It’s no secret that technology is advancing rapidly. Driverless cars have already hit the roads, drones are flying across the sky, and if the latest cell phone isn’t in your pocket right now, it’s probably on your wrist. This era of technological innovation has prompted the rise of artificial intelligence (“AI”), paving the way for…
Year: 2018
Something to Like about the Tax Cut and Jobs Act: Preserving Like-kind Exchanges for Real Property
Leading up to the release of the House Ways and Means Committee’s tax reform bill, called the Tax Cut and Jobs act, very little was known about which provisions were to be affected. While it would not have taken an astute commentator to posit the bill was going to reduce corporate tax rates, the method…
The Electronic Communications Privacy Act: A Law Past its Prime
In 1986, Congress passed the Stored Communications Act within the broader Electronic Communications Privacy Act (“ECPA”).1 In that year, Ronald Reagan was President, the U.S.S.R. suffered the Chernobyl disaster, and the price of gas was about 89 cents. Neither the internet nor the e-mail system existed. Obviously, a lot has changed since 1986, yet the…
Unpredictability in a Carbon Tax
This past September, Lindsay Graham called for a carbon tax.1 The Senator from South Carolina has discussed climate change openly, but has shifted his focus for the solution towards a carbon tax. A carbon tax is one of two currently proposed forms of carbon pricing, the other being cap-and-trade. The two are market-driven solutions which…
Binding but Not Final: Appealing Arbitration Awards
Arbitration agreements are quickly becoming a staple of commercial contracts as contracting parties hope to avoid litigation in the event of a dispute. Broadly, these agreements can be divided into two categories: (1) arbitration agreements between consumers and corporate sellers of goods or services; and (2) arbitration agreements between sophisticated corporate actors. This discussion will…
Differences between the Bitcoin System and the U.S. Monetary System
The Bitcoin system provides rules and features that have a divergent effect from those of the U.S. monetary system. Although the Bitcoin system provides some advantages, it does not provide a solution to every deficiency of the U.S. monetary system. Following are some differences, advantages, and disadvantages between the Bitcoin system and the U.S….
Amazon’s Second Headquarters: Effects on Legal Employment and Retention
Amazon’s decision to build a second worldwide headquarters created a wave of frenzy across North America. Exactly 238 cities, states, and regions spent hundreds of hours crafting unique proposals in the hopes of enticing the worldwide retail giant to call their city its new home.1 Several cities went to great lengths creating their proposals –…
The Bayer-Monsanto Merger – Antitrust Concerns and What’s at Stake
On September 14, 2016, Monsanto Co.—a St. Louis based agribusiness giant and seed company—announced its agreement to be acquired by the German chemicals multinational Bayer AG in a deal that would ultimately be worth $63 billion.1 From the start, the deal “that would create the world’s largest integrated pesticides and seeds company” has raised critical…
Activism and the P&G Proxy Fight: A Sign of Changing Times?
On October 10, Procter & Gamble (“P&G”) announced the results of the board of directors election at its most recent meeting of shareholders.1 The company’s shareholders re-elected all eleven incumbent members of the board.2 This victory over challenger Nelson Peltz of Trian Partners (“Trian”) ended the most expensive proxy fight in history.3 The nearly four-month…
Trump’s Call to Challenge Network Licenses Unlikely to Succeed
Throughout the early stages of Donald Trump’s presidency, the President has consistently stated that he is treated unfairly by the media. Recently, he made comments suggesting he would like to take steps to rectify this situation. On October 11,, President Trump sent out a tweet suggesting that the government might regulate television networks treating him…