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      All articles — page 6

      The full library in alphabetical order, across every area of law.

      Public Finance

      Private Business Use and the Limits on It

      An issue is a private activity bond if it meets both the private business use test and the private security or payment test, or if it meets the private loan financing test. The use threshold is ten percent, reduced to five percent for use unrelated or disproportionate to the governmental purpose. A management contract meeting the conditions of the published safe harbor does not create private business use.

      6 min readFederal law

      Professional Liability

      Proving a Better Outcome Was Available

      Causation requires proof that the professional's departure changed the outcome, which in litigation matters means retrying the underlying dispute within the malpractice action. The claimant must establish that the original claim or defense would have succeeded. Many jurisdictions add collectability, requiring proof that a hypothetical judgment could have been recovered. Transactional and settlement claims use distinct proofs of a lost better bargain.

      6 min readState law

      Surety & Payment

      Proving the Claim and the Records That Support It

      A payment bond claimant must prove that it furnished labor or material, that the labor or material was furnished in carrying out the bonded contract, the reasonable value or agreed price of what was furnished, and the balance unpaid after all credits. Each element is established from ordinary project records rather than from correspondence. A claim presented as a reconciled account with supporting documents is evaluated on the merits; one presented as a demand figure is not.

      6 min readFederal and state

      Workplace Immigration

      Proving the Companies Are Related

      A qualifying organization must meet exactly one of the parent, branch, subsidiary or affiliate relationships. A subsidiary is an entity of which a parent owns and controls more than half, or owns half and controls it, or owns fifty percent of a joint venture with equal control and veto power, or owns less than half but in fact controls it. An affiliate is one of two entities under common ownership and control. Evidence is documentary.

      6 min readFederal law

      Workplace Immigration

      Proving the New Job Is the Same or Similar

      A new job offer is demonstrated on a supplement filed with the adjustment application, supported by evidence that the new occupation is the same as, or similar to, the one the petition described. Same means an occupation resembling the original in every relevant respect; similar means one sharing essential qualities or bearing a marked resemblance. The determination is made on the totality of the circumstances, with occupational codes as one factor.

      6 min readFederal law

      Ethics & Lobbying

      Quarterly Activity Reports and What They Must Itemize

      A registrant files an activity report for each quarterly period covering every client for which it is registered. For each general issue area the report lists the specific issues lobbied, including bill numbers and identified executive branch actions, names the chambers and agencies contacted, lists the employees who acted as lobbyists, and describes any foreign entity interest. It also states a good faith estimate of income received or expenses incurred, rounded as the statute directs.

      6 min readFederal and state

      Workplace Immigration

      Recruitment Advertising That Excludes Lawful Workers

      The statute prohibits discrimination with respect to recruitment or referral for a fee, so a job advertisement that excludes lawful workers on the basis of citizenship status is within its reach without any hiring decision being made. Exceptions exist where the restriction is required by law, regulation, executive order or a government contract, or is determined essential to doing business with a government body. A commercial preference is not among them.

      6 min readFederal law

      Public Finance

      Refunding an Outstanding Issue

      A refunding issue provides funds to pay principal or interest on a prior issue. A bond is treated as issued to advance refund another if it is issued more than ninety days before redemption of the refunded bond, and interest on an advance refunding bond is not excluded from gross income. Escrow deposits are themselves proceeds subject to the arbitrage rules, and the sufficiency of the escrow is verified before closing.

      6 min readFederal law

      Campaign Finance

      Refunding, Redesignating or Reattributing an Excess Contribution

      A committee that receives a contribution exceeding an applicable limit must resolve it within a defined period. It may refund the excess, redesignate it to another election in which the candidate participates, or reattribute it to a contributor with authority over the funds. Redesignation and reattribution each require a written instruction signed by the contributor. The committee must keep funds sufficient to cover the excess while the question is open, and each disposition is disclosed.

      6 min readFederal and state

      Campaign Finance

      Registering a Committee and Its First Report

      A federal political committee registers by filing a statement of organization within a fixed period after status attaches. The statement names the committee, its treasurer, its depository and any connected or affiliated organizations. The treasurer holds a defined office: no disbursement may be made while it is vacant, and the treasurer signs and is answerable for each report. The first periodic report covers activity from the committee's inception, not from the registration date.

      6 min readFederal and state

      Securities Enforcement

      Registering as an Investment Adviser

      An investment adviser must register unless an exemption applies, and the choice of regulator is set by statute. Advisers below the statutory asset threshold register with the states; those above it register with the Commission. A middle band of mid-sized advisers registers federally only in defined circumstances. Registration is made on Form ADV and becomes effective within forty-five days unless proceedings are instituted.

      6 min readFederal and state

      Ethics & Lobbying

      Registering, and the Deadline That Runs From the First Contact

      A registrant must file a lobbying registration within a stated number of days after a lobbyist first makes a lobbying contact for a client or is employed or retained to make one, whichever occurs first. The registration is filed with both chambers and identifies the registrant, the client, the general and specific issues, each employee expected to act as a lobbyist, prior covered positions held, contributing organizations and certain foreign entities.

      6 min readFederal and state