Posts written by buteralaw

New Uses for the Old IRAs

Much of the press given to the changes in Individual Retirement Accounts (“IRAs”) in the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 has been directed at the new Roth IRA. However, there are other changes that benefit those who have existing “traditional” IRAs. The biggest change is… Continue reading

Five Practice Areas You Should Be Aware Of

Many of our clients have come to know us as a commercial law firm with strong emphasis on real estate, tax, corporate and financial areas of practice. This is certainly true; however, clients are sometimes surprised to learn that our practice touches other fields with… Continue reading

Why You Should Like “Like-Kind” Exchanges

Like the adage goes, death and taxes are two things you cannot escape. But just as medical science strives to postpone death as long as possible, tax lawyers and accountants work just as hard to defer the payment of taxes. One of the more effective… Continue reading

What Is Garnishment?

Garnishment does not always involve adding thin orange slices or radishes shaped like roses to your favorite dish. Garnishment is also a mechanism under the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure where a judgment creditor (the person who holds the judgment) can have his debt paid… Continue reading

Pennsylvania’s Bad Check Statute

It is a crime in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to pass a check for the payment of money, knowing that it will not be honored by the underlying bank. For purposes of Pennsylvania’s bad check statute, a person tendering a check is presumed to know… Continue reading

An Overview of Trademark Registration

A trademark can be a word, symbol, phrase or design which identifies the source of the goods signified by the mark. Service marks are those which identify services. The range of types of marks which may be registered and protected is quite broad. In fact,… Continue reading

Equity and the Law

Most people think of our courts as courts of law – places where we go to enforce legal rights and to seek remedies when our rights are violated. Historically, however, our court system is actually a combination of law courts and courts of equity. Courts… Continue reading

The Queen’s English

Adverbs and adjectives have a way of undoing us grammatically. People commonly say good when they mean well, real when they mean really, and (today’s subject, class) hopefully when they mean hopeful.Simple rule: abandon hopefully!How common is: “Hopefully, Mary will come to our meeting on… Continue reading

Latin Lovers V

What would lawyers do if they couldn’t argue? Indeed, argument is a critical part of many court proceedings, and done properly, serves to bring competing legal theories or factual disputes into sharp relief.Perhaps the most persuasive form of argument is the one known as reductio… Continue reading

The Attorney-Client Privilege

The law recognizes certain communications as being so important as to warrant legal protection from forced disclosure in judicial proceedings. We have all heard of the doctor-patient privilege, and perhaps the priest-penitent privilege (more modernly, the clergy-penitent privilege), but the law also recognizes a privilege… Continue reading