Compliance

Expert Analysis

• Key Issues As Automakers Shift To Medical Device Production

  

  As automakers respond creatively to the COVID-19 pandemic, they must anticipate and address important performance and quality requirements as they work to quickly transform automotive and others factories for medical device production, say advisers and attorneys at King & Spalding.

• The Pandemic's Early Effects On Foreign Trade, Investment

  

  Though the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States continues to function despite worldwide disruptions due to the coronavirus, dealmakers should stay mindful of several considerations in this rapidly changing investment environment, say Michael Leiter and Daniel Gerkin at Skadden.

• An Asset Manager's Guide To Recent Fintech Developments

  

  In this brief video, Jamie Cain and Ben Marzouk at Eversheds Sutherland discuss the essential fintech issues affecting asset managers' business models, including developments related to digital asset securities, cryptocurrency-based exchange-traded funds and blockchain.

• False Ad Considerations In The Time Of COVID-19

  

  Companies in the travel, entertainment and hospitality sectors, among others, can and should address coronavirus concerns in their marketing, but they need to ensure they are not making representations they cannot support, say Mike Rounds and Alissa Gardenswartz at Brownstein Hyatt.

• Opinion

  Judicial Shaming Of Attys Is Troubling Even During Pandemic

  

  Judges have recently rebuked attorneys for wasting judicial resources to resolve minor issues during the COVID-19 crisis, including in a trademark lawsuit over unicorn drawings. But it is unfair to publicly flog lawyers for doing what they are trained to do, says Ronald Minkoff, chairman of Frankfurt Kurnit's professional responsibility group.

• Environmental Compliance Essentials During The Pandemic

  

  Organizations can take certain steps now to ensure they are able to meet environmental compliance obligations during the COVID-19 pandemic — or to obtain relief based on force majeure, impossibility or impracticability of performance, compliance-with-all-laws clauses, enforcement discretion, or emergency relief provisions, say Bernadette Rappold and Christopher Bell at Greenberg Traurig.

• When Coronavirus, Federal Paid Leave And The NLRA Collide

  

  Employers managing unionized workforces during the COVID-19 pandemic must balance their responsibilities under the National Labor Relations Act, new federal paid sick leave requirements, health and safety regulations, and certain contract provisions, say Douglas Darch and Christina Taylor at Baker McKenzie.

• Don't Be Social Media Distancing: LinkedIn Tips For Lawyers

  

  While we need to be physically apart at this time, lawyers and firms should be leaning into social media to reinforce and build relationships, and help guide clients through the coronavirus crisis, says marketing consultant Stefanie Marrone.

• 'Prompt Pay' For Construction May Still Apply Amid COVID-19

  

  With prompt pay laws requiring strict adherence to contractual or statutory deadlines in Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey, property owners and contractors should exercise caution in withholding payments for construction projects that may be due during the COVID-19 pandemic, say Teri Sherman and Gaetano Piccirilli at Klehr Harrison.

• Considerations For Conducting Remote Internal Investigations

  

  As COVID-19's effects reverberate throughout the corporate sector, in-house legal departments and their outside counsel will need to develop creative techniques to conduct internal investigations remotely, while ensuring that unanticipated risks do not compromise integrity, say attorneys at Steptoe & Johnson.

• COVID-19 And Construction Stormwater Discharge Permits

  

  As some state and local jurisdictions have begun to direct that construction projects shut down due to COVID-19 concerns, questions have arisen about contractors’ ongoing obligations under their projects’ National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System construction stormwater discharge permits, says Nick Hoogstraten at Peckar & Abramson.

• Calif. Privacy Law Considerations For Private Funds

  Excerpt from Lexis Practice Advisor

  

  Reece Hirsch and Brian London at Morgan Lewis explore when private investment funds and their managers are subject to the California Consumer Privacy Act and similar state laws, when they are exempt, and what they need to do to comply.

• Inside The CARES Act's Key Tax Code Modifications

  

  Attorneys at Eversheds explain how the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act modifies core federal tax provisions — including payroll tax requirements, net operating loss carrybacks and the corporate alternative minimum tax — in order to help businesses weather the current economic downturn.

• CMS Emergency Waivers Give Health Care Needed Flexibility

  

  On Monday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued over 60 waivers of Stark Law and other Medicare requirements, appearing to recognize the need to refocus health care providers’ time and effort into patient care during the pandemic, say Jeffrey Mittleman and Andrew Namkung at Holland & Knight.

• Guiding Clients Through DOL Benefit Plan Probes: Part 2

  Excerpt from Lexis Practice Advisor

  

  Kathleen Barrow at Fox Rothschild discusses how to manage agency and plan sponsor expectations during U.S. Department of Labor investigations of employer-sponsored benefit plans, and explains key steps for closing the inquiry.