State & Local

The Tax Angle: Church Politics, Budget Talk, Disaster Relief

Stephen K. Cooper
Editor-at-Large

From a look at the IRS' statement relaxing a 71-year-old ban on political endorsements by churches to talk of a second budget reconciliation bill this year and the passage of disaster tax relief legislation, here's a peek into a reporter's notebook on a few developing tax stories.

Nashville Owners Must Face The Music As Tax Burden Surges

Nathan Hale

Property owners in Nashville are facing greater tax burdens in light of a recent jump in property valuations. Burr & Forman partner John F. Rogers Jr., a veteran real estate attorney in the city, spoke recently with Law360 Real Estate Authority about the market's evolution and how he is advising clients on approaching these latest financial developments.

State And Local Tax Policy To Watch In 2nd Half Of 2025

Paul Williams
Tax Correspondent

From state decisions on conforming to the federal budget reconciliation bill to North Carolina lawmakers trying to end an impasse over income tax cuts, state legislators are primed to consider several outstanding tax issues in the coming months. Here, Law360 examines state and local tax policy to watch in the second half of 2025.

Georgia Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2

The second quarter brought a number of significant legislative and regulatory changes for Georgia banking, including an extension of the intangibles tax exemption for short-term notes, modernization of routine regulatory practices, and new guardrails against mortgage trigger leads, says Walter Jones at Balch & Bingham.

ABA Opinion Makes It A Bit Easier To Drop A 'Hot Potato'

The American Bar Association's recent ethics opinion clarifies when attorneys may terminate clients without good cause, though courts may still disqualify a lawyer who drops a client like a hot potato, so sending a closeout letter is always a best practice, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

Can Companies Add Tariffs Back To Earnings Calculations?

With the recent and continually evolving tariffs announced by the Trump administration, John Ryan at King & Spalding takes a detailed look at whether those new tariffs can be added back in calculating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization — an important question that may greatly affect a company's compliance with its financial covenants.

Driving The Wrong Way: SALT In Review

From Arizona's move to ban mileage taxes to interstate disputes over the taxing of remote workers, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.

8 Ways Lawyers Can Protect The Rule Of Law In Their Work

Whether they are concerned with judicial independence, regulatory predictability or client confidence, lawyers can take specific meaningful actions on their own when traditional structures are too slow or too compromised to respond, says Angeli Patel at the Berkeley Center of Law and Business.

Law School's Missed Lessons: Communicating With Clients

Law school curricula often overlook client communication procedures, and those who actively teach this crucial facet of the practice can create exceptional client satisfaction and success, says Patrick Hanson at Wiggam Law.

Adapting To Private Practice: From US Rep. To Boutique Firm

My transition from serving as a member of Congress to becoming a partner at a boutique firm has been remarkably smooth, in part because I never stopped exercising my legal muscles, maintained relationships with my former colleagues and set the right tone at the outset, says Mondaire Jones at Friedman Kaplan.

Senate's 41% Litigation Finance Tax Would Hurt Legal System

The Senate’s latest version of the Big Beautiful Bill Act would impose a 41% tax on the litigation finance industry, but the tax is totally disconnected from the concerns it purports to address, and it would set the country back to a time when small plaintiffs had little recourse against big defendants, says Anthony Sebok at Cardozo School of Law.

Del. Dispatch: General Partner Discretion In Valuing Incentives

In Walker v. FRP Investors, the Delaware Court of Chancery recently held that the general partner of a limited partnership breached its obligations when determining the threshold value of newly issued incentive units, highlighting the court's willingness to reconstruct what a reasonable determination of value by a general partner should have been, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

Move Beyond Surface-Level Edits To Master Legal Writing

Recent instances in which attorneys filed briefs containing artificial intelligence hallucinations offer a stark reminder that effective revision isn’t just about superficial details like grammar — it requires attorneys to critically engage with their writing and analyze their rhetorical choices, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.

9th Circ. Has Muddied Waters Of Article III Pleading Standard

District courts in the Ninth Circuit continue to apply a defunct and especially forgiving pleading standard to questions of Article III standing, and the circuit court itself has only perpetuated this confusion — making it an attractive forum for disputes that have no rightful place in federal court, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

One Singular, Sensible Rate: SALT In Review

From Ohio's move toward a flat income tax to a New York City mayoral candidate's proposal to fund expanded public benefits, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.

How AI May Reshape The Future Of Adjudication

As discussed at a recent panel at Texas A&M, artificial intelligence will not erase the human element of adjudication in the next 10 to 20 years, but it will drive efficiencies that spur private arbiters to experiment, lead public courts to evolve and force attorneys to adapt, says Christopher Seck at Squire Patton.