Expert Analysis

• Investment Adviser ESG Lessons From BNY Mellon Case

  

  With the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent $1.5 million settlement with BNY Mellon over environmental, social and governance disclosure violations, we appear to be at the dawn of a new era of enforcement — which means investment advisers should take new compliance steps, say attorneys at Saul Ewing.

• Texas Infrastructure Act And Renewables Projects: 1 Year In

  

  A year into implementation of Texas' Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act, Jennifer Pier at Husch Blackwell discusses how renewable energy project developers, owners and investors planning projects in Texas can incorporate LIPA-related provisions into transaction and financing documents.

• 2nd Circ. Ruling Highlights ERISA Determination Deadlines

  

  As seen in the Second Circuit’s recent McQuillin v. Hartford decision, the deadlines for deciding Employee Retirement Income Security Act claims and appeals have teeth, and there are consequences when a plan administrator fails to comply, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Sherman.

• EPA's New PFAS Listings Raise Enforcement, Litigation Risks

  

  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent addition of five per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances to a list of risk-based values for regional screening and removal management levels increases the risks of litigation and government enforcement related to PFAS contamination — and companies should prepare for a roller coaster of further regulatory actions, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

• What's At Stake In Justices' FCA Qui Tam Dismissal Review

  

  The Supreme Court's decision next term in U.S. v. Executive Health Resources could hold that the government cannot dismiss a qui tam action in which it initially declined intervention, which would mean the government must expend more resources vetting False Claims Act cases and give relators free rein as prosecutors of their cases, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

• 5th Circ. Ruling Signals Judicial Shift On SEC Admin Process

  

  The Fifth Circuit’s decision in Jarkesy v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission signals a growing discomfort in the judiciary with the SEC's administrative process, and those dealing with enforcement actions should bring their constitutional challenges early and often, say Benjamin Daniels and Trevor Bradley at Robinson & Cole.

• Opinion

  Justices Should Resolve FCA Cases' Rule 9(b) Circuit Split

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court should agree to hear three related False Claims Act cases and resolve the circuit split over the level of detail Rule 9(b) requires in qui tam complaints, or the viability of such actions will increasingly depend on where they are filed, say Kenneth Abell and Katherine Kulkarni at Abell Eskew.

• DOT Standards For EV Chargers Address Key Public Concerns

  

  The U.S. Department of Transportation's recently proposed standards for public electric vehicle charging infrastructure reflect the Biden administration's continued effort to encourage EV deployment in the U.S. markets — and speak to some of the most important concerns of EV consumers relating to charging, say Levi McAllister and Maggie Curran at Morgan Lewis.

• Dobbs Ruling Creates Compliance Dilemmas For Hospitals

  

  Following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, hospitals in states with sweeping abortion prohibitions may struggle to reconcile state and federal legal regimes, including the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, say attorneys at Dentons.

• Opinion

  Now's The Time To Address Archaic Law School Curricula

  

  With law school enrollments jumping significantly ahead of a potential recession and more students graduating than the market can absorb, law schools should turn to creative solutions to teach students how to negotiate, work with clients, specialize and use technology to practice their craft more efficiently, says University of Colorado adjunct professor Jason Mendelson.

• Proposed Online Platform Regs Deviate From Antitrust Norms

  

  The U.S. and EU are on the cusp of adopting digital platform legislation that would impose regulations based solely on firms' size, avoiding traditional antitrust principles and potentially changing the way online platforms' conduct is litigated, say Daniel Fenske at Mayer Brown and Felipe Pereira at Tauil Chequer.

• Lessons From Lawyer Fee-Sharing Agreements Gone Wrong

  

  The recent fee-sharing dispute between Edelson and Girardi Keese is a reminder that lawyers who do not strictly follow the applicable rules may risk a disciplinary complaint, lose their share of the fee, or wind up in costly litigation with co-counsel, says David Grossbaum at Hinshaw.

• LeClairRyan Bankruptcy Highlights Pass-Through Tax Issue

  

  A Virginia bankruptcy court's recent ruling in the case of defunct law firm LeClairRyan shows there may be serious tax consequences for pass-through entity partners who give up their ownership interest without following operating agreement exit provisions and updating bankruptcy court filings, say Edward Schnitzer and Hannah Travaglini at Montgomery McCracken.

• SEC Crypto Unit Expansion Is A Warning To Industry

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent decision to expand its Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit is a clear signal that federal regulators may increase enforcement against those violating securities laws in the digital asset space, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

• Potential Next Steps For DOJ's COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement

  

  Although the U.S. Department of Justice's COVID-19 fraud enforcement has so far focused on individuals and entities blatantly abusing pandemic assistance funds, health care and life sciences companies should assess their compliance programs as the DOJ will likely turn to larger-dollar activity at the organization level soon, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.