Overall
Key cases
Industries
Intellectual Property
Labor & Employment
Corporate
Practice Areas
Public Policy
-
May 20, 2013
Calif. Senate Passes Bill Boosting Data Breach Alerts
The California Senate on Thursday approved a measure that would require individuals and companies that maintain computerized data about their clients or customers to notify them if a security breach is detected.
-
May 20, 2013
Calif. AG Poised To Ratchet Up Privacy Enforcement Efforts
Looking to ramp up an already-aggressive campaign against privacy violations, California Attorney General Kamala Harris is preparing to appeal the dismissal of her suit over the lack of a privacy policy in Delta Air Lines Inc.'s smartphone application and to launch more suits over corporate data breaches, an adviser to Harris told Law360 last week.
-
May 20, 2013
Bill Would Publicize Patent Ownership To Bust Trolls
The ownership of patents would be a matter of public record under legislation introduced in Congress on Thursday that was quickly hailed by technology companies as an ideal way to crack down on the use of shell companies by so-called patent trolls.
-
May 20, 2013
Fighting Agencies May Be Tougher After High Court Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court's Monday ruling in favor of the Federal Communications Commission, which held that courts should apply a deferential standard of review when federal agencies interpret the limits of their own authority, may make it tougher for regulated businesses to fight agency actions, attorneys say.
-
May 20, 2013
NJ Assembly Passes Privatization Standards Bill
The New Jersey General Assembly on Monday passed legislation to establish specific standards and procedures for the privatization of the state’s public services, a rebuke to a recent trend toward privatization despite complaints from some lawmakers who said it doesn’t always save money or provide better service.
-
May 20, 2013
5 Problems The New DOE Chief Can't Ignore
Ernest Moniz will be sworn in as U.S. energy secretary on Tuesday morning, officially putting the former Massachusetts Institute of Technology physicist at the center of fierce regulatory debates on everything from natural gas exports to nuclear waste. Here, energy attorneys offer Law360 the top five issues he'll be expected to address quickly.
-
May 20, 2013
Plan B Ruling Shouldn't Be Stayed, 2nd Circ. Told
Reproductive health advocates on Monday urged the Second Circuit not to delay a court order that Plan B and other emergency birth control pills be made available over the counter without age restrictions, saying a New York federal judge acted reasonably to address political obstructionism.
-
May 20, 2013
Fla. Tax Law Likely To Avoid Court Despite Legal Issues
Despite claims from some lawmakers and advocacy groups that a new Florida law exempting manufacturing equipment from sales tax is unconstitutional, the measure likely won't be challenged in court because local governments that can sue over lost revenue stand to gain from the measure, experts said Monday.
-
May 20, 2013
Senate Dems Press CFTC To Revisit Energy Swap Market Regs
Six Senate Democrats from the West Coast urged the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Monday to investigate its swaps trader registration regulations, claiming the majority of energy swaps traders are exempt from CFTC monitoring based on current standards and that decision violates Dodd-Frank Act requirements.
-
May 20, 2013
Lew Likely To Face Flak Over IRS, Not Financial Rules
Treasury Secretary Jack Lew is scheduled to address potential risks to the financial system when he appears before Congress this week, but the growing scandal over the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups threatens to overshadow his eagerly anticipated faceoff with lawmakers over everything from systemically important financial institutions to money market fund reform.
-
May 20, 2013
NJ Assembly Advances Controversial Tax Incentive Bill
The New Jersey General Assembly on Monday approved legislation to create new corporate tax incentives, advancing the controversial bill among criticism that it amounts to massive giveaways that don't measure up to its benefits and siphons needed funds from other areas.
-
May 20, 2013
Fla. Gov. Signs $74B Budget, Strikes $368M In Local Projects
Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Monday signed the state's record $74.1 billion appropriations budget, but used his line-item veto to cut $368 million in special legislative projects, including millions in localized health care funding and a public-private partnership to create a renewable energy institute at a state university.
-
May 20, 2013
ACA Foes' Favorite New Weapon Lacks Legal Firepower
Legal experts are scoffing at new litigation alleging the Affordable Care Act flouted a constitutional requirement that revenue-raising bills start in the U.S. House of Representatives, saying the suits will have to hurdle 100 years of judicial precedent giving the U.S. Senate great leeway to introduce taxes.
-
May 20, 2013
Marriott Says Fla. Permit Delay Could Cost Millions
A Marriott International Inc. subsidiary on Thursday asked a Florida court to force the city of Miami Beach to issue a beach-walk building permit it needs to move forward with a hotel project, saying it will incur millions in redesign costs without the permit.
-
May 20, 2013
Contrite Speaker Retools NY Assembly Sex Harassment Rules
Torched by criticism for brokering a secret deal that kept a lecherous colleague in office — but still holding on to power — top New York Democrat Sheldon Silver on Monday unveiled a new sexual harassment policy for the State Assembly and said he would introduce a bill to ban confidential settlements.
-
May 20, 2013
CMS Poised To Apply ACA's Medicare Spending Rules
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Friday moved to implement a provision of the Affordable Care Act that would require Medicare Part C organizations and Medicare Part D sponsors to spend at least 85 percent of their revenue on patient care or risk penalties.
-
May 20, 2013
Cybersecurity Standards Need Flexibility, NIST Told
The National Institute of Standards and Technology on Thursday released an analysis of hundreds of initial comments on proposed cybersecurity measures to protect critical infrastructure, with respondents stressing that the framework should allow for flexibility and emphasize risk management over compliance standards.
-
May 20, 2013
Wiley Rein Lures Enviro Pro From Van Ness Feldman
A veteran natural resources attorney has jumped to Wiley Rein LLP's environment and safety practice in Washington, D.C., after more than a decade as partner at Van Ness Feldman LLP, the 275-attorney Wiley Rein announced Monday.
-
May 20, 2013
NJ Assembly Passes Revised Social Media Privacy Bill
The New Jersey Assembly on Monday overwhelmingly approved revised legislation barring employers from forcing current workers or job hopefuls to disclose their user names and passwords for social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, after accepting Gov. Chris Christie's recommendation to remove a private cause of action under the bill and other changes.
-
May 20, 2013
NJ Sens. Urged To Train Closer Eye On For-Profit Hospitals
Health care administrators and advocates urged New Jersey lawmakers on Monday to consider legislation establishing more oversight for nonprofit hospitals being converted to for-profit ones, amid growing public concern over a lack of transparency and the impact on patient care.
Expert Analysis
-
An Opportunity To Limit Prop 65 Abuse
The long-awaited proposed reforms to California's Proposition 65 are welcome and needed as they would greatly reduce the number of frivolous Prop. 65 lawsuits and alleviate the defense costs for manufacturers, says Mark Johnson of Alston & Bird LLP.
-
DOD's Proposal Checklist: A Useful Tool With Some Risks
While the U.S. Department of Defense's new “proposal adequacy checklist" very well may prove to aid defense contractors in preparing more thorough, accurate and complete proposals, the checklist also provides another opportunity for mistakes in a proposal, says Ryan Bradel of Greenberg Traurig LLP.
-
Wakeup Call For Health Facilities Aiding Deaf Patients
The U.S. Department of Justice's five newly announced settlements — one with a hospital, two with rehabilitation centers and two with private specialty practices — highlight the agency's continuing focus on providers and their practices when providing medical information to deaf patients or companions, say Nathan Kottkamp and Melissa Taylormoore of McGuireWoods LLP.
-
A Buzz Kill For Colo. Marijuana User-Employees
The recent precedent-setting decision in Coats v. Dish Network LLC appears to foreclose marijuana users’ most compelling argument against termination for off-duty, off-premises marijuana use. It further suggests that Colorado courts may continue protecting employers’ rights to enforce drug policies, notwithstanding the state’s legalization effort, say attorneys with Holland & Hart LLP.
-
Recent FERC Ruling Dashes Hopes Of Oil Pipeline Watchers
The outcome of High Prairie LLC v. Enbridge Energy LP turned out to be a disappointment for industry watchers hoping for a definitive ruling on whether the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission would break with well-established precedent and require an interstate oil pipeline to interconnect with another pipeline, say attorneys with Bracewell & Giuliani LLP.
-
Harrisburg Demonstrates Danger Of Public Statements
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has long made clear that when information about a municipal issuer is reasonably expected to reach investors and the trading markets, those disclosures are subject to anti-fraud laws. But the recent Harrisburg, Pa., enforcement represents the first time the SEC has charged a municipality for misleading statements made outside of its securities disclosure documents, say attorneys with Day Pitney LLP.
-
4 UK Bribery Act Myths — Debunked
The U.K. Bribery Act is somewhat complicated. Not surprisingly, therefore, misperceptions have arisen regarding its provisions, especially regarding the requirements, scope and exclusivity of Section 7 corporate liability, says Eli Richardson of Bass Berry & Sims PLC.
-
Venue Change May Impact Actions Against Foreign Patentees
For nearly 60 years, declaratory judgment actions against foreign patentees were filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Section 293 of the America Invents Act replaces the District of Columbia with the Eastern District of Virginia as the appropriate venue, which may have a profound impact on this narrow — but oftentimes crucially important — subset of cases, says Bill Sigler of Fisch Hoffman Sigler LLP.
-
SEC’s Unbundling Rules Get Breath Of Life
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commision’s “unbundling” requirements have largely been the stuff of SEC lore — periodically referred to but rarely seen in corporate governance matters. However, thanks to the high profile dispute between David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital and Apple, the unbundling rules may finally be coming out of the shadows, say attorneys with King & Spalding LLP.
-
New USPTO Fee Rules, New Patent Prosecution Strategies
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's recently revised patent prosecution fee structure encourages quick and compact prosecution by raising fees for prosecution that requires significant examiner time, says Carl Schwartz of Quarles & Brady LLP.