Owners and General Contractors generally have a duty to provide a safe workplace. But does that duty mean that an Owner or General Contractor is automatically liable for the actions of its Subcontractors when a Subcontractor’s employee suffers an injury…
Read MoreIf you are interested in making charitable contributions without the complexity of establishing a private foundation or a charitable trust, you may consider giving through a donor-advised fund (DAF). What is a Donor Advised Fund? Essentially, a DAF is an…
Read MoreFor family businesses organized as limited liability companies, an operating agreement is critical to maintaining ownership within the family, providing clear direction to management in the face of complicated family dynamics, and offering stability when individual family members wish to…
Read MoreA significant term in most commercial leases is the right or obligation of landlord or tenant to remodel the leased premises during the lease term. When negotiating and drafting such a lease provision, it is important to address: (a) which…
Read MoreIn a commercial lease setting, one of the most often overlooked (but critically important) lease provision is the method of allocating and measuring the square footage of the leased premises.
Read MoreIn Matter of Estate of Rathbone, the Washington State Supreme Court held that the trial court did not have the authority to construe an ambiguous provision in a non-intervention Will (1). Rathbone involves a dispute among three brothers (Todd, Glen,…
Read MoreOn March 28th, after a year-long lawsuit, the King County Superior Court struck down, as a violation of the state constitution, Seattle’s “first in time” ordinance which required residential landlords to screen rental applications in chronological order and award the…
Read MoreIn recent months, a flurry of news articles have pointed to a strategy whereby certain highly paid professionals (such a doctors, lawyers, and accountants) can form worker-owned cooperatives in order to avoid the limits placed on the new tax law’s…
Read MoreIn November 2015, Congress enacted as part of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (the “BBA”) partnership audit rules designed to make it easier for the IRS to examine partnerships and collect any resulting underpayments through one centralized proceeding. With limited…
Read MoreThe American Institute of Architects (AIA) has for nearly 130 years produced standardized form contracts for the construction industry. The AIA reviews and updates its form contracts based on industry trends and important decisions, and in 2017 revealed substantive changes…
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