Serving the legal community since 1887
LEAP Legal Software, the leading cloud-based legal software technology provider, announces a partnership with BlumbergExcelsior Inc. whereby Blumberg legal forms are now available in the LEAP Library of Legal Forms.
Continue reading “LEAP Announces Integration with the Popular Blumberg Legal Forms”
By Michael L. Goldblatt
This year marks the 150th anniversary of James Martindale’s first publication of a directory that listed lawyers in every state. Martindale’s Directory continued in print for 140 years until it was replaced with an online edition in 2008. Read on to learn more about lawyer directories and how to optimize your listing to attract more clients.
By Mike Forman
COO and VP, Chief Financial Officer, Blumberg
In a world of fast paced, online financial data, it has become increasingly difficult to manage and maintain all our information. Paper vs. paperless, websites, user names and passwords as well as data encryption have most of us struggling to keep a handle on all of it. Now imagine your loved ones having to figure all this out upon your passing. Trying to locate your assets, life insurance and related documents could be a monumental task. Where would they begin?
Continue reading “An Easy and Efficient Way to Organize Data for Your Heirs”
By Joe Bublé and Sidney Kess
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (P.L. T115-97) is transformative legislation that dramatically changes the tax landscape for individuals and businesses for years to come. It has an impact on the income tax that attorneys will pay and it also affects the work that firms will be asked to do.
Continue reading “Impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act On Law Firms”
The following is an excerpt from “Wills of the Rich & Famous: A Fascinating Glimpse at the Legacies of Celebrities” by Herbert E. Nass, Esq.
DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH
March 27, 1899
Chicago, Illinois
DATE AND PLACE OF DEATH
April 4, 1983
New York Hospital
New York, New York
The only child of Joseph and Adelaide Svensson, Gloria May Josephine Svensson was born in Chicago in 1899. Gloria Svensson adopted the name “Swanson,” and she became the glittering goddess of Hollywood’s roaring twenties. Ms. Swanson summed up her larger-than-life presence in films with her famous line in the 1950 film Sunset Boulevard: “I am big. It’s the movies that got small.”
The issue decided by the Appellate Division Second Department in (150 MP Corp. v. Redbridge Bedford, 2018 N.Y. Slip Op. 00537, 2d Dept. Jan. 31, 2018) was whether a waiver of the right to declaratory judgment relief in a Commercial Lease was enforceable. Continue reading “Key Decision Changes the Commercial Lease Negotiation Landscape”
by Michael L. Goldblatt
The introduction of the Guttenberg press in the 1400’s transformed the world by reducing the cost of printing books in Europe. Printing presses also facilitated the use of pamphlets to spread views and establish reputations. Famous pamphleteers include Martin Luther (95 Theses, 1517), Johnathan Swift (A Modest Proposal, 1729), Thomas Paine (Common Sense, 1776), Emile Zola (J’accuse, 1894) and Martin Luther King (Letter from Birmingham Jail, 1963).
Every once in a while, the court’s administrative office decides that a revision – or even an entire overhaul – of a longstanding form is required. This may be because the law, the procedure, some information related to the form has changed, or merely that the powers that be decide that the form just needs to be updated. It is not an unusual occurrence and, over the course of 130 years, Blumberg has experienced many of these changes and has risen to the challenge of each one!
The following is an excerpt from “Wills of the Rich & Famous: A Fascinating Glimpse at the Legacies of Celebrities” by Herbert E. Nass, Esq.
DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH
November 15, 1887
Sun Prairie, Wisconsin
DATE AND PLACE OF DEATH
March 6, 1986
St. Vincent’s Hospital
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Georgia O’Keeffe was one of the unique artistic forces of the twentieth century. In 1916 she had a one woman exhibition of her paintings at famed photographer Alfred Stieglitz’s legendary “291” Fifth Avenue gallery in New York. That show established O’Keeffe as an important emerging artist; she continued to delight critics until her death seventy years later at the age of ninety-eight.
Three steps to take advantage of the 20% pass-through deduction in the “tax cuts and jobs act of 2017”
The new tax deduction for owners of pass-through entities in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 has brought increased focus on the issue whether a worker is an “employee” (W-2 recipient) or an “independent contractor” (1099 recipient). Given the choice, employers may prefer 1099 reporting to avoid payroll costs and withholding of social security, Medicare, unemployment and income taxes. Meanwhile, many wage earners would want to be paid as independent contractors, if their pay could be deemed “qualified business income,” entitling them to as much as a 20% deduction.
Continue reading “New Tax Law Draws Attention to Independent Contractor Status”