Meals expenses deduction

[Mary]

A lawyer frequently took his employees before, during or after trials to dine at restaurant near by. The FMV of the meals does not include in the employees' wages. Can the employer deducts 100% of the meal expenses or 50%?

[kcjenkins]

Well, while the general rule is to deduct only 50% of the cost of furnishing meals to your employees, you can deduct the full cost of  meals 
that qualify as a de minimis fringe benefit [see section 2 of Publication 15-B], and meals you furnish to employees at your place of business if more than half of these employees are provided the meals for your convenience.   You could make a good case that since the court is one of his " place of business" and he is feeding them for his convenience [discussing the state of the trial, assigning them things to look up, etc] the meals would be 100%.  

[DANRVAN]

Even if you could establish that the court house was a place of business, and therefore becomes the business premises,  I believe the meal would have to be served on the premises,  not at a "restaurant near by".