Category Archives: Legal

Apr21

Labor and the Compensations of History

Posted on by
Labor and the Compensations of History

It’s impossible to look at the history of any country without taking into account a history of its labor structures. In the case of the United States, this is certainly true, and more so in contemporary times. From the Industrial Revolution onward, the formal labor structures have been intimately linked to almost all levels of public and private life. While today’s notions of addressing wrongs might utilize a Workers compensation Attorney Florida offers, these possibilities are built on the efforts of the past generations. And it may well be that there are still structural inequities, but the machine is constructed in such a way that these can be addressed and altered according to the needs of the time.

The structures that made it possible during the last century were also made possible through efforts of people from previous centuries. Because of the unique structure of the country, there are multiple traditions and cultures that make up how and why labor is organized. While there are elements that are tied toward a work ethic that comes from Northern Europe, there are also elements that have roots in the local indigenous culture. This is one of the reasons why labor is so tightly connected to the framework of how things operate, and it’s also one of the most intriguing patterns that rise up in any visit to the past.

Dec30

Proving Disability for Social Security Benefits

Posted on by
Proving Disability for Social Security Benefits

If you experience a severe disability or illness you may think that the worst part is dealing with the loss of mobility and pain related to your medical condition. You may be surprised to discover that the worst thing is actually the process you will have to navigate in order to get social security disability (SSD) benefits. Even if you have a valid medical condition, it can take months, or even years, to prove that claim to the SSA and get them to release your benefits.

A qualified social security disability attorney can help you not only fill out the required forms to the satisfaction of the SSA (many claims are denied due to mistakes in the claim form), but they will have experience in providing documentation to prove your disability or illness to the strict standards set by the SSA.

The social security administration has extensive guidelines and requirements. These include limiting the type of medical evidence that is admissible as well as the medical sources that are deemed qualified to provide that evidence. SSA also requires evidence of your symptoms and treating sources that must be in line with their expectations. They may require consultative exams or further evidence before approving a claim.

The process for proving disability can drag out for months or even years. An experienced SSD lawyer is going to know how to get you through this process as quickly and effectively as possible and is going to greatly improve the chances that your claim will be approved. In the case that your initial claim is denied, they are going to stay with you through the appeals process, which can be even more complicated than the initial claim.

Sep18

Fort Lauderdale and the History of Traffic Laws

Posted on by
Fort Lauderdale and the History of Traffic Laws

The state of the automobile in contemporary culture is more than just a prominent one. It’s an icon that is, for many people, the absolute center of culture, where all the notions of freedom, expansion, and exploration come to find their vehicle, literally and metaphorically. Perhaps only with the exceptions of television and the internet, there are few inventions that have changed the world so significantly. It was a very different place just one hundred years ago, although the history of the auto does have some earlier traces.

Without going back to the invention of the wheel, it’s sufficient to note that the late 19th century, the industrial age, is when things started to shift dramatically. With the first automobile came the first traffic accident. In 1896, Henry Wells driving one of the first cars, hit a bicyclist and broke his leg. Henry spent the night in jail and the history of automobile laws was under way.

It has changed enormously, of course, and the laws are much more complex than anyone could have imagined. Today one can find a Fort Lauderdale auto accident attorney to help walk through all the possibilities and potential complications in contemporary traffic law. Its origins are in the past, but by no means is that past distant.

Sep3

FCPA and the International Code of Conduct

Posted on by
FCPA and the International Code of Conduct

In response to the terrorist attacks that have been occurring throughout the world the United Nations created the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.   The focus of the Act is on the policies, procedures, and behaviours of companies with which the United States conducts business as well as the conduct of the Public Officials of those countries.  It applies not only to foreign officials but to domestic officials as well.  The policies and procedures are set in place to create an environment wherein in criminal behavior is discovered, investigated and prosecuted, creating a world that is better to live in for all the people on the planet, a world wherein unethical, immoral, corrupt and illegal activities are stopped in their tracks.  As part of this continued effort the United Nations enacted in 1996 an International Code of Conduct,  this is in regards to specifically public officials.

This was adopted for use by agencies as a tool or a guide for them in the efforts in the fight within the public sectors against fraud and corruption.  This is a basic, but detailed and thorough list of recommendations regarding the performance of the officials duties and the means in which they must follow these recommendations.  These general principles are in regards to fairness, effectiveness, integrity, loyalty and impartiality in all aspects of their performance.

This applies not only to their work, but to their personal character as well.  This also involve the principle of transparency.   This means that they must agree to disclosing their books and their assets, as well as those of their husbands or wives, or other dependents.  This serves to lay it all out in the open and serves to not only detect those who are committing acts of corruption,  but to protect those who are not as well.  If there is not criminal behavior, than they should fear and will have nothing to hide.  They must also disclose any favors they either accept or extend, as well the giving and receiving of gifts.  This states as well that the activities of the officials must not impair nor be destructive to the confidence of the public for which they represents, and must perform all there actions in regards to these standards at all time.

Aug24

Practicing Law for the Greater Good

Posted on by
Practicing Law for the Greater Good

 Any Orange County law firm is well aware of the benefits of hiring great lawyers.  Lawyers with the knowledge of the laws and the United States Justice System, lawyers that work efficiently and effectively, are assets to any firm.  However, what makes a firm special, make them great is to have lawyers on their teams that go above and beyond the necessary requirements.  One of the aspects of a great team is to have members on the team who possess overall skills, but individual skills as well.

Good lawyers often have strong work ethics, they are professional in their behaviors as well as their presentation.  However some refer to the great lawyers as those who seem to have, and do actually possess a higher purpose, a drive that goes far beyond doing a good and professional job.  This is true for other professions as well, be it in the medical profession, in the world of art, or even the neighborhood car mechanic. 

Lawyers that are driven by more than personal or financial success, are those who really are concerned with not only the case of their client, but for the well being of their client as well.  Perhaps this just seems like a common sense idea, a known fact, however, this is an aspect of one’s personality that may wax and wane over time due to the work load and the stress that most lawyers experience from time to time. 

Many lawyers also face the public eye, which can be unforgiving and cynical with regards to the work that lawyers do.  There are two parts of the puzzle that come together in those who work from the place of a higher purpose, one is that they have a vision, and the second is that those with this vision actively take part in making that vision a reality.  Often times, this is a vision that they consider is not just their own personal vision, but a vision that concerns the greater good.

Aug3

Anti-Bribery Provisions of the FCPA

Posted on by
Anti-Bribery Provisions of the FCPA

Throughout the history of humankind, corruption in the form of extortion and bribery has been an issue. As civilizations progressed and developed the incidence of such activities increased. In current times, with the technological advances in communication and information systems this has become and even larger issue to over see and to deal with. The 1977 passing of the FCPA, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, addresses these issues and provides provisions that are used in the ongoing struggle to combat the forces of political corruption and the corruption in the business world of the United States. Revisions to the act occur frequently in order to better address the changes modes and means of the criminal acts associated with that corruption.

The anti-bribery amendments state that all individuals and businesses are prohibited by federal law from the making of or accepting of payments that are deemed improper. These provisions cover the spectrum of individuals and entities that interact and partake in transactions in the daily business procedures that occur throughout the world, as they relate to American companies and political officers and officials. The laws differ in regards with to whom they apply, and it is necessary that all those concerned understand the various distinctions.

Issuers are those companies that have securities that are registered in the U.S. If the issuer uses the United States Postal Service they are subject to the provisions outlined in the anti-bribery amendments. Now this has extended to include those that conduct transactions via the telephone, wire transfers of funds, interstate and international travel, faxes and email communication. These laws regarding bribery apply even if the action takes place outside the border of the United States. This is just one of the ways in which organizations are attempting to put an end to corporate and political corruption that affects the businesses, the political systems and the financial sector of today.

Aug3

Necessary Situations for Financial Institutions to File a Suspicious Activity Report

Posted on by
Necessary Situations for Financial Institutions to File a Suspicious Activity Report

There have always been rules and regulations regarding transaction conducted in the banks of the United States. However current times demand particular attention to activities that may indicate illegal activity. The Suspicious Activity Report is one of the current installations in the array of screening and detected instances of money laundering, or embezzlement. There are specific guidelines and regulations that all those employed with the financial institutions of the United States. These are federal requirements and the neglect to fill out such reports can leave one open to investigation and pro section.

This is of course intending to put and end to all cases of fraud and illegal banking activity, but it is geared to stop the funding, and the access to those funds, of the terrorist organizations throughout the world. When deposits or transfers occur in any amount that are connected to an illegal activity a report must be filled out. When the criminal is identified in any activity a report must be filled out. When a transaction is upwards of twenty five thousand dollars or more is involved, a Suspicious Activity Report must be filled out regardless of whether the individual is considered a subject or not.

If a transaction seems to have no apparent lawful or business purpose, or if the transaction radically differs from the kinds of transaction the customer normally conducts, and there is a lack of an explanation regarding the transaction, the report must be filled out. Transactions under consideration include the obvious deposits, withdrawals and transfers, but also pertain to currency exchange, credit extensions, and the sale or purchases of bonds and stocks.

Reports of such activities are required to filled out and filed within thirty days of the initial suspected activity. If the identity of the suspect is unknown, the financial institution is given sixty days to file the report. The suspect can not be notified regarding the fact that a report was filed against them. Copies of filed reports must be kept on file for five years preceding the action.

Aug3

The Continuing War on Terrorism

Posted on by
The Continuing War on Terrorism

The anti terrorism laws that were enacted proceeding 9/11 have been successful in interrupting the criminal activities of terrorists in the financial districts. The act of money laundering has been affected by companies practicing due diligence in regards to all new and existing clients. The creation of the Suspicious Activity Report has also been a key element in providing the means for individual companies to assist and to cooperate with the government agencies in tracking down the criminals. Both of these together have been so effective, that currently terrorist cells are being forced to rely on donations from private individuals, on further criminal endeavours and on transfers of cash that are informal and kept off the books, such as those of the hawala organizations.

One of the problems is however, that the further the world gets from that day, the further the threat may seem, and companies may be becoming too lax in their enforcements of the policies and the regulations. Just following the attacks, countries surrounding the world worked diligently and tirelessly against the opportunities being taking by the terrorists of the international banking and financial systems. This is the irony that has advisors nervous, the fact that because the international government crack-downs were so successful, it may seem as though the threat no longer exists. The effort seems to be slipping.

One of the countries that is viewed as a passive supporter of the large terrorist cell of Al Qaeda is Iran. Although the country is not tolerant of the actions of the terrorists, they do still support the Hamas and the Hezbollah. Due to the tenuous relationship between the United States and Iran, some of the restrictions on the members of Al Qaeda may not be strictly enforced such as allowing them to cross the borders to Pakistan and Afghanistan without having their passports stamped. That fact is that the institutions of the world, and the governments of the different countries must become more diligent and determined, as the operations and the funding for such opperations are going even further under ground and out of the range of those conducting the investigations.

Oct5

Lawsuit takes a bit of shine off art show

Posted on by
Lawsuit takes a bit of shine off art show

After years of enjoying the St. James Court Art Show, Stan and Inga Bush said they jumped at a chance in 1993 to buy a home in the middle of the action at the corner of St. James and Magnolia Avenue. But now, because of a property-use lawsuit filed last year against the couple and other St. James homeowners by event organizers, the couple say the spirit of the event ? which runs Friday through …

Read More at Louisville Courier-Journal…