Consumer Protection

Expert Analysis

• Corporate Compliance Through The Lens Of Calif. Privacy Law

  

  While businesses are preparing for the California Consumer Privacy Act they can pull from the U.S. Department of Justice's recent guidance on compliance programs to establish controls that not only protect consumer information, but also enhance overarching corporate compliance, say Robb Adkins and Shawn Obi at Winston & Strawn and Stephanie Douglas at Guidepost Solutions.

• Remembering Justice Stevens As A Law Firm Leader

  

  Rothschild Barry's John Coffey, who joined Justice John Paul Stevens' law firm in 1965, shares what it was like to watch Justice Stevens practice law, mentor younger lawyers and land a malfunctioning plane.

• Opinion

  NY Credit Card Securitization Class Action Misuses Madden

  

  In Cohen v. Capital One Funding in New York federal court, the plaintiffs' argument — that special purpose trusts charged and collected interest rates in excess of New York's usury limits — relies on a flawed understanding of the Second Circuit's decision in Madden v. Midland Funding, which was itself erroneous and harmful to credit markets, says Walter Zalenski of Buckley.

• Calif. Privacy Law's 3 Limited Exemptions For Health Cos.

  

  So that health and life sciences companies can better determine whether the information they collect is subject to the California Consumer Privacy Act, Jason Linder and Libby Jelinek of Irell & Manella address the scope of certain CCPA exemptions and identify the main areas of ambiguity.

• 5 Takeaways From DOJ Focus On Chinese Trade Secret Theft

  

  Since its official announcement of the China Initiative eight months ago, the U.S. Department of Justice has publicized the initiation of six new cases that include references to both trade secrets and China. These shed some light on DOJ and U.S. business priorities, says Sara O’Connell at Pillsbury.

• Managing Compliance Risks For Income Share Agreements

  

  Certain steps can help mitigate consumer compliance risks associated with educational income share agreements, which have drawn significant attention and scrutiny following the U.S. Department of Education's recent announcement that it will experiment with federal support for ISAs, say Austin Brown and Darren Welch of Skadden.

• What High Court's Kisor Ruling Means For FDA Decisions

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Kisor v. Wilkie, weakening Auer deference, gives courts more authority to challenge agency decisions — even those concerning very technical regulations, as many of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's do, say attorneys at Axinn.

• Answers To Key Legal Finance Ethics Questions

  

  While there is discussion in some quarters about new regulations on commercial legal finance, the hands-off approach taken by the majority of courts and legislatures is an implicit recognition that it is already sufficiently regulated, says Danielle Cutrona of Burford Capital.

• Tips For Avoiding Multistate HIPAA Data Breach Lawsuits

  

  A recent settlement between Medical Informatics Engineering and 16 states appears to be the first state mass action based on purported Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act violations. It signals increased state-level exposure for HIPAA data breaches and offers a useful compliance checklist for HIPAA-covered entities, say Saad Gul and Michael Slipsky of Poyner Spruill.

• Federal Agencies Need A Uniform Record-Keeping Process

  

  The administrative record is very important to federal agency litigation — as showcased in last month's U.S. Supreme Court decision concerning the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 census — yet there is no set of consistent principles to guide agencies in compiling these official records, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

• The Role Of Dictionaries In Last Term's High Court Decisions

  

  Since 32 of the 67 decisions issued by the U.S. Supreme Court during its October term cite dictionaries, it’s worth reviewing the opinions to learn which dictionaries the justices consulted and how they used them, say Bruce Wessel and Brian Weissenberg of Irell & Manella.

• How To Evaluate The Rise In Legal Employment

  

  Although the rate of employment for law school graduates — which had been falling steadily — saw a small increase over the last year, other factors, such as fewer graduates overall and potential future job growth stagnation, temper the good news for those pursuing law degrees, say Tiffane Cochran and Tyler Grimm of AccessLex Institute.

• NY Privacy Bill Would Expand Data Security Requirements

  

  If enacted, New York's recently passed SHIELD Act would broaden existing data breach law. Arguably its most significant provision will be the section imposing new requirements on persons and businesses collecting private information associated with a New York resident, say Erik Dullea and Ephraim Hintz of Husch Blackwell.

• Opinion

  The Business Case For Championing Diverse Legal Teams

  

  Leveraging the collective strengths of a diverse workforce is not only the right thing to do, it’s a strategic imperative for any successful firm or business, says Louise Pentland, executive vice president and chief business affairs and legal officer of PayPal.

• FDIC Action Suggests New Focus On Bank TCPA Violations

  

  Recently, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation announced its first public enforcement decision and order against a bank for alleged violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, signaling that primary banking regulators are joining the Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission in ramping up TCPA enforcement, say attorneys at Hunton.