05.01.14

Use E-Verify to Confirm Employment Eligibility
Kenneth Tornheim

Federal law requires employers to hire only U.S. citizens or foreign citizens who have the necessary authorization to work in the United States. Employers normally verify employment status with Form I-9, “Employment Eligibility Verification.” But how does a company know a new employee isn’t lying or providing counterfeit documents?

04.30.14

Hybrid Securities Behave Like Bonds, Trade Like Equities

While discussions about stocks typically refer to common stocks, there’s also a second, less widely understood type of stock that straddles both the equity and bond world: preferred stocks. For equity investors motivated primarily by consistent, relatively high income payments, they may be worth a look.

04.29.14

How to Benchmark NPPs in Your Practice

Using nonphysician providers (NPPs) can be an effective way for practices to prepare for the expected influx of 30 million new patients receiving health care coverage through the Affordable Care Act’s new Health Insurance Marketplaces and expanded Medicaid programs.

04.24.14

The Virtual Office: An Idea Whose Time Has Come

Sole practitioners already have widely adopted a virtual office model for cost and logistical advantages. In addition to reducing expenses and increasing convenience, a virtual or hybrid office may enable a law firm to expand into new geographic markets and simplify service offerings.

04.23.14

A Budding Valuation Consideration: Explore the World of Green Building Features
Tamara Partridge

With sustainability becoming more common in both residential and commercial real estate, appraisers are increasingly asked to weigh in on buildings with green features. While green valuations have not yet come fully into bloom, the seeds have clearly been planted for environment-related features to affect property value. This article discusses why green matters and lists factors that valuators can consider when appraising residential properties with green features.

04.16.14

Good as Gold: Four Tips for Retaining Volunteers
Sarah G. Widlock

Long-term volunteers can save a not-for-profit the time and money it would spend training new volunteers. They also become ambassadors and recruiters for the organization. And through their knowledge and experience, long-term, or “repeat,” volunteers add value to programs. To help not-for-profits keep this precious commodity on board, this article offers four tips for retaining them.

04.08.14

Merger Fever: Should Your Firm Get Hitched?

After a multiyear slowdown, merger activity among law firms picked up sharply in 2013. According to consulting firm Altman Weil, there were 58 merger announcements in the first nine months of 2013 — an increase of 40% over the same period in 2012.
If your firm has considered a merger in the past, now may be a good time to actively pursue a deal. However, it is important to recognize the risks inherent in such transactions and understand that merger deals generally take longer and are more complicated than you have likely anticipated.

04.01.14

How to Fix a SIMPLE Mistake
James Pellino

Savings Incentive Match Plans for Employees (SIMPLE) IRAs offer small employers and their employees a simplified way to save for retirement. Generally, these plans allow employers and employees to contribute to traditional IRAs set up for employees. However, most plan sponsors will tell you that operating SIMPLE IRAs is not always simple. With the ever-changing retirement plan laws, mistakes can occur. This article describes the common mistakes and the steps plans can take to correct them.

03.26.14

In-House or Out Source?

There are many circumstances when it makes sense for a not-for-profit organization to engage the services of an outside contractor, especially smaller organizations that may not have sufficient internal resources or the need for full-time staffing in auxiliary departments such as marketing or accounting.

03.25.14

Choose the Beneficiary of Your Retirement Plan Carefully

This article describes the importance of understanding the tax effects of choosing a beneficiary to inherit an IRA, 401(k) plan or other retirement account. For non-Roth accounts, there are three factors to consider that can affect the beneficiary’s income tax liability. It is also important to consider the estate tax consequences of choosing a spouse versus someone else as a beneficiary.