Posts in Bach to Business
From Blind Auditions to Fighting the Gender Pay Gap

Despite historic sex discrimination, female musicians generally have not faced pay discrimination. Although musicians aren’t known for their robust paychecks, there is a pay scale based upon position. If a woman obtains an orchestra position, she usually will receive the same pay as her male counterparts. Unfortunately, in other professions there still exists a gender pay gap.

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Hidden in Orchestra Pits and Behind Corporate Veils

Playing in a pit orchestra is very different from performing in an orchestra on stage. For the uninitiated, an orchestra pit is located in between the front row of chairs and the stage. Typically, the orchestra pit floor is at least 4-5 feet lower than the floor of the seating area, usually sunk low enough that only the top of the conductor’s head is visible to those on the stage.  Frequently, the pit will be even lower so that it is entered from and extends below the stage so the winds and percussion typically will be sitting under the stage

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Identity Theft in Violins and Tax Scams

My violin was made in 1962 by a luthier named Umberto Lanaro, but it bears the label of Eligio Puccini and says it was made in 1947. Although it is a mystery why Lanaro used Puccini’s “identity” when he made labeled my violin, money and theft were clearly the motives when, two years ago, an unknown person used my name and social security number to file an income tax return seeking a hefty tax refund.

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So Many Musical Instruments and Business Structures to Choose From

Today, a rite of passage for many fourth graders it to choose a musical instrument to play. Children learn about three major instrument groups – strings, brass, and woodwinds, each of which has within it several options suitable for elementary school students, including violin, viola, and cello for the string instruments, trumpet, trombone, and baritone for the brass instruments, and flute, clarinet, and perhaps, saxophone, in the woodwinds. New business owners face a similar dilemma in selecting the type of structure to use when forming the business. 

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Orange Groves, Pay Phones, Visas, and Violins: Why Your Real Estate or Business Investment May be Subject to Securities Regulation

It is not unusual to hear that a company is being investigated by the government over immigration issues. But, what is unusual about this particular investigation, however, is that it is being conducted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which regulates securities, rather than the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which regulates immigration and visas, including EB-5 visas.

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Why the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act May Not Always Help Sexual Harassment Victims

Recently there has been public outrage over learning that a number of powerful individuals and institutions repeatedly had entered into confidential settlements of sexual harassment and sexual abuse claims (I’ll call both sexual harassment for the remainder of this blog), only to have the perpetrators move on to victimize others – sometimes dozens or even hundreds of others. When reports came out that those “hush-money” settlements were tax deductible, there was a demand for action to stop what was seen as an effective public subsidy these settlements via tax savings.  

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If One Musician Plays A Wrong Note, the Entire Orchestra Now May Pay the Price -- Be Aware of New Partnership Tax Audit Rules

Most of the time, if one musician in an orchestra misses a note, it doesn’t impact the orchestra as a whole. Certainly, if a musician misses a note in one performance, it should not impact a future performance of the orchestra or musicians who join the orchestra in the future.  Until now, the same as been true of partnerships, limited liability companies, and other entities taxed as partnerships under federal tax law. 

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When it Looks Like a Strad but Isn’t: Protecting Yourself from Wire Fraud in Your Real Estate Transaction

Fine violins do not have serial numbers, but they do typically have a label inside identifying the maker and frequently the year and location where the violin was made. Many violin makers, or luthiers[i] as they are known, like to copy well-known instruments, sometimes even down to the label inside the instrument, and the most famous violin maker, Antonio Stradivari, is also the most frequently copied.

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Going "Green" with a Document Retention Policy

My parents grew up during the Great Depression. As children they had, by necessity, been trained to save everything that had any possible future use, and that carried into their adult lives. It is no surprise that I carried the idea of savings things which might become useful. When I became a violinist, that extended to used violin strings. When I started playing the violin, there was a logic to saving used strings in that they had already been “stretched out.” Just as I hung onto old strings after their usefulness was over, a company, also, can fall victim to keeping records so long that they interfere with the company’s business. 

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Bach's Legacy and How an Outside General Counsel Can Help Your Business Sustainability

Sustainability simply means the ability to be maintained or to continue.  Today, we usually think of sustainability in the context of energy or the environment. However, sustainability also is important to every individual and every business, because without a sustainable foundation, the individual or business will “burn out.”

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