Focus - Climate lawsuits, once limited to the coasts, jump inland - THE NEW YORK TIMES - Apr 18 Until recently, communities suing fossil fuel companies over the costs of climate change have been located on the coasts: cities and… more

Ninth Circuit: Prior Salary Can’t Justify Wage Differential - Why it matters - Noting that “[s]alaries speak louder than words,” the en banc U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit ruled that employers may not justify a wage… more

Federal Circuit Summaries - Before Lourie, O’Malley, and Wallach. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas Summary: When a case is dismissed with prejudice for lack of standing, the… more

Mississippi recently amended its Debt Management Services Act to exclude certain for-profit debt management service providers from the definition of “debt management service provider.” The bill becomes effective on July 1, 2018… more

On 12 May 2018, US President Trump will decide whether or not to renew the US sanctions relief in relation to Iran. Declining to do so would put the US in breach of, and amount to US withdrawal from, the JCPOA, the Iran… more

During the recent Budget Statement for 2018, Singapore’s Ministry of Finance announced the creation of an Infrastructure Office to be established by Enterprise Singapore and the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The Infrastructure… more

The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) announced last week that it will commence random telephone interviews of employers about their anti-harassment and diversity policies. An outgrowth of the DFEH’s Task… more

The European Union has the strictest rules on consumer protection globally and consumer interests have been a central theme in a number of recent Commission initiatives, ranging from reform of mobile phone and data roaming charges to… more

The therapeutic methods exclusion is often problematic to navigate. In T 0699/12, the Technical Board of Appeal (TBA) of the European Patent Office (EPO) has provided some useful guidance on its application. In an opposition before… more

Colours can function as indicators of source, and many colours acquire distinctiveness over time. When thinking of the colour green in association with farm tractors, the John Deere company may come to mind. Or seeing the colour… more

On March 23, 2018, the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act ("CLOUD Act") was quietly enacted as part of the 2,232-page omnibus budget legislation. The law amended the Stored Communications Act ("SCA"), which establishes… more

In light of increasing terror threats, authorities have implemented a series of new laws to enhance Singapore’s ability to respond to large-scale public disorders and situations involving public safety. A recently proposed law would… more

On April 12, 2018, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a Risk Alert highlighting the most frequent advisory fee and expense compliance issues identified in… more

BROKER-DEALER - FINRA Publishes Regulatory Notice Regarding 2018 GASB Accounting Support Fee - On April 17, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority issued Regulatory Notice 18-12, which announces that FINRA will collect a… more

In all facets of persuasion, and human communication for that matter, we are now used to dealing with a pretty polarized world. Addressing or responding to anything having to do with current events always involves a quick mental check… more

Changes to Environmental Planning and Assessment Act - An amended and completely reorganised version of the Act commenced operation on 1 March 2018. Amongst the myriad innocuous changes were some very significant changes that… more

As we all marinate in the difficulties of Mr. Zuckerberg, who, at the end of the day, can certainly salve any wounds with a net worth measured in the tens of billions of dollars, I was struck by the continued drumbeat for “REGULATION.”… more

More than two and a half years after the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) formally approved its first three-dimensional (3D) printed medical device for mass production, a hip implant co-developed by Peking University’s Third… more

Today, Pfizer announced that it received a Complete Response Letter (CRL) from the FDA in response to Pfizer’s application for its proposed biosimilar of Herceptin® (trastuzumab). According to Pfizer’s press release, the CRL… more

The Labor Department, Wage & Hour Division, issued an Opinion Letter earlier this week answering questions about the compensability of travel time for hourly technicians under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The technicians did… more

Welcome to Our First Issue of 2018 - There have been many changes and new developments in the construction industry since the start of the year. As with any industry that experiences sweeping changes, we keep a sharp eye on how… more

David F. Johnson presented his paper on “Litigation Update, Including Fiduciary Issues” to the Texas Bankers Association’s Legal Conference in Austin, Texas, on April 5, 2018. This presentation covered recent Texas precedent on… more

Looking forward about two years, you may flip through the New York Times obituaries section to find the following: On September 16, 2020, covered business method (CBM) review, age 8, passed away. Born out of a desire to weed out… more

Oregon law requires Metro, the regional government for the Portland area, to maintain an urban growth boundary (UGB) that includes enough land to accommodate 20 years of population and employment growth. Addition of new land to the UGB… more

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that a minor child who had used her mother’s credit card once did not directly benefit from the cardholder agreement, and so could not be bound by the mandatory arbitration clause… more