April 27th, 2009
The best employment law defense counsel takes every aspect of a case into account, but most importantly the impact a lawsuit may have on the reputation and finances of the Company. Employers must be aware of state and federal laws that govern employee hiring, compensation and treatment. Federal and State employment laws concerning wages and overtime are complex and impose significant responsibility on the employer.
Other things an employer should consider are:
- Anti-discrimination laws
- sexual discrimination
- age discrimination
- disability discrimination
- race discrimination
- Hiring practices (contracts)
- Compensation (wages, bonuses, paid leave, vacation pay, benefits, severance packages)
- Family and Medical Leave
- Termination
- Immigration matters
- Sexual harassment
- Intellectual property rights
Employers should also be cognizant of employees that are allowed access to intellectual property information created or developed for the Company by employees in the course of their employment.
There are a number of questions to be addressed by the Employer both at the time of hiring personnel and at regular intervals throughout the course of their employment, such as:
· The scope of the employees duties, and how those are to be documented;
· Their level of seniority;
· Whether their duties involve a requirement that they invent (or contribute to inventions);
· The employee’s propensity to invent;
· The access which the employee has to the employer’s resources (both during and after hours) for their own purposes.
· Proprietary Information Agreements
· Non-competition Agreements, where indicated
On the basis of recent decisions of the Federal Court, only very brave employers are likely to decide that they do not require employment agreements with their senior employees or with those employees privy to confidential or proprietary information.
If you are an employer facing legal issues in any aspect of employment or intellectual property rights, consult Mark A. Nacol of The Nacol Law Firm for guidance.
The Nacol Law Firm PC Law office of Attorney Mark Nacol
Serving clients in the Dallas – Fort Worth Metroplex area for over 30 years
Tel: 972-690-3333
Tags: age discrimination, anti-discrimination laws, dallas attorney, Dallas employment attorney, dallas employment lawyer, dallas lawyer, disability discrimination, employee handbook, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, family and medical leave, non-compete agreements, Non-competition Agreements, race discrimination, texas employment laws
Posted in Employment | No Comments »
April 27th, 2009
In recent years, “parent alienation” has become more prevalent in divorce cases. Parent alienation is the dramatic change in the relationship between a parent and their child when the child is used as a tool by one parent to hurt the other parent. Parent alienation can include much more than brainwashing of a child. In many cases, the child becomes hostile towards the alienated parent as they are fed not just conscious, but subconscious and unconscious, messages by the alienating parent. Frequently, the child will turn on the parent they previously loved and were very close to prior to the institution of the divorce proceeding. In some cases, the alienating parent will go to extreme lengths to keep the alienated parent from seeing the child for long periods of time. Children begin acting out and the situation quickly becomes volatile.
When children are used in such a manner, emotions are quickly aroused and a very simple divorce case can quickly become a highly contested case fueled by resentment and hostility. Parents who are successful in getting primary custody of a child in a parent alienation situation share many similar characteristics and may use some of the following tools to assist them in their defense:
- Keep an even-temper, remain logical and keep your emotions under control. Never retaliate.
- Though you may think of giving up, never do so.
- Go to the financial expense of seeing the case through. Never give up on your child. There can be nothing more important than the happiness of your child.
- Seek help from a skilled attorney who has experience with parental alienation.
- Familiarize yourself with how the courts work and the laws as they apply to your specific case.
- Seek professional help and diagnosis.
- Request a social study into the circumstances of the child
- Request a psychological evaluation of the alienating parent
- Keep a chronology or diary of events (this will help to jog your memory, keep track of witnesses, etc.).
- Document the alienation for submission as evidence in court.
- Keep the best interest of the child at heart.
- Provide the Court with an appropriate parenting plan.
- Make sure you understand the nature of the problem and focus on correcting it, even though you are being victimized.
- Always call and show up for visitation with your child at the scheduled time, even if there is no chance of the child being there.
- Take witnesses to testify that the child is not at home when you exercise your visitation rights.
- Focus on the child, and never talk to the child about the other parent or the divorce case.
- Never violate the Court’s orders.
- If you are receiving disturbing phone calls from the child or the other parent, tape the calls.
- If you are receiving disturbing emails or text messages from the child or the other parent, make a copy and place in a file.
Though none of these tips will guarantee that you get custody of the child, they will definitely assist you in building a case against the parent who is attempting to alienate you from your child.
The Nacol Law Firm PC
Law office of Attorney Mark Nacol
Serving clients in the Dallas – Fort Worth Metroplex area for over 30 years
Tel: 972-690-3333
Tags: alienation in Divorce, brainwashing a child, brainwashing during divorce, dallas attorney, dallas divorce, dallas divorce lawyer, parent alienation, parental alienation
Posted in Divorce & Family Law | No Comments »
April 27th, 2009
With the financial conflicts facing individuals and families today and the aging of the general population, more trust beneficiaries and family members are becoming concerned with the fiduciary duties of the trustees of their individual trusts.
The fiduciary duty is a legal relationship, obligation and trust to act in the best interest of the beneficiary. The fiduciary or trustee, must employ undivided loyalty to the beneficiaries concerning all matters related to their trust and will be held accountable if he or she acts adverse or contrary to the interest of this relationship.
The duties of a Trustee Fiduciary include the following:
- The Trustee must be loyal to and administer the trust solely for the benefit of the beneficiaries. The trustee can never take advantage of his or her position for personal gain.
- The Trustee must deal impartially with all beneficiaries, if more than one exists. This can sometimes be difficult, since each beneficiary may have their own agenda and needs to be met.
- The Trustee must obtain possession of the trust assets immediately and keep these assets under his or her control through the entire term of the trust. The Trustee must also enforce claims and defend actions against the assets in the trust.
- The Trustee must keep the trust assets separate and segregated from his or her own personal assets and from assets or funds of any other trust instrument unless the trust itself provides otherwise.
- The Trustee must administer the trust personally and responsibly at all times and only delegate responsibilities that would be in the best interest of the trust, such as a tax advisor or accountant.
- The Trustee must keep the assets productive to pay income to the beneficiaries. The duty of the trustee is to keep trust property invested so it produces income.
- The Trustee must make full disclosures and furnish information to the beneficiaries about the administration and status of the trust. An annual report is standard with an accounting of income, expenses, gains, and losses. Upon request, the Trustee must provide for the beneficiary, complete and accurate information on the nature and amount of the trust property and permit the beneficiary to inspect the accounts and other documents related to the trust.
A Trustee must be honest, responsible, have a high degree of integrity, and a genuine interest in the welfare of the trust and the beneficiaries. It is also very important that the Fiduciary has experience in the investment of assets and management of property to keep the trust income producing.
There can never be a conflict of interest between a Trustee and the beneficiary. The law forbids a Trustee from acting in an adverse manner contrary to the interest of the beneficiary or from acting in his own benefit in relation to the trust.
The Nacol Law Firm PC
Law office of Attorney Mark Nacol
Serving clients in the Dallas – Fort Worth Metroplex area for over 30 years
Tel: 972-690-3333
Tags: dallas fiduciary attorney, dallas trustee attorney, duties of a Trustee Fiduciary, fiduciary, trustee, trustee Fiduciary
Posted in Probate and Will Contests | No Comments »
Serving clients throughout Texas, including Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Grayson, Kaufman, Rockwall and Tarrant counties and the communities of Addison, Allen, Arlington, Carrollton, Dallas, Fort Worth, Frisco, Garland, Grapevine, Highland Park, McKinney, Mesquite, Plano, Richardson, Rowlett and University Park, Murphy,Wylie, Lewisville, Flower Mound, Irving, along with surrounding DFW areas.
