BLT: November 2016

     

    Articles

    Business & Corporate

    Law’s Great Leap Forward: How Law Found a Way to Keep Pace with Disruptive Technological Change

    Randolph Kahn

    The 21st century has been filled with a seemingly endless parade of disruptive technologies and emerging industries. Predicting how the law can and will respond is often speculative, to the detriment of clients and lawyers. When technological change limps slowly forward in a predictable manner, it is easier to anticipate how the law will react. When technological change leaps ahead, however, how will the law keep pace without being too reactive and/or restrictive? Until recently, it appeared as though the law was always playing catch-up, but this situation appears to be declining. The law in the United States is undergoing a transformation – one that will not inhibit the tail wagging the commerce dog into submission. These new legal paradigms offer a path toward technological adoption that augments society’s constantly morphing business landscape.

    Taxation

    Are Insurance Bad-Faith Recoveries Taxable?

    Robert W. Wood

    Damages that a plaintiff receives for harm are presumptively income for tax purposes. This is so whether they are paid pursuant to a settlement or a judgment. The only statutory exception (in section 104 of the tax code) is for compensatory damages for personal physical injuries or physical sickness. But, what if a bad faith insurance recovery is paid in a case that did involve physical injuries? From a tax viewpoint, should the bad faith damages be viewed as punitive (taxable), or as additional compensatory damages for the underlying physical injury damages (tax-free)? The answer depends on the nuances of the case, and to some extent how the parties resolve it.

    Business & Corporate

    Constitutional Issues in Granting Americans a “Right to Dispute” Personal Information With Search Engines Akin to the Existing Remedy Afforded to Europeans Via Europe’s Right to Be Forgotten

    Mark T. Andrus

    This is Mark Andrus’s second article in a three-part series exploring whether search engines may be lawfully classified as consumer reporting agencies for the purpose of allowing American consumers the right to dispute confidential personal information directly with a search engine comparable to the existing rights of European residents stemming from the EU’s “right to be forgotten.”

    Departments

    Business & Corporate

    MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: An Interview with Anat Maytal

    Long ago, Anat Maytal had to learn how to advocate for herself and find her own voice. As a person who is hard of hearing, she has had to stand up for herself – at school, in her career, and in life. She is now an associate at Baker & Hostetler, specializing in complex commercial litigation as well as employment and bankruptcy law. She is currently President of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Bar Association, and was named in 2016 as a “Top 40 Young Lawyer On the Rise” by the American Bar Association, and as a “Rising Star” by SuperLawyers. She graduated with honors from Boston University School of Law and Harvard University.