Law Firm News

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Law Firm News

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Gardner, Carton & Douglas, L.L.P.

Drinker Biddle Partner Richard Brennan To Provide Insight, Analysis of Key 2006 Civil Lawsuits
Drinker Biddle & Reath Partner Richard Brennan will be among a distinguished panel of Superior Court judges and lawyers on Saturday, Jan. 20 that will provide analysis of the key civil cases of 2006. Valuable for new and established litigators alike, the presentation will review the decisions and explain their current and future impact from both the plaintiff’s and defendant’s perspectives.
The seminar, presented by the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education (NJICLE), will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Marriott Hotel in Saddle Brook.
“Throughout our careers as lawyers, it’s critical to keep learning and deepening our understanding of the law,” Brennan said. “A review of last year’s key cases provides insight into the reasons behind the decisions and how they will impact our clients now and in the future.”
Brennan has tried a variety of cases during his career, ranging from medical malpractice to products liability. He has been involved in numerous significant appeals on both the state and federal levels, involving issues such as wrongful life and the liability of a psychiatrist to a third party. Brennan began his career as a law clerk in the Appellate Division. He is a master of the Worrall F. Mountain Inn of Court and an adjunct professor of civil trial practice at Seton Hall University School of Law. He is also a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Brennan was the recipient of the 2003 Judge Alfred C. Clapp Award for his distinguished service and commitment to the continuing legal education of members of the bench and bar. The award is presented each year by the NJICLE.
Joining Brennan on the panel will be the Hon. Paulette Sapp-Peterson, JAD; the Hon. Thomas F. Brogan, PJSC; the Hon. Peter A. Buchsbaum, JSC; the Hon. Jamie S. Perri, JSC; the Hon. Eugene J. Codey, Jr., PJSC; and Frederick D. Miceli, Esq.

11-30-2006

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Elliott Greenleaf & Balaban

STEWART J. GREENLEAF, JR. APPOINTED TO A HEARING COMMITTEE OF THE DISCIPLINARY BOARD OF THE PENNSYLVANIA SUPREME COURT
The Disciplinary Board of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has appointed EG&S’ Stewart J. Greenleaf, Jr. to a hearing committee of the Board for a three year term. The Disciplinary Board reviews and recommends sanctions, including debarment, suspensions and censures to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for Pennsylvania attorneys who are found to have violated the Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct Governing Attorneys. Members of hearing committees hear evidence and issue findings and recommendations to the Disciplinary Board.

11-30-2006

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Elliott Greenleaf & Balaban

EG&S’ DEAN R. PHILLIPS PRESENTS CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION ON PENNSYLVANIA ORPHANS COURT
EG&S’ Dean R. Phillips spoke at the Pennsylvania Bar Institute's Annual Estate Law Institute on recent developments in Orphans' Court practice and procedure.

11-30-2006

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Davis, Brown, Koehn, Shors & Roberts, P.C.

New Law Helps Shield 401(k) Inheritance
Inheriting a nest egg is about to get more lucrative because of a law that lets more people take over 401(k)s without a big tax hit.

Those who want to take advantage of the windfall through rules that kick in next year should proceed with caution, though, because a few special steps are necessary to get it right.

Until now, only a spouse could roll over 401(k) money from the account of a deceased person without paying taxes on it immediately. Under the new regime, a son or daughter, domestic partner or even a parent will be eligible for a similar tax benefit.

Enacted through a provision of the Pension Protection Act of 2006, passed in August, the law could raise the amount of money people save over the years, besides shielding them from taxes up front. It becomes effective at the beginning of 2007.

“Most people don’t realize the impact of it, the amount of money that can stay in a family,” said Ed Slott, a CPA and author of the book “Parlay Your IRA into a Family Fortune.”

Typical practice now is for a beneficiary who is not a spouse to cash out of a plan immediately and be taxed on the money. If the amount inherited is large enough, it can even mean a double whammy of taxes along with a bump up into a higher tax bracket.

A spouse, on the other hand, can roll the money into his or her own IRA and let it grow there tax-free until age 70 1/2.

To get the new tax break, a non-spouse beneficiary has to go through a critical extra step. An account known as an inherited IRA must be set up in the name of the deceased through a so-called trustee-to-trustee transfer.

For instance, after the death of John Doe Sr., an inherited IRA account would be set up in his name, and designated as being “for the benefit of” John Doe Jr., his son. This step would allow the trustee-to-trustee transfer that shelters the 401(k) transfer.

“It’s going to take a while for advisers and custodians to get their arms around this,” said Robert S. Keebler, a partner at Virchow Krause & Company, a law firm in Green Bay, Wis.

To set up the new IRA, beneficiaries can rely on an adviser or do it themselves, Justin Ransome, a partner in the Washington, D.C., national tax office of Grant Thornton LLP, an accounting and tax-advisory firm, said a beneficiary may need to send a letter to the former employer of the deceased, along with a death certificate, instructing it to issue a check in the name of the institution that will be the new trustee of the account.

“If the check is issued directly to you, you won’t be able to take advantage of the tax deferral.

11-30-2006

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Riker Danzig Scherer Hyland & Perretti LLP

Stephen W. Smithson Joins Riker Danzig as Counsel
Riker Danzig Scherer Hyland & Perretti LLP is pleased to announce that Stephen W. Smithson has joined the firm's environmental group as counsel.

Stephen W. Smithson, of Sparta, represents environmental, insurance, and health and safety clients before state and federal regulatory agencies and in state and federal trial and appellate courts. He is particularly experienced in brownfields redevelopment and site remediation, as well as due diligence and environmental compliance.

Mr. Smithson is a co-founder and Executive Committee member of the Justice Stewart G. Pollock Environmental American Inn of Court. He is also co-founder and former Chair of the Technical Regulations Advisory Coalition. He is a Director of the Environmental Law Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association. Mr. Smithson frequently writes and speaks on environmental law topics. He currently writes a monthly column, Environmental Developments for Commerce magazine.

Mr. Smithson earned his B.S.Ch.E. and M.E. from the University of Virginia in 1990 and 1996, respectively. He earned his J.D. from Rutgers School of Law-Newark in 1994. Mr. Smithson is admitted to practice in New Jersey and before the Second and Third Circuit Courts of Appeals.

11-30-2006

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Perkins Coie LLP

Interoperable Emergency Communications Needed to Ensure Public Safety Timely Implementation Critical; Delay Unwarranted, Paper Concludes
Many Americans assume that our nation's police, fire fighters, emergency medical personnel and other first responders can talk to each other and share data when responding to a crisis. Their assumption is wrong. Even more than five years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, first responders still can not easily communicate during a crisis. But the tools, technology and policy are now in place to bring communications interoperability to public safety, according to a white paper released today.

"21st Century Communications Systems for First Responders: The Right Call" concludes that the Administration, Congress and our nation's technology companies were given powerful new tools in legislation passed in the last two months, and must now work together with public safety officials to provide the most advanced technologies available to ensure that communications among all first responders, regardless of agency or jurisdiction, are seamless and failsafe. The white paper notes that Congress responded to the findings of the bipartisan 9/11 Commission and passed legislation last year to free up wireless spectrum exclusively for first responders and public safety. Specifically, the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 includes provisions for allocating 24 megahertz of the 700 megahertz band of spectrum for public safety.

Known as the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act, or DTV provisions, the law prescribes a timeline and methodology for moving television broadcasting companies and consumers from analog to digital transmissions, thus freeing up critical spectrum for first responders' communications. The law specifies that the balance of the spectrum will be auctioned by the government and proceeds directed to upgrade communications equipment, such as radios, for public safety Additional auction revenues will be applied to reduce the national budget deficit and implement other important programs.

The paper's authors, Larry Irving and Michael D. Gallagher, said the challenge is to implement the DTV legislation quickly and completely to deliver the interoperability to first responders that America needs.

"It is imperative we provide our first responders with the 21st century tools they need to save lives and finally help make interoperability a reality," Gallagher said. "What is needed now is coordinated leadership among federal, state and local officials, working with technology innovators, to fully implement this vision of 21st century communications."

"Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has committed to enact the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission in the new Congress's first 100 hours. The bipartisan DTV policy passed by this Congress has set the right course for success," Irving said.

The authors both served as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information under Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush. Mr. Irving is President and CEO of the Irving Information Group, and Mr. Gallagher is a Partner with Perkins Coie.

11-30-2006

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Kamlet Shepherd & Reichert, LLP.

Kamlet Shepherd & Reichert Named Denver’s Best Place to Work in 2006
Kamlet Shepherd & Reichert has been recognized as Denver’s Best Place to Work among medium-sized companies. Compiled results of the independent web-based employee research were released by Quantum Market Research, Wichita, Kan., scoring Kamlet Shepherd number one among Denver companies with 50 to 150 employees.

Awards were given last week in a ceremony hosted by the Denver Business Journal, which sponsored the research and made the call for nominations in Best Places to Work in three categories: small companies, 10 to 50 employees; medium companies, 51 to 150 employees and large companies, more than 150 employees.

In addition to employees from competing companies, Kamlet Shepherd employees were given a battery of questions to answer anonymously about their own company on a secure Web site. The survey, developed by Quantam, measured 40 attributes known to drive employee engagement, including team effectiveness, retention risk, alignment with goals, trust with co-workers, individual contribution, manager effectiveness, trust in senior leaders, feeling valued, work engagement and people practices. Each question was a given value of one to six points, depending on the response check by the employee.

Winners were chosen by a numerical score. Kamlet Shepherd received a 93.87 average score from current employees.

“We believe this recognition—which is generated by our own employees—is an affirmation about our company and the way we like to do business,” said Jay Kamlet, co-founder of the firm. “We create effective teams of people, we work to leverage individual strengths and we sincerely trust and respect each other.”

According to partner Lee Reichert, the 58 employees are committed to the firm, to their work and to their clients.

“I find that all the people with whom I work are highly committed to understanding our clients’ businesses and are passionate about producing superior results for them. We truly take ownership in our clients’ businesses,” he said.

According to Willie Shepherd, chairman and co-founder, the organization’s leaders are committed to making it a great place to work. They offer special services for working parents, including paid child care after hours for firm-sponsored events and leave for new mothers and fathers, as well as special family events including a summer picnic and a popular Halloween office party. Partners and associates are given time, encouragement and budget support to become meaningfully involved in community and civic projects of their choice, which range from tutoring elementary school children to teaching self-esteem and soccer skills to inner-city students.

“We host training events, social events and fundraisers for clients, employees and community members and supports dozens of black tie events and causes with Denver and the Rocky Mountain region, but that’s only part of it,” said Shepherd. “We talk to each other, we are enthusiastic and optimistic, we have fun, and we share a vision of what we want to be—the pre-eminent law firm in this area. But when all is said and done, it’s not about our organization, it’s about our people. We have the best people who are committed to accomplishing great things.”

Kamlet Shepherd is a comprehensive legal services firm structured to serve businesses in the Rocky Mountain region and can be contacted at www.ksrlaw.com. Based in Denver, it was formed in 2000 by partners who decided to make customer service and responsiveness a hallmark of the firm. Today it has 36 attorneys.

11-30-2006

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