All of the presents have been opened and the champagne bottles readied. 2008 has come to a close and it has been a trying year for many. It is in times like these that it is imperative to evaluate how your business has been performing and how it can be improved. The legal services industry has been increasingly competitive and the same will be true in 2009. Your business can take these four steps to ensure that you will be celebrating this time next year.
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With the year rapidly coming to a close, now is the time to start thinking about end-of-the-year tax preparations for your business. Go ahead and spend money on your business now for things you’ll need next year so you won’t be surprised with a giant tax bill in April. Remember, while we pay taxes, we’re not tax professionals. Also, state and local tax laws vary. Be sure to consult with your tax professional before the end of the year to make sure you’re not overlooking any deductions, or deducting ineligible items.
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WASHINGTON, DC - Researchers at Ohio State University are working on a project to develop “spot a terrorist” “smart” cams that would scan a crowd effectively and would not rely as heavily on the operators who most now pick out suspicious activity in a crowd. The researchers are working on developing a camera that offers a 360-degree view of a scene and would track an individual through a crowd. Now, scientists are trying to create algorithms that would allow the surveillance cameras to spot unusual behavior.
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BURLINGTON, VT - Burlington Parks and Recreation Waterfront Manager Adam Cate is under investigation after money was allegedly not accounted for in the Waterfront operation. While PIs and police have not found evidence of missing money, Cate has been under investigation for embezzling money and for other unrelated charges. Cate was initially fired for inappropriately reading emails but was reinstated in his job before other charges were made.
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NEW YORK and BOSTON - Money manager Bernard Madoff, accused of swindling investors of $50 billion, is still under investigation by PIs and authorities. So far, there has not been a deluge of lawsuits in the Madoff case, although that may change as investigators uncover more of Madoff’s dealings and actions. So far, attorneys say that investors are still in shock, but will start to make legal claims once more information comes to light and investigators uncover information that can be used to build legal strategies.
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AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND - The City Council of Manukau City in South Auckland has been using PIs for the past 18 months to crack down on those who deface property with graffiti. The PIs have allowed authorities to arrest more perpetrators for defacing buildings and other property. Now, the City Council is warning would-be taggers that continued use of PIs mean that anyone damaging property is likely to be caught.
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SACRAMENTO, CA - Probe Information Services, a PI company in the Sacramento area, specializes in workers’ compensation fraud. Since opening for business in 2006, the firm has seen a 20 percent jump in fraud cases. In the past year alone, the company has seen a 30 percent increase in suspicious cases. The company expects to see more such cases as the economy fares poorly, since workers’ compensation payments offer more cash than unemployment payments.
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CAPE COD, MA - Two stores in Hyannis were raided for selling counterfeit goods after a PI revealed that the stores were selling fakes. PI Andrea Powers of Powers Associates says that the Cape Cod busts are part of a growing national trend, although she says luckily the fakes are not hard to spot. In general, when designer brands are sold at 70 percent off their regular price, she starts investigating.
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VANCOUVER, WA - Many school boards in Washington state – including Seattle Public Schools – are hiring PIs to determine residences of students. Some are even staking out homes in an effort to determine whether students are living where they claim. The PIs, are necessary, schools say, since it is a violation to attend a school if you do not live within that school’s boundaries. The state has seen some controversies regarding illegal recruiting by coaches and are now even more sensitive about school residence requirements.
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GUANGDONG PROVINCE, CHINA - A private investigation discovered that Coca-Cola may be denying its workers’ rights in China. The investigation uncovered that workers who face the most dangerous jobs also see the lowest wages and face cutbacks or delays in pay. The investigators worked in the bottling areas, where they gathered information from other workers. Most of the abuses were experienced by dispatched workers, hired by agencies offering to fill temporary jobs. These workers sometimes worked more than 100 hours of overtime per month. Coca-Cola has said that it is conducting its own internal investigation into the matter.
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