Firm Insights

You Don’t Have to Give the Government the Finger: Judge Denies Warrant Application Requiring Suspect to Unlock Cell Phone

By Sanford J. Boxerman / January 18, 2019 / Comments Off on You Don’t Have to Give the Government the Finger: Judge Denies Warrant Application Requiring Suspect to Unlock Cell Phone

A decision handed down last week by a federal judge in Oakland, California, could – if adopted by other judges – narrow the ability of law enforcement officers to access information contained in persons’ cellphones or other mobile devices.  The ruling came in a case entitled In the Matter of the Search of a Residence…

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IRS Announces Penalty Relief for Some 2018 Underwithholders

By Michelle F. Schwerin / January 18, 2019 / Comments Off on IRS Announces Penalty Relief for Some 2018 Underwithholders

The IRS announced yesterday that it will excuse some taxpayers who underwithheld or failed to pay enough in estimated tax payments during 2018.  This excuse, of course, does not extend to the tax itself, but to underwithholding penalties that otherwise apply under the law. Notice 2019-11: Waiver of Penalty The IRS’s bulletin publicized that it…

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Beers, Brands, and Brawls—When a Name is More than Just a Name

By Michael A. Kahn / December 11, 2018 / Comments Off on Beers, Brands, and Brawls—When a Name is More than Just a Name

“What’s in a name?” Juliet asks in Act II of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Perhaps. But when it comes to beer, a Schlafly by any other name might smell as sweet but not sell as well. And that, in a nutshell (or, perhaps, in a…

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