Law Firm Walks to Its Heart's Content

The members of HensonFuerst do more than fight for their clients--they're also fighting for the millions of people affected by heart disease, the nation's leading killer. For the third year in a row, the firm's members will walk to raise funds and awareness during the American Heart Association's Start! Heart Walk in Rocky Mount on Saturday, Oct. 24. The team has raised a total of $2,770 during the past two walks and hopes to increase that amount by at least $1,750 this year.

"We want to show everyone how strongly we feel about being heart healthy and keeping fit," attorney David Henson said. "We're working together to raise money for research and encourage our friends, family, and neighbors to lead healthier lives."

Leading by Example

The members of HensonFuerst know the importance of heart health at any age. Whether it's participating in triathlons, running for a cause, or cycling 100 miles, many firm members--whose ages range from 18 to 70--have participated in athletic events to raise money for various charities. To recognize the importance of being healthy as well as giving back to the community, the firm established the HensonFuerst Health Initiative to encourage the community and firm members to prevent injuries, promote health and fitness, and aid organizations committed to improving health and well-being.

Taking North Carolina's Pulse

• One in every three North Carolinians has some form of heart disease.
• More than 30 percent of deaths statewide are caused by cardiovascular disease--that's one death every 22 minutes.
• Each year, total hospital charges for heart disease exceed $3.3 billion in North Carolina.

American Heart Association's Start! Heart Walk

As the American Heart Association's signature fund-raising event, the Start! Heart Walk promotes physical activity and heart-healthy living in a fun family environment. This year, at least 1 million walkers will participate in hundreds of events across the country. The walk has raised more than $600 million nationwide since it was launched in 1994.

About HensonFuerst

HensonFuerst, P.A., is a North Carolina-based law firm focusing on catastrophic injury, nursing home abuse, auto accident, workers' compensation, Social Security Disability, and mass tort cases. For more than 30 years, the lawyers at HensonFuerst have represented those injured by the negligence of others. With successful multimillion-dollar verdicts and settlements throughout the state of North Carolina, the team of 11 lawyers and 37 staff members at HensonFuerst offers considerable experience and resources for their clients. For more information about the firm, visit www.HensonFuerst.com.

Staten Island Law Firm Aides in Child Safety this Halloween

With Halloween fast approaching, Decker, Decker, Dito & Internicola, LLP has decided to be proactive this Halloween in helping keep children safe while they are trick-or-treating. Halloween is a great time for children to dress up and have fun but there are many dangers lurking while children are trick-or-treating.

Frank J. Dito Jr., an injury lawyer and partner at Decker, Decker, Dito & Internicola, LLP, and father of two young children, became very concerned about the safety of children in Staten Island and throughout New York City this Halloween. As a personal injury attorney, Mr. Dito has seen first-hand what can happen to a family when easily preventable accidents happen. Research has shown that children in New York are at too high of a risk for being injured on Halloween - from a child being hit by a car because their costume is too dark to be seen by drivers to a candle flame from a jack-o-lantern being too close to a child's costume. There are many accidents that occur on Halloween that are more likely to injure children than at any other time during months of October or November.

Decker, Decker, Dito & Internicola, LLP is making it a priority to educate the Staten Island community this year to keep children safe on Halloween. As part of the T.O.T. (Trick or Treat) Safety Campaign, Decker, Decker, Dito & Internicola, LLP is giving out free reflective trick or treat bags and safety glow sticks to help the children stay visible and safe on Halloween night. To educate parents and the local community, Decker, Decker, Dito & Internicola, LLP is offering a Stay Safe Halloween Report featuring tips to help parents keep their children safe, free of charge. To help get the children more interested and more involved in wanting to be safe this Halloween, the law firm is also running a contest for the Best Halloween Costume that will be available to all children who use the reflective trick or treat bags and the safety glow sticks on Halloween night. The top three costumes will be given prizes and their pictures will be featured in the Decker, Decker, Dito & Internicola, LLP December newsletter.

Parents interested in the T.O.T. Safety campaign are encouraged to go online to www.dddilaw.com/reports/halloween.cfm to learn more about how they can help their children stay safe trick or treating this Halloween.

NJ Criminal and Family Law Attorneys Helmer, Paul, Conley & Kasselman, P.A. Launch Website

The Haddon Heights, NJ law firm of Helmer, Paul, Conley & Kasselman, P.A. recently launched their website, providing a valuable online legal resource to current and potential clients.

The site offers helpful information to remove some of the fear and uncertainty from the legal process, including a glossary of legal terms, a resources page with county-specific information, and answers to frequently asked questions for each practice area.

"While we are always available to answer our clients' questions, we know that sometimes clients like to do research on their own," said Senior Partner, Ron Helmer. "Our new site is designed entirely with our clients and potential clients in mind. We certainly hope they will use it as a resource to answer their initial questions, and then let us guide them through the legal process personally."

Website visitors will also learn how the experienced attorneys at Helmer, Paul, Conley & Kasselman, P.A. can assist them with their legal case. The firm has developed a reputation for maintaining high ethical standards while aggressively representing clients throughout New Jersey in criminal defense and appeals, juvenile offenses, expungements, family law, municipal court, traffic and motor vehicle, DUI, immigration, real estate, workers compensation, administrative law, and police litigation cases.

About the Firm

Founded in 1992, the lawyers at Helmer, Paul, Conley & Kasselman, P.A. have more than 200 years of combined experience. For more information about the firm please go to www.helmerlegal.com.

Attorney Mark L. Horwitz Warns the IRS Amnesty Programs Ends October 15, 2009

Last minute entry into the IRS Amnesty Program can still be accomplished. The Law Offices of Mark L. Horwitz, a criminal defense law firm in Florida, is representing people who reside in the United States and in other countries and helping them successfully walk through the IRS Amnesty Program. Attorney Mark L. Horwitz urges anyone with an unreported offshore account to avoid potential criminal prosecution by entering the IRS Amnesty Program before October 15, 2009.

Criminal Defense Attorney Mark Horwitz stated, "Even though the time is running out, an application to enter the Amnesty Program can still be made. The IRS will except an application over the phone before the end of day on October 15, 2009."

Entering and successfully completing the IRS Amnesty Program involves several factors, including timely application, cooperation with the IRS and filing amended tax returns and FBARs. Horwitz advised, "When large offshore accounts are involved, a person should deal with the IRS through an experienced attorney."

According to Attorney Mark Horwitz, the benefits of the IRS Amnesty Program become clear when compared to the criminal penalties that can result if the IRS learns of the offshore account through its own investigation. These penalties include:
1. Conviction of a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison for not filing the yearly form disclosing offshore accounts over $10,000.00. This form is known as an FBAR.
2. Conviction of tax evasion, a felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison for willfully not reporting the income on foreign accounts.
3. Conviction of willfully filing a false tax return, a felony punishable by up to 3 years in prison for false statements on the tax return relating to the offshore accounts and income earned on the accounts.

In addition to criminal prosecution, the civil penalties imposed if the IRS learns of an unreported offshore account with a balance over $10,000.00 are severe and are in addition to criminal penalties. The civil penalty for not filing the yearly FBAR disclosing the offshore account is 50% of the highest value of the account, every year that the FBAR is not filed. Civil penalties for failure to disclose the income earned on offshore accounts can range from 20% to 75%.

The IRS Amnesty Program allows a person to avoid the potential criminal prosecution and significantly reduce the civil penalties. An example of the civil penalties under the Amnesty Program compared to what would happen if the IRS discovers the offshore account reveals the benefit of the Amnesty Program. As an example, if the offshore account contains $1,000,000.00 and earned 5% per year from 2003 through 2008, the civil penalties and taxes on the earnings would be $386,000.00 plus interest under the Amnesty Program. Without the Amnesty Program the taxes and penalties would be $2,306,000.00 plus interest. This figure could be even more if the IRS imposed a fraud penalty on the unpaid taxes.

The IRS has been vigorously pursuing information on offshore accounts. The ongoing case by the United States against UBS is a primary example of this effort. While the time is short to enter the IRS Amnesty Program, it is not too late to act.

About The Law Offices Of Mark L. Horwitz, P.A.

http://www.mlhorwitzlaw.com

With more than 30 years experience, Attorney Horwitz has extensive experience in providing legal representation for clients in the areas of tax evasion, mail and wire fraud criminal defense. Attorney Horwitz is a Board Certified Criminal Trial Advocate of the National Board of Trial Advocacy and is certified as a Criminal Trial Specialist by The Florida Bar. A Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and listed in Best Lawyers in America, Horwitz's legal experience includes not only private practice, but also many years as an Assistant United States Attorney. Attorney Horwitz is a member of The Florida Bar, The Colorado Bar and The District of Columbia Bar. Please visit www.mlhorwitzlaw.com for more information about the IRS Amnesty Program and Orlando defense attorney Mark Horwitz.

doeLegal Releases New Matter Management Solution Integrated With doeBilling

doeLegal, a premier litigation support hosting, EDD, and eBilling software company, announces their electronic billing solution will now have a fully integrated matter management suite of tools. Provided through a secure hosted platform, doeMatters® will expand the functionality of doeBilling® by adding an integrated task and event calendar, contact manager, and document repository bundled together in one package. Locating critical documents, tracking important milestones and reporting on any matter at a moment's notice is now effortless. It is now possible for any corporation to have complete control of all information pertaining to their matters and eBilling in one tightly integrated package.

Presenting a highly user-configurable matter management suite, doeMatters® backs this up with configurable pagelets that allow any user to display the data they need to get their work done. With doeBilling® and doeMatters® integrated as one package, all outside legal spend on matters is completely transparent and will generate reports on virtually any aspect of their cases.

Delivering all the matter and billing information in a single integrated system provides a consistent and efficient way of working. doeLegal's support team provides firm and vendor on-boarding, training, and all support as part of the package price.

Acting as a "trusted adviser" rather than simply a software provider for over 38 years, doeLegal services over 7,000 users in 14 countries around the world and maintains long term relationships with all customers.

Tom Russo, doeLegal President and CEO, states, "Our solutions are designed to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of legal administration. doeMatters® was developed to deliver greater value through managed data and analytics. This integrated solution facilitates a new discipline to your outside law firms and helps enforce compliance with your requirements. doeLegal strives to become a vital extension of your current legal department and builds key client relationships to deliver our strong value proposition."

For more information on doeMatters®, contact doeLegal at 302.798.7500 ext 2826 or view details at www.doelegal.com.

About doeLegal

doeLegal, founded in 1971, is a premier solutions provider delivering comprehensive online legal services and technology support for corporate legal departments and law firms. The acclaimed legal hosting suite provides all-inclusive hosting and support for eDiscovery, EDD, eBilling, Matter Management, Records Management, and CLE administration as effective solutions to the increasing challenges of document selection and sharing, daily communications, and cost control. Leveraging technology into the flexible, hosted packages ensures that each solution is configured to suit your organization's needs perfectly.

doeLegal is committed to providing the answers to save time, save money, and deliver value to the legal community. Relationships, expertise, and innovative insight position doeLegal as a trusted adviser to its worldwide clients.

doeLegal's Matter Management Solution

Auto Accident Lawyer Wins $2 Million for Deaths on Ohio Turnpike

Tom and Tess Lee were on the way from their home in Chicago to Cleveland for a family wedding. The couple was traveling in the eastbound lanes of the Ohio turnpike near Toledo. A car driven by retired podiatrist Charles Marlowe, Jr. came from the westbound lanes across the median and into the eastbound lanes striking the Lees' vehicle head-on. The Lees were killed instantly.

Accident Attorney Dennis R. Lansdowne of The Spangenberg Law Firm in Cleveland, Ohio reports that a Federal Court jury in Toledo has returned a verdict of $2,031,196.33 for the deaths of the Lees, a husband and wife on the Ohio turnpike. The award was returned for the five adult children of the couple. (United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio, Western Division (Toledo), Case No. 3:08CV1739)

Occupant of the other car, Dr. Marlowe, who survived the crash, claimed that he was struck by a sudden medical emergency and was not responsible for the collision. Specifically, Dr. Marlowe claimed he experienced a sudden episode of neurocardiogenic syncope. Ohio recognizes the sudden medical emergency defense which holds that a driver is not liable for a collision if the driver was suddenly stricken with a medical emergency the driver could not anticipate and which causes the driver to lose control of the vehicle. A week before the trial, after a hearing at which a proposed defense expert witness testified, the trial judge rejected the defense because it was not supported by scientific evidence.

Mr. Lee, age 63, was a union rigger and Mrs. Lee, age 62, was a retired nurse. The case was brought on behalf of the Lees' five adult children. "This was a very close and loving family that has been irreparably damaged by this tragedy," Lansdowne said. This 'sudden medical emergency' defense is being raised more frequently by insurance companies according to Lansdowne. "This defense is very dangerous for victims of negligence and must be vigorously challenged," he said. The verdict comprised non-economic damages and funeral expenses.

The Spangenberg Law Firm has consistently proven itself in Ohio Auto Accident Cases

Many of Spangenberg, Shibley & Liber LLP's cases come via word-of-mouth, either from satisfied former clients, or from other attorneys that know the firm is skilled at handling the complex litigation required for their cases. The Spangenberg Law Firm has consistently proven itself a worthy partner in co-counsel arrangements on a range of cases, and willingly accepts any challenges after carefully analyzing the merits of the case. Though the firm has certainly proven its ability with products liability and has some of the best Cleveland personal injury lawyers, it is equally adept in assisting businesses and corporations with the issues that they have involving business disputes and insurance claims.

The Cleveland Attorneys of the Spangenberg, Shibley & Liber Ohio Law Firm have devoted themselves to representing injured persons and aggrieved businesses for more than sixty-five years. They are headquartered at 1001 Lakeside Avenue East, Suite 1700, in Cleveland, Ohio 44114. For more information, you are invited to visit them online at: Spanglaw.com.

New Jersey Home Improvement Contract Law: What Contractors Need to Know

Craftsman Book Company's Construction Contract Writer is a first-in-class productivity tool used by construction professionals to meet increasingly more stringent state contracting standards. The just-released New Jersey edition of the program helps contractors write construction contracts that comply with New Jersey's home improvement laws.

Free trial software and free construction contract forms available at www.newjerseyconstructioncontract.com
Free trial software and free construction contract forms available at www.newjerseyconstructioncontract.com

Residential contractors in New Jersey and many other states can take a lesson from the recent Supreme Court case between Jo Anne and Tom Heath and Czar, Inc., a Patterson, NJ cabinet shop. Czar Inc. was hired to install kitchen cabinets and woodwork in the Heaths' new home. When the Heaths weren't happy with the cabinets Czar installed, they refused to pay. Czar filed suit to collect (Czar, Inc. v. Heath, 198 N.J. 195, 2009).

The Heaths didn't have to complain about the job or the workmanship. Since the construction contract did not meet certain specifications, all they needed to do was to counter-claim over a defect in the contract. New Jersey Administrative Code sections 13:45A-16.1 to 16.2 (Home Improvement Practices) and New Jersey Administrative Code sections 13:45A-17.1 to 17.14 (Home Improvement Contractor Registration) require that all home improvement contracts for more than $500 be in writing and include very specific disclosures. Failure to include those disclosures in the written contract is a violation of New Jersey's Consumer Fraud Act. Penalties include a full refund (New Jersey Statutes Annotated Section 56:8-2.11) or treble damages plus legal fees (New Jersey Statutes Annotated Section 56:8-19).

The following items need to be in all New Jersey home improvement contracts:
(1) The legal name, business address and registration number of the contractor.
(2) A certificate of commercial general liability insurance.
(3) The total price including any finance charges.
(4) A notice of the right to cancel.

When any one of these items is omitted from a home improvement or home repair contract, New Jersey's Consumer Fraud Act comes into effect: full refund, triple damages plus attorney fees. Czar, Inc. lost their Supreme Court case to the Heaths. Legal fees on the way to the New Jersey Supreme Court can run many times the cost of kitchen cabinets. When a job goes bad, having an enforceable contract is essential.

New Jersey isn't unique in this respect. Many states give owners the right to collect for a defective home improvement or home repair contract: Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, Ohio, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts have similar legislation.

The web site NewJerseyConstructionContract.com offers free New Jersey contracts that favor New Jersey contractors. The contracts are available in PDF (Adobe Acrobat), RTF (MS Word or WordPad), and CCF (Construction Contract Writer) formats. Contractors can create custom contracts that comply with state law with Craftsman's new Construction Contract Writer program, also available as a free trial.

Craftsman Book Company develops software and publishes technical and professional references for contractors, estimators, remodelers, custom builders, architects, engineers, adjusters and appraisers. Craftsman's website also offers free trial software downloads.