Levenfeld Pearlstein LLC

As much as we wish it were true, AI isn’t an “easy” button. Instead, planning for AI is more like an odd game of Candyland that requires you to chart a path through the “Fog of FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt), over the mountain of “Inflated Expectations,” and across the “Valley of Disillusionment” before you finally reach the Peak of Improved Performance. While no two organizations’ paths will be the…

To help businesses, investors, and deal professionals better understand the evolving M&A market, Rob Connolly – a partner in and leader of LP’s Corporate Practice Group – shares a sequence of conversations with M&A experts. Below is his conversation with Jordan Gerber, a Managing Director at Caber Hill Advisors, an M&A advisory firm that focuses on helping privately-held, middle-market businesses transact with strategic or private-equity-backed buyers. Jordan has over 25…

The tax treatment of carried interests (sometimes referred to as “promotes”) changed under the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017. The thrust of the change was to establish a new three-year holding period (instead of the standard one-year holding period) before a fund general partner or investment partnership sponsor could access the favorable 20% long-term capital gains tax rate in respect of its carried interest (the tax treatment of…

Marketers are naturally creative and have always thought outside the box in terms of how to be more efficient while delivering products and services. Many have started to look at how AI may increase their brand visibility. The approach has always been to craft messaging and communicate through storytelling in an effort to build strong relationships with their potential clients which leads to brand loyalty. Artificial intelligence (AI) and its…

To help businesses, investors, and deal professionals better understand the evolving M&A market, Robert Connolly – a partner in and leader of LP’s Corporate Practice Group – shares a series of conversations with M&A experts. Below is his conversation with Brett Kornblatt, who is Managing Director of Industrials-Packaging at Stout, a global advisory firm that specializes in corporate finance, accounting and transaction advisory, valuation, financial disputes, claims, and investigations. Brett…

  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit sitting en banc recently overruled the long-standing test for determining obviousness of design patents in LKQ Corporation, Keystone Automotive Industries, Inc. v. GM Global Technology Operations, LLC. Almost immediately after the Federal Circuit handed down its opinion, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (the USPTO) issued new guidelines for the examination of design patent applications. Under the “old” test for…