Monday, March 5, 2018

TOP NEWS

Trump Nominates Former Bingham Atty For IRS Chief Counsel

Michael J. Desmond, a former Bingham McCutchen LLP partner turned independent tax practitioner, has been nominated to be the chief counsel of the Internal Revenue Service, according to a Friday announcement from the White House. Read more »

Analysis

Treasury's Guidance Job Made Harder By Tax Official’s Exit

The U.S. Treasury Department, tasked with interpreting a massive new tax law, has been left shorthanded by the recent sudden resignation of Dana Trier, a high-ranking official who was heavily involved in projects to provide highly anticipated guidance to taxpayers. Read more »

In Tax Row, Ark. Justices Clarify Sovereign Immunity Issue

Arkansas' high court on Thursday reversed and dismissed a decision against Burger King in favor of the state finance department over how free meals are taxed, and at the same time it clarified the scope of a major decision it had made in January over whether the state can be sued because of sovereign immunity. Read more »

EU Common Tax Base Proposal Aims At Digital Transactions

A common consolidated corporate tax base is "an essential missing brick in the construction of the genuine internal market and in fighting tax avoidance," the European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs said in draft reports issued Thursday that proposed amendments including provisions for a digital permanent establishment. Read more »

Taxation With Representation: Skadden, Jones Day, Kirkland

In this week’s Taxation With Representation, AmTrust teamed up with Stone Point to go private in a deal valuing the insurer at $2.7 billion, Ocwen bought rival PHH for $360 million, and Spectrum Brands merged with HRG in a $10 billion deal. Read more »

FEDERAL

IRS Seeks Quick Win In $337M Exxon Tax Refund Bout

The IRS on Thursday asked a federal court in Texas for an early victory in its tax spat against Exxon Mobil Corp., saying the company is not entitled to $337 million in refunds because it cannot use a tax credit to reduce both fuel excise and income taxes. Read more »

Dems Demand To See Testimony On IRS-Targeting Audit

Democrats on the House oversight committee on Thursday called on Chairman Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., to subpoena testimony from Treasury auditors who looked into claims of politically motivated targeting of nonprofits by the IRS during the Obama administration, saying the investigation was flawed. Read more »

STATE & LOCAL

Analysis

Vague Disclosures Make Tax Perks Hard To Track

After two years into a new era of mandated accountability surrounding government tax incentives, experts say tax deals are still hard to track and there’s much room for improvement. Read more »

Texas Supreme Court Says Heavy Equipment Tax Law Legal

The Texas Supreme Court on Friday reversed a lower court's ruling in a dispute over whether the state tax law uses an unconstitutional framework to value heavy equipment such as pipeline compressors, affirming the legality of the statute in question and potentially resolving hundreds of related cases. Read more »

Fla. Senate Committee Advances Gambling Reform Bill

A Florida Senate Committee approved a gaming reform bill Friday that covers the regulation of fantasy contests, greyhound and horse racing “decoupling” and slot machine taxes, and authorizes so-called designated player games in certain settings, while also extending the state’s gaming compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Read more »

Groups, States Back NY In $247M UPS Cigarette Penalty Row

A host of states and anti-tobacco groups have thrown their support behind the state and city of New York’s bid Wednesday for the Second Circuit to affirm a $247 million penalty against United Parcel Service Inc. for helping to move untaxed cigarettes from tribal lands. Read more »

Nuclear Subsidies, Tax Bill Top NJ Rate Watchdog's Agenda

The New Jersey Division of Rate Counsel will be busy going to bat for utility ratepayers in the coming months by fighting legislation calling for a $300 million subsidy for Public Service Enterprise Group Inc.'s nuclear plants and hunting for savings that utilities may owe consumers in the wake of recent federal tax legislation, according to division Director Stefanie Brand. Read more »

INTERNATIONAL

Tax Pacts Should Mind Developing Nations More: EU Panel

European Union member states negotiating tax agreements with developing countries must recognize that these nations lose an estimated $100 billion in annual revenue due to multinational corporations’ avoidance transactions, an EU advisory committee said in an opinion issued Friday. Read more »

UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

The last week has seen bankrupt insurer Allanfield sue its former auditors, another insolvent insurer in runoff lodge professional negligence claims against Mazars LLP and a new suit from the remains of Iceland's collapsed Landsbanki. Read more »

EXPERT ANALYSIS

The Fate Of The Physical Presence Nexus Standard

The significance of the U.S. Supreme Court granting certiorari in South Dakota v. Wayfair cannot be understated and, frankly, it does not bode well for the continuing viability of the physical presence standard as established by the judiciary, considering that at least three of the current justices may have telegraphed their intentions in prior decisions, say John Paek and Drew Hemmings of Baker McKenzie. Read more »

LEGAL INDUSTRY

The Firms Landing The Most Cases In 7 Practice Areas

In a new report from the legal analytics firm Lex Machina, case volume speaks volumes. Here are the firms finding their services in the highest demand over the past five years. Read more »

Analysis

ABA's 'No' To Anti-Money Laundering Bills Sparks Dissent

The American Bar Association’s hard-line stance against a pair of anti-money laundering bills being considered by Congress that it says threaten the attorney-client relationship has stirred dissent inside and outside the organization about U.S. lawyers’ proper role in stemming the global flow of illegal money, experts say. Read more »

Analysis

Legal Tech Download: Robot Reviews And Contract Lawyering

The world of legal technology is quickly evolving, with new products coming to market in rapid succession. Here, Law360 takes a look at seven recent developments. Read more »

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

A new report found that female general counsel are more likely to be paid the same as their male counterparts in the U.S. than elsewhere in the world, Morgan Stanley's GC said at a panel that the white collar bar will face "declining demand" for their services in the financial sector and investors sued Wynn Resorts' general counsel and others over insider trading. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week. Read more »

Pro Bono Spotlight

Holland & Knight Helps Bring Reforms To Fla. Prisons

After more than a year of negotiations with the Florida Department of Corrections, Holland & Knight LLP attorneys, working with Disability Rights Florida and others, recently helped secure a settlement that should help inmates with severe and persistent psychiatric disabilities get the treatment they need. Read more »

In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week. Read more »

Podcast

Law360's Pro Say: Legal Movie Awards Oscar Special

On the latest episode of Law360's Pro Say podcast we present the first annual Academy Lawards, a celebration of achievements in cinema focusing on the law. Read more »

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LAW FIRMS

Norton Rose Fulbright

Stamoulis & Weinblatt

COMPANIES

Adobe Systems Incorporated

Allergan PLC

Alliantgroup LP

AmTrust Financial Services, Inc.

Amazon.com Inc.

American Airlines Group Inc.

American Bar Association

American Cancer Society Inc.

American Enterprise Institute

American Express Company

American International Group Inc.

Archrock Inc.

Association of Corporate Counsel

BNP Paribas

Barclays PLC

Boston Scientific Corporation

Burger King Holdings Inc.

BuzzFeed Inc.

Calvin Klein Inc.

Cisco Systems Inc.

Clearing House Payments Co. LLC

Cornerstone Research Inc.

Elevate Services Inc.

Exxon Mobil Corporation

Fortress Investment Group LLC

Goal Group Ltd.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Integreon Managed Solutions Inc.

Johnson & Johnson

Lambda Legal Defense & Educational Fund

Leucadia National Corporation

LexisNexis Group

London Stock Exchange Group PLC

National Association of Realtors

Newegg Inc.

Ocwen Financial Corporation

Overstock.com Inc.

PHH Corporation

PayPal Inc.

Public Service Enterprise Group Inc.

Raiffeisen Bank

Reed Elsevier

Spectrum Brands, Inc.

Stanley Black & Decker Inc.

Stone Point Capital LLC

Sunoco

The Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC

Twilio Inc.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

United Parcel Service Inc.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

Central Intelligence Agency

Congressional Research Service

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency

Delaware Court of Chancery

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

European Commission

European Union

Executive Office of the President

Federal Communications Commission

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Federal Trade Commission

Financial Conduct Authority

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network

Florida State Senate

Food and Drug Administration

Internal Revenue Service

National Labor Relations Board

New Jersey Board of Public Utilities

New York State Comptroller

Securities and Exchange Commission

Seminole Tribe of Florida

St. Regis Mohawk Tribe

U.S. Copyright Office

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of the Treasury

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

U.S. Senate

U.S. Supreme Court

United Nations

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