inLine News

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Traffic Stop: Some Tips on What to Do When You Are Stopped

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Most Americans will be involved in a traffic stop at some point in their lives. The stop itself is terribly unnerving; seeing the blue lights in your rear-view mirror, wondering if they're stopping you, then being pulled over, and sitting on the side of the road while everyone looks as they go by. From there, if you receive a ticket from the Police Office, now you are concerned about what detrimental affects this will have on your license and/or insurance. Do you have to go to court? How long will it take? What options are available? All questions that will run through your mind. For some, this is an unnerving experience, others it's downright stressful. Either way, knowing what to do when you are being stopped, can help you minimize the amount of stress you may feel (and/or cause the Police Officer) as well as potentially avoid incriminating yourself more.
First, when being pulled over, always pull off to the side of the road at the earliest place available that you can while still doing so safely. Do not jerk the wheel over and slam on your brakes, this will only cause added suspicion on the part of the Police Officer. Once pulled over, place the vehicle in park and keep both hands on the steering wheel. Officers do not like to see a lot of movement from the person when they are being pulled over. Even though you may be trying to get your license, insurance and registration together, it's better to just wait until the officer is at your car window. Ninety-nine percent of the time, the movement is innocent, but there is always the chance that the movement could be the driver attempting to hide contraband, or worse, obtain a weapon. Officer's put their lives on the line every day and giving them reason to be additionally suspicious of your motives will only add to the stress of both you and the officer during your stop.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Consulting With a Criminal Defense Lawyer

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How important is the initial consultation with a criminal defense attorney? Considering the extreme consequences you may face if you are not properly represented, it would be safe to say the consultation session is of critical importance.
Some might not think a consultation is important as long as they are hiring a high-profile attorney to represent them. They could simply find out who is the most well-known and established attorney in the local area and hire the attorney based on reputation. This could prove disastrous as it prescribes to a very common myth. That is, there is the belief that a high-profile lawyer will automatically deliver the outcome you desire.
You need to ask yourself a very serious question prior to prescribing to this myth:
Can you preordain a guaranteed acquittal in a criminal case if you have a very high-profile and highly expensive attorney representing you? The answer is, of course, no. There can be no guarantees possible regarding the outcome of any court proceeding criminal or civil. However, if you do have the right representation handling your case, you will be in a much better position than someone that lacks effective representation.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Easy Mississippi Incorporations For S Corps And LLCs

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Incorporating in Mississippi? Before you telephone a CPA or lawyer, look into the money-saving alternative of preparing the articles of incorporation yourself. Free Internet resources provided by the IRS and the state of Mississippi mean the work is quite a bit less complicated than people think.
Reason #1 to try do-it-yourself: Free forms from state
To create a corporation or limited liability company in Mississippi, the entity's organizer (this is probably you) files some paperwork with the Secretary of State. This paperwork is called the articles of incorporation for a corporation and the articles of formation for a limited liability company. While creating these articles from scratch is best left to a professional, it turns out that the Mississippi Secretary of State will provide you with fill-in-the-blank forms you can use in place of "from-scratch" articles. And with the state's fill-in-the-blank forms, all you need to do is, quite literally, fill in the blanks
The Mississippi Secretary of State office changes the actual Internet website addresses of the fill-in-the-blank forms pretty regularly as part of updating its website. But if you know the exact name of the Mississippi forms, you can Google or Bing using the form name. That search will quickly locate the free forms.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Umbrella Company Versus Limited Company

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It can be a tough decision to make, and one which will impact strongly on the next period of one's life. The choice between umbrella companies and limited companies for contractors should be approached with an open mind, and a keen eye for detail. To make the process that little bit simpler, let's take a look at some of the aspects of each option available to contractors.
Umbrella Company
An umbrella company performs a specific service for contractors. Essentially, they act as an employer to contractors who are engaged in a contracted assignment. The umbrella company processes a PAYE payroll for contractors, and offsets business expenses (travel expenses, accommodation expenses etc) against the contractor's tax.
Employment through an umbrella company is subject to the same employment rights as any other permanent, direct employment relationship. Entitlement to sickness pay, maternity and paternity leave, and minimum wage all full under the auspices of the benefits of working through an umbrella company.

Friday, September 2, 2011

C-Corporation: Protect and Grow Your Assets

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The Big "C". In the beginning of this article I asked the question how can people that make millions of dollars a year in income pay no taxes. I left you hanging on the answer to that question........Until now. The C corporation is the big boy of legal structures. When it comes to maximum asset protection, benefits packages, and maximum protection from the tax collectors nothing beats the C corporation. The C corporation is made up of shareholders.
The shareholders are the actual owners of the corporation and profits are distributed in proportion to the amount of ownership. The major benefit of the C corporation that allows the rich (and now you) to make all of the money you want and avoid paying taxes on it is the fact that there is no limit to the business related tax deductions that can be taken by the C corporation. Any thing that you spend money on that is related to the business is tax deductible. If you decide to use this entity you will find out when you consult a corporate attorney that the interpretation of business related is a very loose one. You can literally spend your tax obligation down to zero. Rather than give the government their hard earned dollars they just spend the money on things that are tax deductible and beneficial to the company at the same time and then they just write it off. What you have to understand is that these companies are not evading taxes (which is illegal) they are avoiding them (which is perfectly legal).

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

A Domain Dispute Attorney: When Your Domain Is in Danger

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For those who have a website, your domain is one of the most precious things you possess. Due to this fact, optimal consideration and diligence should be applied when working with it. Yet, not every person realizes the procedures that should be undertaken for domain address stability and legal troubles are certain to show up. Many unwelcome scenarios can occur concerning legalities with domain names. Like it is valid with all other things involving laws, conflicts can become incredibly confusing for those who don't focus on this legal field. This is exactly why domain name legal battles have to have the aid of a domain dispute attorney.
If you believe any type of common attorney is going to be sufficient for a domain name case, you need to alter your reasoning. Attorneys that do not focus on internet domains might not be alert to specific terms and regulations involved.. Of course, you would not seek the services of a divorce attorney to control your bankruptcy case. Similarly, you shouldn't seek a personal injury lawyer to handle your domain dispute. Also, your lawyer must also know all of the details of the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Copyright Attorneys Can Assist With Issues Regarding Moral Rights Of Authors

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Moral Rights as Explained by Copyright Attorneys
This article is not intended as legal or expert advice and should you want to know specific information regarding intellectual property laws or applications, it is recommended that you contact copyright attorneys for assistance.
Moral Rights as Related to Intellectual Property
Moral rights as related to intellectual property, and more specifically copyright, are rights of the authors of the works qualifying for copyrights. Such rights can include the right to be identified with a work as the author, the right not disclose identity and the right to uphold the integrity of the author's name and the particular work.
The term comes from a French phrase that refers not to morals such as ethical or religiously related, but to the rights of the creators to control the outcome of the works. As such one can also refer to such as the controlling rights of an author or creator. In addition, such rights can also be referred to as connection rights - thus the right to be connected to a work.

Saturday, August 6, 2011

The TRIPS Agreement

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The WTO has a huge impact on international copyright law. Originally named the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), it included non-discriminatory provisions such as national treatment, provisions related the elimination of quantitative restrictions, and freedom of transit. The GATT of 1947 was the beginning of a series of trade negotiations over the span of fifty years.
Despite the achievements of the GATT negotiation rounds, there were loopholes in the trading system. As the acronym of the GATT indicates, GATT scope was limited only to tariffs and trade in goods. The GATT did not contain rules aimed at the liberalization of trade in services. More importantly, the GATT did not address any sort of copyright protection in all of its provisions.
Against this background, the GATT parties decided, at their 1986 Punta del Este Ministerial Meeting, to launch the Uruguay Round. The agenda covered traditional GATT subjects such as tariffs, non-tariff barriers, subsidies, and safeguards. It also added, among other things, intellectual property protection. Almost seven years later, the Uruguay Round came to an end. In 1994, the WTO institution was established. In addition to the establishment of the WTO, the Uruguay Round resulted in several agreements including the TRIPS Agreement. The WTO agreements are treated as part of a "single undertaking". In other words, WTO members cannot forum shop which agreement(s) they accept. Once a country becomes a WTO member, it will have to accept all the agreements including the TRIPS Agreement.

Friday, July 29, 2011

Mothers' Rights in Florida

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Both mothers and fathers have certain legal rights in regards to their children. Mothers have rights to their children, whether or not they were ever married to the child's father. There will be times when issues will arise in regards to paternity, child custody, visitation, and support that will need to be resolved legally. When mothers encounter situations that need legal assistance, they can benefit from retaining the services of an experienced family lawyer.
One common reason why a mom may need to retain an attorney has to do with child abuse and/or spousal abuse. These types of situations are extremely sensitive, and must be handled with the highest level of care, especially when the mother and her children are in imminent danger from the abuser. Whether the father is her boyfriend, or her husband, there are specific legal actions that can be taken in order to protect a woman and her children from the father. An attorney can help her take out an order of protection against the abuser so he can be prohibited from contacting her or the children. If he violates the order of protection, he can face criminal consequences and potential jail time.

Friday, July 15, 2011

Why Child Custody Mediation Is Helpful

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Why Child Custody Mediation is Needed
So you have found yourself in a position where you and the other parent of your child are no longer together. Whether or not you are fighting over arrangements, it is often a good thing to make sure that you are seeking out a way to have your agreements for custody and visitation clearly spelled out in legal documents. It is also important to make sure that each party is completely understanding of the terms that they are agreeing to. This will help to make sure that there are not a lot of problems later down the road.
Two Types of Child Custody Mediators
There are two types of mediators out there. There are the private mediators that you hire and then there are the court appointed mediators. For arguments sake, lets say that they two of you are not seeing eye-to-eye on the issue of custody and visitation. You both obviously love and care for the child. You want to make sure that each parent is getting what is not just fair to them, but what is fair to the child. Sometimes though, our love and a wide variety of emotions can block our vision of what would truly be in the best interest of everyone involved.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

How Does DCFS Handle Reported Cases Of Child Abuse And Neglect?

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If the Department Of Child And Family Services (DCFS) could have one wish granted, it would be that they would never again have to investigate a case of child abuse or neglect.
This is unfortunately an unrealistic desire; and making it even more unfortunate is the fact that this department of the government is so inundated with investigation requests to help stop child abuse that it often takes a longer time than not to get to the bottom of the issue. And with over 100,000 child abuse cases brought to the department on a yearly basis, it is no wonder that time is of the essence when it comes to providing families with the relief they seek.
Signs of child abuse are fairly overt when an adolescent is sporting bruises, black eyes, broken bones, or other types of scars related to being physically assaulted by an individual over the age of eighteen.
But, recognizing the signs of child neglect are often not as easy to spot, much of the time because any outsiders to the situation don't know exactly what types of adult behaviors fall into the "neglect" category.

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Expanding Businesses and the Need for Legal Assistance

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As your business expands, the number of employees that you hire will correspond with the growth of your company. Building and maintaining the integrity of your relationship with your employees will be of the utmost importance for the success of your enterprise. Especially since every business owner knows that success relies upon the structure and hard work of its staff an, the fruits of their labor.
An honest and ethical team is essential to any corporation, and building a successful team is the responsibility of management. The larger a corporation gets, the greater the need for making sure that all of the legal aspects are in line. A failure to comply with the law in any large or small way can destroy a business, and cost them hundreds of thousands if not millions in damaging lawsuits and litigation costs.
Once you build a successful team, it is crucial that as owner, you keep it that way. With the help of an experienced commercial litigation attorney, you can have all matters pertaining to business law completely addressed and, their help can guide you through all the legal matters that you must address. What types of issues might need to be resolved in order to be in compliance with the law and legal procedures?
Your attorney can help you with developing important handbooks, corporate policy manuals and drug testing plans. All of which are crucial to maintaining proper legal procedure within the organization. They can also help you with proper termination procedures, releases and severance plans. Your lawyer will inform you about proper compliance and protocol for wage & hour, and family leave laws and, they will also advise you on how to protect your trade secrets and confidential information.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Requesting an NICS Background Check

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The National Instant Criminal Criminal record check System (NICS) is actually an instantaneous criminal records check program that is used when an individual is attempting to buy a gun in America. The program is a direct result of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act becoming signed into law on November 30, 1993. That Act requires that someone wanting to acquire a firearm submit to a criminal record search. While directly created by the FBI, the NICS was made via a joint work together with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Department of Justice and state and local law enforcement agencies.
Just how the NICS Performs
According to the FBI's web site, all states have the choice to employ a state-based NICS program which serves as a middle man between the NICS system as well as the state's Federal Firearm Licensees (FFL). As a result, when selling a firearm, the FFL contacts a state-selected agency to begin the background check. Yet, when a state doesn't have a state-based NICS program, every FFL doing work in that state has to communicate with the FBI's NICS directly for the background check. Now, once an FFL triggers a background check, many countrywide FBI managed databases will be looked at using an person's name and available information (e.g., sex, dob, place of birth, address, etc.). The databases checked against include:

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Plastic Surgery, Medical Malpractice and Personal Injury

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Plastic surgery, when done correctly using safe and proper medical devices and products, can result in a heightened sense of self-esteem and a greater overall sense of well being. When something goes wrong, the consequences can be life altering or even life threatening. Litigation involving plastic surgery can relate to a mistake the surgeon made, thus a medical malpractice case, or the case can involve a particular defective product, which usually gives rise to products liability claims. In either case, the advice and counsel of an experienced malpractice, products liability, or personal injury attorney is helpful to determine whether a valid claim exists and to ensure the best possible outcome.
One of the most prevalent types of medical-device products liability lawsuits in recent years involves breast implants. Breast implant litigation has included many individual lawsuits, as well as class action suits involving large groups of women, alleging that they have been injured by and suffered serious health consequences as a result of leaking silicone or other defects in their implants. Many of these cases have resulted in jury verdicts or settlements in favor of the injured women. Breast implants are not the only medical devices that have been the subject of litigation, but they are perhaps the most noteworthy in the plastic surgery context. In breast implant cases, as in any case involving an allegedly dangerous product, the manufacturer and perhaps others in the chain of distribution may be held liable for damages caused by the defective product. Possible claims include negligence, strict liability, and breach of warranty, and possible defendants include the manufacturer of the product itself, the manufacturer of a component part, a distributor of the product, and the product seller.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Chinese Overtime Can Lead to Paycheck Theft: 5 Ways to Spot the Mistakes

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The Fluctuating Workweek payment method
The fluctuating workweek payment method, also known as a "variable workweek" or "half-time" method, is an area that most employees don't know much about. Unfortunately, many employers don't know too much about this pay practice either and end up making mistakes using it. Under the fluctuating work week method you end up making less money per hour the more you work.
The bad news is that this is a legal way to pay employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The good news is that after reading this article you can usually pinpoint your employer's mistake pretty easily and find out what to do if you have a wage and hour claim.
Standard Overtime Pay v. the Fluctuating Work Week
Standard Overtime Pay: Calculating overtime pay is to take your regular hourly rate and multiply it by 1.5. As an example, an hourly rate of $10 becomes an overtime rate of $15, regardless if you work 1 hour of overtime or 30 hours of overtime. It's clean, simple and fair.