Stacy Stitham and David Swetnam-Burland Pen MaineBiz Guest Column on State Privacy Laws

On May 1, 2023, MaineBiz published a guest column (subscription required) by partners Stacy O. Stitham and David Swetnam-Burland on what Maine businesses need to know about new state privacy laws. Although Maine has not passed its own privacy statute, many other states, including California, Virginia, and Colorado, have enacted new laws intended to apply...

Eamonn Hart Named to First Circuit Rules Advisory Committee

Earlier this month, Chief Judge Barron of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit announced the appointment of Brann & Isaacson attorney Eamonn Hart to the court’s Rules Advisory Committee. As a member, Hart will assist the committee in making recommendations to the federal appellate court regarding its rules of practice and...

Cal. Court of Appeal Clears Path for ACMA Challenge to Tax Reg.

On February 16, 2023, the California Court of Appeal issued a one-line order that will allow the San Francisco Superior Court to hear the merits of a lawsuit by the American Catalog Mailers Association (ACMA) against the California Franchise Tax Board. The ACMA filed suit in August 2022, challenging the Board’s legal authority to publish...

Peter Lowe Leads Employment Law Webinar

On February 9, 2023, partner Peter Lowe and David Ciullo of Career Management Associates continued their Employment Law webinar series to update employers on some of the new key workplace issues. Topics they covered included: New Maine and federal laws in 2022 (including the vacation accrual law) Some very significant (and troubling) wage and hour...

Peter Lowe Delivers Legal Year in Review to CMHRA

Peter Lowe provided an annual legal update on changes and developments in employment law in 2022 and what issues might arise in 2023 to the Central Maine Human Resource Association. Lowe provides advice and counsel to clients on labor and employment law, education and municipal law, and corporate and public governance issues. He advises senior executives, superintendents,...

Peter Brann To Teach Popular Harvard Law School Course in Spring 2023

For the Spring 2023 term, partner Peter Brann will again be offering his popular course at the Harvard Law School on “The Role of the State Attorney General.” Brann has previously team-taught this class at Columbia, Yale, and Harvard Law Schools with former Maine Attorney General James Tierney. Brann, who served as Maine’s State Solicitor...

Mass. SJC Affirms U.S. Auto Parts’ Victory in Closely Watched State Tax Dispute

On December 22, 2022, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, in a unanimous opinion written by Justice Wendlandt, held that the Massachusetts Department of Revenue cannot apply the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion in South Dakota v. Wayfair retroactively against Brann & Isaacson client, U.S. Auto Parts Network, Inc. The Court held that the Department’s Internet Vendor...

Ben Lund and Kevin Haley Offer Webinar on Maine Business Drafting Essentials

On December 6, 2022, partners Ben Lund and Kevin Haley presented at a daylong webinar on “Maine Business Drafting Essentials” sponsored by the National Business Institute. The webinar addressed an array of topics, including legal issues and trends in federal and state contract law; operating, partnership, and shareholder agreements; asset purchase agreements; common business agreements;...

ACMA Lawsuit Challenging Cal. State Tax Guidance to Go Forward

On November 17, 2022, shortly after hearing oral argument from partner Nathaniel Bessey, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Richard B. Ulmer Jr. issued an order in favor of Brann & Isaacson client the American Catalog Mailers Association (ACMA), paving the way for high-profile tax litigation to proceed. The case centers on whether the California Franchise...

Eamonn Hart Named to Maine State Bar Association’s 2023 Leadership Academy

Brann & Isaacson congratulates attorney Eamonn Hart who has been named a fellow of the Maine State Bar Association’s 2023 Leadership Academy. The Academy’s mission is to promote and encourage leadership and professionalism by identifying present and future leaders who are members of the MSBA, and providing them with a program designed to develop leadership...