Tuesday, February 6, 2018

TOP NEWS

Analysis

From Amazon To Foxconn, Incentives To Woo Biz Scrutinized

Recent efforts by 20 finalist cities to entice Amazon to build its new headquarters in their community and by Wisconsin to lure Foxconn have sparked a trend of heightened awareness and scrutiny over using tax dollars to woo and keep businesses and to create jobs. Read more »

Wells Fargo Denied New Trial In $1.25B Tax 'Sham' Case

A Minnesota federal judge on Monday denied Wells Fargo & Co.’s request for a new trial in a case over a $1.25 billion transaction deemed a tax "sham" by the Internal Revenue Service, saying it could not consider new arguments by the financial institution. Read more »

IRS May Struggle To Comply With 2-For-1 Regulation Order

The IRS has said little about how it will carry out President Donald Trump’s executive order requiring government agencies to eliminate two regulations for every new one created, but complying with the order appears daunting for a resource-strapped agency already strained to its limits. Read more »

IRS Asks Supreme Court To Skip Appeal In Marijuana Case

The IRS on Friday defended its authority to deny tax credits to drug traffickers and urged the U.S. Supreme Court to deny an appeal by a Colorado marijuana company that argued the IRS lacks the power to investigate drug cases. Read more »

Tax Group Of The Year: Davis Polk

This past year saw Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP's tax team mop up a $2.4 billion victory for Citigroup Inc. and advise Baker Hughes Inc. on its $32 billion combination with General Electric’s oil and gas business, earning the firm a place among Law360’s Tax Practice Groups of the Year. Read more »

FEDERAL

House Panel Seeks Reformed Hiring Practices At IRS

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform asked Friday for information on the Internal Revenue Service’s pledge to reform its hiring practices to ensure that past employees with documented performance issues are not rehired, saying it’s unclear if the agency’s vow has been carried out. Read more »

Tax Scammer's Wife Pleads With 2nd Circ. Over Seized Funds

The wife of an attorney who helped set up illegal tax shelters sought Monday to convince a Second Circuit panel to overturn a lower judge’s ruling that allowed the feds to seize funds he gave to her, but the judges gave little hint as to how they might rule. Read more »

Former Dell Employee, Accomplice Sentenced For Fraud

A Texas federal court on Friday sentenced a former Dell Inc. employee to more than three years in federal prison and $10.8 million in restitution and his accomplice to 26 months in prison and $849,000 in restitution after they pled guilty to defrauding the company. Read more »

STATE & LOCAL

Fla. High Court Won't Hear Key West Stormwater Fee Dispute

The Florida Supreme Court declined Friday to take up the appeal of a decision allowing the city of Key West to impose a stormwater utility fee on three properties that are on another island and benefit minimally from the stormwater system. Read more »

INTERNATIONAL

Amazon Settles €196M Tax Dispute With France

Amazon has reached a deal with France over €196 million ($244 million) in taxes the tech giant allegedly owed in the country, according to a recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which did not disclose the settlement amount. Read more »

LEGAL INDUSTRY

Feature

How To Avoid Burning Bridges When An Attorney Leaves

Sending a lawyer away in a less than desirable fashion can hurt a law firm's reputation, cut off the possibility of a future relationship with the individual attorney, and create anxiety and even discontent among those who remain. Here, Law360 explores three ways law firms can avoid burning bridges when someone leaves. Read more »

Judiciary Ends Kozinski Inquiry Due To His Retirement

An investigation into accusations that former U.S. Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski exhibited sexual misconduct toward multiple former staffers has been called off, as the Second Circuit Judicial Council said Monday that Judge Kozinski's resignation removes him from the scope of judicial conduct proceedings. Read more »

Ex-Sutherland Partner Competent To Stand Trial, Judge Rules

A Georgia federal judge on Friday ruled a former Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP attorney accused of stealing millions from a wealthy family is competent to stand trial, finding evidence presented to the court of the 76-year-old lawyer's alleged cognitive decline “inconsistent and suspect.” Read more »

Atty Scolded For '#Killinnazis' Exits Pa. Xarelto Cases

A Florida attorney who was chided by a Philadelphia judge last month for posting courtroom photos on social media with the inflammatory hashtag “#killinnazis" will not be involved in six upcoming trials over injuries allegedly caused by Bayer AG’s blood thinner Xarelto, according to an order docketed Friday. Read more »

Morgan Lewis IP Partner Lands San Francisco Magistrate Job

A Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP partner focused on antitrust and intellectual property matters has been tapped to fill a magistrate judgeship in the Northern District of California, the court said Monday, making him at least the third intellectual property litigator chosen for the Silicon Valley-area job in two years. Read more »

Litigation Finance Co. Sells Most Of US Portfolio For $57M

Litigation finance firm IMF Bentham Ltd. has sold the majority of its U.S. investment portfolio to Bentham IMF Fund 1 LLC for $57.4 million, which raises the fund’s ceiling from $133 million to $166.3 million, the firm announced on Monday. Read more »

Feature

15 Minutes With Andeavor's Deputy General Counsel

Claudius Sokenu, deputy general counsel of global oil refinery Andeavor, speaks to Law360 about the differences between life in-house and at a law firm, the one thing he demands from all of his outside counsel, and a hypothetical lunch between Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr. and Muhammad Ali. Read more »

Katten Muchin Opens Office With Ex-Andrews Kurth Partners

Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP launched a new office in Dallas, Texas, Monday with seven former partners from Andrews Kurth Kenyon LLP whose practices largely focus on corporate law. Read more »

Law360's 2018 Editorial Board Selection Survey

Law360 is looking for avid readers of our publications to serve as members on our 2018 editorial advisory boards. Read more »

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