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Estate Planning Blog Estate Planning: Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts (SLATs) October 19, 2020 Now may be the time to take advantage of a historically favorable tax environment.  It is unclear how long the lower rates and tax exemptions established by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 will last.  We know that many provisions of the TCJA will automatically expire in 2026 unless Congress makes them permanent.  However, Congress could modify them prior to their 2026 expiration date.  The outcome largely depends on who controls the White House and the Senate after the November 2020 elections. Some of…
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I have spoken to or reviewed records for thousands of patients over the years I have been representing people injured by medical malpractice.  I have also read a lot of articles about the incidence of medical malpractice.  I can say with confidence that in any hospital stay of three days or more, the patient will be the victim of at least one instance of medical malpractice.  Fortunately, most of these instances will cause little harm but the fact of that much malpractice should be of concern to all of us. It is not hard to understand why there is so…
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Britney Spears has not been able to make a single legal decision on her own since she was 27. This is because the singer was placed under a legal Conservatorship after her public breakdown in 2008 (if you recall the shaved head stunt and the umbrella hits to the paparazzi). Now, 12 years later, Spears is going to battle against her father, Jamie Spears, to remove him from his role as sole conservator of her estate. This case has not been shy of the public eye, like anything in the pop princess’s life. Many of her fans have been spreading …
We need your help. We are assessing the Law Library’s reference services during these unprecedented times. We want to ensure you are receiving the help you need, whether it is finding a resource, using databases, citation help, or anything else. Your feedback on this short survey will enable us to serve you better.  Take the survey here: Reference Services Survey If you take the survey and provide us with your email address, you will be entered into a drawing for the prize of your choice.  1-year subscription to the Bluebook Online A copy of Prof. Charles Calleros’ book, Law School Exams: …
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There are many situations in which injury or wrongful deaths occur at work or at home.  This brief article focuses on how a lawyer analyzes fault on the part of the manufacturer or contractor in accident scenarios.  Many consumer or industrial products and settings can be dangerous, not due to fault of the consumer operator, but for lack of accident prevention in the design or planning of the product or operation.  These principles of accident prevention apply where there is potential exposure of the consumer or worker to hazardous conditions or features of a product or operation. A list of…
Story here. A number of Seattle businesses sued the city over its allowing the blackshirts to take over a part of downtown for a month, and in fact providing city aid (city-provided barriers to block vehicular traffic, etc.) to the efforts. I’d expect the city to plead the doctrine that a government has no legally-enforcable duty to protect its citizens (so much for the idea that police will be there to protect you). The federal judge dismissed the businesses’ equal protection claim, but allowed their other three to proceed, and they are interesting, someone put serious thought into this:…
From FFOI Noam Ebner: Welcome to Cyberweek 2020! This will be our 22nd ADR Cyberweek, and we’re confident it is going to be the best Cyberweek ever. This year Cyberweek will run from November 2 to November 5, 2020. Some highlights: Ethan Katsh interviewing Jim Melamed on 25 years of Mediate.com Leah Wing on ODR for Disaster Response Dan Rainey on Neuroscience and Negotiation A panel focusing on recent student ODR scholarship Stay tuned for more information and a full agenda, coming soon. You can check out our full list of supporting organizations here.…
Thirty-Nine Years … On a lovely Saturday morning in 1981 – as it happens, October 17 – I travelled to Tempe, to Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium – to become a lawyer. (Frank Lloyd Wright designed the building, which was completed in 1950.) With me were my mom and my sisters. (My father, whose father was […] The post Thirty-Nine Years … appeared first on Mark Rubin.…
By: Lyndsey Torp A recently issued opinion by the Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District tells a cautionary tale regarding a lender’s failure to name a junior lienholder in its initial judicial foreclosure action. In Cathleen Robin v. Al Crowell, — Cal.Rptr.3d —-, 2020 WL 5951506, plaintiffs sued defendant, a junior lienholder, for quiet title, having failed to name him in the initial judicial foreclosure action. Defendant raised the statute of limitations defense, but the trial court found in favor of plaintiffs. The court of appeal reversed, holding that the 60-year statute of limitations which the trial court applied only…
Probably every student and instructor has had difficult challenges this year accommodating to the routines needed because of the pandemic. Many faculty have been teaching fully or partially online and will continue to do so next semester because the virus is still way out of control in the US. Although using video has some advantages, it also presents some problems. Internet connections aren’t completely reliable, which can be nerve-wracking for faculty trying to teach synchronously.  I have been having maddening intermittent internet outages during the past weeks and some of my colleagues have as well. And it’s a challenge for…
Making hard decisions isn’t easy. But as my wife says, “hard decisions, easy life or easy decisions, hard life.” This is true in your personal life and your business. In business, employees and peers are watching. If you fail to act, or delay acting, people will notice. This will negatively affect you effectiveness as a leader. This is about credibility. When you deal with issues, others on your team learn how their actions or inactions will affect their responsibilities and roles, and, ultimately, their employment. Many leaders leave negative situations to chance positing the situation will work itself out. Most…
The Boston Law Collaborative Institute will offer the following programs on implicit and systemic bias. October 15:  “Assessing Workplace Bias in the Era of #MeToo and Black Lives Matter,” with Jody Newman, Esq. October 27:  “Biased? Who, Me?!?  A Candid Look at the Problem of Implicit Bias,” with Audrey Lee, Matt Thompson, and David Hoffman. November 10:  “Counteracting Racism and Other Forms of Systemic Bias: The Head, the Heart, and the Street,” with Matt Thompson. All three workshops run from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m Eastern Time. Click here for more information and to register. The New York State…
“Everytown Statement: During Questioning, Judge Amy Coney Barrett Confirms Extreme and Dangerous Second Amendment Beliefs”. But you say that like it was a bad thing! “”This morning, Judge Barrett confirmed what we already suspected: she is a gun rights extremist who has no place on the Supreme Court.” “”Judge Barrett confirmed this morning that she’s a dream come true for the NRA and a nightmare for the safety of the American people.” “A more detailed analysis can be found in this memo detailing Judge Barrett’s extreme positions on the Second Amendment, this memo on how this Supreme Court confirmation…