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GET IT IN WRITING When an Internet executive held a meeting with the chairman of a telecommunications company, the agenda was a new business idea that the Internet executive had. The discussion was transformed into a recruitment when the telecommunications executive suggested that the idea should be pursued within the company he headed. For two

  REAL ESTATE ROUNDUP   Flood Zone Fraud A jury recently gave a hefty damages award to homeowners who sued a real estate company for falsely representing that the home they were buying was not located in a flood zone. When the rains came after the homeowners had moved in, the front yard, backyard, and

  FAMILY RESPONSIBILITIES AND THE WORKPLACE There is no federal law called the “Family Responsibilities Discrimination Act” or the “Caregiver Discrimination Act.” Nonetheless, there has been an increase in claims brought under a variety of federal statutes on behalf of job applicants or workers who assert discrimination by an employer on the basis of family-related

COMPUTER FRAUD AND ABUSE ACT UPDATE The federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) is most closely associated with criminal prosecutions brought by the Department of Justice. But the CFAA also provides for a civil cause of action for anyone who suffers damage or loss because of a violation of the statute. In light of

  WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR E-MAIL AFTER YOU DIE? When a young Marine died in Iraq and his parents wanted to retrieve his e-mail as a memorial to him, they came up against the privacy policy of the Internet service provider (ISP), which declined to provide the information. Ultimately, a probate court ordered that the

  DOING BUSINESS ON THE WEB–CLICKWRAP AGREEMENTS Every day, more and more business transactions are conducted over the Internet. Many of these transactions begin with a “clickwrap agreement.” Clickwrap agreements are variations on “shrinkwrap” agreements, those printed terms and conditions usually found in the packaging for software. Clickwraps basically work the same way, but the

  EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION AND RETALIATION BY EMPLOYERS For as long as federal law has prohibited discrimination in the workplace, it also has separately prohibited punishing, or “retaliating against,” an employee who opposes the prohibited discrimination. Employment discrimination can occur on the basis of factors such as race, sex, and religion. Usually, there is an anti

DEDUCTING THE BUSINESS USE OF YOUR HOME The federal income tax deduction for the business use of a home has a good dollars-and-cents upside for those who qualify. Some detailed questions have to be answered correctly to get to that point, however. Not surprisingly, the IRS publication on the subject makes use of a complex

SHOULD YOU INCORPORATE YOUR BUSINESS? Following fast on the heels of a decision to go into a particular kind of business is the decision about what kind of legal form it should take. The most common options are a sole proprietorship, a partnership, or a corporation. You may lean toward the corporate route because you

WHERE TO SUE? WEBSITES CAN AFFECT JURISDICTION In a nation of 50 different systems of state courts and a highly interconnected national economy, the issue of when one state’s courts can assert jurisdiction over a nonresident person or business has always been fertile ground for litigation. State legislatures have addressed the matter with laws that