Under current law, employers may apply for new H-1B non-immigrant visas up to six months in advance. That’s why its crucial to meet the filing deadline of March 30, 2012.

 All new H-1B petitions must be filed by then, to ensure that they are counted toward the 2013 H-1B limit.

To avoid H-1B cap problems, employers are encouraged to review their current employee rosters and potential new hires to identify possible H-1B candidates. Potential H-1B cap cases include F-1 students working on grants of Optional Practical Training (“OPT”), L-1B transferees in the green card process or who need the additional year here that the H-1B classification provides, or potential hires from cap-exempt organizations who will need new H-1B visas to work for “cap-subject” employers.

Because its just not possible to know how many H-1B petitions will be filed this year,  the only way to ensure that an individual petition is counted toward the 2013 H-1B cap is to file them on March 30, 2012, so they arrive at USCIS on April 2, 2012, and are included in a possible random lottery.

For one group of professionals , the planned resort is already generating a windfall of revenues—a small group of Florida gaming attorneys.

I mention this because the Miami Herald published a great article this morning, Florida Lawyers Hit the Jackpot in Representing the Gaming Industry.

The article profiles several attorneys who are handling the legal aspects of Genting’s effort to bring destination resort gambling to Florida.

The gaming lawyers profiled in the article include:  Neisen Kasdin of Akerman Senterfitt;  Al Dotson and Vicki Garcia-Toldedo of Bilzin Sumberg; Becker & Poliakoff’s Alan Kaslow, head of the firms’ gaming practice; Marc Dunbar of Pennington, Moore, Wilkinson, Bell & Dunbar; and Barry Richard of Greenberg Traurig.

As the development gets underway, there’s sure to be plenty of other attorneys who will benefit from Genting’s unprecedented gaming gamble.

Other practice areas likely to benefit are land-use, taxation, administrative, civil and appellate litigation.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development website provides a wealth of resources on default and foreclosure prevention.

Some of the great resources offered are highlighted below:

Seek Help Early

Avoid Scams

Know the Law

Be sure to consult with these resources, and you’ll be well on your way to getting the help you need.

Notice that I’ve emphasized the word “alleged” to stress the point that the Plaintiff bears the burden of proving the merits of the lawsuit.

While many contract actions are based on sound legal arguments, you may be surprised to learn that a good number of these lawsuits are successfully challenged.

There are a number of defenses that can be raised when a party is sued for breach of contract. While each case is different, I’ve highlighted the top 5 defenses below:

1. Statute of Limitations

Under Florida law, a breach of contract claim must be filed within five (5) years. If the lawsuit is filed later than five years, the claim is permanently barred and the injured party will be prevented from recovering damages for their financial and emotional losses.

2.   Fraud in the Inducement

Fraud in the inducement is the use of deceit or trick to cause someone to act to his/her disadvantage, such as signing an agreement or deeding away real property. The heart of this type of fraud is misleading the other party as to the facts upon which he/she will base his/her decision to act.  Example: “there will be tax advantages to you if you let me take title to your property,” or “you don’t have to read the rest of the contract–it is just routine legal language” but actually includes a balloon payment.

3.  Duress

Duress is defined as severe pressure or other influence that destroys a party’s free will and forces the defendant to do an act or enter into a contract. Florida courts recognize that it is inequitable for a party to enforce a contract when one or more parties are pressured, forced or coerced into signing the contract in question.

4. Impossibility of Performance

When a party to a contract is unable to perform according to the contract terms due to circumstances beyond their control, this is referred to as “impossibility of performance.” The three categories of cases where this general principle has been traditionally applied are (1) supervening death or incapacity of a person necessary for performance. (2) Supervening destruction of a specific thing necessary for performance. (3) Supervening prohibition or prevention by law.

5. Unilateral or Mutual Mistakes

A unilateral mistake occurs when one party was mistaken about the terms of a contract at the time they entered into it. A mutual mistake happens when both or all parties of a contract were mistaken at the time the contract was signed. Under Florida law, if any party of a contract is mistaken about the terms of a contract at the time the contract went into effect, their mistake may be a legitimate defense for not performing as obligated.

Conclusion

If you or your business has been sued for breach of contract, it is best to consult an experienced contracts attorney to determine whether the defenses highlighted above—or any others– work for you.  An experienced attorney can determine the strength of available defense, and whether they are a viable option.

Whether an ex-business partner sues a company for a share of the profits, a vendor sues a supplier for breach of contract or a company’s is being investigated for possible violation of  a government regulation, the work is always exciting.

As exciting and challenging as these cases are, many( if not most) of them could have been prevented.

How you, ask?

Simple. By taking preventive action with the help of an attorney.

Your new or existing business can benefit from having access to an experienced lawyer. Someone that provides legal assistance at every stage, keeps you in compliance with the law, and helps you resolve disputes.

Here are a few more benefits of hiring a lawyer:

Business Formation

Despite its importance, many business owners launch without giving much thought to how they plan to grow, sustain and expand when necessary.

An ideal time to hire a lawyer is during the initial planning stage. Get help evaluating the viability of your idea; write a business plan; and choose a legal structure that is best for your company.

Compliance issues

There are laws that govern nearly every action you take in your business.

Because many entrepreneurs have little or no legal expertise, they often fail to comply with the law. This can lead to costly fines, lawsuits and other legal actions.

Your business lawyer will make sure you are in compliance with all laws and regulations. He can also prevent you from taking actions that will jeopardize your company’s success.

Draft Business Contracts

Whether you are providing services or products, it is essential that you have a written contract in place.

But it should be noted, all contracts are not created equal, and some are not valid.

A business lawyer can prepare an ironclad written contract that not only outlines the agreement between all parties, but is enforceable in the state of Florida.

Resolve Business Disputes

When we think of partnerships, we often visualize two or more people working seamlessly to move a business forward. However, at some moments this is far from the truth.

There will be times when the partners cannot reach an agreement regarding management decisions, hiring staff or increasing salaries.

Your business lawyer can prepare a partnership agreement that outlines expectations, and clearly defines the roles and responsibilities of everyone. This can limit partnership disputes and subsequent legal actions.

Advise on Employment Issues

Above anything else, employment matters are the most difficult area of the law for any business owner to handle.

The most vulnerable area for business owners concern wage & hour violations and discrimination claims. Just one claims is enough to put you out of business.

Don’t Do it Alone.

Many business owners do not think about hiring a lawyer until they are ready to file (or have been served) with a lawsuit.

Don’t let that happen to you.

I mention this because there’s a great article over at the Harvard Business Review, about how important it is to have a CEO succession plan in place.

The article, The Most Successful CEOs Come from Within, reports that 60% of the respondents to a poll of 1,380 HR directors of large U.S. companies said their firms do not have CEO succession plans in place.

Implement the Plan.

Not having a CEO succession plan is a huge risk for any company to take. But fear not, putting together such a plan is less difficult than you might think.

The first step is to put pen and paper and develop a plan that captures all the qualities and attributes that the next CEO should possess. A good plan will also include the scope of duties and responsibilities the successor CEO is designated to take on.

Insiders are Best.

The next step is to consider prospects. The most successful CEOs are inside outsiders, executives who have grown up in the company and know how it works but have developed an outsider’s perspective and have a vision of what needs to change in order to take advantage of the transformed markets.

When the time comes to name a new CEO strong evidence supports the notion that a well-groomed insider is the best fit to sustain company performance. A Harvard Business School study, for example, found that company performance was significantly better when insiders succeeded to the job of CEO.

Conclusion

If you don’t have a CEO succession plan in place, now is the time to implement one. Your best prospects are within the walls of your organization. Follow these guidelines, and you’ll be well on your way to ensuring the continued success of your company.

As its name suggests, the panel was geared towards foreign companies and individuals that for one reason or another find themselves being sued here in the U.S.  As an attorney practicing in Miami, I field calls all the time on this very topic.

While the panel discussion was intended as a general overview of what a foreign company or individual can expect when faced with a lawsuit in the United States, it also presented excellent practical advice.  Miami Attorney H.G. Milne’s presentation did a great job of synthesizing key points, which I’ve included below:

Don’t Assume Your Client is Familiar with the U.S. Legal System

As a preliminarily matter, it’s important to keep in mind that your client may not know that the U.S. legal system is far different than many other legal systems.Words such as “filing fees” “evidence” and “discovery” may mean something completely different to someone from a system where:  1) filing fees may be as much as 10% of the damages sought; 2) all evidence in support of a case must be known at the time of filing and attached in writing to the demand document; and 3) there is absolutely no right to take discovery.

Manage Fears

It’s likely that the client will come to you with all types of fears and preconceptions. These fears may include fear of litigation generally, fear of the jury system, fear of unfair verdicts and fear of judicial corruption. As Milne points out, fear of corruption may be so endemic in the client’s home country that the client assumes it is how things are done everywhere.  Be sure to discuss your client’s fears and explain how they are not as frightening as they appear.

Accurately Convey What Your Client is Facing—in His Own Language

Milne offers a great practice point, which I use in my own practice. That is, to develop a written narrative and summary of basic facts that you can give the client.  If possible, the narrative should be done in the client’s native language.  The narrative will come in handy long after the client has left your office and has forgotten much of what you said.  This is also a great way for the client to report back to others at home, including domestic counsel, who may well be working with you.

Explain the Threshold Issues

While all cases present a unique set of facts, there are two threshold issues that routinely come up when the defendant is from abroad.

First, do you have to fight here?  Is your client really subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S. court? This typically involves four considerations: 1) is there a treaty that applies and is it mandatory that its service of process requirements be followed?; 2) is there an alternative means of service of process legally available, and have its provisions been followed?; 3) does the relevant Long-Arm statute confer jurisdiction?; and 4) does your client have sufficient “minimum contacts” with the forum to satisfy due process requirements?

Second, can you move the case abroad?  There is a reason why the plaintiff chose to file suit here. Maybe the case cannot be proven without discovery, and the foreign forum provides no discovery rights. Or maybe the measure of damages abroad is much lower, or punitive damages are not available. However, none of these factors necessarily precludes a successful forum non conveniens challenges: the U.S. standard as to what a “fair” foreign system is considerably low and the unavailability of discovery or a lower scale of damages is generally not a relevant concern.

In the great majority of cases, If you can successfully win a dismissal in favor of the foreign forum, doing so may not just postpones the fight, but will often kill the case entirely.  Your clients would probably like that.

Conclusion

It’s coming—that call from a foreign client that’s been sued in the U.S.  Even if you think of yourself as a domestic litigator, the fast pace of international trade and commerce will virtually guarantee that during the course of your practice, you’ll be called upon to advise a foreign client.  While the above is a general overview of items to consider, it’s a great place to start to put your client at ease.

The way he figured, the income that came in from those two extra work days would go towards savings–savings that would someday allow him to launch his own business. After a dozen or so years following this well thought-out plan, he launched his own “startup” and would go on to employ an army of workers for the next five decades.

U.S. Startup Visa

I tell you this story because I’m excited about proposed legislation aimed at boosting immigrant entrepreneurship in the U.S. This new legislation proposes to grant a two year visa, called the EB-6 visa, to eligible immigrants (i.e., foreign students in US universities and workers on H-1B visas and entrepreneurs living outside the US) for starting new entrepreneurial ventures in the US.

As Vivek Wadwa of Bloomberg Businessweek, reports, the bill is designed to encourage partnerships between U.S. investors and immigrants in a way that benefits the national economy.

Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), who introduced the bill, hope that the Startup Visa Act will attract innovation and innovators to the country, creating jobs and propelling the United States back to the top in the realm of technological development.

This proposed bill would amend the immigration laws in the US by allowing visas to the following groups of immigrant entrepreneurs upon fulfillment of certain conditions

 1. Entrepreneurs living outside the U.S. qualify if an American investor agrees to fund their entrepreneurial ventures with a minimum investment of $100,000. Two years later, the startup must have created five new American jobs and either have raised more than $500,000 in financing or be generating more than $500,000 in yearly revenue.

2. Workers on H-1B visas, or graduates from U.S. universities in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, or computer science, are eligible if they have an annual income of at least $30,000 or assets of at least $60,000 and have had a American investor commit investment of at least $20,000 in their ventures. After two years, the startup must have created three new American jobs and either have raised more than $100,000 in financing or be generating more than $100,000 in yearly revenue.

3. Foreign entrepreneurs whose business has generated at least $100,000 in sales from the U.S. After two years, the startup must have created three new American jobs and either have raised more than $100,000 in financing or be generating more than $100,000 in yearly revenue.”

Making it easier for immigrants to start businesses in the US would be a boon for America, as it competes in a networked global economy which is increasingly driven by talent and entrepreneurship. Many of the greatest entrepreneurial successes in America (and by extension, the world) were started by immigrants—like my grandfather.

If you’re a registered voter who believes in the Startup Visa, voice your support at Votizen website. This group will hand deliver a letter of your support to your Senators and Congressional Representatives.
What do you think?

Whether your claim is against an institution based in the U.S., Latin America, Europe or Asia, you have a number of options. I will very generally touch on them below.

Many wealthy investors rely on foreign investment advisers who are typically employed by international financial institutions.

Unfortunately, as a result of the global financial crisis many investments advisers understated the risks involved with – for example in structured ­products linked to stock market indices.

Almost all legal systems have a concept of negligence, which would make a financial adviser potentially liable if the quality of their advice fell below that to be reasonably expected, causing loss to a client.

Your adviser is also very likely to be subject to local financial regulation and supervision that might include compensation schemes. But where these options are not available locally, or have proved unsatisfactory, your only option might be to sue.

Where should the lawsuit be filed?

Do not assume you have to sue in the courts of the country where the adviser is located: there is often a choice, including the courts here in Miami or the courts of some other country. Exercising that choice is critical tactical decision that you must discuss with your attorney.

Do I have a choice of where to file a lawsuit?

Every court has its own laws about its jurisdiction. While the general rule is that you can sue where the defendant is domiciled, there might also be the option of proceeding in the place of the relevant branch or agency involved, or where the service was provided.  Procedural rules in the U.S. and in the EU, for example, provide the circumstances in which courts have jurisdiction, and that often provides a choice.

The choice of where to sue may also be the subject of a private agreement. The contract with the investment adviser has many small-print terms and conditions. The small print typically specifies the court (or arbitral tribunal) that will have jurisdiction in the event of dispute.

Does that mean I have no choice?

The courts will generally respect such “jurisdiction agreements”, which prevent you from suing elsewhere, but this might not be binding in your case. There may be technical arguments that the terms and conditions were not incorporated into the contract or that insufficient effort was made to ensure you were aware of them.

Also, “consumers” can often avoid the unfair and onerous effects of terms and conditions. It is generally regarded as unfair for such individuals to have to bring proceedings overseas, and therefore their local court usually has jurisdiction.

In Standard Bank London v Apostolakis (2001), for example, the bank tried unsuccessfully to enforce an English jurisdiction agreement against a couple in Greece who had been trading substantial ­“forward purchases of foreign exchange in precious metal trading”.

But the contract says it is governed by overseas law..

The “choice-of-law clause” can be a factor but mostly has no bearing on the choice of court. A court can apply ­foreign laws, although it might need expert evidence.

If I have a choice, what factors should I take into account?

• Judgment Recognition

It is important that any judgment obtained in one court is “recognized” by the courts of the place where you might want to enforce the judgment – which will be where the defendant has any assets. In the U.S., many states have enacted variations of the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act.

If your judgment was the subject of an arbitration, the judgment is enforceable in any country that has signed on to the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of  Foreign Arbitral Awards (over 142 countries are parties to the Convention).

• Time

Time is also an important consideration, as some courts – in Italy and Germany, for example – are notoriously slow. There have been cases of potential defendants filing their own proceedings in Italy for the express purpose of delay.

• Quality of Courts

The quality of courts and local lawyers is also important. There are courts, even within the EU, that have the reputation of being susceptible to corruption and most developing-world courts are best avoided. In the U.S, the integrity and quality of the courts are generally first rate.

• Jurisdiction

From a practical standpoint, it’s also worth considering where the defendant would not want to be sued, as that should influence their decision to settle the dispute.

Of course, there many other important considerations that must be discussed with an attorney. I have merely presented a broad overview of the process.