Features

Get It in Writing: Deducting False Claims Act Payments
In fiscal year 2017, the DOJ collected more than $3.7 billion dollars from False Claims Act (FCA) cases — part of the $86 billion it has collected from FCA cases since 1986. States and municipalities are aggressively pursuing FCA recoveries as well. Whether or not such payments are deductible as business expenses under the Internal Revenue Code is an important consideration when negotiating a settlement with the government.
Features

Unprepared for a Cyberattack? The DOJ Wants to Change That
<b><i>New U.S. Department of Justice Cybersecurity Guidelines Stress Preparedness Amid Reports That Many Organizations Have Failed to Plan for a Breach</b></i><p>Data protection tips are virtually everywhere these days. So it's hardly surprising that the U.S. Department of Justice has released new guidelines on that very topic. The UK's National Cyber Security Centre is poised to follow suit.
Features

New York State's Latest Ticket Sales Reforms
The majority of these recent amendments become effective on Dec. 28, 2018. Many of these reforms appear to be in direct response to concerns expressed in 2016 by the New York Attorney General (NYAG), yet the changes do not appear to be as sweeping as the NYAG had sought.
Features

Alleging the Existence of a Trade Secret in a Misappropriation Case
<b><i>The Detail Dilemma</b></i><p>How much detail does it take to allege a trade secret under federal pleadings standards? Can the alleged trade secret be described generally in the complaint or must it be described in detail? This article analyzes the various considerations that inform a court's viewpoint on the issue. Lawyers who litigate trade secret cases should be well-aware of these considerations.
Features

Washington's FARA Frenzy Spurs New Legal Business
<b><i>The FARA feeding frenzy had already been building in recent years, but it gained traction in the months since Manafort's indictment last fall.</b></i><p>The U.S. Justice Department's aggressive enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) has drawn blood throughout the consultant class in Washington, with lawyers assessing the casualties and prowling for new business.
Columns & Departments
In the Courts
Former CFO of Bankrate Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for $25 Million Fraud Scheme
Features

The 'New NAFTA' and How It Will Affect Intellectual Property Law
The stage is set for the 24-year-old north American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to end and the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA), which has implications for intellectual property, to take its place.
Features

The Blockchain Will Support GDPR, but Not How Most People Think
It's clear that the onset of GDPR regulations and a quickly changing consumer sentiment about the sensitivity and value of their personal data will reorient a company's interactions with their customers and their information. There will be some pain points in this transition, as Facebook investors recently demonstrated, but it doesn't have to be a unilateral downturn for the tech industry.
Features

Transient Rental Ban Does Not Violate Fair Housing Act
In a recent decision, the Eastern District of New York dismissed a multi-pronged challenge to a local municipal ordinance that regulates rental of property on a short-term or transient basis.
Features

Defusing the UST Tax Bomb
<b><i>How Lenders and Debtors can Minimize UST Fees and Maximize Creditor Recoveries</b></i><p>As predicted in the first part of this article (May, 2018), the new United States Trustee (UST) fee has had a disproportionate effect on middle-market, high-velocity cash flow companies. The best solution is for Congress to revisit the fee structure and refine it to reflect the realities of particular cases and the actual burden on the UST.
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