Features

Flood and Terrorism Insurance Reauthorization: Safe for Now
Federal programs have made insurance more readily accessible to protect real property in the event of a flood or an act of terrorism. These programs enable flood and terrorism insurance to be widely available at realistic price points by ensuring that the amount of the premiums payable for such insurance remain at a level that a borrower can afford, which in turn preserves the underwritten economics of the loan transaction.
Features

Local Law Banning Music Festival Is Not Unconstitutional Restraint of Speech
A landowner challenged local zoning that banned holding a three-day music festival, arguing that the law was an unconstitutional violation of free speech and void for vagueness.
Features

Case Study: Swedish Music Industry Views as European Union Countries Work on Drafting Home Laws for Enacting EU Copyright Directive
This article is Part One of a two-part article. Part Two will appear in our March 2020 issue. This article examines the Copyright Directive and music-industry structure issues through the lens of Sweden, which has both a robust music business and a strong technology sector, two divergent perspectives in the development of the directive.
Features

Biometrics and the Fifth Amendment: A New Frontier
When used for work, mobile devices routinely contain employers' proprietary and confidential data. The struggle between Government requests for access to such data and constitutional protections — including the Government's ability to compel the turnover of biometric "keys" to unlock mobile devices — create areas of concern.
Features

The Threat of Ransomware 2.0 for Law Practices
During the past few months, there has been a significant paradigm shift in the cybersecurity world. Threat actors from Russia, in particular, have significantly enhanced their capabilities to target individual businesses and Managed Service Providers (MSPs) or IT companies. It is critical that lawyers, their firms and the companies they serve be aware of these threats and take the appropriate measures to proactively secure their own — and their clients' — sensitive and private information.
Features

Law Firms Adopt a Legal Operations Perspective
Law Firms Are Following the Lead of Their Corporate Clients In Implementing Legal Operations Methodologies Legal operations as a discipline within corporate legal departments is receiving more attention, funding and staffing over the last few years.
Features

More Regulation, Stronger Investigations and Home Tech Devices Concerns to Come in 2020, New Gibson Dunn Report Warns
On Data Privacy Day last month, Gibson Dunn released the eighth edition of its United States Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Outlook and Review. The report details trends that the privacy industry saw in 2019 from a legislative, regulatory and judicial perspective.
Columns & Departments
Landlord & Tenant Law
Out of Possession Landlord's Agreement With HUD To Maintain Premises Does Not Subject Landlord to Personal Injury Liability Out of Possession Landlord Liability for Injuries on Abutting Sidewalk Breach of Lease By Subsidiary Does Not Justify Piercing Corporate Veil Tenant Not Entitled to Preliminary Injunction Requiring Landlord to Co-Operate Landlord Must Maintain Elevator Service for Use By Single Tenant Tenant Not Relieved of Obligation to Pay Real Estate Taxes
Features

Linking Partner Pay to Strategic Firm Objectives
Pay for performance is not a new concept in this country. The ideas and concepts underlying a graduated pay scale based on contribution and merit are deeply ingrained in our society. However, in general law firms have been slower to adopt pay for performance systems. What law firms need now, and this article describes, is an approach to partner compensation that closely links a partners pay to their ability to contribute to the achievement of the firm's strategic objectives.
Features

When Is a Promise Enough?: Contractual Duties and Insider Trading
Two criminal appeals before the Second Circuit require the Court of Appeals to decide whether the violation of a fiduciary relationship is required to create insider trading liability or if a breach of contract is sufficient.
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