Government Articles

November 4, 2008 – 1,687 views

Erosion is the detachment and transport of sediment particles caused by wind, rain, ice, and gravity. Sediment is a byproduct of erosion and is composed of organic and mineral particles that are suspended, transported and relocated from their origin. The deposition of these particles is called sedimentation. Erosion is a natural event. It is a slow, uniform process that is essential for maintaining a balance between plant and animal life. It is a soil forming process. Human induced land disturbing activities such as construction or mining greatly accelerate the natural erosion process. Many studies have been done on our nations waterways and sediment has been found to be one of the top pollutants. Full Story 

October 16, 2008 – 3,797 views

This paper summarizes common constitutional and legislative limitations1 on the liability allocation approaches in state and local government contracting.Requests by contractors for indemnification or hold harmless provisions2 often are opposed by governments based on constitutional principles. Other liability allocation techniques, such as warranty disclaimers, damage exclusions, ceilings on contractual damages orother liability, usually are not analyzed in terms of constitutional provisions. These clauses do not create liability of the state flowing to the contractor or a third party, but they limit possible damages that can be claimed against a contractor. This paper highlights common themes in analyzing the legality of these provisions.  Full Story 

September 17, 2008 – 2,970 views

In 2005, Congress passed the Real ID Act of 2005. The Act prescribes uniform requirements for State-issued driver's licenses and identification cards to enable their acceptance as identification for entry to federal facilities and boarding federally-regulated commercial carriers, i.e., commercial airlines. On December 13, 2007, the Department of Homeland Security announced availability of grant funding for the States for a demonstration program, the 2008 Real ID Demonstration Grant Program.[1] The program guidance and grant application kit stated, "the Department encourages grant applications from States with a multi-state approach to Real ID identification systems implementation design and development."   Full Story 

August 26, 2008 – 1,450 views

Not so long ago, persuading corporate executives that they needed extensive preparation before testifying in a legal proceeding was a battle. Many confident, articulate executives were convinced they could just "go in and tell my story," and they were insulted by the notion that they needed some lawyer to prepare them. Too many experienced lawyers didn't push back. Full Story 

August 14, 2008 – 1,753 views

Last week, the Department of Justice announced planned revisions to its Principles of Federal Prosecution of Business Organizations (Principles) that signal changes to its policies regarding its evaluation of cooperation, including waivers of the attorney client privilege. The DOJ Principles govern the DOJ's process of investigating, charging and prosecuting corporate crimes. These Principles were last revised in December 2006 when U.S. Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty issued what has been referred to as the "McNulty Memorandum." In particular, the Memorandum governs how DOJ measures a corporation's cooperativeness in a criminal investigation and how the DOJ determines whether the entity itself should be charged with a crime. On July 9, Deputy Attorney General Mark Filip, in a letter to Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, outlined proposed changes to the McNulty Memorandum. Full Story 

August 8, 2008 – 1,745 views

Addressing environmental issues has emerged as one of the most sig¬nificant concerns in commercial real estate transactions today. The strict liability nature of environmental laws has resulted in a heightened awareness of environmental issues in real estate transac¬tions for decades now. Dealing with envi¬ronmental concerns, however, has become increasingly important in recent years, due to rigid state and federal environmental requirements and the fact that many New Jersey developers, investors and property owners are now acquiring existing and/or redeveloping abandoned or underuti¬lized sites. Because environmental law has become a specialty practice area, pro¬visions in real estate deals regarding envi¬ronmental matters seem to be managed either so intensely that the environmental concerns smother the transaction, or are virtually ignored. While it is not practi¬cal to include provisions in an agreement that address every potential environmental issue that may arise, it is crucial that par¬ties to a real estate transaction understand the representations and warranties that are made and the due diligence that is per¬formed regarding environmental issues, along with the fiscal and legal implica¬tions of such information. Full Story 

August 1, 2008 – 1,548 views

In Metropolitan Life Insurance Company v. Glenn, issued on June 19, 2008, the United States Supreme Court ruled that when a ERISA fiduciary responsible for determining in its discretion eligibility for benefits under an employer plan is also the party financially responsible for paying claims under that plan, a structural conflict of interest exists that must be taken into consideration by courts when reviewing benefit denials. Full Story 

July 16, 2008 – 1,328 views

Spurred on by good intentions to take the next “logical” step, some municipalities have begun to adopt “redeveloper pay to play” ordinances.  These ordinances purport to impose limits or outright bans on political contributions by redevelopers and redevelopment professionals.  Our most recent survey identified at least eighteen towns in New Jersey that already specifically regulate contributions by would-be redevelopers and their professionals – even though there is no legislative authorization for these ordinances.  Redevelopment designations and redevelopment agreements have never before been viewed as public contracts, nor have they been subject to public bidding laws. Full Story