Public Policy

Expert Analysis

• DOJ Antitrust Letter Charts Path To Higher Ed IP Collaboration

  

  A recent letter from the U.S. Department of Justice to a group of research universities indicated that a proposed technology-focused patent licensing pool contained sufficient competition protections, providing a collaboration road map that higher education can use to support further IP development, say attorneys at BCLP.

• Opinion

  Fix Section 230 To Hold Online Platforms Accountable

  

  Congress should amend Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act to clarify that online platforms, like other businesses, have a reasonable duty of care toward users, and to curtail the broad liability limitations that currently allow heinous content to flourish unchecked, says Neil Fried at DigitalFrontiers Advocacy.

• How Proposed Ill. Amendment Would Change Union Rights

  

  This fall, Illinois voters will decide on a proposed collective bargaining amendment to the state constitution, which if enacted would significantly expand both public and private sector bargaining rights, raising questions about federal preemption, union security and more, say Jennifer Jones and Tanja Thompson at Littler. 

• Attorneys Beware: Zoom Depositions Are Likely Inadmissible

  

  As legal proceedings have moved online in light of the pandemic, lawyers may mistakenly believe that recorded Zoom video depositions can be entered as evidence, but without certain safeguards, the testimony is unlikely to be accepted by courts, says Phillip Zisook at Schoenberg Finkel.

• Opinion

  Nestle Ruling Shows Supply Chain Human Rights Flaws

  

  The Supreme Court's recent ruling in Nestle v. Doe — blocking claims that chocolate makers aided and abetted child slavery in Africa — underscores the need for federal legislation to ensure that U.S. corporation supply chains are not complicit in human rights abuses overseas, says Alexandra Dufresne at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences.

• Employers Must Brace For PAGA-Like Bills Across US

  

  As state legislatures across the U.S. consider bills modeled after California’s lucrative Private Attorneys General Act, employers should gear up for potential litigative burdens, work to mitigate liability risks and get involved in the legislative process, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.

• What Crypto Holders Can Learn From Early-2000s Tax Scandal

  

  The Internal Revenue Service’s recent push to gather information about cryptocurrency accounts is similar to its Swiss bank account investigations of the early 2000s, which should prompt taxpayers to consider voluntarily disclosing transactions before they are individually targeted for enforcement, say Timothy Wagner and Thomas Barnard at Baker Donelson.

• How Global Markets Are Preparing For Potential SPAC Growth

  

  As the rising popularity of special purpose acquisition companies extends beyond the U.S., attorneys at Morgan Lewis look at how governments in Asia and Europe are positioning themselves through regulatory shifts, and what market trends can be expected in the U.S.

• Cos. Can Expect Tougher Climate Risk Disclosure Mandates

  

  Recent developments in Congress and at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that point toward an expansion of corporate climate risk disclosure requirements beyond securities filings are a clear signal to publicly traded companies that they must further integrate climate considerations into strategic planning at all levels, say attorneys at Akin Gump.

• Opinion

  NJ Fed. Court Should Ditch Litigation Funding Disclosure Plan

  

  The District of New Jersey's wide-reaching proposal to require automatic disclosure of third-party litigation finance poses several problems for attorneys and litigants alike and should be nipped in the bud, say Sarah Williams and Marlon Becerra at Validity Finance.

• How To Assess Price Volatility Changes In SPAC Class Actions

  

  Adjusting for changing volatility over a special purpose acquisition company's life cycle, as well as changes in marketwide volatility, is crucial for proper evaluation of market efficiency, loss causation and damages claims in securities class actions, say Alok Khare and Erica Rose at FTI Consulting.

• Bipartisan Support Shows Bright Future For Carbon Capture

  

  Recent policy proposals — from the Biden administration as well as members of Congress from both parties — promoting carbon capture, utilization and sequestration suggest that this technology has a key role to play in reducing carbon dioxide emissions, says Kevin Poloncarz at Covington.

• Complying With New EU Data Transfer Contractual Obligations

  

  The European Commission's new standard contractual clauses for transferring personal data outside the EU, which take effect June 27, place significantly more onerous obligations on companies, but there are several steps they can start implementing to comply, say William Long and Francesca Blythe at Sidley.

• Law Firm Talent Must Reflect Shifting US Demographics

  

  Stephanie Scharf at Scharf Banks and Roberta Liebenberg at Fine Kaplan analyze and project U.S. demographic trends to show that law firms that hope to succeed long-term must recruit, retain and advance female lawyers and lawyers of color, and they outline six steps for meeting these goals.

• Cannabis SPACs Are Piquing Investor Interest

  

  Keen for acquisitions in a tight market, cannabis investors are heading to riskier special purpose acquisition companies as they anticipate the rewards of both federal legalization and legislation that would allow financial institutions to provide services to cannabis companies, say Matthew Rizzo and Marco Eadie at O'Keefe.