Illinois

Expert Analysis

• State Net

  How States' 2020 Policy Agendas Are Taking Shape

  

  State legislators are already hammering out their agendas for 2020, with data privacy and security, the gig economy, drug prices and Medicaid expansion likely to be central to next year's state legislative battles, says Rich Ehisen of State Net Capitol Journal.

• Secured Creditor Duties Ripe For High Court Consideration

  

  If certiorari is granted in the Seventh Circuit's Chicago v. Fulton case, the U.S. Supreme Court will have the opportunity to resolve the growing circuit split over the Bankruptcy Code’s automatic stay on creditors concerning turnover of a debtor’s impounded vehicle, say Alexandra Dugan and Elizabeth Brusa of Bradley Arant.

• Will College Athletes Be Deemed Employees Soon?

  

  In light of the NCAA's recent proposed rule change on student-athlete compensation, and state and federal legislative developments in this area, people are again questioning whether student-athletes should be considered employees of the universities for whom they serve as a major revenue stream, says Sara Moore of Nemeth Law.

• FAA Efforts Aim To Reduce Drone Jurisdictional Disputes

  

  Local and state laws concerning drones are widespread, but so, too, are confusion and disagreement over the extent of federal jurisdiction in this area. The Federal Aviation Administration's forthcoming remote identification rules may help resolve some of these conflicts, says Mark Dombroff of Fox Rothschild.

• How To Hire Lateral Partners More Effectively

  

  Although lateral partner hiring is the preferred method of inorganic growth among law firms, the traditional approach to vetting does not employ sufficient due diligence by the hiring firm, says Michael Ellenhorn at executive search firm Decipher Competitive Intelligence.

• Illinois Tax Talk: Bounty Hunter Auditors And Qui Tam Claims

  

  The Illinois Legislature’s recently passed tax bills — covering sales tax sourcing, contingency-fee auditors and qui tam plaintiffs — conflict with the existing tax infrastructure and each other, making life more complicated for businesses, says Michael Wynne of Jones Day.

• High Court Hears DACA: Procedure, Practicalities, Predictions

  

  At oral argument last week, the U.S. Supreme Court justices seemed likely to rule that the Trump administration had sufficient reasons to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which would leave the lives of DACA recipients and their families in limbo, says Jaclyn Kelley-Widmer at Cornell Law School.

• The Coming Storm Of Biometric Privacy Laws: How To Comply

  

  To respond to the rapidly evolving legal landscape, companies that incorporate biometric data into their business practices can take several steps to minimize the risk of privacy litigation exposure, say Jeffrey Rosenthal and David Oberly of Blank Rome.

• How Increased Stays Pending IPR May Affect Venue Choice

  

  A little over one year after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in SAS Institute v. Iancu, data show a 5% increase in district court-granted stays of litigation pending inter partes review, and the grant rate disparities may influence new patent filings toward certain venues and defendants facing patent infringement claims toward others, say attorneys at Armond Wilson.

• The Coming Storm Of Biometric Privacy Laws: What To Expect

  

  While there are only three state biometric privacy laws on the books, there is a growing trend of states' introducing biometric privacy bills, many of which feature far-reaching private right of action provisions that would substantially increase the level of regulatory and litigation risk, say Jeffrey Rosenthal and David Oberly of Blank Rome.

• 7th Circ. Rulings Clarify ADA Obesity Standard For Employers

  

  While the Seventh Circuit’s recent Americans with Disabilities Act decisions in Richardson v. Chicago Transit Authority and Shell v. BNSF Railway make clear employers may consider weight when evaluating a worker’s fitness for a position, they don't provide free rein to make hiring decisions based on obesity, say Jennifer Froehlich and Andrew Fiske at Holland & Knight.

• Wis. PFAS Proposals Present Challenges For Businesses

  

  Businesses with a presence in Wisconsin should be aware of the state's proposals for regulating per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — in particular, its plans to set extremely low allowable levels of PFAS in drinking water, say George Marek and Lauren Harpke of Quarles & Brady.

• Opinion

  Cannabis Social Equity Programs Are Fundamentally Flawed

  

  While programs granting a licensing advantage to communities disproportionately impacted by the criminalization of cannabis have gained support in progressive legislative circles, they are failing due to poor legislative design, says Avis Bulbulyan of SIVA Enterprises.

• Can State Laws One-Up SEC’s Regulation Best Interest?

  

  Because the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has punted on whether Regulation Best Interest will preempt state broker-dealer conduct standards, state laws may face challenges under the doctrines of conflict preemption, as well as limitations from the federal securities laws, say attorneys at Williams & Jensen.

• FERC Orders Advance Grid Operators' Energy Storage Plans

  

  The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission recently approved two regional transmission organizations' energy storage proposals. But full integration of storage resources into the wholesale market will be complex — and ongoing litigation could force FERC to change its approach, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.