Introduction. An in terrorem (no-contest) clause in an inter-vivos trust instrument provides for forfeiture of the attendant equitable property rights of any beneficiary who “contests the trust.” A contest might take the form of a… more

Chapter 18.27 of the Revised Code of Washington (“chapter”) contains the requirements for contractors performing services in Washington state. This chapter governs who is considered a contractor, the registration requirements of those… more

Early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses began to scrutinize force majeure clauses in their commercial contracts and leases. Such contractual clauses, when engaged, either permanently or temporarily relieve the affected… more

Last December, I wrote about  AB 83 (Lee & Kalra), which would enact the "Get Foreign Money Out of California Elections Act".    The California Political Reform Act already forbids a foreign government or foreign principal from making… more

LEADERSHIP RELEASES GLOBAL BUDGET TARGETS - On Tuesday, the Governor, House Speaker, and Senate Majority Leader announced they had reached an agreement on global budget targets, adding up to $71.9 million in spending for the… more

Randyll Newman, Supervisor of Student Data and Information Security for Prince William County Public Schools in Virginia, joins host Erica Toelle and guest host Christophe Fiessinger on this week’s episode of Uncovering Hidden Risks… more

Most franchisors have thorough financial vetting requirements before allowing any person or business to become a franchisee. However, how many of these same businesses perform compliance due diligence on their prospective overseas… more

In the short span of the 21st Century, the world’s two top powers, the United States and China, have moved inexplicably toward a showdown. This evolved from a commercial competition into something more akin to permanent non-kinetic… more

The Justice Department is raising the bar on corporate compliance, and Michael Volkov believes we are witnessing a watershed moment. In this episode of Corruption, Crime, and Compliance, he explains the significant revisions to… more

In this episode of All Things Investigations, we’re tackling a rule that every business executive and compliance officer needs to be aware of. It’s the IT Supply Chain Security Rule, and it authorizes the US Department of Commerce to… more

Welcome to the award-winning FCPA Compliance Report, the longest-running podcast in compliance. In this episode, I am joined by Erica Salmon Byrne, President of Ethisphere, to discuss the World’s Most Ethical Companies awards. Byrne… more

Welcome to the Daily Compliance News. Each day, Tom Fox, the Voice of Compliance, brings you compliance-related stories to start your day. Sit back, enjoy a cup of morning coffee, and listen to the Daily Compliance News. All from the… more

The Justice Department is rapidly pushing corporations to a new level of compliance.  We are witnessing a watershed moment – DOJ is raising the bar on expectations surrounding corporate compliance programs.  It would be a mistake… more

In this podcast series, two complete MCU fans, Megan Dougherty, co-founder of One Stone Creative, and I indulge in a passion for all things in the Marvel Cinematic Universe by re-watching each movie and then podcasting on every movie… more

In the Sunday Book Review, I consider books that interest the compliance professional, the business executive, or anyone curious. It could be books about business, compliance, history, leadership, current events, or anything else that… more

In this podcast series, two complete MCU fans, Megan Dougherty, co-founder of One Stone Creative, and I indulge in a passion for all things in the Marvel Cinematic Universe by re-watching each movie and then podcasting on every movie… more

Welcome to the Daily Compliance News. Each day, Tom Fox, the Voice of Compliance, brings you compliance-related stories to start your day. Sit back, enjoy a cup of morning coffee, and listen to the Daily Compliance News. All from the… more

The Employee Retention Tax Credit (“ERC”) has been a hot topic in tax circles lately. A refundable payroll tax credit for businesses meeting certain requirements that was enacted alongside the Paycheck Protection Program in 2020, the… more

Analyzed by legal scholars, cited as precedent for modern international law and medical ethics, and depicted in movies, the tale of the Nuremberg Trials imparts wisdom, reveals uncomfortable truths about the human condition and… more

On March 9, the multilateral Russian Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs (REPO) Task Force released a statement on the group’s continued work one year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As previously covered by InfoBytes, the U.S. Treasury… more

As more employers conduct diversity, equity, and inclusion training, they increasingly face resistance from employees who claim that mandatory attendance at such training violates their religious beliefs. Last week, the Second Circuit… more

On March 9, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against a China-based network of five companies and one individual accused of supporting Iran’s unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)… more

Following a brief decline during the pandemic, shareholder activism in the US rebounded to pre-pandemic levels in 2022 despite—or perhaps because of—volatile markets, depressed share prices and macro-economic uncertainty. Specifically… more

On Wednesday, March 22, the Supreme Court heard a case for the dogs — and trademark law. Whiskey maker Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc., sued dog toy parody company VIP Products LLC for trademark infringement and dilution over VIP’s Bad… more

As previously covered by HR Legalist, the National Labor Relations Board’s (“NLRB”) recent decision in McLaren v. Macomb ushered in a significant crackdown on non-disparagement and confidentiality provisions in employee severance and… more

On March 3, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California granted final approval of a $1.75 million class action settlement resolving allegations related to a 2020 data breach that compromised nearly 100,000… more

Judge Engelmayer in the Southern District of New York recently granted a motion to dismiss the complaint because the patent-in-suit is directed to patent-ineligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101. The patent is directed to a… more

On March 8, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a cybersecurity implementation guide to assist public and private health care sectors prevent cybersecurity incidents. The Cybersecurity Framework Implementation… more

PFAS are being detected in drinking water systems across the United States. Moreover, evolving regulatory developments already require or soon will require that public water systems sample for and remediate these chemicals. When… more

The week of March 13-17, Governor Roy Cooper released his budget recommendations for the 2023-24 biennium and House budget writers spent a good part of the week negotiating their version of the State Budget. The Senate passed a number… more

Concerns over the potential threat posed by information and communications technology (ICT) products and services, such as TikTok, to the United States’ economic and national security have been ruminating for some time now. To tackle… more

The first quarter of 2023 saw a flurry of activity from state and federal agencies focused on offshore wind transmission. In early January, multiple states in New England jointly filed with the U.S. Department of Energy Grid Deployment… more

On March 6, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas entered stipulated orders and permanent injunctions against two individuals who, along with their companies (also named as defendants in the litigation), allegedly… more

One hundred sixty years ago, Congress passed the False Claims Act (FCA) in response to widespread fraud committed against the United States government during the Civil War. Known as the "Lincoln Law," the FCA was originally designed to… more

Two recent developments at the federal level are intended to encourage more food donations. First, President Biden signed the Food Donation Improvement Act (FDIA), which expands Good Samaritan liability protections. Second, the U.S… more

On March 13, the Federal Reserve Board issued FAQs on its Bank Term Funding Program, which launched March 12, to provide additional funding to eligible depository institutions in order to meet depositors’ needs. The program will serve… more

The European Patent Office and participating European Countries have established a Unified Patent Court and a European patent with unitary effect (also called a Unitary Patent) that will come into effect on June 1, 2023… more

On March 3, the CFPB received a rulemaking petition from the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) in response to forthcoming FCRA rulemaking announced in the Bureau’s Fall 2022 regulatory agenda. As previously covered by InfoBytes, the… more

Der datenschutzrechtliche Auskunftsanspruch gem. Art. 15 Abs. 1 DSGVO beschäftigt weiterhin Arbeitgeber und Gerichte, insbesondere im Arbeitsverhältnis lauern zahlreiche Fallstricke. Diese ergeben sich nicht nur aus komplexen… more

On March 9, the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy held a hearing to discuss proposals that would alter the structure and authority of the CFPB. The subcommittee heard from… more

Previously registered representatives who missed the prior deadline now have until December 31, 2023 to enroll.  Registered brokerage representatives historically had two years from their Form U5 filing date to re-register with… more

On March 9, FinCEN informed U.S. financial institutions that last month the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) suspended the Russian Federation’s membership after determining that the country’s “actions unacceptably run counter to the… more

Payne & Fears’ Business Litigation Group helps businesses and their owners with wide-ranging disputes. In our practice, we’ve noticed that in disputes among business partners there are common issues that often surface. This is part… more

The European Union (EU)’s tenth package of sanctions against Russia, adopted 25 February 2023, imposed an asset freeze against 121 individuals and entities and expanded the scope of sectoral sanctions… more

With the creation of specialized Chambers in the Federal Court, parties can be confident that judges assigned to their intellectual property matters in Canada will have intellectual property expertise… more

On March 9, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against “39 entities constituting a significant ‘shadow banking’ network,” pursuant to Executive Order 13846. OFAC explained that… more

Lucy Hawley takes a look at the NEC Professional Service Contract, considering the features of the form and what projects are particularly well suited to it… more

In legal parlance, the term “standing” embraces several discrete doctrines that govern the capacity of a party to sue and appear before a particular court. These concepts' fluidity should not obscure their importance: a party’s… more

A great deal of news and public discussion has been fixated on the increasing popularity of generative AI — a category of artificial intelligence algorithms that can generate content (textual, visual, or audio) by “training” on vast… more

On Monday, March 27, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. EDT, the Supreme Court of the United States will hear oral arguments in Amgen Inc. v. Sanofi, No. 21-757. William H. Milliken, a director in Sterne Kessler’s Trial & Appellate Practice Group and… more

A detailed new amnesty law, "The Law Relating to Restructuring of Tax and Some Other Receivables and Amendments to Certain Laws" (the "Law"), which is quite comprehensive and offers partial tax amnesty for to the period ending on… more

I have been Smith Anderson’s Chief Diversity Officer for over a year now. In this new role for our firm, I have contributed to the impactful Diversity and Inclusion (“D&I”) efforts of our firm’s longstanding D&I Committee and led other… more

In this episode of Data Privacy Unlocked, Husch Blackwell’s David Stauss discusses consumer data privacy with Texas Representative Giovanni Capriglione. Representative Capriglione is the primary author of the Texas Data Privacy and… more

The U.S. Copyright Office instituted an inquiry into a registration for a graphic novel that uses AI-generated artwork. Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo talk about this case on this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog… more

The U.S. Copyright Office instituted an inquiry into a registration for a graphic novel that uses AI-generated artwork. Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo talk about this case on this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog… more

Despite global economic headwinds, the US offshore wind industry has continued to slowly but steadily blossom, driven largely by enhanced vision and cooperation among federal government agencies under the Biden administration, coastal… more

The Biden Administration bolstered its ambitious clean energy goals this week by announcing the Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Clean Hydrogen report, along with $750 million in funding for research, development, and demonstration of… more

The proposed Windsor Framework revising the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland will, if implemented, solve some of the problems inherent in the operation of the Protocol and introduce collaborative processes for resolving others… more