ON OCT. 14, 2015, the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services issued a draft of its 2014 Surface Water Quality List, which sets forth the New Hampshire waterways that DES …
Article
NH Legal Perspective: Commercial Debtor-Tenants and Their Landlords
THE BANKRUPTCY code offers a commercial debtor many important tools to assist in its reorganization efforts. One such tool at the debtor’s disposal is the ability to either preserve, through …
Business Law & Business Litigation: New States Securities Law Overhauls Offering Practices in NH
On July 27, New Hampshire Governor Maggie Hassan signed into law a comprehensive revision to New Hampshire’s securities laws, which will take effect Jan. 1, 2016. Read the full story …
When Your AdWords Keywords Land You in Court
Google’s AdWords and other programs can be a boon to small online retailers. For a modest fee, a company reserves a keyword on Google. Whenever that keyword or phrase appears …
Ballot Law Commission Throws Out Challenges to Trump’s Eligibility to Appear on GOP Primary Ballot
Bradford Cook featured in a WMUR article. CONCORD, N.H. —The state Ballot Law Commission on Tuesday quickly threw out a former New Hampshire Republican Party chairman’s challenge to Donald Trump’s eligibility …
NH Legal Perspective: Splitting Equity in Jointly Owned Property
IT’S A COMMON story. You were in love, but you weren’t married. You lived in a small rented apartment. One day, one of you said, “Hey, wouldn’t it make sense …
Alternative Dispute Resolution: Lessons from the Trenches: What Makes a Good Mediator
There are mediators who inspire confidence in us and our clients, and those who don’t. With the former, mediations that appear doomed can ultimately succeed. In those instances, one can …
Open Source Software: What You Don’t Know Could Hurt You
Open source (or so-called “free”) software has become a popular tool for software developers and technology companies that write software applications, because the source code is available at no charge …
NH Legal Perspective: Divorcing Fact from Fiction About Adultery in NH
The Ashley Madison security breach has led many to question whether they should allege adultery in their divorce. This article addresses some common questions concerning adultery and tries to debunk …
NH Legal Perspective: Employer’s Obligations Under Pregnancy/Maternity Laws
IN THE PAST year, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“the EEOC”) issued an Enforcement Guidance about pregnancy discrimination and related issues, and this March, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a …
NH Legal Perspective: ADA – What’s Reasonable and to Whom?
THE AMERICANS with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) requires an employer to make certain job accommodations for disabled employees. Because the definition of “disability” was expanded several years ago when the ADA …
Worker’s Compensation & Personal Injury: Beyond the Numbers: Controlling Workers Compensation Costs
When a business encounters a rise in workers compensation costs, the immediate response often focuses on loss control, reducing spending and overall insurance costs. However, given the continued annual rise …
NH Legal Perspective: Benefits of a Well-Designed System for Record Retention and Production
THE RIGHT TIME to get your recordkeeping house in order is well before a subpoena, a visit from a state or federal inspector, or a discovery request in litigation. If …
NH Legal Perspective: Helpful Tips for Compliance with OSHA Requirements
WITH THE MANY changes in the modern workplace there is one constant, employers must protect employees from or correct known workplace safety hazards. The law has changed over the years …
Federal Practice & Bankruptcy: Mediation Use Grows in Bankruptcy Cases
As an effective tool to combat the associated costs and delay in litigation, mediation has gained momentum and popularity as an efficient method to resolve disputes in state and federal …
NH Legal Perspective: Governor Hassan Signs Law Allowing Hospital Patients to Designate Aftercare Giver
MANY SENIORS rely exclusively on family, friends and community members to provide care once they are discharged from a hospital. According to a recent study published by AARP, family caregivers …
Dress Codes and Discrimination – Motive the Key in Abercrombie Supreme Court Case
On June 1, the U.S. Supreme Court in an 8-1 decision ruled that Abercrombie & Fitch could be liable for religious discrimination for refusing to hire a Muslim teenager because …
NH Legal Perspective: Social Media and the Employee – From Hiring to Departure
EMPLOYEES CONTINUALLY encounter new ways that social media impacts their workplaces. Social media touches on the entire lifecycle of employment as employers more frequently turn to social media to advertise …
What is a Farm? Zoning Laws Need Updating
A Henniker Christmas tree farmer has lost before the state Supreme Court in a case that could spell the end for some struggling New Hampshire farms. Citizens who don’t want …
Seven Deadly Sins for Design Pros
Here are some of the most important issues commonly encountered by design professionals in basic owner-design professional agreements: Read the full story here. …
NH Legal Perspectives: There’s More to Horse Ownership Than Checking Its Teeth
MANY CHILDREN view a pony as the ultimate holiday gift. They close their eyes and blow out birthday candles with the hopes that when their eyes open, they will see …
CEO on the Go: David McGrath
As the newly appointed leader of one of NH’s largest law firms, clients and employees alike look to David McGrath for help. When McGrath needs to resolve his own issues, …
NH Legal Perspectives: When Does the Work Day End? It Depends
WHEN IT COMES to wages, employees and employers are often at odds. Employees generally want to be compensated for all the time they are required to be at work. Employers, …
Real Property Law: Environmental Risks in Real Estate Transactions
At every step along the way and for every party involved, contamination and even potential contamination can pose significant and expensive risks Environmental contamination can pose multi-faceted risk to those …
NH Legal Perspective: Key Consideration to Using Staffing Companies to Find Temp Workers
EMPLOYERS TURN to staffing companies to locate temporary workers with increasing frequency. Staffing companies generate savings for their employer/clients by locating temporary workers to fill employers’ needs. There are, however, …
Marijuana Legalization Clashes with Drug Testing in the Workplace
James Reidy featured in The Guardian article. At a Society for Human Resource Management conference in Washington DC last month, a session on drug testing in the workplace was so heavily attended …
NH Legal Perspective: Planning to Sell Your Most Prized Possession
A MAJORITY of the businesses in New Hampshire are closely held, meaning these businesses are each owned by one or a few owners, sometimes by a family. Read the full …
Land Use Regulation, Codes and Business Planning
Assume for a moment that your highly successful business needs to expand. Whether looking for land on which to build, expanding up or out from your existing space, or renovating …
Employee Verification Roulette, By the Rules
In recent months, immigration has reemerged as a hotly-contested political issue. Although the ultimate resolution is difficult to predict, the potential for millions of undocumented immigrants to obtain deferred action …
NH Legal Perspective: Guide to Bankruptcy Preference Payments and Creditor’s Defenses
MOST BUSINESSES will, at one time or another, open the mail to find a demand letter or worse, a lawsuit, demanding that the business return money to a bankruptcy estate …
The Newest Arrow in the Health Care Collection Quiver?: New Hampshire Legislature Introduces Bill to Allow Special Conservatorships for Medicaid
Over the past several years, New Hampshire health care facilities have lobbied the New Hampshire Legislature to pass measures to help solve the chronic problem of patients or residents who …
SJC Ruling on PIP Statute Provides Needed Clarity
This article originally appeared in the March 19, 2015 issue of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. To see the online version of the article, click here. *** The Supreme Judicial Court has …
NH Legal Perspective: What You Need to Know About Easements and Servitudes
WITH THE BUSTLE of the holidays behind us, we can now all turn our attention to our next big projects. What will you do in 2015? Maybe this is the …
Family Enterprises: How to Build Growth, Family Control and Family Harmony
Sheehan Phinney Bass + Green PA shareholder Janet B. Fierman was a contributor in the book Family Enterprises: How to Build Growth, Family Control and Family Harmony. Her chapter focuses …
NH Legal Perspectives: Things Businesses Need to Know About the Consumer Protection Act
THE CONSUMER Protection Act is one of the most frequently litigated statutes in New Hampshire’s state and federal courts. Yet it remains one of the more unpredictable, and frequently changing …
DES Weighs Changes to Contaminated Site Rules
New Hampshire Department of Environmental Service regulations governing the investigation, long-term cleanup and management of contaminated sites were set to expire on Feb. 1. And while the existing rules remain …
Dividends: It’s the Least Tax-Efficient Way to Withdraw Money from a Corporation
THE LIMITIED liability company and S corporation are generally regarded as the entities of choice for closely-held businesses, in large part because the owners can access company cash tax-efficiently. However, …
Winter Weather and New Hampshire Wage Laws
There is an expression that if you don’t like New England weather, just wait a minute – it will change. We have all experienced the challenges of getting to or …
NH Legal Perspective: 2014 Top Ten List of Wage and Hour Violations
THE STAKES for noncompliance under state and federal wage and hour laws are higher than ever before. In FY 2014, inspectors from the NH Department of Labor conducted 566 workplace …
Prior Use: Viable Defense to Alleged Patient Infringement
YOU STARTED your company 10 years ago, and are now enjoying the profits. Out of the blue, you receive a cease and desist letter claiming infringement of a patent filed …
Benefit Corporations: Coming Soon to New Hampshire
Beginning Jan. 1, New Hampshire will join over two dozen other states in permitting business and professional corporations to be formed as “benefit corporations” – a hybrid form of corporate …
NH Legal Perspective: Some Basic Patent Tips for Start-Ups
If you’re involved in a technology-based start-up, chances are you have a lot on your mind. Research and development, raising capital, managing cash flow and marketing are just a few …
Licensing to Begin of New Hampshire Med Techs
In the fall of 2011 the news broke that David Kwiatkowski, a traveling medical technician, had infected more than 30 Exeter Hospital patients with Hepatitis C, using covert drug-diversion tactics …
NH Legal Perspective: Taking Your Business to the Next Level Through Franchising
YOU HAVE come up with a great business concept. Your business model has been very successful. In fact, it is so successful you can’t keep up with customer demand. You …
NH Legal Perspective: Cloudy with a Chance of Trade Secret Forfeiture
CLOUD COMPUTING has become ubiquitous. These days, every tech company seems to be promoting a cloud-based service. And it makes sense. It sells. Who doesn’t want the universal accessibility, cost-saving …
NH Legal Perspective: Understanding the Mechanics of the Mechanic’s Lein
YOU ARE a material supplier who delivered thousands of dollars’ worth of goods to a construction project, but your invoices have been ignored for months. Or you are a general …
How State’s New Social Media Access Law Will Work
This article was initially posted by the New Hampshire Business Review and can be found here. How State’s New Social Media Access Law Will Work Measure gives employees privacy in …
How State’s New Social Media Access Law Will Work: Measure Gives Employees Privacy in Their Personal Email and Social Media Accounts
A new state law imposing civil fines on employers who attempt to invade employees’ personal email and social media accounts – which becomes effective Sept. 30 – applies to accounts …
NH Legal Perspectives: What Prospective Real Estate Purchasers Need to Know
IN AN EFFORT to clean up contaminated property in the United States, Congress enacted a comprehensive system of laws and regulations requiring investigation and cleanup of property contaminated with hazardous …
Subleasing is Not as Simple as It Seems
Bruce Bagdasarian | April 23, 2012 Subleasing is a common tool both for tenants who are trying to downsize by becoming sublandlords and for tenants who are seeking temporary space …
Buying Debt: The Next Best Thing to Owning Property
During the last great recession, which lasted from the late 1980’s to the mid-1990’s, massive amounts of real estate loans were sold at significant discounts, and buyers of these loans …