Category: Business & Tax

Fraser Trebilcock Named a Tier 1 Law Firm in Lansing in Seven Practice Areas

Fraser Trebilcock has received a First Tier ranking in Lansing in seven practice areas by U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” in 2014. Those practice areas include: Administrative/Regulatory Law, Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Commercial Litigation, Corporate Law, Litigation – Labor & Employment, Mediation, and Real Estate Law.

In addition to the First Tier ranking in seven legal practice areas, Fraser Trebilcock has also been named a Tier Two firm in Lansing in six practice areas. Those areas include: Appellate Practice, Arbitration, DUI/DWI Defense, Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, Litigation – Construction, and Trusts & Estates Law.

Firms included in the 2014 “Best Law Firms” list are recognized for professional excellence with persistently impressive ratings from clients and peers. Achieving a tiered ranking signals a unique combination of quality law practice and breadth of legal expertise. The 2014 rankings are based on the highest number of participating firms and highest number of client ballots on record. Receiving a tier designation reflects the high level of respect a firm has earned among other leading lawyers and clients in the same communities and the same practice areas for their abilities, their professionalism and their integrity.

The 2014 “Best Law Firms” rankings can be seen in their entirety by visiting bestlawfirms.usnews.com.

National Labor Relations Board Addresses Social Media Policies

On July 31, the Senate confirmed five new members to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), three Democrats and two Republicans, restoring the NLRB to full membership for the first time in a decade.

Established by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) in 1935, the NLRB has increasingly become a focus of partisan politics, with the party holding the White House appointing a majority of either pro-labor or pro-business members. Unlike a court of law, the NLRB is not bound by its own precedent. Its decisions on controversial issues swing wildly based upon the party makeup of the sitting board. In fact, “party oscillation” has become the NLRB’s new norm, following a change in administration. With a solid three member pro-union majority on the recently appointed board, President Obama’s pro-Union agenda should have very little problem in being advanced.

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Attorney Stephen L. Burlingame Honored by Best Lawyers for 20th Year in a Row

Fraser Trebilcock Attorney Stephen L. Burlingame was recently selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© 2014 in the field of Corporate Law. This marks the 20th year Mr. Burlingame has been honored by Best Lawyers.

Mr. Burlingame has previously been honored by Martindale-Hubbell with the highest possible peer review rating. He has also been listed in Who’s Who in American Law, and Best Lawyers in America for Business Law. Mr. Burlingame has been a lecturer at seminars throughout the state of Michigan on real estate, employment and environmental law.

Best Lawyers©  is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey in which almost 50,000 leading attorneys cast nearly five million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas; because lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed, inclusion in Best Lawyers©  is considered a singular honor. 

Changes in Health Care Laws Allow Retailers to Expand the Scope of Rewards Programs

Rewards programs have become an increasingly popular and important way for businesses to attract new customers and retain their most profitable clientele.  In addition, these programs provide companies with a wealth of data related to consumer purchases that can be used to forecast demand and create targeted marketing initiatives.

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Strengthening the Michigan Economy through Michigan Business Courts

Michigan continues to foster an environment for businesses to grow and flourish.  Michigan’s most recent effort to generate favorable business conditions has been the creation of the Michigan business court system.  Michigan business courts were created to ensure accurate, consistent and predictable results for business and commercial disputes, despite the complexities routinely involved in these matters.  The new courts seek to intertwine business expertise with technology to efficiently provide low-cost dispute resolution.

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The Impact of the Supreme Court’s Decision on Health Care Uncertainty Reigns and Business Should Prepare

Despite the recent U.S. Supreme Court opinion, upholding the Health Care Law Congress passed in 2010, Republicans in Congress are already pledging prompt corrective action and Mitt Romney, a candidate for President, said, if elected, it will be his first act as President to repeal health care.

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Car Shuttlers and the Michigan Unemployment Tax

Auto dealers frequently use car shuttlers to deliver vehicles to a customer, auction, or another dealer. Dealers have historically treated the car shuttlers as independent contractors and have not paid Michigan Unemployment Tax on their compensation. The Michigan Employment Security Commission (MESC) has instructed its auditors to treat car shuttlers as employees, and compensation to them as wages subject to the Michigan Unemployment Tax.

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Top Ten Things to Consider in Year-End Income Tax Planning

  1. Accelerate or defer income.  If you have deferred compensation, consider which best suits your planning:  to take your earned income now and pay taxes immediately at today’s historically low tax rates or to defer income until later and pay taxes when rates may be higher. Similarly, if you are eligible for qualified plan distributions and option grants, you need to decide whether to accelerate income recognition.

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Backups at the Tribunal

At a recent luncheon organized by the Real Property Section of the Ingham County Bar Association, Kimball R. Smith, III, Chair of the Michigan Tax Tribunal, gave his “Michigan Tax Tribunal Update.” As we all are aware, real property values in Michigan have significantly decreased in recent years. As one may suspect, the inverse is true of filings with the Michigan Tax Tribunal. For these reasons, I thought I would share some highlights of Mr. Smith’s presentation with our readers.

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