Cybersecurity & Privacy

Expert Analysis

• Judge's Rebuke Of Mass. AG Has Lessons For All Attorneys

  

  A Massachusetts federal judge’s recent rebuke of the state Attorney General’s Office for refusing to respond to discovery requests in Alliance for Automotive Innovation v. Healey highlights six important considerations for attorneys who want to avoid the dreaded benchslap, say Alison Eggers and Dallin Wilson at Seyfarth.  

• Bracing For The Next Wave Of Health Care Enforcement

  

  Health companies should take proactive steps against a coming wave of federal enforcement, in light of massive new health funding, agencies' desire to protect COVID-19 relief funds, increased use of data analytics and a likely rise in qui tam suits, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

• Font Considerations To Give Your Legal Briefs An Edge

  

  Following the D.C. Circuit’s recent notice discouraging use of the font Garamond in legal briefs, Jason Steed at Kilpatrick looks at typeface requirements and preferences in appellate courts across the country, and how practitioners can score a few extra brief-writing points with typography.

• How Biden's First 100 Days Will Affect Gov't Contractors

  

  Joseph Berger and Thomas Mason at Thompson Hine examine the significant opportunities for government contractors arising from actions during the first 100 days of the Biden administration, which set the stage for unprecedented investment in national infrastructure, domestic manufacturing, research and development, clean energy, pandemic response and economic recovery.

• Avoiding Biometric Privacy Class Actions After Md., NY Bills

  

  Pending biometric privacy laws in Maryland and New York, if passed, could trigger other jurisdictions to follow suit, so businesses should start implementing compliance practices now to stave off a wave of class actions, says David Oberly at Blank Rome.

• Make Profitability Management Part Of Your Law Firm Culture

  

  As the legal industry continues to change in the post-pandemic world, law firms should adapt to client demands by constantly measuring and managing the profitability of their services, says Joseph Altonji at LawVision.

• Series

  Winner's Playbook: Behind The Scenes Of Lamps Plus

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court issued a major decision on class arbitration in Lamps Plus v. Varela two years ago. Now, attorneys at Lewis Brisbois and Mayer Brown explain how their work for Lamps Plus developed the law on interpreting arbitration agreements that exclude language expressly addressing class arbitration.

• Bid Protest Spotlight: Scope, Evaluation Criterion, Privity

  

  In this month's bid protest roundup, Sandeep Nandivada and Markus Speidel at MoFo look at April U.S. Government Accountability Office and U.S. Court of Federal Claims decisions concerning proposed labor categories outside the scope of vendor schedule contracts, use of unstated evaluation criterion, and whether co-prime contractor privity supports standing to protest.

• CFPB's First 100 Days Lay Foundation To Maximize Authority

  

  Former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau general counsel Quyen Truong, now at Stroock, analyzes how developments in the first 100 days under new CFPB leadership reclaim the agency's activist mission and authority, redirect resources toward forceful action, and open the door to change the regulatory framework.

• 4 Trends In Discoverability Of Litigation Funding Documents

  

  Recent rulings shed light on how courts and international arbitration tribunals decide if litigation funding materials are discoverable and reaffirm best practices that attorneys should follow when communicating with funders, say Justin Maleson at Longford Capital and Michele Slachetka and Christian Plummer at Jenner & Block.

• D&O Insurance Implications From Tesla's Stock Drop Suit

  

  A recent shareholder stock drop lawsuit against Tesla showcases the legal perils that can follow companies' social media missteps, and highlights the importance of directors and officers liability insurance in the current age of political polarization, says Tae Andrews at Miller Friel.

• 7 Lessons For Young Lawyers Starting Their Careers

  

  This year's law graduates and other young attorneys must recognize that the practice of law tests and rewards different skills and characteristics than law school, and that what makes a lawyer valuable changes over time, says Vernon Winters, retired partner at Sidley.

• How Justices' AMG Ruling Affects Privacy And Cybersecurity

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in AMG Capital Management v. Federal Trade Commission removes the regulator's ability to seek monetary damages that discouraged privacy and cybersecurity breaches, and as a result, companies should reassess their exposure in these areas, say attorneys at Orrick.

• Opinion

  Justices Should Clarify Securities Fraud Loss Causation

  

  At its May conference, the U.S. Supreme Court should agree to review BofI Securities Litigation, to clear up a circuit split on how to assess loss causation in securities fraud cases, as shareholder class actions increasingly focus on external events that led to a stock drop, says Lyle Roberts at Shearman & Sterling.

• FDCPA Ruling Has Privacy Implications For Financial Services

  

  In Hunstein v. Preferred Collection, the Eleventh Circuit’s recent decision to allow claims against a debt collector who shared customer information with a vendor is concerning for financial services companies in its potential to broaden the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and other consumer protection laws to include privacy rights, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.