If your company is raising capital by selling securities in a private offering, you’ll likely need to find an appropriate securities law exemption under which to execute the offering. Regulation D of the Securities Act is where you’ll find yourself looking. In the past, most companies have relied heavily on Rule 506 under Regulation D...
Client AlertsUnited States Trademark Update
December 14, 2016
A periodic newsletter for our international friends and colleagues regarding changes in U.S. trademark law and practice of current interest. USPTO To Increase Filing Fees Effective on 14 January 2017, the USPTO will increase a number of filing fees. The fee increases are primarily directed to paper filings, to encourage electronic filing. The good news...
Client AlertsLitigation & DisputesIn An Effort to Win High-Profile Case, Lawyer Becomes History Detective
December 12, 2016
Earlier this year, Steven E. Snow won a case that will have a lasting impact on Newport’s Jewish history and ensure a Jewish congregation’s survival into the future. What began as a property dispute between Newport’s oldest Jewish congregation and an even older one in New York over a set of religious bells turned into...
Client AlertsCorporate & BusinessIntellectual PropertyEmails and Text Messages: More Scary Than You Think
December 2, 2016
Have you “had it up to here” with hearing about how much technology has impacted the way we live and work? Have you heard enough about how constant change is the new normal? We hope to take a step back from the barrage of clichés to address one lesser-known impact on day-to-day business under the...
Client AlertsCorporate & BusinessEmployment & LaborEmployers thrown curve on new overtime rule
December 2, 2016
If you shared with friends and family around your Thanksgiving table reasons to be grateful this year, here’s one you probably left out: the fact that you aren’t a management-side employment attorney. If you are such a lawyer, you would have spent the past several months getting your clients ready to comply with substantial, looming...
Client AlertsCorporate & BusinessIntellectual PropertyThere’s a smartphone app for that? EPA compliance: The next generation
December 2, 2016
Nearly two-thirds of Americans now own smartphones, a massive increase from the 35% ownership reported in 2011. Smartphone users increasingly use their devices to identify, obtain, or communicate with a wide range of service providers. In 2015, 62% of smartphone users used their phone to look up information on a health condition; 57% used their...
Client AlertsCorporate & BusinessIntellectual PropertyText Message Creates a Contract
November 28, 2016
St. John’s Holdings, LLC v. Two Electronics, LLC, Case No. 16 MISC 000090 (RBF) (Massachusetts Land Court, April 14, 2016). This is a departure from our usual review of recent cases involving the insurance industry. The case that is highlighted concerns a real estate transaction and is reported here because it underscores the cautions of...
As previously reported, in May 2016, the Department of Labor issued a “Final Rule” that significantly changes employer overtime pay obligations under federal law. Specifically, the Final Rule increases the minimum salary threshold for an employee to qualify for a “white-collar” overtime exemption from $455 per week (or $23,660 per year) to $913 per week...
By Eugene G. Bernardo II No one can deny the U.S. Senate’s authority in the judicial nominating process. However, something terribly wrong has happened as that majestic body has aggrandized and distorted its role in excess of our founders’ intent. If the rule of law is to survive in its traditional form, the judicial confirmation...
Client AlertsReal EstateReal Estate Ownership: Rhode Island
November 19, 2016
Real Estate Ownership: Rhode Island
