To paraphrase what Ben Franklin may have been alluding to nearly 300 years ago in his famous quote, often the best approach when it comes to reducing the risk of litigation and government enforcement proceedings is to take...more
7/27/2023
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Compliance ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Security ,
Document Review ,
Due Diligence ,
Employment Contract ,
Enforcement ,
Ethics ,
Force Majeure Clause ,
Fraud ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Health and Safety ,
Insurance Industry ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Investigations ,
Non-Public Information ,
Performance Reviews ,
Personal Information ,
Pricing ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Sales ,
Social Media ,
Technology Sector
Background -
The Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA), which amends the Shipping Act, was signed into law by U.S. President Joseph Biden in 2022 to alleviate certain measures taken by shipping companies in the midst of supply...more
On May 19, 2023 the United States, in coordination with the G7 and other international partners, imposed more than three-hundred new sanctions on Russia for its war in Ukraine. Press releases providing additional information...more
Reports of supply chain litigation from troubled retailer Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) before the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) have hit the news, reflecting a trend of increasing supply chain litigation before the FMC since...more
On April 17, 2023, the United States Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued an alert warning U.S. persons about possible evasion of the price cap on Russian Federation origin crude oil,...more
Shipping companies should remain focused on sanctions compliance for 2023. The sanctions space has been bursting with activity as a result of the Russia-Ukraine war, which shows no signs of abating. Companies continue to seek...more
4/7/2023
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Russia ,
Sanction Violations ,
Shipping ,
Transportation Industry ,
U.S. Treasury
On February 24, 2023, the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced the imposition of additional sanctions targeting multiple...more
As noted in our prior alerts (concerning OFAC’s September 9, 2022 preliminary guidance, an October 31, 2022 follow-on FAQ clarifying the applicability of the price cap policy, and the December 5, 2022 effective date of the...more
Background -
As the Russia-Ukraine war approaches its one-year anniversary with no end in sight, U.S., EU and UK authorities, among other nations, continue to exert calculated but sustained pressure on the Russian...more
1/31/2023
/ Asset Freeze ,
Australia ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financing ,
G7 ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil Prices ,
Petroleum ,
Russia ,
UK ,
Ukraine
The respected London-based Clarksons predicts a $26 billion investment in new vessels to serve the offshore wind industry within the decade. Installation vessels and support vessels both will make up a large portion of...more
The much anticipated and debated EEXI (Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index) and CII (Carbon Intensity Indicator) regulations have gone effective as of January 1, 2023. All ships of 5,000 gross tonnage and above will be...more
On December 20, 2022, the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced that it was amending its regulations in multiple sanctions programs to reflect that the property and interests in property...more
As noted in our prior alerts (concerning OFAC’s September 9, 2022 preliminary guidance and October 31, 2022 follow-on FAQ clarifying the applicability of the impending price cap policy) the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s...more
On October 31, 2022 the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) published FAQ 1094, which addresses the question of whether crude oil of Russian Federation origin that is loaded onto a vessel...more
On October 3, 2022, in Commodities & Minerals Enterprise Ltd. v. CVG Ferrominera Orinoco, C. A., the Second Circuit Court of Appeals resolved a novel question of first impression in favor of petitioner Commodities & Minerals...more
On September 9, 2022 OFAC issued a preliminary guidance on the Implementation of a Maritime Services Policy and Related Price Exception for Seaborne Russian Oil in furtherance of a policy established by a coalition of...more
The United States sanctions regime is a complex and ever-changing regulatory space. The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) maintains sanctions lists which are updated in real-time—not on...more
On June 15, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed a complaint against California-based broker-dealer Western International Securities, Inc. (“Western”) alleging violations of Regulation Best Interest...more
6/29/2022
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Regulation BI ,
Retail Installment Sales Contracts ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Transactions ,
Securities Violations ,
Standard of Conduct
This month’s roundup focuses on what constitutes a “necessary” under the Commercial Instruments and Maritime Liens Act (“CIMLA”), which provides a statutory lien to those who provide necessaries to a vessel on the order of...more