State & Local

New ABA Tax Chair Wants To Revamp Practice's Dry Image

Kat Lucero

The new chair of the American Bar Association Section of Taxation told Law360 she wants to boost the section's recent efforts to revamp the tax practice's image as a boring, numbers-intensive profession with limited opportunities to improve society and inspire more students to enter tax law. Here, she shares her background and goals for the tax section.

Disputes May Loom Over Dividend Deductions For CFCs

Dylan Moroses

U.S. multinational corporations are concerned that rulemakers' interpretation of a law allowing tax-free repatriation of certain overseas earnings could lead to controversy after the Internal Revenue Service published a memo indicating the break is unavailable for controlled foreign corporations.

Veteran MTC Counsel On Wayfair, PL 86-272 Pushback

Maria Koklanaris
Senior Tax Correspondent

Nancy Prosser stepped down as general counsel of the Multistate Tax Commission on Sept. 25, capping off a long career in the state and local tax field, mostly on the government side. Here, Law360 speaks to Prosser about her career as well as two key policy issues she has been instrumental in shaping.

State Of The States' AI Legal Ethics Landscape

Over the past year, several state bar associations, as well as the American Bar Association, have released guidance on the ethical use of artificial intelligence in legal practice, all of which share overarching themes and some nuanced differences, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law Group.

8 Childhood Lessons That Can Help You Be A Better Attorney

A new school year is underway, marking a fitting time for attorneys to reflect on some fundamental life lessons from early childhood that offer a framework for problems that no legal textbook can solve, say Chris Gismondi and Chris Campbell at DLA Piper.

This Election, We Need To Talk About Court Process

In recent decades, the U.S. Supreme Court has markedly transformed judicial processes — from summary judgment standards to notice pleadings — which has, in turn, affected individuals’ substantive rights, and we need to consider how the upcoming presidential election may continue this pattern, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

Letting The People Decide: SALT In Review

RSM's David Brunori offers a look at tax-related ballot questions before the voters in 16 states this fall.

Mental Health First Aid: A Brief Primer For Attorneys

Amid a growing body of research finding that attorneys face higher rates of mental illness than the general population, firms should consider setting up mental health first aid training programs to help lawyers assess mental health challenges in their colleagues and intervene with compassion, say psychologists Shawn Healy and Tracey Meyers.

Colorado Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q3

In the third quarter of 2024, Colorado's banking and financial services sector faced both regulatory updates and changes to state law due to recent federal court decisions — with consequences for local governments, mortgage lenders, state-chartered trust companies and federally chartered lenders serving Colorado consumers, says Sarah Auchterlonie at Brownstein Hyatt.

Litigation Inspiration: Honoring Your Learned Profession

About 30,000 people who took the bar exam in July will learn they passed this fall, marking a fitting time for all attorneys to remember that they are members in a specialty club of learned professionals — and the more they can keep this in mind, the more benefits they will see, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

AI May Limit Key Learning Opportunities For Young Attorneys

The thing that’s so powerful about artificial intelligence is also what’s most scary about it — its ability to detect patterns may curtail young attorneys’ chance to practice the lower-level work of managing cases, preventing them from ever honing the pattern recognition skills that undergird creative lawyering, says Sarah Murray at Trialcraft.

Why Now Is The Time For Law Firms To Hire Lateral Partners

Partner and associate mobility data from the second quarter of this year suggest that there's never been a better time in recent years for law firms to hire lateral candidates, particularly experienced partners — though this necessitates an understanding of potential red flags, say Julie Henson and Greg Hamman at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.

Considering Possible PR Risks Of Certain Legal Tactics

Disney and American Airlines recently abandoned certain litigation tactics in two lawsuits after fierce public backlash, illustrating why corporate counsel should consider the reputational implications of any legal strategy and partner with their communications teams to preempt public relations concerns, says Chris Gidez at G7 Reputation Advisory.

It's No Longer Enough For Firms To Be Trusted Advisers

Amid fierce competition for business, the transactional “trusted adviser” paradigm from which most firms operate is no longer sufficient — they should instead aim to become trusted partners with their most valuable clients, says Stuart Maister at Strategic Narrative.

Frames Of Deference: SALT In Review

From a challenge to New York state regulations that follows on the end of Chevron deference to a court ruling siding with the Nebraska Revenue Department's view of a tax deduction, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.

Navigating A Potpourri Of Possible Transparency Act Pitfalls

Despite the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's continued release of guidance for complying with the Corporate Transparency Act, its interpretation remains in flux, making it important for companies to understand potentially problematic areas of ambiguity in the practical application of the law, say attorneys at Sidley.