Insights

November

• Fall 2013
  • Zachary T. Brumfield
  The Future of the Commodity Futures Market: How Customer Segregated Accounts Can Be Better Protected From Insolvent Futures Commission Merchants
  Zachary Brumfield, a staff attorney in the Vorys Columbus office, authored an article for the Fall 2013 edition of the John Marshall Law School Global Markets Law Journal. His article focused on possible strategies to protect customer segregated accounts from insolvent futures commission merchants.
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October

• 10/28/2013
  Are Your Licenses Really Franchises? How to Avoid Inadvertent Franchise Regulation
  To expand the scope of their business – either geographically or into additional product categories – many companies license their trademarks. Company "A" sells milk, for instance, and shipping milk far from its source of production may not make economic sense. A restaurateur wishes to open restaurants in other states. Another company has expertise in selling men's clothes, but would like to expand to men's shoes.
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• 10/28/2013
  Ten Common Misconceptions About Copyright and Fair Use
  Specifics about copyright and fair use can be complicated. In this easy-to-navigate chart, we clarify 10 of the most common misconceptions regarding copyright and fair use.
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• 10/23/2013
  Be Careful With Your Employees' Online Reviews
  Jackie Ford, partner in the Vorys Houston and Columbus offices, authored an article for Employment Law360 about policies employers should have in place regarding regarding online reviews.
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• 10/21/2013
  Client Alert: Bank Director Indemnification and D&O Liability Insurance: New FDIC Advisory
  Statutory protections, indemnification and director and officer liability insurance (D&O insurance) all combine to provide some level of comfort and protection to bank directors in the proper performance of their duties as directors. The hope is that directors can begin and complete their terms of office knowing that these protections exist, but never having to call on the protections or their potential limitations.
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• 10/21/2013
  • Evelyn Lundberg Stratton
  Ohio is a Leader in Smart Reforms for Juvenile Justice
  Evelyn Lundberg Stratton, of counsel in the Vorys Columbus office, authored an op-ed for the Columbus Dispatch about the successful juvenile-justice reform efforts in Ohio.
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• 10/16/2013
  SaaS Recovery and Escrow Alternatives – Planning for Continuity on a Rainy Day in the Cloud
  Ease, simplicity, and low start-up costs are just some of the reasons customers turn to software-based "cloud" applications and services. This client outlines the risks associated with using these applications and provides possible solutions.
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• 10/9/2013
  Labor and Employment Alert: New Do's and Don'ts for Cafeteria Plans, FSAs and HRAs
  The IRS and DOL issued new guidance prohibiting the application of pre-tax funds to the payment of individual health insurance premiums and imposing new conditions on health flexible spending accounts and health reimbursement arrangements.
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• 10/7/2013
  Labor and Employment Alert: IRS Guidance on Employment Tax Refunds for Health Benefits Provided to Same-Sex Spouses
  On September 23, 2013 the IRS issued Notice 2013-61. The Notice sets forth streamlined refund procedures for overpayments of federal employment taxes paid by employers and employees relating to health benefits provided to legally married same-sex spouses. The Notice addresses health benefits provided both in 2013, and prior open years. The IRS had previously released Revenue Ruling 2013-17 setting forth its position that same-sex partners legally married under the laws of any state would be considered married for federal tax purposes regardless of where the couple resides. Under this state of celebration standard, the laws of the state where the marriage was celebrated (rather than the state of domicile) governs marital status for federal income tax purposes.
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• 10/3/2013
  False Online Reviews Hurt Businesses
  Whitney Gibson, a partner in the Vorys Columbus office and leader of the firm’s internet defamation group, authored column for the Eastern Hills Journal. The column outlined the impact that false reviews can have on a company’s reputation. Gibson also outlines the steps consumers can take to identify fake reviews and prevent faulty purchasing decisions.
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• 10/1/2013
  Immigration Alert: Effect of the Government Shutdown on Immigration
  The failure of the U.S. Congress to reach a budget deal is causing a partial shutdown of U.S. government offices and services. The full extent to which the government shutdown will affect various aspects of the immigration process is not yet clear.
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• Sept-Oct 2013
  A 'Patchwork Quilt' of Nexus: A Report on This Year's New State Nexus Laws
  Laura Kulwicki, an attorney in the Vorys Akron office and a member of the probate and tax group, authored an article, titled "A 'Patchwork Quilt' of Nexus: A Report on This Year's New State Nexus Laws," for the September-October 2013 edition of the Journal of State Taxation.
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September

• 9/27/2013
  Ohio Statehouse Update: Just As In Business, Relationships Paramount When Working With Legislators
  Just like the students who head back to school in August and the birds that start their journey south for the winter, legislators began their migration to Columbus in September. And your U. S. senators and congressmen are back at work in Washington.
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• 9/24/2013
  Client Alert: The New gTLDs - If You Think Managing Your Domains Is Difficult Now…
  The domain world as we know it is about to change. Currently, there are about 24 top-level domains (tld). These are the portion of a web address that appears after the "dot" such as .com or .org. However, there are 1,409 new possibilities on the horizon and an infinite number of future tlds.
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• 9/20/2013
  Securities Alert: New SEC Proposed Rules on 'Pay Ratio' Disclosure
  On September 18, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed new pay ratio rules pursuant to Section 953(b) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.
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• 9/20/2013
  • Jolie N. Havens
  Size matters in Texas: 7 strategies for deciding on health benefits for your company
  Jolie Havens authored a column for the Houston Business Journal outling 7 possible strategies that large Texas employers can consider to comply with the Affordable Care Act’s employer cost-sharing mandate.
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• 9/20/2013
  Client Alert: Wetlands and Isolated Surface Waters News
  This client alert provices an update on the Clean Water Act “jurisdictional waters” guidance and the Science Advisory Board's review of USEPA’s water body connectivity scientific literature search.
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• 9/19/2013
  Client Alert: Ohio EPA Releases Draft Guidance Documents on the Impact of HB 59
  House Bill 59, which becomes effective on September 29, 2013, amended several sections of Ohio law governing the disposal of waste substances generated from oil and gas production operations. On September 16, 2013, Ohio EPA released three draft Guidance documents to facilitate the implementation of the new oil and gas-related waste management requirements.
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• 9/18/2013
  • Lisa Pierce Reisz
  In Their Hands and in the Cloud: Managing Mobile Risks
  Lisa Pierce Reisz, a partner in the Vorys Columbus office, and Brian Donato, the firm’s chief information officer, co-authored an article for the September 2013 edition of Peer-To-Peer titled “In Their Hands and in the Cloud: Managing Mobile Risks.”
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• 9/16/2013
  Health Care Alert: CMS Makes it More Difficult for Acquiring Entities to Evade Successor Liability
  In a recently published policy memorandum, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) provided guidance regarding the automatic assignment of Medicare Provider Agreements upon a change of ownership.
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