Expert Analysis

The U.S. Supreme Court's broad ruling in Parker Drilling v. Newton that federal — not state — wage laws apply to offshore oil workers is an important win for companies with operations on the Outer Continental Shelf, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

The Trump administration recently launched an unprecedented regulatory blitz designed to further protect domestic information and communications technology and services from what it considers Chinese threats. These steps will constrain transactions that could expand China’s access to the U.S. market and to U.S. technology — and some have an immediate effect, say attorneys at Kirkland.

The U.S. Department of Justice recently reiterated that it will not tolerate government contractors that lack a required business and ethics compliance program. With consequences so high, now is the time for companies that have fallen behind to catch up, say Robert Tompkins and Rodney Perry at Holland & Knight.

Kawhi Leonard, who recently helped the Toronto Raptors win their first NBA Championship, is now a free agent considering returning home to play in Los Angeles. Adam Scherer of Crowe Soberman discusses how, contrary to popular belief, Leonard's tax bill won't be substantially lower if he were to play in California.

The IRS recently announced it will be revising it's 2014 guidance on taxation of cryptocurrency. Hopefully the new rules will establish a fairer method of determining cost basis and demystify other tax consequences arising from cryptocurrency transactions, says Sean Ryan of blockchain accounting software firm NODE40.

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Gamble v. U.S. — reaffirming the so-called separate sovereigns doctrine — preserves tribal prosecutors' autonomy and ability to respond promptly to offenses without worrying about the legal repercussions on federal prosecutions, say Steven Gordon and Philip Baker-Shenk of Holland & Knight.

Norwich Pharmacal orders, which can require third parties to reveal vital information despite duties of confidentiality, have proven to be a versatile remedy in a wide range of cases over the decades. Today, they remain relevant because websites provide platforms for anonymous wrongdoing, says Simon Bushell of Signature Litigation.

Last week, in Return Mail v. United States Postal Service, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the federal government cannot use any of the three post-issuance proceedings created by the America Invents Act. William Bergmann and Michael Anderson of BakerHostetler examine this decision's effect on future patent infringement claims against the government in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

While the two significant bankruptcy cases from this U.S. Supreme Court term — Taggart v. Lorenzen and Mission Product Holdings v. Tempnology — may appear to involve entirely separate issues, there is a similarity in the cases that could illuminate something important about how the court views bankruptcy law, says Craig Goldblatt of WilmerHale.

The bribes a Miami businessman recently admitted paying to executives of gasoline retailer Citgo violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, because Citgo is owned by the Venezuelan government. But there is scant case law for the U.S. Department of Justice to rely on in a case against Citgo itself, says Timothy Belevetz of Ice Miller.

Illinois recently passed a law targeting employers' use of artificial intelligence in job interview videos, making it the first state to legislate the use of AI in the employment context. However, several ambiguities pose potential compliance challenges, says Gary Clark at Quarles & Brady.

Nevada’s recently enacted Senate Bill 220 gives state residents a broad right to opt out of the sale of their personal information. Companies currently preparing for the California Consumer Privacy Act cannot assume that CCPA compliance equates to compliance with S.B. 220, say Sadia Mirza and Yanni Lin at Troutman Sanders.

Businesses providing services over the internet are likely to face continued challenges to comply with the expanding implementation of China's cybersecurity law, especially with respect to broadening definitions of personal information holders under new guidance, say Xiaoyan Zhang and Vincent James Barbuto of Reed Smith.

In order to make meaningful progress at a mediation of a copyright infringement case, the parties should be ready to defend or attack the damages models, including demonstrating whether there is a problem under the Copyright Act's Section 412 that permits or prevents the recovery of statutory damages and attorney fees, says Bruce Isaacs of Signature Resolution.

The National Labor Relations Board recently outlined its rulemaking priorities. From union election "blocking charges" to standards for determining joint employer status, Lori Armstrong Halber at Reed Smith discusses the important details from each agenda item.

The Florida Legislature should implement regulations in the wake of South Dakota v. Wayfair to make up for the state's practical inability to collect use taxes directly from consumers and remove the competitive disadvantage for Florida “brick and mortar” retailers, say Robert Goldman and French Brown of Dean Mead.

A Massachusetts federal court's eventual decision on cellphone searches at the U.S. border in Alasaad v. Nielsen will further illustrate the differences in how federal courts apply the U.S. Supreme Court's 2014 decision in Riley v. California to the warrant-requirement exception for border searches, says Sharon Barney at Leech Tishman.

Though the U.S. Department of Justice's guidelines on cooperation credit in False Claims Act matters fail to answer some key questions, they do describe how life sciences companies can cooperate without admitting liability — though companies may need to share information with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as well, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

A charterer that nominates a “safe berth” to load and discharge cargo may or may not be obligated to guarantee the berth’s safety for the vessel, depending on where the issue is being litigated. The U.S. Supreme Court has an opportunity to resolve the question in its upcoming ruling in Frescatti Shipping, says Andrew Stakelum of King & Spalding.