Recent News

W. Curt Hawkins Named Partner

W. Curt Hawkins has been named a partner at Waddell, Cole & Jones, PLLC, the law firm has announced.  Hawkins represents clients in the areas of estate planning, elder law, probate, taxation and commercial transactions.  He has been an associate with the firm since 2010 and was named 2014 Volunteer Attorney of the Year for the 2nd Judicial District by Legal Aid of Arkansas. He is a member of the Arkansas and Craighead County bar associations.

Current State of the Law Regarding Workplace Protections for LGBT Employees

          The Human Resources Director of one of our corporate clients recently asked whether she needed to update the company’s equal employment opportunity policy to include a prohibition against discrimination based upon sexual orientation and/or gender identity.  Title VII of the Civil Right Act of 1964 (“Title VII”), of course, does not include explicit protections against sexual-orientation and gender-identity discrimination.[1]  However, the U.S.

A Snapshot of the PATH Act

     The year-end 2015 saw Congress provide taxpayers with a new Act signed into law by President Obama on December 18th which some commenters called an “early Christmas present” to individuals and businesses, alike. The Protecting Americans From Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (or “PATH Act”) includes numerous tax reductions for families and businesses, while also renewing and making permanent numerous tax benefits which have routinely expired and been renewed annually (so-called “extenders”).

Act 921: Enforceable Non-Compete Agreements for Employers

The year 2015 saw significant changes to Arkansas law regarding the enforceability of non-compete agreements. In early 2015, the Arkansas General Assembly passed Act 921 (SB 998), a statute which greatly expands the enforceability of non-compete agreements in Arkansas. The legislation creates a significant opportunity for Arkansas employers to examine existing non-compete agreements with employees and to consider entering into new agreements with key employees.
 
Act 921 reinforces and helps clarify some existing elements of Arkansas common law.

Effects of the Affordable Care Act on Future Medical Cost Claims

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) should dramatically change what an uninsured plaintiff can legitimately claim and recover for future medical and non-medical care costs.  The ACA is of particular importance when attempting to reduce the projected costs of a plaintiff’s life care plan in a catastrophic injury case.

Physician Beware: Controlled Substances and Regulation No. 2

     The death rate from drug overdose in the United States more than doubled during 1999-2013, from 6.0 per 100,000 population in 1999 to 13.8 in 2013 and is now the leading cause of injury and death in our country.  The increase in drug overdose is attributable primarily to the misuse and abuse of prescription drugs, especially opioid analgesics, sedatives/tranquilizers, and stimulants.

Waddell, Cole & Jones, PLLC Welcomes Lauren Ball

Waddell, Cole & Jones, PLLC has announced the association of attorney J. Lauren Ball.

A Jonesboro native, Lauren joined the firm after receiving her J.D. from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law.

You Can’t Deduct a Check That You Know Will Bounce!

A recent decision of the U.S. Tax Court has concluded that a corporation could not deduct the owner’s bonus as the company didn’t have enough money in the bank to cover the check. 

Arkansas Supreme Court Opinion Exposes Assets to Claims by a Surviving Spouse!

     In a 5-2 decision handed down last week (May 22, 2014) the Arkansas Supreme Court held that the assets of a revocable living trust may be included in a decedent’s probate estate for the limited purpose of calculating the surviving spouse’s elective share.  This decision, In Re Estate of Thompson, 2014 Ark. 237 (2014), breaks new ground in Arkansas law and could have significant implications in many estate plans. 

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