In the face of overlapping cybersecurity initiatives at the U.S. Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services, health care companies and government contractors should prepare for microscopic scrutiny by ensuring specific components are included in compliance programs and being mindful of reporting obligations under existing corporate integrity agreements, say attorneys at Verrill Dana.

As an update to the preeminent standard for Phase I environmental site assessments — an essential part of transactional due diligence — is rolled out, parties to real estate transactions should adopt the new standard if they wish to claim liability protections under the Superfund law, say Lorene Boudreau at Ballard Spahr and Mitchell Wiest and Sara Redding at Roux.

While the Southeast Energy Exchange Market recently received regulatory approval to proceed, concerns remain about discriminatory transmission access — but measures can be taken to promote balanced representation and independent oversight, say Carolyn Berry and Galen Erickson at Bates White.

Recent comments from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler offer valuable insight to private equity sponsors seeking to improve their compliance programs and practices as the commission increases its focus on private funds, and institutional investors evaluating or monitoring their private equity investments, say Andrew Lom and Garry Padrta at Norton Rose.

Attorneys at Morgan Lewis examine Internal Revenue Service guidance on payment of employer-share social security tax deferrals due Jan. 3 under the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act, and offer tips for avoiding costly underpayment and late deposit penalties.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently proposed a science-backed definition of "waters of the United States" for the Clean Water Act, but the U.S. Supreme Court is unlikely to be persuaded that science trumps a constitutional or statutory limit on the EPA's and the Corps' authority, says Jeffrey Porter at Mintz Levin.

The European Court of Justice's recent Moldova v. Komstroy decision undermines the attractiveness of European Union-seated investment arbitration as it highlights to investors that such proceedings can be subject to interference from EU courts, says Tomas Vail of Vail Dispute Resolution.

The Federal Trade Commission’s recent report on the privacy practices of six internet service providers will likely affirm suspicions about consumer data collection and use, but it also touches on several points regarding user engagement, deceptive claims and antitrust that are worth drawing out, says Andrew Stivers at NERA Economic Consulting.

Erin Greten and Thomas Barnard at Baker Donelson offer tips to help entities that received COVID-19-related federal assistance navigate complex audit processes, stay in compliance with spending requirements, and avoid civil liability or criminal prosecution.

The U.S. International Trade Commission's recent opinion in In Vitro Fertilization demonstrates that the current commissioners disagree on the economic prong of domestic industry requirement in Section 337 investigations, resulting in discord that parties should account for, say Mike Doman and Juan Garcia at Adduci Mastriani.

The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Mississippi v. Tennessee aids future negotiations over interstate groundwater resources, both by explicitly informing states what the default rule is, and by implicitly giving states authority to trade off water rights across a broader spectrum of water resources, says Robin Craig at USC Gould School of Law.

The recent federal Ohio jury verdict in National Prescription Opiate Litigation found pharmacies liable for contributing to the public nuisance of the opioid epidemic, advancing the question of when pharmacists owe a duty to warn or refuse to fill a prescription, says Roseann Termini at Widener University's Delaware Law School.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent robo-adviser risk alert suggests the agency may clamp down on deficiencies in the wake of this spring's meme stock frenzy and gamification concerns, including through rulemaking that addresses investment advisers' conflicts of interest, say attorneys at Stradley Ronon.

Monique van Herksen and Clive Jie-A-Joen at Simmons & Simmons consider the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s recent report on double taxation cases resolved in 2020 under the mutual agreement procedure process, and examine whether the process has improved dispute resolution mechanisms since its implementation five years ago.

Developments at the recent United Nations Climate Change Conference will create both opportunities and risks for lawyers — with many new laws, regulations and industry best practices to track, and a growing pipeline of new energy and infrastructure projects to facilitate, say Caroline May and Charles Winch at Norton Rose.

The U.S. Department of Justice's recent settlement with Arthrex over False Claims Act allegations demonstrates how physician intellectual property arrangements present compliance risks, which medical device companies can mitigate through best practices covering training, governance and other protocols, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

With recent World Intellectual Property Organization data indicating a worldwide increase in design patent filings, companies should bear in mind several tips for obtaining and benefiting from design patent protection in the U.S. and abroad, including pointers on key differences among jurisdictions, say Elizabeth Ferrill and Jeffrey Smyth at Finnegan.

Two recent decisions from a Florida state court and the Tenth Circuit are consistent with the purpose of, and overwhelming judicial preference toward, appraisal as a means of property claim resolution, ensuring that policyholders have further support in employing this tool against a reluctant insurer, say Matthew Weaver and Jessica Gopiao at Reed Smith.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently proposed proxy voting rule would require many private fund managers to disclose their executive compensation votes for the first time, potentially affecting how managers pursue investment strategies, say attorneys at Schulte Roth.