2009 Tax Center

Tax time will be here before you know it, so to help consumers and small businesses FindLaw.com has launched its 2009 Tax Center.

The site features a host of resources for filing 2009 (tax year 2008) income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and with state tax agencies. The information includes:

• Expert content from FindLaw.com legal editors and answers to common tax questions, including topics such as audits and tax extensions.

• Links to additional credible resources, such as government and non-profit assistance, for those who need help filling out their taxes or who can’t afford a tax professional.

• Information about taxpayer laws and penalties, including 2009 changes to the Internal Revenue Code and Treasury Regulations, deduction changes and key dates for 2009.

• Helpful tax information for small businesses.

• Federal income tax and IRS resources, including a step-by-step guide to filing your federal taxes; Federal income tax laws and regulations; Income tax laws: state-by-state, and daily tax tips for 2009 from the IRS.

• State-by-state tax information.

A news release from FindLaw has more information.

Posted by Angelique Schaffer, senior communications specialist, Thomson Reuters  

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Thomson Reuters expands services to federal government customers

Thomson Reuters has recently formed a Federal Government Initiative that will work across the entire company to serve U.S. government customers.

The new initiative will draw on the company’s existing legal, scientific, tax and other specialized products to create intelligent information solutions addressing the needs of U.S. federal government users.

Kurt Lieberman, senior vice president in the Thomson Reuters Professional Division, says that the company has hired Pamela Graff as the general manager for the Federal Government Initiative.

Ms. Graff most recently was president of PhyAmerica Government Services, where she helped double the firm’s government services revenue since 2007.

In this video interview, hear from both Kurt and Pamela about this new business initiative:

 

Posted by Angelique Schaffer, senior communications specialist, Thomson Reuters  

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Reducing waste at work

The Eagan, Minn. facility of Thomson Reuters has been recognized with a 2008 Minnesota Waste Wise Leader Award for success in waste reduction, recycling, employee education, environmentally friendly purchasing and energy conservation.

Curt Schmidt, an environmental compliance engineer at Thomson Reuters, says the company’s commitment to the environment is demonstrated every day through things like paper and aluminum recycling, a carpool program, a “Green Fair” for employees and an internal company blog about the environment. 

Waste Wise Leader Award winners are chosen once a year by a panel of judges comprising the Minnesota Waste Wise Board of Directors, the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency staff and past award winners.

Waste Wise is an affiliate program of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce. The two other winners of its 2008 Leader Award are Great River Energy in Maple Grove, Minn., and Marvin Windows and Doors in Warroad, Minn.

The efforts of Thomson Reuters in Eagan also are featured in Waste Wise’s Annual Report.

To learn more about the program, visit the Minnesota Waste Wise Web site.

Posted by Kevin Hunt, senior communications specialist, Thomson Reuters 

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FindLaw launches Financial Crisis page

At a time when consumer bankruptcy filings are on the rise and home values continue to fall, FindLaw has launched “Financial Crisis: From Wall Street to Main Street,” a special page on FindLaw.com to offer legal information, news and expert commentary from FindLaw legal specialists on today’s credit crunch and foreclosures.

The site includes information on the law of home ownership, bankruptcy law, strategies for rebuilding credit and home equity do’s and don’ts.

Posted by Kevin Hunt, senior communications specialist, Thomson Reuters

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Marketing Partner Forum 2009

The Hildebrandt Institute and West Legalworks are taking registrations for the 16th Annual Marketing Partner Forum 2009. The conference will be held Jan. 28-30, 2009 at the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point, Calif.

Considered the legal industry’s leading conference on client development, the 2009 event’s theme is ”Lighting the Way: Strategies for Influencing Change.” Sessions will cover issues and opportunities driven by the crisis economy and how firms can capitalize on them.

The conference attracts senior-level law-firm marketers and managing partners, as well as senior leaders in marketing and business development within law firms, other professional service firms and client corporations.

To register, or for additional information on West Legalworks, go to WestLegalworks.com/events or call (800) 308-1700.

Posted by Kevin Hunt, senior communications specialist, Thomson Reuters

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Bank bailout: Free white paper and webcast

 

As the attention in Washington, D.C. is on a Treasury Department proposal for a $700 billion bailout of major lenders, West LegalEdcenter and West Legalworks are providing some free resources for anyone involved in the mortgage and asset-related securities market to learn more about the bailout proposal.

First, a free white paper titled “The Impact of Securitization on the Legislative Proposal for Treasury Authority to Purchase Mortgage-Related Assets” was just written by Talcott J. Franklin.

He is the co-author of the Mortgage and Asset Backed Securities Litigation Handbook from West, and is a partner and head of litigation in the Dallas office of Patton Boggs LLP.

“Everyone has questions and anger with respect to who caused this mess and why no one acted sooner,” Franklin writes.

“But the fact is, we have to act quickly to reduce the impact of this crisis. When Americans act together, we can overcome every challenge, and we will overcome this one. But if we fall into partisan bickering and the laying of blame, if we are motivated solely by self-interest and not the overall good, if we act rashly and without careful thought, the crisis will grow, as will the sacrifice required to remedy it.”

Franklin adds, “This paper takes no position on whether the Treasury Proposal should be adopted, only that it can be improved. Many excellent points have been raised during the course of the hearings on the Treasury Proposal. This paper points out some additional issues for consideration.”

In addition to the free white paper, a free live webcast titled “Bailout or Washout: An Analysis of the Treasury Proposal to Purchase Mortgage-Related Assets,” will take place Monday, Sept. 29, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern.

The webcast will address a number of questions, including:

• What would the Treasury own if it bought mortgage-backed securities?
• How will the oversight mechanism of Treasury’s investments operate?
• What are the benefits of the proposal? The risks?
• What will determine the success or failure of this plan?
• How will the taxpayers be compensated for their investment?

The webcast will feature Franklin, the Hon. Chris Bell – a former member of Congress and member of the House Financial Services Committee – and Thomas F. Nealon, Franklin’s co-author of the Mortgage and Asset Backed Securities Litigation Handbook. Nealson is general counsel at LNR Partners, Inc.

Again, you can download the free white paper here and register for the free webcast here.

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FindLaw and Hubbard One win WebAwards

Among other things, developing Web Sites for law firms takes interesting design, innovation and good content. Web sites developed by FindLaw and Hubbard One both represented Thomson Reuters in the 2008 WebAwards from the Web Marketing Association.

Hubbard One was among a small handful of firms winning a dozen or more awards, including nearly one-third of the legal category awards. Additionally, Exponent, an engineering and scientific consulting firm and Hubbard One client, received the “Best Consulting Website” award (News release).

 

FindLaw received an “Outstanding Web site” WebAward in the legal category for developing Brent Coon & Associates  law firm Web site. FindLaw also received four other WebAwards (News release).

Now in its 12th year, the WebAwards are the premier annual Web site award competition that name the best sites in 96 industries while setting the standard of excellence for all Web site development.

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West expands public records services

West is announcing the acquisition of ChoicePoint’s AutoTrack XP government business and CLEAR product line, in an agreement with Reed Elsevier.

The move also results in a newly created business – West Government Services – which will provide technology, analytic and public record information to government agencies and law enforcement organizations, and will bring an alternative solution for public records information to these important markets.

West Government Services will include a strong team of technology, product, marketing, sales and relationship management employees located in McLean, Va., and Atlanta, Ga.

For more information, read the news release about the acquisition and watch a video featuring Andrew Martens, West’s senior vice president of New Product Development:

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“360″ view of hot legal topics

Anticipating what the other side will say and do is part of every litigator’s preparation.

West LegalEdcenter is making it easier to do that with some new webcasts on a few hot legal topics in a “360″ series of online programs, which allow participants to draw on the varied viewpoints of presenters who work at law firms, corporations and government agencies.

They also can fulfill continuing legal education (CLE) requirements at the same time.

Three series of 360 webcasts are underway: 

• A three-part series on records management provides an introduction to records management and compliance readiness.
• A series on mortgage foreclosure also debuted this month and addresses reverse mortgages, subprime litigation and regulatory compliance issues facing attorneys.
• A series on privacy law will feature three webcasts covering privacy enforcement, Internet privacy, and privacy issues and company branding.

For more information, go to the West LegalEdcenter website.

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FindLaw drunk driving survey

As Labor Day approaches, FindLaw.com has released a survey that indicates many Americans on the roads this weekend admit they may be driving while under the influence of alcohol.

One in 12 American adults admit they may have driven while drunk within the last year.

7 percent of American adults say they have driven within the last 12 months even though they thought they may have been over the legal blood alcohol limit for drinking and driving in their state.

Driving under the influence (DUI) and driving while intoxicated (DWI) laws vary by state. All 50 states currently define drunk driving as having blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08% or higher, but a driver can still be arrested and convicted for a DUI if they have a BAC below 0.08% when there is other evidence of impaired driving.

A news release offers more details on the FindLaw survey.

Free information on DUI and other traffic laws, including a video explaining DUI laws, can be found at the FindLaw.com DUI/DWI Center.

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Witkin’s 5th Edition of California Procedure

In California, and beyond, the name Witkin carries a lot of weight among legal professionals. Bernard E. Witkin’s legacy lives on in the release of the 5th Edition of Witkin, California Procedure.

The new edition adds thousands of appellate decisions, and hundreds of thousands of statutory changes since the 4th Edition was published 12 years ago. Each topic in the new California Procedure also has been rewritten and revised. Its 10 volumes are available on the West Web site and on Westlaw.

Like all Witkin works, California Procedure, 5th edition, was prepared by the attorneys and editors of the Witkin Legal Institute, who were selected and trained by B. E. Witkin - considered the most well known and highly respected commentator on California law.

The Witkin Library, published by West, now has 35 volumes of the Summary of California Law, California Procedure, California Evidence and California Criminal Law. Contact West Customer Service at 1-800-328-4880 for more information.

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Texting and driving

Nearly half of the drivers between ages 18 and 24 say they have sent a text message, instant message or e-mail while driving, according to a new survey by FindLaw.com.

The survey found:

• 47% of drivers between the ages of 18 and 24, and more than a quarter (27%) of drivers 25 to 34, admit to texting while behind the wheel
• 17% of all adults surveyed say they have texted while driving

Read the news release for more information.

Four states – Alaska, Minnesota, New Jersey and Washington – recently enacted laws that ban sending text messages while driving. Thirteen other states are reportedly considering similar legislation.

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LiveNote User Conference

LiveNote is preparing for its first user conference. Registration details for “above & beyond” are available at the LiveNote User Conference Web site.

The event will be held Sept. 14-16 at the InterContinental San Francisco Hotel and focus on the best practices in place among legal professionals using LiveNote to help them gain a competitive advantage in litigation.

The highlights of the two-day forum include LiveNote’s official unveiling of Case Notebook (view a video overview here) and insight on how to use it; and the keynote address from Gene Kranz, retired NASA Flight Control Director and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, who will share the legendary story of how his NASA teams excelled under pressure, especially during the Apollo 13 mission.

Steve Priem, vice president of Litigation for West, and Will Robberts, general manager of LiveNote, preview the user conference in a Westcast podcast.

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Westlaw Business Restructuring Center

Westlaw Business has introduced a Restructuring Center to better serve business law professionals in providing counsel to corporations turning to them for advice about how to best restructure.

A news release on the West Web site outlines the new center and what it offers.

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Campus Research in Connecticut

West has announced a deal between its Campus Research service and iCONN.org, the Connecticut State Library’s research engine for academic libraries.

Powered by Westlaw, Campus Research provides students and librarians with the most comprehensive collection of research materials available, making it easier for college students and faculty to find the news, business and law-related information they need faster and more efficiently.

Campus Research will replace the current research service used in iCONN, and provide its thousands of news databases, business journals and publications, and superior law-related resources to full-time students across Connecticut colleges. The three-year contract for nearly 140,000 students is the largest Campus Research agreement to date.

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