Legal Insights

Background Check on Potential and Current Employees

July 24, 2015 By James B. Shrimp, Esq. Today, most employers run some sort of background check on potential employees and current employees, including credit, financial and criminal background checks. In some industries, these background checks go right to the heart of the job. For instance, passing a background check is a requirement of school […]

Norristown’s New Real Estate Tax Abatement Zone Could Provide A Significant Financial Incentive To Your Business

July 24, 2015 By William F. Kerr, Jr., Esq. This week, the Municipality of Norristown moved an important step closer to revitalizing the municipality’s economy when its Municipal Council approved a tax abatement program. The LERTA program now moves on for approval by Montgomery County and the Norristown Area School District, which approvals many expect will […]

Ashley Madison: A Family Lawyer’s View of the Cheating Site’s Hack

July 23, 2015 Ashley Madison is an online “dating” service for those who are married or in a committed relationship. Yes, you heard that right; it is a dating service which functions just like any other, except it helps people cheat. Founded in 2001, the website’s slogan is “Life is short. Have an affair.” Lately, […]

Reading between the lines: What is in a Franchise Agreement?

July 2, 2015 By Joel D. Rosen, Esquire Deciding what kind of business opportunity you want to embark on can be challenging. There are countless industry segments and businesses that make your initial decisions daunting. If you are torn between a franchise or an independent business, read this article for some advice To Be a […]

What happens when your insurance company refuses to defend you?

In these cases, its important to understand that just because the insurance company asserts that the policy does not provide coverage, does not necessarily make it true. Individuals and businesses purchase insurance to protect themselves and their assets: automobile insurance to protect them in the event of an accident involving a motor vehicle; homeowners insurance […]

Co-Parenting through Vacation Season

Advice for Single Parents Seeking a Stress-Free Summer by Melissa M. Boyd, Esq. June 11, 2015 I developed this post as one in a series to help parents and their attorneys plan for the slew of legal co-parenting complications the summer brings. Without the structure of school, even the tightest co-parenting plans are challenged. Whether […]

Divorce, Threats and Social Media: Lessons From The Elonis Case

June 2, 2015 By Melissa M. Boyd, Esq.   “There’s one way to love you but a thousand ways to kill you.” If your wife left you, and you wrote that post on Facebook, would it be construed as a threat? Certainly some people would see it that way, but the US Supreme Court has […]

When Letters of Intent are Involved in Litigation

A letter of intent (LOI) is a document which states proposed terms for a final contract.  Depending upon what is written, an LOI may be categorized as “binding” or “non-binding.”  This is often the threshold issue in litigation concerning letters of intent – whether or not the LOI may be considered to be a binding […]

HICPA Compliance and Unjust Enrichment Claim

By Kevin Cornish, Esq. March 11, 2015   This is a follow up to the June 1, 2014 blog entitled Pennsylvania Supreme Court to Decide Whether HICPA Allows Recovery under a Theory of Unjust Enrichment. HICPA does not preclude recovery on Unjust Enrichment Claim The Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued its decision in the case of […]

Retirement Plan In Pay Status - Is It Income or Can There Be a QDRO?

Q: For divorce settlement, if a retirement plan is already paying the former employee, is this income or can there be a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) for division of marital property? A: You definitely want to treat the retirement payout as an asset subject to equitable distribution. If husband and wife were not living […]