Sixteen Taylor English Duma LLP Attorneys Named Georgia Super Lawyers

Atlanta (February 24, 2012) – Taylor English Duma LLP is pleased to announce sixteen attorneys were recognized as Georgia Super Lawyers: nine as Super Lawyers and seven as Rising Stars. The Super Lawyers will be listed in the March 2012 edition of Atlanta magazine and Georgia Super Lawyers.
The named attorneys and their designated areas of specialty are:

Georgia Super Lawyers
William A. Clineburg, Jr.
Business Litigation
Foy R. Devine
Personal Injury: Products Liability
Randy C. Gepp
Employment Litigation: Defense
John D. Hopkins
Mergers & Acquisitions
Jeffrey R. Kuester
Intellectual Property
William G. Leonard
Business Litigation
Henry M. Quillian, III
Construction/Surety
Michael (Mickey) E. Ross
Ross Business Litigation
Marc A. Taylor
Employment & Labor

Georgia Rising Stars
Eric S. Fisher
Business Litigation
Marc Douglas Glenn
Glenn Real Estate
Shay Zeemer Hable
Employment & Labor
Matthew R. Rosenkoff
Business Litigation
Joseph C. Sullivan
Business Litigation
Samantha L. Tzoberi
Bankruptcy & Creditor/Debtor Rights
Samuel B. Zeigler
Bankruptcy & Creditor/Debtor Rights

The Super Lawyers selection process is multi-phased and includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations. Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement in their field.
Only 5 percent of the lawyers in the state are named Super Lawyers and 2.5 percent in the state are named as Rising Stars. Those named as a Rising Star must be under 40 years of age, or have been practicing law for 10 years or less.

Taylor English Expands International Reach As Member Of Alliott Group

Atlanta- February 16, 2012- After a rigorous screening process, Atlanta law firm Taylor English Duma LLP has been selected as the only Georgia firm to be admitted to the prestigious Alliott Group, an international alliance of independent accounting, law and consulting firms. Taylor English’s affiliation with the group will enable the firm to significantly expand its geographic scope both in the United States and throughout the world.

Alliott Group was founded in 1979 as an organization for like-minded professionals to build alliances and network with firms worldwide to expand their scope of service. The group strives to create a culture of collaboration and a network for referrals to enable smaller firms to offer the resources of a larger firm while sustaining their independence and flexibility. The group is made up of over 170 member firms from nearly 60 countries, with representation in every continent.

Before being admitted, each firm must undergo a thorough screening process, and once accepted the member firm is re-evaluated throughout its membership to ensure that it maintains operation standards and meets Alliott Group criteria. As a result of this extensive application process and on-going assessment, Alliott Group members are recognized as among the most respected and forward-thinking firms in their countries. “We are delighted that Taylor English has become a member of the Alliott Group,” said James Hickey, Worldwide Executive Director of Alliott Group. “The profile of our members are firms that are owned or managed by people who have come from big firm backgrounds who provide a client-focused service and are trusted business advisors of their clients. Taylor English will play a pivotal role in helping us develop our presence in North America. More importantly, through their membership, the firm will be better placed to support the business interests of their clients on a national and international level.”

Taylor English founding partner Joseph M. English says of the firm’s new affiliation, “We are honored to be a member of such an original and renowned organization. We recognize that our clients increasingly have business and legal needs that reflect the global economic realities of today and tomorrow, and we have responded. We look forward to providing greater value by expanding our global footprint, while continuing to forge the close partnerships that have made our firm so unique.”

Employee Benefit Plan Alert

The DOL, the IRS and HHS were active in the first two weeks of February. For example,

HIGH PRIORITY: Final Fee Disclosure Regulations for Service Providers

The DOL released its final fee disclosure regulations for service providers. There are teeth in these regulations which can bite a plan fiduciary as well as a service provider. Please note that

1. The text of the final regulations can be found at http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/pdf/2012-02262-PI1.pdf.

2. The effective date for the final regulations is July 1, 2012.

3. The DOL also issued a fact sheet on the final regulations which can be found at http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/newsroom/fs408b2finalreg.html.

4. A plan fiduciary is subject to the prohibited transaction provisions of ERISA if a service provider fails to provide the required disclosures and the plan fiduciary fails to timely so notify the DOL. The DOL has posted a model notice for a plan fiduciary to use for this purpose at http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/regs/feedisclosurefailurenotice.html.

5. The July 1, 2012 effective date for these final regulations means that the deadline for a plan fiduciary making the related participant fee disclosures will be August 30, 2012.

HIGH PRIORITY: Group Health Plan Disclosure Rules

The IRS, the DOL and HHS issued final group health plan disclosure rules under Obama Care which apply to self-insured as well as insured group health plans. These final rules are effective for plans years which begin on and after September 23, 2012. This effective date is intended to make the rules applicable to the up-coming open enrollment periods for 2013. The “plan sponsor” is responsible for compliance with these rules for a self-insured plan, and the insurance company is responsible for compliance for an insured plan. The related disclosure rules and guidance document can be found at www.ofr.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2012-03228_PI.pdf and www.ofr.gov/OFRUPload/OFRData/2012-03230_PI.pdf.

LOWER PRIORITY: Obama Care FAQs

The IRS has published FAQs on auto-enrollment, employer shared responsibility and waiting periods under OBAMA Care. The priority factor here is based on the deadline for commenting on the FAQs, which is April 9, 2012. THE FAQs can be found at www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-12-17.pdf.

LOW PRIORITY: Longevity Annuity Contracts

Looking down the road the Treasury Department and the IRS published a package consisting of two revenue rulings and two proposed regulations which collective are intended to pave the way for participants in defined contribution plans to purchase annuity contracts, particularly what are called “longevity annuity contracts”. A “longevity annuity contract” is an annuity contract under which payments start at an advanced age (say age 85, if the participant survives to that age), the purchase price for the participant is less than the price for a contract where payments start at retirement (say age 65) and which provide for payments for a participant’s life after he or she reaches that advanced age (again, say age 85). This package already has sparked a debate over the appropriate disclosure for these kinds of insurance company products. The components of the package can be found at:

www.ofr.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2012-02341_PI.pdf

www.ofr.gov/(S(e1ihraj41k5tmy1xb1i1tne4))/OFRUpload/OFRData/2012-02340_PI.pdf

www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rr-12-03.pdf

www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rr-12-04.pdf

Court Rules Buyers and Sellers of Residential Real Estate Can Sue FMLS and Brokerage Firms Under RESPA to Recover Undisclosed Fees and Kickbacks

In the potential class action of Heather Q. Bolinger, et al v. First Multiple Listing Service, Inc., et al. (2:10-cv-00211-RWS), the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia ruled on January 18, 2012 that buyers and sellers of residential real estate can sue FMLS (the dominant MLS in Georgia) and member brokerage firms under RESPA to recover undisclosed fees and kickbacks. The court decided that Plaintiffs can recover damages if, as they allege, brokers and agents refer consumers to FMLS and pay FMLS unearned hidden settlement fees from real estate commissions or if FMLS pays kickbacks to productive brokers. Plaintiffs will be seeking relief on behalf of all purchasers and sellers of residential real estate in Georgia during at least the 4 years preceding the filing date of the lawsuit. Taylor English Duma, LLP represents the Plaintiffs along with Pope, McGlamry, Kilpatrick, Morrison & Norwood, LLP and The Sterbcow Law Group, LLC. For more information about the case, go to www.fmlsclassaction.com

Taylor English Duma LLP Named a Winner in 2012 Client Advisor Awards

Taylor English Duma LLP announced that it has been recognized as a winner for the 2012 Client Advisor Awards (Midsize Firm) during a ceremony on January 31, 2012.

The Client Advisor Awards is the country’s only award program honoring the economic impact of Professional Services Firms, advisor professionalism and ‘clients of choice’. Established in 2005, the program sets the standard for best practice behavior and results in the relationships between professional services firms and their clients.

Taylor English was recognized for its recent work with Undoda, the Atlanta-based company that developed an app, compatible on iPads, iPhones and iPods, for helping dyslexics learn to read. Andrew Dietz, principal at Creative Growth Group, founders of the awards program, said, “We were extremely impressed with the sensitivity Taylor English showed to its client who was relatively new to entrepreneurship. As a firm, they really dedicated themselves to a successful outcome.”

“Taylor English is honored to be recognized as a winner in the 2012 Client Advisor Awards (Midsize Firm) for our work with Undoda,” said Marc Taylor. “Our team appreciates the recognition of Jonathan Wilson’s efforts, who worked on a collaborative basis with the team of Undoda, to achieve a positive result. Wilson used a successful, innovative approach to growing the client-advisor relationship which went beyond fees. Wilson’s efforts helped Undoda complete a transaction with the software developers who were engaged by Undoda to develop the app, compensating the software developers with an ownership stake in Undoda itself while also requiring the software developers to hit specific milestones and deadlines in the application development process.” Undoda was also nominated as a Client of Choice Finalist in the Small Organization Category.

Award recipients were announced during the 2012 Client Advisor Awards dinner on January 31, 2012 at the Cherokee Town Club in Atlanta, GA, featuring a keynote presentation on innovation and creativity in professional services by Todd Henry, author of “The Accidental Creative: How To Be Brilliant At A Moment’s Notice.”

ABOUT CLIENT ADVISOR AWARDS and CREATIVE GROWTH GROUP, INC.

Since 2005, Creative Growth Group, Inc. has held the annual Client Advisor Awards(www.clientadvisorawards.com). 2012 sponsors include Bloomberg Businessweek, Deltek and BCHORD. Look for additional press coverage of the Client Advisor Awards in the May 14, 2012 edition of Bloomberg Businessweek “Clients & Advisors” special section focused on the professional services industry. Based in Atlanta, GA, Creative Growth Group, Inc. (www.creativegrowthgroup.com) is a marketing and business development agency which exclusively helps professional services firms to grow client relationships and revenue. For more information, contact Andrew Dietz at 404-664-7484 or andrew@creativegrowthgroup.com.