Category Archives: Treatise

Treatise Update! Social Media and the Law

We have recently updated our treatise Social Media and the Law, which helps you understand the legal environment and mitigate the risks of using social media platforms.

Social Media and the Law provides broad coverage of social media in a variety of legal contexts, including privacy, civil litigation, employment, criminal activity and prosecution, intellectual property, brand protection, defamation, advertising, and regulated industries. This release highlights recent new legislation, cases, and usage trends, as well as industry responses, by companies such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Google, to abuses of their services.

Several new sections have been added in this release, enhancing the comprehensiveness of the book:
Section 8:5, Consumer Review Fairness Act: This Act prohibits
non-disparagement clauses in consumer transactions, which some
companies had included to obligate customers to refrain from posting
negative reviews of the company, and to give the company the right to
impose a financial penalty for any violation of the clause.
Section 9:2.8, Revenge Porn: Thirty-eight states and the District of
Columbia have criminalized the practice of posting online revealing or
sexually explicit images or videos of a person, typically by a former
sexual partner, without the consent of the subject and in order to cause
the person distress or embarrassment.
Section 9:2.9, Performance Crimes: The posting of videos and live
streaming of criminal activities has escalated recently and become the
focus of great concern. The manner in which social media platforms
address such activities will be closely watched.
Section 9:2.10, Sex Trafficking: Human trafficking is prohibited
by both federal and state laws. The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee
has also recently approved a bill entitled Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers
Act of 2017 which would allow criminal and civil actions against websites
for “knowingly assisting, supporting or facilitating” sex trafficking
through the site.

In addition, throughout the book are updates on the many developments in this field that occurred in the last year or so, such as:
• Activity by the FTC against social media influencers for failing
to properly disclose associations with companies whose products
or services they endorse.
• FINRA’s new guidance on social networking websites and business
communications of regulated industries, allowing firms to
engage in native advertising that complies with FINRA Rule
2210, provided that unsolicited third-party comments posted on
a social network are not regarded by FINRA as communications
of the broker-dealer.
• Placement of social media advertisements by Russian-linked
firms with the aim to influence the 2016 presidential election,
and Facebook’s new approach to combat the effects of fake news.
• Recent class action employment lawsuits alleging violation of
Illinois’s biometric privacy law, largely based on the use of fingerprint-operated
time clocks.
• The FTC’s actions against TaxSlayer and Uber for security
breaches and inadequate customer privacy measures.
• Approval by the Uniform Law Commission of a model uniform
employee password protection statute, Employee and Student
Online Privacy Protection Act (ESOPPA), which has already
been introduced in three states.
• Recent amendments to Federal Rule of Evidence 902 that provide
additional guidance for parties seeking to authenticate social media
evidence.
• Impact of President Trump’s “tweetstorms”

The updated treatise is available on PLI PLUS, our online research database.  If you’d like to order a print copy, please email libraryrelations@pli.edu or call 877.900.5291.

Treatise Update! The Circular 230 Deskbook: Related Penalties, Reportable Transactions, Working Forms

We have recently updated our Treatise, The Circular 230 Deskbook, which helps tax practitioners comply with complex Circular 230 amendments more easily — and avoid costly penalties and sanctions.

This new version includes the following:
• Revised section 1:2, Chevron Deference, examining SIH Partners
LLLP v. Commissioner, in which the court clarified the distinction
between a legislative rule and an interpretive rule for purposes of
the Administrative Procedure Act.
• New section 4:13.8[D][10], Supervisor’s Approval, explaining that
a section 6751 penalty can be assessed only if it is approved by
the immediate supervisor of the individual making such determination
or such higher-level official as the Secretary may designate.
• Updated Appendix L, IRS Form 706; Appendix M, IRS Schedule M-3
(Form 1120); and Appendix N, IRS Form 2848.

The Circular 230 Deskbook is an essential compliance tool for every tax professional who practices before the IRS.

The updated Treatise is available on PLI PLUS, our online research database.  If you’d like to order a print copy, please email libraryrelations@pli.edu or call 877.900.5291.

 

Treatise Update! Commercial Ground Leases

Including adaptable time-saving sample agreement language, Commercial Ground Leases is a definitive guide to drafting, negotiating, and finalizing equitable, error-free leasing documents that address the needs of both landlord and tenant. It covers the full range of relevant commercial ground leasing issues, including:

Appendices include forms of letter of intent, leasehold mortgagee protection clauses, intercreditor agreements, fee and leasehold deed of trust provisions, estoppel certificate and guaranty, and a complete ground lease with many alternative clauses.

New to this release is Chapter 2A, Reappraisal of Ground Rents, which provides an expanded discussion of ground rent reappraisals, with coverage of the various appraisal methods.

The updated Treatise is available on PLI PLUS, our online research database.  If you’d like to order a print copy, please email libraryrelations@pli.edu or call 877.900.5291.

 

New Update! Technology Transactions

Release # 3 is now available for Technology Transactions: A Practical Guide to Drafting and Negotiating Commercial Agreements.

This indispensable guide empowers practitioners to draft, review, and negotiate technology transaction agreements and covers areas of knowledge that should inform this process, such as the DMCA, state transactions laws, and numerous privacy considerations. The types of agreements covered include:

This release includes brand-new chapters on employee agreements and open source software, and new discussions of the “shared responsibility” cloud model and cloud adoption efforts by public agencies.

The updated Treatise is available on PLI PLUS, our online research database.  If you’d like to order a print copy, please email libraryrelations@pli.edu or call 877.900.5291.

Sack on Defamation Tackles Fake News

In his acclaimed Treatise, Sack on Defamation, author Judge Robert D. Sack shows that “fake news” lies outside the defamation protections granted to the institutional media.

In the days after President Trump announced his “Fake News Awards”, Sack’s is an important point to keep in mind, as columnist Alfred Hunt writes in Bloomberg View, because it means it’s unnecessary to change libel law to make it harder to deliberately disseminate false information–it is already actionable under our current law. In addition, Sack reminds us of the significance of protecting the high standards that public figures must meet in order to prove defamation against a media outlet.

Sack on Defamation is available on PLI PLUS, our online research database. If you’d like to order a print copy, please email libraryrelations@pli.edu or call 877.900.5291.

New Title! Master the 8-K

Master the 8-KMaster the 8-K is the first publication from PLI’s new SEC Compliance and Disclosure series. It is a clear, concise, and comprehensive guide to filing the SEC’s Current Report on Form 8-K that every securities lawyer will want to have close at hand.

This handbook begins with an overview of the Form 8-K requirements and principles generally applicable to all Form 8-K Items, such as:

In this easy-to-use handbook, each Form 8-K Item is broken down and begins with “highlights” that, at a glance, alert you to critical matters about that Item, such as whether the “safe harbor” applies, whether there are exhibit requirements, whether there are possible update requirements, and whether there are critical definitions to consider. Then, you will find step-by-step instructions and expert practice tips on:

  • Triggering events and disclosure requirements for every Form 8-K Item
  • The requirements for effective disclosure controls
  • Filing procedures and deadlines
  • Possible 8-K “traps”, such as update requirements, and how to avoid them

Master the 8-K also includes sample disclosure language, and detailed appendices containing the Form 8-K itself, key regulations, and SEC Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations (C&DIs)—it is intended to be a stand-alone resource for those attempting to master the Form 8-K.

This essential title is available on PLI PLUS, our online research database.  If you’d like to order a print copy, please email libraryrelations@pli.edu or call (877-900-5291).

 

New Update! The Partnership Tax Practice Series

PLI recently updated our Partnership Tax Practice Series. The 2017 version is now available on PLI PLUS.

The Partnership Tax Practice Series includes more than 425 articles written by over 290 prominent partnership tax practitioners and delivers a sound analysis of cutting-edge transactional tax-related issues and innovative solutions for highly effective tax planning results. To provide a historical framework for today’s partnership tax practice, the series includes retrospectives on significant developments in partnership and real estate taxation, interesting partnership transactions of the past decade, and analysis of major decisions, including Hubert, Canal Corporation, G-I Holdings and Castle Harbour.

The 2017 version contains 24 new articles that tackle issues including:
• The Up-C revolution
• The proposed regulations under Sections 707 and 752
• Sham partnerships and equivocal transactions
• Hedge fund tax considerations

The update Treatise is available on PLI PLUS, our research database.  If you’d like to order a print copy, please email libraryrelations@pli.edu or call 877-900-5291.

New Edition! Essential Trial Evidence: Brought to Life by Famous Trials, Films, and Fiction

Book - Essential Trial Evidence BookPLI’s Essential Trial Evidence: Brought to Life by Famous Trials, Films, and Fiction (2nd Edition) is a unique and insightful guide to the law of evidence. Author Martin A. Schwartz enlivens an intricate, technical subject by using engaging, evidentiary examples from popular culture to provide a strong understanding of the Federal Rules of Evidence and its interpretive case law, which represents the prevailing evidence law in the United States.

This unique instructive approach also provides an understanding of how popular culture sources inform jurors’ preconceptions about the trial process. Illustrations from famous cases, movies, novels, cartoons, and other media highlight the presumptions jurors bring to the courtroom.

Essential Trial Evidence: Brought to Life by Famous Trials, Films, and Fiction (2nd Edition) covers a wide range of issues, including relevance and unfair prejudice, the rule against hearsay and its numerous exceptions, recent developments in expert testimony, and the various impeachment methods.

You’ll receive clear guidance on the following:
– Differences between expert witness and lay witness testimony, including how courts handle the dual fact-expert witness
– Procedures for juror questioning of witnesses
– Admissibility of videotape evidence
– Recent developments under the Confrontation Clause
– Requirements for introducing electronic evidence,
– And more!

This essential new title is available on PLI PLUS, our online research database. If you’d like to order a print copy, please email libraryrelations@pli.edu or call 877-900-5291.

PLI PLUS Enhancement: Book Covers

We have added book cover images to PLI PLUS platform.

If you’re accustomed to using PLI Press books in print, these images provide a useful and handy visual aid when accessing content on PLI PLUS.

Proskauer Book Cover

The Detail View is now the default option for viewing content in the Browse tab. It expands upon the List View and you can easily toggle between the two formats using the list icons.

 

Book cover detailed viewpost