The Inspired and Controversial Online Real Estate Company
By Jeffrey M. Kowalski, Esq. The real estate brokerage business model has been the same for decades. Brokerage firms hire real estate agents as independent contractors who are on their own for marketing and expenses and get paid solely on commissions from sales. That commission in almost every deal is six percent and has become […]
The National Labor Relations Board Is At It Again!
By Scott M. Mooney, Esq. In my last column (November, 2012), I reported on the recent efforts by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and its Acting General Counsel to target employers with overly broad social media policies. As I discussed in that column, the basis for the scrutiny of such policies is the protection […]
2013, the Fiscal Cliff and Taxes: What do we know now?
By Sherman F. Levey, Esq. In this column published on Friday, December 28, 2012 I suggested that there were a number of “outlines” evolving in the tax field as we approached the dreaded “fiscal cliff.” Since then the White House and Congress struck a series of compromises on tax matters, so we’ll take a quick […]
2013, The Fiscal Cliff, and Taxes: What do we really know?
By Sherman F. Levey, Esq. The quick answer to the question posed in the headline is, not much, really. However, if history is any indicator, there are outlines which are becoming apparent and which can be relied on for some future planning. First, there is nothing certain in politics, and over the past several years […]
Social Media: What’s Your Popularity Worth
By David K. Hou, Esq. Good news! In my (fake) job as an advisor at a technology consultancy, I have accumulated 50,000 followers on my “@TechFanaticDavid” Twitter account, and through my diligence I have amassed enough contacts on LinkedIn to be within four degrees of separation from both Bill Gates and Oracle’s Larry Ellison. I […]
Legal Budgets for Start-ups: It’s All About Prioritizing
By Jason M. Kiefer, Esq. I recently met with a group of student entrepreneurs at a local university to discuss the various legal issues that arise when starting a business. The conversation quickly moved beyond the actual legal issues themselves to how entrepreneurs with a good business idea, but a limited budget, can effectively address […]
Dear Legislature: Even My Employer Wants to Be Friends on Facebook
By Jeffrey M. Kowalski, Esq. Robert Collins took leave from his job as a security guard at the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services to mourn his mother’s death. As a condition to reinstatement, the Agency required that he give up his Facebook username and password. A similar story that went viral involved […]
NYSARC Trust Services
This article is to introduce readers to NYSARC Trust Services, which administers a group of trusts operated by NYSARC, Inc. NYSARC, Inc. (formerly New York State Association for Retarded Children), is the largest non-profit organization in America supporting people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities and their families since 1949. They have offered trust services […]
The Rights of Landlords and Secured Creditors as to a Tenant’s Pledged Collateral
By Devin Lawton Palmer, Esq., Partner, Boylan Code LLP The rights of a secured creditor to secure and dispose of its collateral is fairly well established under New York’s Uniform Commercial Code (the “UCC”). Section 9-609 of the UCC allows a secured creditor to take possession and dispose of its collateral on the debtor’s premises […]
