- Blog PostThe taxation of digital services remains uncertain and non-uniform for many companies that offer streaming, web hosting, and other digital products and services. Amid the uncertainty and lack of uniformity, courts are being asked to interpret state laws and regulations as debates rage in state legislatures across the county and even Congress.
- Blog PostTexas has enacted two new laws designed to bolster the security of its utilities and electric cooperatives against cyber threats. This comes on the heels of the United States Department of Energy’s May 2019 announcement that utilities operating in California and Utah experienced cybersecurity incidents in March that interrupted electrical system operations.
- Blog PostThe Illinois General Assembly has passed several bills that would institute major changes to the state tax code. By and large, the measures are designed to raise tax revenue to pay for state spending and pension promises.
- Blog PostThe Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Kik Interactive Inc. with conducting an illegal, unregistered initial coin offering, signaling the SEC’s continued willingness to treat tokens, and cryptocurrency generally, as securities.
- Podcast
On Episode 30 of MH Business Exchange, McDonald Hopkins Chicago Managing Member David Agay and Lincoln International Managing Director Alex Stevenson join host Mike Witzke to discuss corporate restructuring from the perspective of role and interaction between lawyer and the investment banker.
- NewsMichael Kaczka and Maria Carr explain how the passage of the Small Business Reorganization Act could dramatically change a majority of Chapter 11 bankruptcies for the better.
- Blog PostThe U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in late May issued a fact sheet on direct liability of business associates for violations of the HIPAA Privacy, Security, Breach Notification and Enforcement Rules.
- News
Matthew C. McElwee has joined McDonald Hopkins LLC as an associate in the firm’s Chicago office.
- NewsChristopher Allen has joined the Chicago office of McDonald Hopkins LLC as an associate in the Litigation Department.
- Blog PostThis blog post offers four tips on how to be best prepared when selling your business. Selling your business can be both an exciting and stressful time. One of the ways to reduce your stress level is by being organized prior to engaging with an investment banker and/or potential buyer. This blog post offers four tips on how to be best prepared when selling your business.
- Alert
On May 10, 2019, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphey signed Assembly Bill 3245 into law. AB 3245 expands the definition of “personal information” under the state data breach statute and addresses electronic notification in the event that a data breach involves a username or password.
- Podcast
On Episode 29 of MH Business Exchange, David Agay joins host Mike Witzke for a discussion of the Chicago law firm market.
- Blog PostThe biennial budget bill that the Ohio House of Representatives passed on May 9, 2019, contains a number of tax provisions that are now headed to the Ohio Senate for their review.
- Blog PostFollowing contentious debate in the Oregon Legislative Assembly, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown signed H.B. 3427 into law last week, adopting the new Oregon corporate activity tax.
- Blog PostOn May 20, 2019, municipalities challenging the new process in Ohio for businesses to file their municipal net profits tax returns centrally with the Ohio Department of Taxation rather than with several separate municipalities filed a notice of appeal with the Ohio Supreme Court from a lower court decision upholding the state law. The Supreme Court has discretion to accept or deny the case.
- Blog PostIn Mission Product Holdings, Inc. v. Tempnology, LLC, the United States Supreme Court resolved a circuit split by holding (in an 8-1 decision) that a debtor-licensor's rejection of a trademark license under Section 365 of the Bankruptcy Code, which enables a debtor-licensor to “reject any executory contract” (a contract that neither party has finished performing), amounts only to a breach of the license and not a termination of that license.
- Blog PostIn response to a federal district court order, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced on April 4, 2019, that covered employers will have until Sept. 30, 2019, to report 2018 pay data under the EEO-1 Component 2 reporting requirements. Then, responding to the court’s mandate that the EEOC collect two years of pay data, the EEOC announced in early May 2019 that the EEO-1 Component 2 filing must include pay data for both calendar years 2017 and 2018.
- AlertOn May 6, 2019, the Fifth District Court of Appeals concluded that both tort and contract claims are time-barred by Ohio’s statute of repose, which bars property damage and personal injury claims against architects and builders more than 10 years after substantial completion of the project. This decision comes despite the fact that the Ohio Supreme Court is still deliberating the issue.
- News
Two members of McDonald Hopkins intellectual property litigation team, Dave Cupar and Matt Cavanagh, won a significant judgment in a patent and trade secret case in favor of their client, Horizon Global Americas Inc., ending an eight-year legal battle between Horizon and a former business partner, Let’s Go Aero, Inc. (“LGA”) over intellectual property rights to hitch-mounted bike racks and automobile accessories.
- Alert
The Washington legislature recently delivered Washington House Bill 1071 (“HB 1071”) to Washington Governor Jay Inslee for signature. HB 1071 will revise the Washington state data breach law to, among other things, shorten the time period for data breach notification to 30 days.
- Blog PostMedicare site neutral payment changes are making hospital employment of physicians in some off campus settings less financially attractive for health systems and physicians.
- Blog Post
Ohio's joint employer law, which became effective March 20, 2019, could conflict with new federal joint employer standards. Because of this, franchisees and franchisors in Ohio should make sure their business and related businesses are complying with all state labor laws, and franchisors may want to review their franchise agreements to ensure that a franchisor is not assuming “direct control” over a franchisee’s employees.
- NewsNicole Kline has joined the Cleveland office of McDonald Hopkins LLC as an associate in the firm’s Business Department. She will work primarily with the Mergers and Acquisitions Practice Group.
- Blog Post
A recent article identified multiple HIPAA violations that have been most prevalent in HIPAA settlements. The settlements, while significant, show only the tip of the iceberg of the costs involved with inadequate safeguards.
- Blog PostGiven the rising demand for higher education in the U.S., it is not surprising that smaller, rural, or poorly managed university systems are encountering financial distress as larger or more prestigious institutions take over the market. Unfortunately, struggling educational institutions that receive federal student financial aid funding from the United States Department of Education (DOE) pursuant to Title IV of the Higher Education Act cannot just file for bankruptcy to obtain relief from debt obligations and restructure; an institution’s eligibility to receive Title IV funding terminates immediately upon a bankruptcy filing.
- News
Cleveland-based McDonald Hopkins sees so much potential in the business of third-party financing of lawsuits that it's building its latest practice around it. As that sector sees explosive growth, expect other law firms to jump on the trend.
- News
McDonald Hopkins President Shawn Riley reviews 90 years of the firm's history in the May 2019 edition of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Journal.
- News
McDonald Hopkins' Margaret O'Bryon explains how issuing a notice of intent to settle pursuant ORC 4123.512 may have the unintended result of eliminating the right to eppeal.
- Blog PostWith the Ohio budget season upon us, the Ohio General Assembly is considering tax proposals that could have big implications for consumers, business owners, and investors. Let’s take a look at three major proposals that are currently on the table:
- Blog PostIn recent years the Ohio Department of Taxation has been ramping up audit and enforcement efforts to impose the Commercial Activity Tax (CAT) on remote sellers. One such wholesaler is Greenscapes Home and Garden Products, Inc. The Ohio Tax Commissioner recently audited Greenscapes, leading to a CAT assessment for its sales of products in Georgia for transport to distribution centers in Ohio.
- Blog PostLate last year the IRS and Treasury finalized regulations to implement a new centralized IRS audit regime for partnerships and LLCs taxed as partnerships. Meanwhile, the Multistate Tax Commission recently approved model uniform legislation for states to adopt to address the new federal regime for auditing partnerships. These new rules have significant implications for tax filings for tax years beginning in 2018 and require amending partnership and operating agreements. Let’s take a more in-depth look at the new system and what you can do to prepare.
- Blog PostThe Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) is a monthly index that tracks the health and outlook of the U.S. restaurant industry. The National Restaurant Association, the world’s largest food-service trade group, publishes the index results on the last business day of each month.
- NewsMcDonald Hopkins Courtney Tito is profiled in The Palm Beach Post
- Podcast
On Episode 28 of McDonald Hopkins' podcast series, MH Business Exchange, entitled “McDonald Hopkins Litigation Finance Practice Group, Part 2: An Introduction to the Practice Group,” Marc Carmel and Mike Witzke discuss the decision to create a new practice group which is among the first of its kind and unique to the legal market.
- Blog PostAfter what seems like months of drama about EEO-1 reporting issues, on April 30, 2019, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission confirmed that employers will be required to submit pay data by September 30, 2019.
- Podcast
The 27th and 28th episodes of McDonald Hopkins’ podcast series MH Business Exchange have been released as a two-part discussion of litigation finance.
- Blog PostFollowing industry-wide speculation and posturing, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has released its “Framework for ‘Investment Contract’ Analysis of Digital Assets,” which the SEC will use to determine if an initial coin offering (ICO) constitutes a securities offering.
- News
McDonald Hopkins' Marc Carmel quoted in USA Today commenting on recent developments in the Payless Shoesource bankruptcy.
- News
Menin Development has secured a construction loan of nearly $30 million for a planned food hall in Delray Beach. McDonald Hopkins attorneys John Metzger and Jessica Lifshitz represented Menin.
- News
McDonald Hopkins is pleased to announce the attorneys and practice areas that have been recognized by Chambers USA 2019
- News
Margaret O’Bryon is bringing 15 years of experience developing an expertise in workers’ compensation to McDonald Hopkins LLC, joining the firm as counsel in the Cleveland office.
- Blog Post
The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently released detailed data regarding charges filed in 2018. Once again, retaliation was the most commonly filed charge with the EEOC, accounting for 51.9 percent (or a total of 39,469) of charges filed.
- News
McDonald Hopkins LLC has announced the creation of a practice group dedicated to the relatively new and exciting phenomenon of litigation finance. The firm’s Litigation Finance Practice Group is one of the first of its kind and is unique in the legal market.
- Blog PostIn a 5-2 decision, the Supreme Court of the State of Montana recently held that the state’s Tax Credit Program was unconstitutional. Although only a portion of the program was initially challenged, the court determined that the Montana Department of Revenue could not rectify the statute by adding new rules to circumvent the constitutional issue.
- Blog Post
Early analysis of the most recent Opportunity Zone program guidance shows that the IRS and U.S. Treasury are trying to make the program palatable to investors considering investment in low-income communities. Beyond the federal tax incentives, the state of Ohio is currently considering a credit against the Ohio income tax for Opportunity Fund investors.
- Blog Post
Violence in the workplace has become an all too frequent issue that employers must be prepared to address. To provide employers with guidance and practical insights, including on obligations under the OSHA general duty clause to provide a safe workplace, McDonald Hopkins is presenting a Business Hour on May 6, 2018, on workplace violence.
- News
A prominent Argentine lawyer filed a multimillion-dollar federal complaint against Uber for the unimaginable harm Uber inflicted on him as a result of Uber's recklessly orchestrated entry into Buenos Aires.
- Blog Post
Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal on April 3 certified to the Florida Supreme Court as a question of great public importance the issue of what the cutoff date is for filing a construction defect action.
- Blog PostRecent amendments to Massachusetts’ data breach notification statute will be effective on April 11, 2019, and business organizations, public agencies, and other legal entities should take note.
- NewsDisability Rights Ohio expands Medicaid Pro Bono Program thanks to partnership with McDonald Hopkins
Disability Rights Ohio is pleased to announce a new partnership with law firm McDonald Hopkins LLC to expand its existing Medicaid Pro Bono Program, which provides legal services to Ohio families and children with disabilities. The program, which started when DRO teamed up with Nationwide Insurance in 2017, will now be able to reach more people struggling to obtain access to adequate healthcare services and medical equipment.
