News

Attorney at Law magazine named Mansour Gavin Shareholder Chuck Brown as attorney of the month. Chuck has had a celebrated career in law and in Cleveland — did you know he served first as a magistrate, then as a chief magistrate, then as a probate court mediator before he joined our firm?

In the article, Chuck talks about his experience in probate law, saying: “I never planned on specializing in probate until the opportunity presented itself. As I gained a deeper understanding of probate law, I realized this specialty impacts a vast number of people and can be highly complex and nuanced.” He also talks about why Mansour Gavin was such a good fit for him considering his strengths in probate law and the attorneys we have to support that practice and work as a team. Read the whole article here. If you have questions, please contact Chuck Brown at cbrown@mggmlpa.com.

AN INFORMATIONAL PRESENTATION AND PANEL DISCUSSION FROM MANSOUR GAVIN LPA’S CORPORATE AND BUSINESS SERVICES GROUP

Gain insight and practical guidance to advance your intellectual property business goals – whether you want to determine value for a potential acquisition or sale, or learn how to best protect your IP.

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When: February 14, 2018, 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.

Where: North Point Tower, 1001 Lakeside Ave., Cleveland (Lower Level, Executive Conference Room)

AGENDA

8:30 a.m.   Registration, networking, and Continental breakfast

9:00 a.m.  Panel presentation and discussion on IPA valuation and protection, with Karl Maersch, Principal of West Four IP Consulting Group,  and Brendon Friesen and Jennifer Horn, Mansour Gavin business and IP attorneys

9:45 a.m.   Q&A/conclusion

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Everyone interested in learning more about the importance of IP rights in business should attend. We look forward to seeing you there!

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Register by Monday, February 12, 2018, by contacting Diane Barna at dbarna@mggmlpa.com or 216-523-1500. There is no fee to attend this program. CLE approval pending.

Parking at North Point Garage (entrance on E. 9^th Street) will be validated.  Please bring your ticket to the program.

Ed Patton’s talk titled, “Documentation for Export Compliance,” is intended to develop a working knowledge of export documentation for export transactions and related activities, including export licenses/applications and required supporting forms, certifications and other information, export shipping, item classification, customer screening and required recordkeeping. The seminar is tailored for compliance officers, business development executives, and managers and associates in sales, customer service, and shipping.

EVENT DETAILS

When:     Thursday, February 15, 2018

Time:       7:30 am – 12:00 pm

Location: Paradigm Center (Mentor Schools – 6465 Center St., Mentor, OH)

Ed is a member of Mansour Gavin‘s Corporate and Business Services and General Civil Litigation practice groups. With extensive knowledge and experience about corporate compliance programs, Patton will share insightful, practical strategies.

To find out more about the seminar or to register click here.

By:  Miles Welo

Sweeping changes to federal taxation: What you need to know

2018 will bring sweeping changes to the federal tax policy as the House and Senate passed a bill known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

We prepared this brief analysis of the bill to provide you with important information for your personal interests, business planning, and estate planning.

 Estate tax

2017: Each individual is entitled to a lifetime exemption of $5.49 million (or nearly $11 million for married couples), which means a person can transfer up to $5.49 million dollars without being taxed, but are taxed at 40% on the amount transferred after $5.49 million.

New Law: the bill doubles the exemption levels to approximately $11.2 million for individuals and over $22 million for married couples. The bill keeps intact the tax of 40% for any transfer beyond the exemption limits.

Individual Tax Brackets

2017: There are currently seven individual tax brackets: 10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33%, 35%, and 39.6%.

New Law: There will remain seven individual tax brackets (with five of the brackets reduced) and they are as follows: 10%, 12%, 22%, 24% 32% 35%, and 37%.

Corporate Taxes

2017: the corporate tax rate is currently 35%.

New Law: the bill lowers the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%.

Standard Deduction

2017: the standard deduction is currently $6,350 for individual filers, and $12,700 for married couples filing jointly.

New Law: the standard deduction has nearly doubled, as it has increased to $12,000 for individual filers, and $24,000 for married couples filing jointly.

State and Local Tax (SALT) Deductions

2017: Taxpayers who itemize their taxes can deduct state and local property, real estate, and either state and local income or sales taxes.

New Law: the new bill allows taxpayers who itemize their deductions to deduct their state individual income, sales, and property taxes up to a limit of $10,000.

President Trump plans to sign the bill before the end of 2017. Stay tuned, the sweeping changes to our Federal tax system will likely have a significant impact on your personal, business, and estate planning objectives.

Have questions about tax reform? Call our tax experts, Tom Turner, Julie (Fischer) Taft or Miles Welo, in our Estate Planning and Probate Group.

Data breaches. Ransomware. The “dark web.” Today’s cyberspace monsters are enough to give you nightmares during the day.

In response, Mansour Gavin hosted a seminar and panel discussion on cybersecurity on August 11 to answer questions about how best to protect yourself – and your business – from being hacked. Speakers included Ryan MacFarlane, Special Agent of the Cleveland Division of the FBI; John FitzGerald of United Agencies Insurance Group; Michael McCartney of Digits, LLC, a digital forensic services company; and Mansour Gavin attorney Ed Patton.

The group emphasized the importance of password selection, two-factor authentication, external e-mail tagging, and especially, employee awareness training – as approximately 75 percent of breaches occur because of an employee’s unintentional action. Panelists also strongly encouraged companies to develop or re-visit their cyber policies to ensure they are up-to-date, as security issues are now prevalent in every industry. As McCartney put it, “It’s no longer an ‘if’ but a ‘when.’”

For any legal questions concerning cyber policies or breach notification requirements, please contact Ed Patton at 216-523-1500. And if you were unable make this discussion, please stay tuned – an update on cybersecurity trends is one of several seminar topics planned for Mansour Gavin’s seminar series in 2018.

 

Edward Patton will present at the City of Mentor’s upcoming seminar: “How to Develop an Export Operations and Compliance Manual” on Friday, September 22, at the Holden University Center of Lakeland Community College in Kirtland. Patton’s talk titled, “Introduction to Export Controls,” is an overview on policies and procedures for developing a manual to mitigate export compliance risks. The seminar is tailored for compliance officers, business development executives, and managers and associates in sales, customer service, and shipping. Edward is a member of our Corporate and Business Services and General Civil Litigation practice groups. With extensive knowledge and experience about corporate compliance programs, Patton will share insightful, practical strategies. To Find out more about the seminar and to register click here.

Julie A. (Fischer) Taft participated in a luncheon discussion geared towards women who want to better understand the ins and outs of family estate planning. The event, “The Ws of Estate Planning: Why? What? When? . . . (and How?),” was put on by Dale Vernon at Bernstein, an investment research and management firm. The discussion focused on estate planning, including wills, trusts, and powers of attorney. Julie, an attorney in our Estate Planning and Probate, and Corporate and Business Services practice groups, was asked to participate because of her extensive experience with trusts and estates in all areas of wealth management and estate planning for high net worth individuals and their families. The event was held on September 13, 2017 at The Kirtland Country Club in Willoughby.

Mansour Gavin is pleased to recognize Julie A. (Fischer) Taft for her recent appointments to the boards of two local organizations. Julie will serve as vice president for the Estate Planning Council of Cleveland as well as the chair of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association’s Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law Section. Julie is an attorney in the Estate Planning and Probate and Corporate and Business Services practice areas.

A Federal District Court Judge in Texas issued a nationwide injunction blocking the roll out of the new overtime rule that was to become effective next week on December 1, 2016.  This injunction effectively puts the implementation of the new salary test for overtime on hold unless the Federal Court of Appeals overturns the injunction.

Background

Many of you remember that President Barack Obama directed the Department of Labor to modernize long existing overtime rules that applied to employees that were exempt under overtime law because they were classified as executive, administrative or professional employees (with some other special exemptions).  In response, the Department of Labor issued a new rule which raised the minimum salary level for exempt employees from $455 per week ($23,660 annually) to $921 per week ($47,892 annually) with an automatic adjustment that would go into effect in 2020.  The rule had the effect of immediately moving many employees that would otherwise have met one of the exempt classifications into a non-exempt status because of the salary test and would have required the payment of overtime for any hours worked over 40 in a work week for employees not meeting the new salary level regardless of classification.  The rule was set to become effective December 1, 2016.

The Plano Texas Chamber of Commerce and several other business organizations filed suit against the Department of Labor.  This suit was joined with another lawsuit filed by over 20 states challenging the authority of the Department of Labor to issue the new rule.

Court’s Decision

The U.S. District Court Judge, Judge Amos L. Mazzant, concluded that the Department of Labor overstepped its authority by issuing a de facto salary level test and an automatic inflation rider, which effectively supplanted the duties test established by Congress; specifically, Congress did not intend to categorically exclude an employee with executive, administrative or professional duties from the exemption.  Further the Court specifically enjoined the final rule on a nationwide basis, thus effectively blocking implementation of the rule even in states that were not part of the lawsuit. (See decision)

What does this mean?

The proposed increase of the salary threshold was certainly unpopular with a number of businesses, nonprofit organizations, business groups and other political groups.  With the new administration taking over in January, it’s unclear whether President-Elect Trump’s Administration will choose to support the Department of Labor’s position if the Department of Labor chooses to appeal the injunctive order.  Even if the order is appealed, it’s unclear how quickly a Federal Court of Appeals will hear the case.  Traditionally, appeals take months, if not longer, to work their way through the appeal process.

Ironically, many businesses took steps to plan for the implementation of the new overtime rule by raising salaries of those that would otherwise be classified as exempt.  More importantly, however, come December 1, 2016, the old rules will remain in effect and employees who are otherwise classified as exempt and paid on a salary basis will not be entitled to overtime if their salary exceeds $23,660 annually.

Stay tuned, we don’t think this is over yet…

For more information on this and other matters, please contact Mansour Gavin’s Labor and Employment Practice Group.

Legal Disclaimer

The information contained on this web site and any linked resource is intended to provide general information and does not constitute legal advice. The content is not guaranteed to be correct, complete, or up-to-date. This web site is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship between you and Mansour Gavin LPA or any of its associates, and you should not act or rely on any information in this web site without seeking the advice of an attorney.