To improve the public's ability to make timely filings and ensure the protection of staff and public filers from potential security risks, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued Order No. 862 which encourages the use of electronic filings. The FERC also issued policy clarification and requirements for the public to ensure the validity of compliance in response to a request for an alternative in case eFiling does not work.
Several common measurements and general methodologies are currently being used to calculate infringement damages in intellectual property (IP) lawsuits. To determine the most applicable ones, practitioners need to consider key facts and circumstances of a particular dispute.
Several issues and concerns continue to bring widespread complications in the pre-trial and evidentiary hearing procedures. Adding to these challenges is the imposed shift of standard practices to virtual hearings in aims to curtail the effects of COVID-19. However, because an individual presence is vital to obtain credible evidence, several courts have not been able to hold hearings remotely, resulting to delays. Thus, counsel to businesses and companies must remain cognizant of the practical strategies to carefully alleviate the risks and pitfalls.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has been aggressively enforcing culpable businesses that violate its regulatory policies. As part of these efforts, the framework for OFAC Compliance Commitments was published in May 2019 to define the essential elements of an effective economic sanctions compliance program. Furthermore, stringent enforcement actions continue to take place even amidst the growing implications brought by the pandemic.
As racial justice becomes one of the top issues that concern employees across the globe, human resources departments in many organizations are taking steps to improve their workplace diversity and inclusion (D&I) policies. Many companies are now realizing the importance of D&I in boosting creativity and productivity in today’s workforce. However, many organizations still fail to achieve their D&I goals.
The past years have seen changing tides on the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) litigation landscape. The number of lawsuits filed in federal courts, which chiefly stemmed from alleged violations on websites and mobile application accessibility, has continuously increased. As regulatory developments and court decisions are yet to unfold, the ADA litigation landscape remains uncertain. Thus, businesses and their counsel must keep themselves in the know of any emerging update in this field of law. They must also revisit their practices to ensure ADA compliance and dodge potential lawsuits.
The representations and warranties insurance (RWI) market continues to rapidly evolve as it responds to the ongoing pandemic. A number of RWI trends have started to emerge including the classification of the current crisis as a heightened due diligence area and the standardization of COVID-19 exclusions. More significantly, several other issues are yet to arise as the health crisis continues to unfold.
As the world develops and distributes safe and effective vaccines against COVID-19, the pharmaceutical industry is confronted with additional trade secrets protection challenges. Issues include the increased the burdens of protecting their assets, the immense level of R&D, the substantial impact of remote work, and COVID-related legal restrictions. Pharmaceutical companies must implement effective trade secrets protection strategies to manage threats amidst this crisis.
The impact of COVID-19, along with the accelerated rise in expectations from patients regarding the quality of the digital experience, places tremendous pressure on health systems.
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of consumer class action lawsuits drastically upsurged in various industries. The regulatory paradigm has also significantly evolved with recent court decisions shedding light on future class action lawsuits. As the landscape remains uncertain, businesses and their counsel should keep themselves in the know of any emerging development in this field of law. They must also plan for effective litigation strategies to avoid mishaps.
The FINRA arbitration and enforcement landscape has been continuously reshaped with rule changes as well as complications due to Covid-19 restrictions and the resulting change to remote work. Thus, all affected professionals must keep themselves abreast of the emerging updates in this space.
Important regulatory changes continue to reshape the investment funds and Qualified Opportunity Zones (QOZ) programs. On January 19, 2021, the Internal Revenue Services (IRS) issued Notice 2021-10, which provides new extensions and deadlines for filing QOZ investments.
In December 2020, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Board of Governors approved filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) its proposed changes to the continuing education (CE) program under FINRA Rules 1210 and 1240.
Today’s cyber-vulnerable digital environment continues to pose a plethora of security issues to organizations of all sizes. This underscores the importance of securing a reliable cybersecurity framework to prevent these increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks from compromising a business.
Numerous policy changes and trends concerning wage and hour have made the landscape more complicated and challenging. Recently, the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the US Department of Labor (DOL) released six opinion letters which aimed to address a raft of issues under the Fair Labor and Standards Act (FLSA).
