SGR’s annual Workplace Seminars in Atlanta and Jacksonville again proved to be highly popular with new and existing clients. For those who couldn’t attend, we have summarized some key updates. Restrictive Covenants in the Employment Context by Erin Payne Restrictive covenants are agreements with employees that restrict their ability to compete (noncompetition provision), share confidential information (nondisclosure provision), or solicit customers or employees (nonsolicitation provision) after leaving employment with your company. They are an important tool to protect your customers and your confidential information from being taken by a former employee. You should also consider whether employees you hire are… Read more

“Design is art that makes itself useful.” — Translation from 1984 poster for Die Neue Sammlung, Design Museum, Munich The design patent — the lesser-known and more modest cousin of the utility patent — is quick, easy and inexpensive to obtain. And recent developments in case law are enhancing its value. Companies understandably look for the most “bang for their buck” when it comes to obtaining intellectual property (IP) protection. Historically, design patents have often been viewed as the “Seward’s Folly” of the IP world — cheap and easy to obtain, but of dubious value. Since the first design patent… Read more

Horse ownership can be very enjoyable and, for many people, a lifelong passion that brings you face-to-face with the cycle of life, the weather and nature. When you own a horse, you start to adjust your life around the seasons in the same way that farmers and ranchers have done for hundreds of years. Although a highly rewarding experience, purchasing and owning a horse presents certain risks and challenges. Horses are animals, not machines, and an average, well-maintained horse weighs around 1,000 pounds. Like people, they have good days and bad. And even a very friendly, mature, trained horse can… Read more

Health care reform has been one of President Obama’s key initiatives since his inauguration on January 20, 2009. In the past year or so, President Obama has experienced successes and setbacks in passing his health care reform agenda. On February 4, 2009, he signed the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) re-authorization bill that expanded health care coverage to four million additional children, including children of undocumented immigrants. On February 13, 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) passed both houses of Congress, and was later signed by President Obama. ARRA included $144 billion of funding for… Read more

Much of the strategy and public discussion regarding how to address the twin problems of global recession and global climate change focuses on the encouragement of a new energy economy. In its statements and actions, the Obama administration has continually declared that the United States must convert to a clean energy economy. And, with the introduction of an array of financial incentives, initiatives and programs, the federal government is literally putting its money where its mouth is in supporting its position. One such initiative, of particular interest to the forest-rich Southern states, is the development of biofuels — fuels derived… Read more

On February 23, 2009, Symantec Corp. and The Ponemon Institute, a leading privacy and information management research firm, announced the findings of a joint survey of almost 1,000 employees who had lost or left their jobs in 2008. The survey revealed that 59 percent of the ex-employees admitted to stealing confidential company information, such as customer contact lists, e-mail lists, employee records, customer information and contact lists, and non-financial information. The survey also found that 53 percent of respondents downloaded information onto a CD or DVD; 42 percent downloaded data onto a USB drive, and 38 percent sent attachments to… Read more

The current recession has significantly increased opportunities for buyers to purchase the assets of financially distressed companies in bankruptcy. Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code allows a debtor to sell all, or substantially all, of its assets outside of the ordinary course of business. Commonly referred to by bankruptcy practitioners as “Section 363 sales,” these sales involve a court-supervised open auction of a debtor’s assets, and are designed to generate the highest and best offer for the assets. Such sales have become very common in large-scale corporate bankruptcy cases, especially where all or a part of a debtor’s assets are… Read more

In the case that many say launched a stream of Nazi-era looted-art litigation in the late 1990s, New York SGR attorney and his team are finally getting Egon Schiele’s Portrait of Wally — kept under wraps and out of the public eye since it was seized in 1998 — her day in court. In January 1998, the Manhattan District Attorney subpoenaed two Egon Schiele paintings that were part of a large exhibition on loan from the Leopold Museum in Vienna to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City. Claiming the paintings had been unlawfully taken from Jewish… Read more

In our practice we continue to observe the proliferation of fiduciary litigation and, in particular, the growth of lawsuits against trustees. We receive many calls from beneficiaries claiming to be harmed by their trustee’s management, vexatious conduct or investment decisions. With that in mind, we thought it would be useful for clients and friends to be aware of certain sections of the Restatement (Third) of Trusts and its accompanying commentary. The Restatement is an influential treatise for practitioners of law, trustees and investment advisors, as well as a fundamental source of legal authority. 1. GENERAL STANDARD OF PRUDENT INVESTMENT (SECTION… Read more

New York City is one of the world’s leading centers for business, finance, technology, media, publishing and the arts. Consistent with New York’s leadership in these areas is a well-developed body of commercial law and courts that have the sophistication to adjudicate the inevitable disputes that often arise from complex business relationships. Among the courts called upon to oversee the intricate business legal landscape of New York City, the Commercial Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York for the County of New York, which is located in the borough of Manhattan, is certainly the busiest. While… Read more