January 2013 Archives

A pilot project giving the public free, text-searchable, online-access to court opinions now is available to all federal appellate, district and bankruptcy courts.

The Judicial Conference, the policy-making body of the Federal court system, approved national implementation of the project with the Government Printing Office, Federal Digital System (FDsys), which provides free access to publications from all three branches of federal government via the Internet. The pilot project pulls opinions nightly from courts' Case Management/Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF) systems and sends them to the GPO, where they are processed and posted on the FDsys website. The functionality to transfer opinions to FDsys is included in the latest release of CM/ECF which is now available to all courts. Twenty-nine courts participated in the original pilot, and now, all courts may opt to participate in the program.

Access to judicial opinions through FDsys allows the Judiciary to make its work more easily available to the public. Collections are divided into appellate, district or bankruptcy court opinions and are text-searchable across opinions and across courts. FDsys also permits embedded animation and audio.

Presently, more than 600,000 opinions dating back to 2004 are available. Opinions from the pilot are already one of the most heavily used collections on FDsys, with millions of retrievals each month.

TOPIC: Duties to Prospective Clients

DIGEST: Rule 1.18 codifies the established principle that New York lawyers owe duties to prospective clients even when no lawyer-client relationship ensues. These duties are determined by the nature of the information received from the prospective client and may restrict the lawyer‟s ability to use or reveal the information or to represent adverse parties in the same or a substantially related matter. While these duties may be significant, they are less restrictive than the comparable duties owed to former and current clients and permit the use of ethical screens to take on adverse representations.

It is now illegal under federal law to unlock your cell phone without permission from your wireless carrier. Here's a quick guide to answer all your why, how, and WTF questions.

Treasury Advances Efforts to Secure International Participation, Streamline Compliance, and Prepare for Implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act
 
Press release

TD 9610 Final Regulations (Regulations Relating to Information Reporting by Foreign Financial Institutions and Withholding on Certain Payments to Foreign Financial Institutions and Other Foreign Entities) are now live on the Federal Register website.
 
The filing date is Jan. 17 and the publication date is Jan. 28, 2013.

TD 9610 Final Regulations

Chances are, you are your only critic. Living in that bubble can de difficult and downright deceptive when analyzing the financial success of your solo practice. When you find yourself wondering if your solo practice is successful, here are three things from Randall Ryder to remember. (Read further at Lawyerist)

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today signed into law the NY SAFE Act (Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act) that will give New York State the toughest gun laws in the nation. The legislation includes provisions to keep guns out of the hands of convicted felons and potentially dangerous mental health patients, and ban high capacity magazines and assault weapons.

Under the legislation, New York will be the first state in the nation to ban any magazine that can hold more than seven rounds and run instant background checks on all ammunition purchases at the time of sale. The legislation will allow authorities to track ammunition purchases in real time to alert law enforcement to high volume buys, and will include a statewide standard requiring recertification of pistol permits every five years. The legislation also closes a private sale loophole to ensure all gun purchases are subject to a background check, and toughens criminal penalties on those who use illegal guns.

"The new law will limit gun violence through common sense, reasonable reforms that include addressing the risks posed by mentally ill people who have access to guns and banning high capacity magazines and lethal assault weapons," Governor Cuomo said. "This legislation is not about hunters, sportsmen, or legal owners who use their guns appropriately. It is about reducing gun violence and making New York a safer place to live. I thank leadership of both the Assembly and Senate for their action on this important legislation."

Key provisions of the NY SAFE Act

Signing Ceremony (audio)

• Doxie One or Doxie Go ($149-199): The Doxie One is the cheaper of the two scanners, but the Doxie Go comes with a battery so you can scan on the go. Personally, I use the Doxie Go so I can more easily scan away from my computer (and watch TV during those big scanning jobs) but either model will do the job just fine.
• Evernote: You'll use Evernote to store and organize your new digital paper. Download the app and sign up for an account (if you don't have one already).
• Eye-Fi X2 Card (Optional, $30): When you put an Eye-Fi card in Doxie, it'll transfer scans over Wi-Fi back to your computer. While it requires a little extra setup, Doxie works much better this way. All you have to do is scan and check your computer moments later to find the file(s).

http://www.npr.org/programs/ted-radio-hour/

If you enjoy TED talks, you'll find the TED Radio Hour most compelling. Each show is dedicated to a different theme, such as the source of happiness, crowd-sourcing innovation, power shifts, or inexplicable connections. The episodes are co-produced by NPR and TED and visitors to the site can make their way through over a dozen programs. Some of the offerings here include "Africa: The Next Chapter," "The Future of Cities," and "Where Ideas Come From." The programs feature guest speakers and commentators from around the world, and could easily be used in any number of settings, including book groups, classrooms, and so on.

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2013. https://www.scout.wisc.edu/

IRS has posted Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to help Authorized IRS e-file Providers (Providers) understand the correct usage of Electronic Filing Identification Numbers (EFINs).  Providers must ensure that they are using their correct EFIN.

When a Provider is doing business with another Provider, you must check to see that the other Provider also has a valid EFIN.

How do I know if my EFIN has been compromised?

Check the EFIN status of your application at http://www.irs.gov/Tax-Professionals/e-services---Online-Tools-for-Tax-Professionals to make sure the summary of the volume of returns e-filed in the last two years matches your records. If it does not match, your EFIN may have been compromised. Call the e-help desk at 866-255-0654 (6:30 AM to 8:00 PM Central) to report a possible compromised EFIN.