laura wallace

Assist Board Judges by conducting legal research on a variety of issues including the Contract Disputes Act (CDA) and travel and relocation claims. Draft legal memoranda, prepared analysis of facts, assisted in the preparation of judicial orders and opinions.

* Hospitality for the Employee: Where business, employment, and the hospitality industry intersect. * March 27, 2015 * Aren't Fox

Represent low-income taxpayers in disputes before the IRS and United States Tax Court. Conduct interviews, review documents, and counsel clients about liability and collections matters.

Researched federal, state, and case law for the procurement, ethics, and employment law groups. Drafted memoranda addressing sexual harassment issues, bid protests for a solicitation, and privacy concerns. Participated in editing appeals board decisions.

Completed comment that argued the necessity for comprehensive employment protections for child models and entertainers and the implications of newly passed legislation in New York.

Drafted memoranda on consumer financial issues such as whether credit counseling services are exempt from prosecution under the practice of law exemption of the Dodd Frank Act and what documentation banks must provide debt collectors when selling debts for collection. Researched federal consumer laws, regulations, and policies of sister agencies to determine if credit counseling services and debt collectors use unfair, deceptive, and abusive acts or practices. Reviewed and analyzed evidence and testimony concerning consumer abuses

Researched Health Law curriculum. Summarized and edited an article discussing Prescription Monitoring Programs.

Researched federal and state laws and agency regulations and policies regarding government contracts and appropriations to determine propriety of contracts and appropriations spending including the reallocation of emergency funding from a natural disaster to resiliency projects. Prepared policies for conference planning and reporting to ensure compliance with newly-established Presidential conference policies. Participated in a working group developing a reasonable accommodations internal policy for employees with a disability.

Provided research assistance for upcoming book on whistleblowers within religion. Analyzed the personal, professional, and spiritual factors that led individuals to speak out against their respective churches.

Interviewed officials at forensic labs using the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) to determine the accuracy and implementation of CODIS standards. Analyzed the grant accounting and rewarding systems used for funds provided by the Recovery Act for OIG Audit Reports. Received Top Secret security clearance. Recognized by the OIG with three awards for excellence.

Wrote the quarterly newsletter for The National Association of American Wineries. Drafted position papers for Congress on potential tax increases for vineyard owners and the expansion of direct shipping.

PBGC protects the pension benefits of more than 42 million Americans in private-sector pension plans. PBGC pays for monthly retirement benefits, up to a guaranteed maximum, for nearly 801,000 retirees in 4,200 single-employer and multiemployer pension plans that cannot pay promised benefits. Including those who have not yet retired and participants in multiemployer plans receiving financial assistance, PBGC is responsible for the current and future pensions of about 1.5 million people. PBGC receives no taxpayer dollars and never has. Its operations are financed by insurance premiums, investment income, and with assets and recoveries from failed plans. PBGC was created by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to encourage the continuation and maintenance of private-sector defined benefit pension plans, provide timely and uninterrupted payment of pension benefits, and keep pension insurance premiums at a minimum.

Activities and Societies: Business Law Review