International

IRS Guidance Narrows Spinoffs Available For Preapproval

Natalie Olivo
Senior Tax Correspondent

Recent IRS guidance limiting the types of spinoff transactions that revenue officials will approve as tax-free ahead of time leaves practitioners and corporations to determine whether to pursue certain intercompany reorganizations without the agency's blessing.

Nixing Green Energy Tax Perks Would Be Tough For Trump

Kat Lucero

Former President Donald Trump has vowed to scrap Democrats' signature 2022 climate law should he get reelected in November, but following through on that campaign promise could prove difficult amid bipartisan support for many of the law's clean energy tax incentives and a potentially divided Congress.

New Domestic Content Guidance May Boost Energy Credits

Kat Lucero

The U.S. Treasury Department's new guidance on bonus tax credits for clean energy projects that source domestic-made materials and components aims to simplify the process for determining eligibility and spur more development to get those extra incentives.

Trauma-Informed Legal Approaches For Pro Bono Attorneys

As National Trauma Awareness Month ends, pro bono attorneys should nevertheless continue to acknowledge the mental and physical effects of trauma, allowing them to better represent clients, and protect themselves from compassion fatigue and burnout, say Katherine Cronin at Stinson and Katharine Manning at Blackbird.

How Attys Can Avoid Pitfalls When Withdrawing From A Case

The Trump campaign's recent scuffle over its bid to replace its counsel in a pregnancy retaliation suit offers a chance to remind attorneys that many troubles inherent in withdrawing from a case can be mitigated or entirely avoided by communicating with clients openly and frequently, says Christopher Konneker at Orsinger Nelson.

Using A Children's Book Approach In Firm Marketing Content

From “The Giving Tree” to “Where the Wild Things Are,” most children’s books are easy to remember because they use simple words and numbers to tell stories with a human impact — a formula law firms should emulate in their marketing content to stay front of mind for potential clients, says Seema Desai Maglio at The Found Word.

New Crypto Reporting Will Require Rigorous Recordkeeping

The release of a form for reporting digital asset transactions is a pivotal moment in the Internal Revenue Service's efforts to track cryptocurrency activities that increases oversight by requiring brokers to report investor sales and exchanges, say Shaina Kamen and Max Angel at Holland & Knight.

Exploring An Alternative Model Of Litigation Finance

A new model of litigation finance, most aptly described as insurance-backed litigation funding, differs from traditional funding in two key ways, and the process of securing it involves three primary steps, say Bob Koneck, Christopher Le Neve Foster and Richard Butters at Atlantic Global Risk LLC.

A Vision For Economic Clerkships In The Legal System

As courts handle increasingly complex damages analyses involving vast amounts of data, an economic clerkship program — integrating early-career economists into the judicial system — could improve legal outcomes and provide essential training to clerks, say Mona Birjandi at Data for Decisions and Matt Farber at Secretariat.

A Look At New IRS Rules For Domestically Controlled REITs

The Internal Revenue Services' finalized Treasury Regulations addressing whether real estate investment trusts qualify as domestically controlled adopt the basic structure of previous proposals, but certain new and modified rules may mitigate the regulations' impact, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Text Message Data

Electronically stored information on cellphones, and in particular text messages, can present unique litigation challenges, and recent court decisions demonstrate that counsel must carefully balance what data should be preserved, collected, reviewed and produced, say attorneys at Sidley.

Don't Use The Same Template For Every Client Alert

As the old marketing adage goes, consistency is key, but law firm style guides need consistency that contemplates variety when it comes to client alert formats, allowing attorneys to tailor alerts to best fit the audience and subject matter, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.

Think Like A Lawyer: Follow The Iron Rule Of Trial Logic

Many diligent and eager attorneys include every good fact, point and rule in their trial narratives — spurred by the gnawing fear they’ll be second-guessed for leaving something out — but this approach ignores a fundamental principle of successful trial lawyering, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

The Art Of Asking: Leveraging Your Contacts For Referrals

Though attorneys may hesitate to ask for referral recommendations to generate new business, research shows that people want to help others they know, like and trust, so consider who in your network you should approach and how to make the ask, says Rebecca Hnatowski at Edwards Advisory.

Unpacking The Bill To Extend TCJA's Biz-Friendly Tax Breaks

Attorneys at Skadden examine how a bipartisan bill currently being considered by the U.S. Senate to save the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act's tax breaks for research and development costs, and other expiring business-friendly provisions, would affect taxpayers.

Deciding What Comes At The End Of WTO's Digital Tariff Ban

Companies that feel empowered by the World Trade Organization’s recent two-year extension of the ban on e-commerce tariffs should pay attention to current negotiations over what comes after the moratorium expires, as these agreements will define standards in international e-commerce for years to come, say Jan Walter, Hannes Sigurgeirsson and Kulsum Gulamhusein at Akin Gump.