Can You Work for a Company After Suing? Legal Considerations to Weigh

The Complete Guide to Lodger Agreement Preparation: Samples and Practical Tips

What is a Lodger Agreement?

A lodger agreement is a legal contract that outlines the relationship between a landlord and a lodger. It will usually include the rent and payment terms, the length of the agreement, and how the relationship can be ended.
The definition of a lodger agreement is as follows:
"An agreement between the landlord of a property that subdivides part of a rental or owned residence – such as a room or room and board – to provide accommodation to a renter known as a ‘lodger . ‘ The lodger pays a rent to the landlord in exchange for the private accommodation." Investopedia
These types of agreements can be very helpful to landlords in establishing ground rules for their lodgers to follow and protecting the rights of both parties if a disagreement arises later on.
A lodger agreement differs from a tenancy agreement in a number of ways:
What are the key components of a lodger agreement? Lodger agreements will not always contain exactly the same information, but will usually have the following:

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What is Data Residency?

As globalization has come to dominate our economic and consumer worlds, so too have the international flow of data and the borders associated with this global digital phenomenon. The rising influx of digital expressions of individual and corporate activities has made it increasingly important, not simply for cyber hackers out to illegally monetize or exploit all types of data, but for nation states out to protect what they consider to be their own valuable information. This, as well, accompanied by growing recognition that data serves as a nation’s leading-edge innovation advantage. After all, for many companies and industries , what may have started out as business intelligence and customer relations management now incorporates the most personal of information — everything from private identifiers to biometrics – and with it the power that giant mounds of information provide. For these reasons, there has been an increase in legislations and regulations mandating data residency. What countries are increasingly doing is ordering that their citizens’ data live within their borders and that it not depart the country without specific permission. Such laws usually are designed both to protect the data and the interest in using the data from foreign incursion, mishap or unwarranted voyeurism.

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Navigating a Real Estate Investment Partnership Agreement

Basics of the Agreement

At its core, a real estate investment partnership agreement is the fundamental document binding together a group of individual investors with a shared goal of financing the purchase and preservation of property. This document is signed by each investor and describes the percentage of interest in the property each individual owns, as well as protocols for managing the property and handling profits and losses. Spelled out in detail in the agreement, these issues must be addressed before any purchases are made.
In order to understand how a real estate investment partnership agreement functions , it is important to consider the way a limited liability company (LLC) is set up to protect business owners from exposure to lawsuits. Much like an LLC, the real estate investment partnership agreement allows all investors to benefit from buying property together while legally limiting their liability if a property is damaged. Unlike an LLC, however, the real estate investment partnership agreement does not require registration with the state, and its formation is far simpler and less expensive than an LLC, which makes it the superior choice for first-time real estate investors.

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In-Depth Guide to Legal Internships in Austin, Texas

Intro on Legal Internships

Overview of Legal Internship in Austin, Texas
As with almost any field, a legal education is enhanced through hands-on experience. Even the most reputable law schools cannot simulate all the experiences and challenges students will encounter in their legal careers. This is why it is so crucial for aspiring lawyers to gain real-world experience while they are still in law school. The solution is to seek out legal internships, offering a unique opportunity to work closely with legal professionals, understand the inner workings of the legal field, and enhance marketability in an ever-increasingly competitive field.
Internships are important because they give aspiring lawyers had the chance to learn on the job. Along with an opportunity to gain real-world experience and hone their skills, internships also help students build a network of professional contacts that can be invaluable later in their careers. That experience also improves the student’s resume, making them much more desirable to prospective employers. It is also an opportunity to test-drive a particular area of law , to determine if it is a field in which they would like to pursue their career. Even if a legal internship is not directly related to a student’s field of interest, it still offers students a place to assume some responsibility and show initiative. That kind of potential may not always shine through in the classroom, but is essential to stand out in the tough job market.
Austin is an ideal place for aspiring lawyers to get that all-important practical experience. It is the capital of Texas, home to many law offices, agencies, and courts. Even if they aren’t focused on legal positions, a student’s resume is more likely to shine in this city with all that experience. Austin is also known as the state’s technology and music hub, drawing professionals from around the world, creating a diverse population that makes networking and forging strong connections simpler. Whether it is a position with a law firm, government agency, or even a company’s legal department, there are opportunities all over the city to gain that valuable experience.

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What is a Non-Compete Agreement?

Non-compete agreements—sometimes called covenants not to compete—are post-employment contracts in which an employee or a company promises not to conduct business in direct competition against another company. Non-competes are designed to protect legitimate business interests on the part of the company and to prevent unfair competition. An employee who signs a non-compete is agreeing that, within the stated parameters (geographic location and timeframe), he or she won’t solicit customers, employees, or other business interests away. These agreed-upon parameters often reflect a general sense of fairness, anticipating the scope of the work that the employee does, as well as what the company offers that its competitors don’t .
In Virginia, non-competes must be no broader than what is necessary to protect these interests. A non-compete that is too broad might violate Virginia statute or may be considered overreaching. Overreaching like this is usually in reference to employees and the nature of their work for the company, but it’s also possible for a company to sign a non-compete that’s unnecessarily broad with regard to how it handles its work. When evaluating the validity of a non-compete, a Virginia court will examine the reasonableness of the agreement. Because non-competes are an area of the law that varies by state, a non-compete that is valid under federal law may not be valid under Virginia law.

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What Makes Attorney Fees Tax-Deductible

When it comes to legal fees and taxes, the IRS says that they should be treated like any other business expense for a corporation. If legal fees are incurred as part of running your business, they are considered a legitimate expense and deductible from your taxes. If you are considering filing a lawsuit, the legal fees are considered ordinary and necessary, and therefore fully deductible.
If you are suing someone, the IRS says that those legal fees aren’t deductible if you are pursuing emotional distress because economic damages stemming from emotional distress are generally not deductible.
Other deductible legal fees and expenses, according to the IRS, are those incurred for the production or collection of income; acquiring or disposing of a capital asset; managing, conserving and maintaining property produced; obtaining tax advice; tax planning; filing a tax return; and contesting a tax return challenge.
The IRS also says that in most instances, attorney fees are deductible as unreimbursed employee expenses. The fees must result from services rendered in connection with business activities from which you derive income. Examples of deductible legal fees include fees you paid to obtain taxable damage awards for injury to your reputation or other non-physical injuries you may have received due to your employment, as well as legal fees connected with sex discrimination or age discrimination cases or wrongful termination suits.
A lawyer’s fee may be deductible if you were placed in a lower tax bracket after a divorce, but only the amount of the decrease in your tax on that portion of the award constituting income .
In a divorce case, the IRS says that generally, fees paid to your attorney to obtain alimony for yourself or to obtain taxable child support are not deductible from your taxable income and child support alimony is not taxable to the recipient. Legal fees paid to obtain child custody or to enforce child visitations are not deductible from your taxable income.
However, fees paid to enforce the terms of a post-nuptial agreement or for the division of marital or non-marital property, including household furnishings, real estate, bank accounts, pensions, retirement plans and business interests are deductible from your taxable income.
And, the IRS says that in general, legal fees paid to establish, enforce or challenge paternity, from which you will receive taxable alimony or receive a share in the support of children, are deductible.
If you are in an employment situation that requires you to retain legal counsel to negotiate a non-compete that your employer has given you, the advice given by the attorney is often tax deductible. Similar situations where attorney fees for a non-compete or severance negotiation are deductible are when you are moving to a new state, but the move has no direct ties to employment and you will receive no compensation for the move or relocation.
And while you cannot deduct attorney fees incurred to defend against an audit, you may be able to deduct the legal fees you paid to your attorney for the successful defense of the IRS audit.

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The Meaning of Deliberate Indifference in Case Law

What is Deliberate Indifference?

When reviewing case law, the term "deliberate indifference" surfaces often when attorneys and judges are attempting to define when a state actor has violated an individuals constitutional right to be free from cruel and unusual punishments.
Deliberate Indifference is reserved for situations where a state actor purposefully disregards the health and safety of an inmate or person in custody. For example, in Harper v. Lawrence County, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals held that "a jail official must both be aware of facts from which the inference could be drawn that a substantial risk of serious harm exists, and he must also draw the inference" in order to be found deliberately indifferent to an inmates health and safety.
Harper indicates that the failure to act, knowledge of a risk, and sufficient consciousness of the risk must be present for a person to be found deliberately indifferent. In fact, the Third Circuit further states that *"if a person is aware of a risk but indifferent to it, he is negligent. But if he is more than merely negligent , the doctrine of deliberate indifference applies."* Under this case law, to be deliberately indifferent, the state actor must have been "both aware of facts from which the inference could be drawn that a substantial risk of serious harm exists, and [must have] also drawn the inference."
The threshold to find an officer deliberately indifferent to a persons medical needs is extremely high. The officer must actually know of the risk and consciously ignore it. This means there must be evidence that the state actor knew of the risk and chose to ignore it. This goes beyond negligence or even gross negligence! Proving a deliberate indifference case usually requires expert testimony on whether medical care was below the standard of care.
This high threshold is usually to protect lower-level officers and nurses from liability for failing to act. For instance, nurses are constantly being sued under section 1983 for not acting, and these cases are thrown out of court because the standard has not been met.

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Model Penal Code vs Common Law: Understanding the Differences

The Model Penal Code

The Model Penal Code (MPC) and its commentary were promulgated by the American Law Institute in 1962, drafted in the 1950s. The purpose and "dream" of the draft was to clearly state those penal provisions which should be uniform throughout the United States, to adequately deal with those modern situations not adequately covered by the common law and to broadly restate those common law penal provisions which should be uniform throughout the United States.
For those interested in the MPC itself , the American Law Institute provides these links:
The Model Penal Code (Crimes) – Uniform Laws
The Model Penal Code (Crimes) – Criminal Procedure
The Model Penal Code: A Brief History – American Law Institute
The Model Penal Code: An Overview – American Law Institute

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Learning About Common Law Marriage

A common law marriage in the United States is not identical to a ceremonial marriage in that it lacks any sort of official documentation. However, the two types of unions usually share the features of a legal and a physical relationship or partnership between two individuals, along with an intention to marry at some point in time. A couple may enter into a common-law marriage when they live together but do not undergo the legal formalities that mark a ceremonial marriage.
Some of the characteristics of a common law marriage include the following:

A common law marriage may be formed without any witnesses.
There may be no legal filings for a common law marriage.
A common law marriage typically does not have any official certificate.
There may also not be any marital property.

A couple entering into a common law marriage must generally have the intent to actually marry. Additionally , they must cohabit in a way that resembles a traditional marriage, such as by having both parties reside with one another and sharing their lives as if they were a married couple. In many instances, a couple may not have a desire to marry or may be unable to do so initially, such as if they are from different religious or ethnic backgrounds or are currently married.

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All There is to Know About Ownership of Property

When buying a house, options exist for how you can own it, both from a legal and finance perspective. If you are buying together it is important to understand the tax implications and legal ramifications of how you own it. Thinking about how you want to own the house is important on multiple levels. The two most common ways to own a property are joint tenants or tenants in common. Joint tenancy means both owners have an equal share of the property. With tenants in common, ownership interest does not have to be equal, but it usually is . A sole owner or corporation can also own property. While anyone can hold legal title, in a married couple situation, if one person contributed more to purchase price, that person receives credit in a divorce or death situation. For instance, if one party contributed 60% of the down payment, and the other 40%, the property would be owned 60% by the person who contributed 60%. The court will recognize that contribution upon division of property. Making sure the agreement is noted with the Land Titles office legally is another protection for the owner.

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