New Securities Suits Up Slightly, Despite Stock Drops
September 01, 2022
Given the recent stock market carnage, one might expect that the courts were flooded with a fresh batch of securities suits. Stock drops, after all, are one necessary ingredient of stock drop suits. But according to Cornerstone Research's mid-year assessment of new filings, the number of new class action securities cases filed in the first half ticked up only slightly compared to the first half of 2021.
Using Artificial Intelligence In White-Collar Matters
August 01, 2022
AI currently is playing a growing role in helping white-collar lawyers and their clients analyze vast amounts of data to uncover insights, connections, and patterns that would be impossible to detect through manual reviews. This article provides an introduction to AI technology and discusses the key regulatory developments practitioners should be aware of as they advise their clients on AI.
Waiver of Corporate Privilege By An Individual Defendant
August 01, 2022
Individual employees often act pursuant to advice from their in-house counsel. If named as a defendant in which her action is challenged, the employee may want to assert advice of corporate counsel as a defense. But the privilege belongs to the employer, not the employee, and the employer may refuse to waive the privilege. Can the court abrogate the employer's privilege over the objection of the employer, and if so under what circumstances?
White-Collar Enforcement Under the Biden Administration
August 01, 2022
After much saber-rattling, the Biden administration's focus on white-collar corporate compliance is finally coming into focus. Law firms and white-collar compliance experts have long warned the administration's ramped-up focus was coming, but the pandemic largely nixed any initiatives. A spate of recent settlements coupled with the addition of a new white-collar leader at the U.S. Department of Justice is giving the public a look into what compliance will look like under Biden.
Efforts to Provide Out-of-State Abortion Travel Benefits Face Rapidly Shifting Legal Landscape
August 01, 2022
Employment attorneys say the breadth of new state laws — and the pace at which they are going into effect — means in-house counsel at companies trying to create workarounds for employees in states with restrictive abortion laws by providing benefits that would allow them to travel out-of-state to access abortion services will need to be on high alert, since keeping up on top of the laws will be key to limiting their exposure to litigation — or even criminal penalties.
Questions Surround Expanded Government Authority to Seize Russian Assets
July 01, 2022
The purpose behind the Biden Administration's proposals to seize assets of Russian oligarchs is to punish a specific action by a state actor — Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The proposals, however, do not appear to be limited to this conduct alone and would outlast Russia's invasion. In times of war, it at least arguably may be appropriate to pass laws to expand the executive's authority to address specific hostile conduct. Such laws, however, should end with the conflict.
The FRCP Rule 9(b) Standard In False Claims Act Cases
July 01, 2022
In recent years, federal circuit courts of appeals have set forth somewhat different standards that civil FCA complaints brought by private citizens, known as relators, must meet to satisfy Rule 9(b) — especially regarding whether representative examples of allegedly fraudulent claims must be included in a complaint.
Climate Change Risk and Disclosure: A New Focus for SEC Enforcement
June 01, 2022
Given the massive amount of dollars being poured into ESG funds and the SEC's renewed focus on both the funds and the companies in the funds, there is no time like the present for companies to engage in an assessment of their climate risks and how these risks and the status of the companies' ESG goals are being relayed to investors.
