Consumer Protection

Expert Analysis

• Compliance Tips For Marketing Health Benefits In Alcohol

  

  When it comes to marketing alcohol products around health benefits, such as vitamin-fortified hard seltzer, accurately understanding product classification, along with regulators' stance on individual beverage claims, will make it easier to avoid regulatory risk, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

• Extension Of The HSR Waiting Period Increases Acquirer Risk

  

  Attorneys at K&L Gates look at the Federal Trade Commission's recent extension of the merger-review waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, and its effect on pending transactions, broader public policy and the Biden-era M&A market.

• Girardi Scandal Provides Important Ethics Lessons

  

  The litigation and media maelstrom following allegations that famed plaintiffs attorney Thomas Girardi and his law firm misappropriated clients' funds provides myriad ethics and professional responsibility lessons for practitioners, especially with regard to misconduct reporting and liability insurance, says Elizabeth Tuttle Newman at Frankfurt Kurnit.

• How Social Media, Mass Torts Affect Adverse Event Reports

  

  Increases in mass tort litigation e-discovery and social media use are driving a surge in the amount of adverse event information received by manufacturers from the public about their drugs and medical devices, so companies must proactively consider how they will handle this data while remaining compliant with their reporting obligations, says Adam Pierson at DLA Piper.

• Takeaways From CFPB's Fair Debt Collection Rule Changes

  

  James Sandy at McGlinchey Stafford examines the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's upcoming amendments to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and offers compliance considerations for debt collectors with respect to new communications methods and safe harbor provisions.

• Series

  Embracing ESG: Jabil GC Talks Compliance Preparation

  

  Tried-and-true compliance lessons from recent decades can be applied to companies’ environmental, social and governance efforts, especially with regard to employee training and consistent application of policies — two factors that can create a foundation for ESG criteria to flourish, says Robert Katz at Jabil.

• 3 Ways CLOs Can Drive ESG Efforts

  

  Chief legal officers are specially trained to see the legal industry's flaws, and they can leverage that perspective to push their companies toward effective environmental, social and governance engagement, says Mark Chandler at Stanford Law School.

• ComEd Ruling Invites Plaintiffs To Bypass Filed Rate Doctrine

  

  An Illinois federal court's recent ruling on a putative class action claim against Commonwealth Edison could encourage future plaintiffs to avoid dismissal by failing to mention in their complaints that they paid the rates listed in a public utility's filed tariff, says Tyson Covey at Duane Morris.

• How To Navigate California's New Intrastate CBD Route

  

  Businesses and consumers should prepare for rigorous compliance checks on manufacture, distribution and retail sale of consumer products made with CBD and other hemp-derived cannabinoids. following California's new law opening the potentially enormous market for these items, says Christian Foote at Clark Hill.

• How Law Firms Can Rethink Offices In A Post-Pandemic World

  

  Based on their own firm's experiences, Kami Quinn and Adam Farra at Gilbert discuss strategies and unique legal industry considerations for law firms planning hybrid models of remote and in-office work in a post-COVID marketplace.

• Opinion

  Next Fed Supervision Vice Chair Must Restore Bank Oversight

  

  President Joe Biden's upcoming pick for vice chair of supervision at the Federal Reserve must undo deregulation of the banking industry carried out since 2017, and address emerging threats with an eye toward racial economic inequality, climate-related risks, fintech, liquidity requirements and more, says Phillip Basil at Better Markets.

• Opinion

  Time To Restore Arbitration's Promise Of Efficiency For All

  

  As companies like Amazon.com turn away from mandatory arbitration clauses, it may seem that the popularity of this litigation alternative is waning, but there are effective ways for parties to fine-tune their arbitration agreements to ensure the process remains quick and inexpensive, says Janice Sperow at Sperow ADR.

• Takeaways From The Latest Proposed Competition Legislation

  

  Maggie Crosswy and William MacLeod at Kelley Drye examine over 30 bills before the House and Senate that would alter the U.S. competition and consumer protection landscape, explaining what they propose, where they stand and why they matter.

• Manufacturers Face Evolving COVID-19 Legal Challenges

  

  Product manufacturers must adopt new strategies to defend against pandemic-related legal challenges, including discovery delays in health care litigation, novel consumer protection claims, aggressive government enforcement actions and supply chain disputes, says Stephanie Laws at Maslon.

• Series

  Embracing ESG: Baker Hughes CLO Talks Sustainability Team

  

  For businesses focused on addressing environmental, social and governance considerations, a legal team that can coordinate sustainability efforts across the company can help to manage risk and compliance issues, anticipate and prepare for change, and identify new opportunities, says Regina Jones at Baker Hughes.