Joseph Greenwald & Laake will sponsor the Catholic Charities Legal Network Golf Tournament on September 23, 2024. The 21st annual tournament will be held at Bretton Woods in Germantown, MD.
For more than two decades, the annual golf tournament has supported the pro bono legal services that the Catholic Charities Legal Network provides to low-income people in the greater Washington, D.C., area.
In an article published on September 10, 2024, in The Daily Record, Paul Riekhof discusses the estate planning changes individuals need to take once their divorce is final to ensure that their children or other beneficiaries are provided for in the event of their passing and to prevent their ex-spouse from receiving an unintentional windfall.
Paul notes that Maryland law does provide some help to people who do not take the initiative to change their estate plans upon divorce, but it does not do a very good job – certainly not as well as addressing these issues directly. For example, a divorce decree will revoke all provisions in a will and a revocable living trust that benefit or empower an ex-spouse but will not produce a similar automatic impact on predivorce beneficiary designations. Another complicating issue is that many assets governed by beneficiary designations may also be subject to federal law, which generally preempts state law.
Click here to read “How does a divorce impact predivorce estate planning?” (PDF) for a complete list of the changes that may need to be made to your estate plan once your divorce is final.
Erika Jacobsen White will moderate “Summary Judgment and Discovery Disputes in Employment Cases: Perspectives from the Bench” on September 12 at the United States District Court, Greenbelt Division.
Speakers for the event include:
A panel discussion will be held from 4:00 to 5:30 pm and will be followed by a reception from 5:30 to 7:00 pm.
Joseph Greenwald & Laake is sponsoring the program, which is being hosted by the Labor & Employment Law Section of the Maryland State Bar Association (MSBA). Erika serves as a Section Council Member of the MSBA’s Labor & Employment Law Section.
Charles Winegardner and Winegardner Ford LLC were awarded a $5.7 million jury verdict against Ford Motor Company in a contract dispute over Winegardner’s purchase of another dealership, Hunt Ford. Timothy Maloney represented the Winegardners at the trial.
The case, which involved a 2019 agreement between Winegardner and Hunt, provided that Hunt Ford would sell its acquired assets and dealership property to Winegardner. A dispute arose when Ford Motor Company exercised a right of first refusal to take away Winegardner’s contract to purchase Hunt Ford and give the dealership to another dealer.
Tim told The Daily Record, “Ford Motor Company should have never interfered with the Winegardners’ contract. Since 2009, the Maryland legislature has prohibited auto manufacturers from enforcing rights of first refusal in dealer contracts.” Tim also noted that the Winegardners “would have been very successful” had they been allowed to execute their contract and purchase the Ford dealership. “The jury verdict is no substitute for what the Winegardners ultimately could have done if their contract had not been interfered with. They could have really made something of this Hunt Ford dealership and they knew it.”
Click here to read “Multi-Million Dollar Jury Verdict for Car Dealership” from The Daily Record (PDF)
Are you starting a new job? Every employee should take basic steps to protect themselves when starting a new position.
The basic rule of thumb is to save all documents you sign and employer policies. That big stack of things you signed when onboarding? Save all of those, and not just on a company device: you should save it on a personal device or cloud (e.g. in your email, a cloud drive, or on your home computer). If your employer didn’t give you a copy of all the documents you signed, you should ask for a copy for your records. And it should go without saying that you should read these documents and understand them, and consult with a lawyer if you have questions.
If your employer updates /changes these documents at any point, save a copy of the new version in addition to the older version.
Even if it seems like your dream job, no one can be certain about what the future holds. You may need these documents to ensure you are complying with company policies, or if you have a medical emergency (or even death) and your family needs to assist, or if you find yourself suddenly terminated and lose access to your work computer and email. Taking the time to do this can make a big difference down the road.
When setting up any pay and/or benefits accounts, make sure to use your personal email and/or phone, not your work contact information. This includes payroll accounts, 401(k)s, other retirement accounts, health insurance, life insurance, and any other account for benefits offered by your employer. You may need to access these accounts even after you are no longer working there, and if log ins and/or verification codes require access to your work account, you may not be able to log in without contacting the company.
On October 1, 2024, Maryland’s Pay Transparency Law takes effect. The law broadly applies to essentially all employers “physically perform[ing]” work in some capacity in the state of Maryland regardless of their size.
The law is an attempt to expand the state’s Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, which prohibits discriminating against employees based on their gender or sex identity, usually almost without exception when women are paid less for doing the same job as their male counterparts.
Importantly, applicants for positions can “before a discussion of compensation is held” or “at any other time” request to know all the compensation for the positions for which they are applying, including the applicable low-to-high range of wages and benefits. The law specifically prohibits employers from retaliating in any way against applicants and current employees, who request such information, including by “refus[ing] to interview, hire, or employ an applicant for employment” or refusing to “promote or transfer” a current employee. Failure to follow these specific requirements of the Act during the applicable three-year period can result in a repeat offender-employer being fined up to $600 for each employee or applicant “for whom the employer is not in compliance[.]”
The law also contains certain recordkeeping requirements for employers for a three-year period after a position is filled or, if the position was not filled, from the date of the posting of the position. This recordkeeping includes keeping the wages of employees and job classifications and producing them to the Maryland Department of Labor’s Division of Labor and Industry upon request.
Notably, there is no private right action, meaning employees and applicants cannot file a lawsuit to exercise their rights under the law. Therefore, employees and applicants are reliant upon the already overburdened Maryland Department of Labor’s Division of Labor and Industry to fine employers and force compliance. Consequently, it remains to be seen whether the new law will put a dent in any Maryland employers’ sexist pay practices.
In this episode of JGL LAW FOR YOU, JGL shareholders Renee Blocker and David Bulitt discuss the use of personal health insurance to cover medical expenses related to an accident which was not your fault.
In this episode of JGL LAW FOR YOU, JGL shareholders Lindsay Parvis and David Bulitt discuss the confidentiality of mental health treatment in family law litigation.
Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A. is pleased to announce that 14 of its attorneys have been included in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® and an additional two attorneys have been named to the 2025 Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America list.
Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Best Lawyers has earned the respect of the profession, the media and the public as the most reliable, unbiased source of legal referrals. Its first international list was published in 2006 and since then has grown to provide lists in more than 75 countries.
Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A., is a trusted law firm serving Washington, DC, and the suburban Maryland area. For more than 50 years, JGL has represented a variety of clients, including individuals, small businesses and multimillion-dollar corporations. From simple to complex legal needs, the attorneys of JGL are prepared to deliver strategic solutions with high standards. For more information, please visit the firm’s website at jgllaw.com.
In June 2024, I had the pleasure of recording a podcast with my colleague and JGL’s personal injury attorney, Renee Blocker. You can listen to the podcast here.
This blog explores some of the highlights from the podcast from the family law perspective.
It depends upon 1) whether the award is marital or non-marital property and 2) when the award was received.
Non-marital property is property that belongs to one spouse and cannot be divided in divorce. (Often non-marital property is premarital, inherited, gifted, excluded by valid agreement like a prenup, or directly traceable to these.) Marital property is property that can be divided in a divorce.
Personal injury awards are generally non-marital, except for joint claims for loss of consortium and reimbursement of:
So, personal injury awards for pain and suffering, damages for inability to perform “functions of daily living”, non-medical damages, diminished earning capacity, and future lost wages are non-marital property. Interestingly, damages to real or personal property can also be part of a personal injury award, and the law is not developed about whether these would be marital or non-marital. Logic points to these being marital if for a marital asset and non-marital if for a non-marital asset.
Timing matters because:
Interestingly, a workers compensation award prior to marriage for loss of earning capacity during the marriage may be treated as marital property. So, timing isn’t always a deciding factor. Sometimes, the purpose of the payment is.
Other factors can impact whether a personal injury award is marital or non-marital. Such as:
Commingling:
Documentation:
It’s complicated. Keep documentation about your personal injury award, including details of what it was for. Separate and keep separated marital and non-marital parts. Beware of adding money during the marriage to your personal injury award. Keep track of how you use your personal injury award. Seek legal advice.
JGL represents clients both in personal injury and family law matters. We have the knowledge and experience to help you work through these complex issues.
This blog is designed to provide a basic background to cryptocurrency and its application in divorce cases.
Before September 11, 2001, it was possible to hide money outside of the United States. Tax havens, like the Cayman Islands or Switzerland, provided strict bank secrecy laws that protected the identities of account holders with anonymous or numbered bank accounts. With limited international cooperation, tracing funds and account ownership was difficult. The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, changed it all.
Regulations like the USA Patriot Act and international cooperation overhauled the global financial market and made it difficult to hide money outside of the United States.
Today, an alternative to secret banking is Cryptocurrency. Much like Swiss bank accounts, the identity of a cryptocurrency holder is anonymous. Cryptocurrency accounts are not highly regulated, and the holder’s account is identified by a series of numbers and letters and is password protected. This secrecy practice comes with significant risks, dangers, and potential for fraud. Although potentially a very lucrative investment, with the recent increase in cryptocurrency values, recent fraudulent schemes have left many investors’ accounts empty. Indeed, some analysts have likened the risks and rewards of cryptocurrency with playing the slots at casinos.
Lehman Brothers was one of the largest investment banks in the United States. In September 2008, Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy. This sent shock waves in the finance industry and is believed to be the genesis to the birth of cryptocurrency.
On October 31, 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto (to date, there has been no confirmation whether Nakamoto is a single person or a group of people) published (on a website) the Bitcoin whitepaper titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.” The paper outlined a system of sending funds to each other in peer-to-peer transactions (decentralized) through what is referred to as blockchain. This new mode of banking would allow an individual to send funds to another individual within minutes and without any paperwork or tracing in the traditional banking system.
In January 2009, Bitcoin was made available to the public and could be mined (the process of creating cryptocurrency). Nakamoto mined the first block of the Bitcoin blockchain, known as the “genesis block” or “block 0,” on January 3, 2009. This block contained the text: “The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks,” which is seen as a comment on the financial instability at the time. It is estimated that Nakamoto holds around 1 million bitcoins, which has a current market value of billions of dollars.
Nakamoto’s creation of Bitcoin has had a profound impact on the financial world, leading to the development of thousands of other cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum (another Whitepaper issued by Vitalik Buterin in 2014) and the broader blockchain technology.
To date, there are over 2.2. billion available cryptocurrencies, but Bitcoin and Ethereum are the most common.
Buying cryptocurrency involves several steps. The first step is to get what is called an “address”, which is the owner’s unique alphanumeric code. This is like a bank account number. The address is automatically generated when a user creates an account. The unique address is used to send funds or to purchase cryptocurrency.
In the U.S., there are 4 different crypto storage options; (1) an exchange, (2) software wallet, (3) hardware wallet, and (4) paper wallet.
An exchange is a third-party website that helps with the buying and selling of cryptocurrency. Popular exchanges include Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, Robinhood and Bitfinex.
A software wallet is an application held on a computer or phone that can generate addresses for the user. A popular software wallet is Metamask.
A hardware wallet is an electronic device (similar to a thumb drive) that is password protected. This is the safest way to hold cryptocurrency because the information is on a USB drive that can safely be ejected from a computer. This keeps your information away from potential computer hackers. A popular hardware wallet is Trezor.
A paper wallet is a piece of paper where a user’s address is recorded. This is also another safe way to hold cryptocurrency. The only downside is that every time you want to access your funds you have to input the address.
After getting an address and deciding where to store your crypto, the next step is choosing a cryptocurrency. The two popular currencies are Bitcoin and Ethereum.
To buy cryptocurrency, you first initiate a request for a transaction using your phone or computer. Then, a group of computers called “miners” confirm that your transaction is valid, and you have funds. Once confirmed by the miners, then your transaction is posted to a blockchain. A blockchain is a public digital ledger that records a crypto transaction across many computers. Each block contains a list of transactions, a timestamp, and a reference (hash) to the previous block.
Some cryptocurrencies have a limited supply, like Bitcoin (BTC), which will only ever have a finite supply of 21 million coins. Other cryptocurrencies have a maximum supply but not a finite supply. Ether’s (ETH) supply, for example, is not hard-capped like Bitcoin, but the issuance of new coins was fixed at 1,600 ETH per day.
In the U.S., the most popular way to purchase Cryptocurrency is through an exchange such as Coinbase or Robinhood. Both Coinbase and Robinhood, while not regulated by the government, are legal entities in the United States. This is not always the case for cryptocurrency which is purchased outside of the United States.
Cryptocurrency carries several risks and dangers. First and foremost, cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate dramatically in a short period, which can result in significant losses or gains.
Since the cryptocurrency market is less regulated than traditional financial markets, investor fraud, manipulation, and other illicit activities are very common. A popular manipulation technique is a pump-and-dump scheme, where the price of a cryptocurrency is artificially inflated and then sold off, leading to losses for other investors. Last year, NFL great Tom Brady lost millions in the collapse of cryptocurrency company FTX,
Cryptocurrencies are ALSO vulnerable to hacking, phishing, and other cyber-attacks. Exchanges and wallets can be compromised, leading to the theft of funds. Fake exchanges and accounts overseas are another common scheme. Cyber attackers create fake exchange platforms, attract investors, and demand ransom amounts after investors try to withdraw their funds. A recent scheme in Brazil demanded a daily fee of $50,000 or a one time withdrawal fee of $250,000 when an investor tried to withdraw his initial investment.
If you plan to invest in cryptocurrency, it is important to do the research and consult the appropriate experts before opening an account, particularly if the investment is outside of the United States.
If you suspect that your spouse is hiding cryptocurrency, here are five (5) things to consider:
If you do happen to find an address for cryptocurrency, the address can be used to identify what cryptocurrency is held. For example, cryptocurrency held on an Ethereum blockchain starts with the letters “Ox.” Using the address, you can search the Ethereum blockchain at https://etherscan.io/, which may show the current balance and all historical transactions. By way of another example, Bitcoin blockchains can be searched on the Bitcoin blockchain at https://www.blockchain.com/explorer.
Cryptocurrency can complicate divorce proceedings due to its unique nature. Handling cryptocurrency in a divorce case requires careful consideration of its unique properties, legal implications, and potential challenges. Transparency, expert advice, and thorough documentation are essential to ensure a fair and equitable division of assets
Finding a divorce lawyer who understands cryptocurrency requires careful research and vetting. Reza Golesorkhi and the lawyers at Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A. are equipped with the educational tools and expertise to handle the unique challenges of locating and dividing digital assets in a divorce.
The transition from summer to fall represents a time of change and for some people, a time of change can be an opportunity to consider a divorce. If you’re considering a divorce, it’s essential to prepare yourself for what lies ahead. Preparation and proactiveness are key to mitigating the anxiety of any major life change, including a divorce and in this post, I’ll suggest how you can prepare yourself if considering such a major change.
A divorce is not only emotionally challenging but mentally taxing. Preparing allows you to:
As you begin to think about a divorce, consider the following:
Getting your finances in order is a critical and necessary step. Some of the primary steps include:
Divorce can be emotionally draining, so:
Once you’ve prepared yourself, it’s time to initiate the divorce process:
Preparing for a divorce requires careful consideration and planning. By taking the time to prepare yourself logistically, financially, and emotionally can set you up for a smoother and less stressful process. If you’re considering a divorce, reach out to discuss how to best prepare for your potential divorce matter.