DOUBLE U.S. ENERGY PRODUCTIVITY BY 2030 THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY HAS UNVEILED A strategic plan laying out a path businesses, state and local governments, consumers, and other stakeholders can use to double U.S. energy productivity by 2030. The strategies and actions identified in the report, Accelerate Energy Productivity 2030: A Strategic Roadmap for American Energy...

December 01, 2015

Understanding the NLRB’S Positions on Regulating Employees’ Social Media Usage

By: Marcia E. Goodman and Lori Zahalka , Mayer Brown LLP LEXIS PRACTICE ADVISOR RESEARCH PATH: Labor &Employment > Privacy, Technology, and Social Media > Navigating Social Media > Practice Notes > Understanding the NLRB’s Positions on Regulating Employees’ Social Media Usage AN EMPLOYER’S SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY THAT INFRINGES upon employees’ section 7 rights, or that could be...

December 01, 2015

Confidentiality, Nondisclosure and Secrecy Agreements

By: Rebecca K. Myers , Vandenberg & Feliu, LLP LEXIS PRACTICE ADVISOR RESEARCH PATH: Business & Commercial > Commercial Contracts > Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Agreements > Practice Notes > Confidentiality Agreements CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENTS, ALSO REFERRED TO AS nondisclosure agreements (NDAs), or secrecy agreements, are legal agreements between parties specifying information that one...

December 01, 2015

Carsharing Getting Relatively Easy Regulatory Ride

By: Korey Clark FOR-PROFIT RIDESHARING, OFFERING PASSENGERS RIDES for money, and carsharing, renting cars for short periods of time, have both been around for decades, really catching on only recently in their smartphone app-based iterations. But while the modern variety of ridesharing has riled a longstanding industry and government regulators alike, the equivalent form of carsharing seems to have encountered relatively...