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SCOTUS Set to Address Circuit Split in Interpreting CFAA
The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) is the sort of broadly worded criminal statute which gives white-collar prosecutors considerable power — and makes defense counsel and judges uneasy. The meaning of "or exceed[ing] authorized access" is not so clear.
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Corporate Compliance Programs and the DOJ's Emphasis on Data Analytics: What Companies Need to Consider
In recent months, the U.S. Department of Justice has raised expectations for companies to use data analytics to monitor the effectiveness of their compliance programs and to identify potential misconduct.
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Fall 2020 Data Privacy Updates
America and the EU continue altering data privacy frameworks for businesses.
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No 'Fishing' In Trump Tax Return Case
"Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime." Judge Victor Marrero, writing in a decision dismissing the President's civil suit under the Civil Rights Act, neither gives a fish, nor teaches how to fish — rather he explains what fishing is.
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The 'Right to Control' Wire Fraud Theory Should Be Eliminated
In recent decades, federal fraud prosecutions have relied on the theory that a defendant can fraudulently deprive a victim of the intangible "right to control" its assets, even if the victim is not deprived of any tangible money or property. While this theory has been repeatedly affirmed by the Second Circuit, it is incompatible with a series of recent Supreme Court cases in which the Court has narrowed the scope of federal white-collar criminal statutes by adopting narrow definitions of the term "property."
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Don't Set It & Forget It: The Importance of Evaluating & Evolving Healthcare Compliance Programs
The federal government won or negotiated over $2.6 billion in healthcare fraud judgments and settlements in 2019. The government's investment of resources toward combatting fraud, waste and abuse in healthcare can be expected to continue in full force, irrespective of a change in political administration. Accordingly, it is important for healthcare companies to focus on maintaining flexible and effective compliance programs.
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DOJ's China Initiative Poses Growing Risks for Those with Chinese Ties
In the two years since it's unveiling, the Initiative has expanded its scope from prosecutions of individuals suspected of stealing for China to those who simply have Chinese ties. The department is now increasing its mission to investigate individuals who are merely associated with Chinese recruitment programs.
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Ninth Circuit Upholds Most FCC Restrictions on Local Government Review of Wireless Installations
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' recent decision in City of Portland v. Unites States significantly affects the ability of local governments to regulate the installation of so called "small cell" wireless facilities and addresses the ability of wireless providers to utilize utility poles.
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COVID Shutdown Orders v. Statutory Rent Obligations
Even though payment of post-petition rent under a nonresidential lease (prior to rejection) has historically been an absolute requirement, bankruptcy courts, as courts of equity, have the ability during these extraordinary times to take a more flexible approach.
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Deciphering the USPTO's Material Alteration Standard for Amending Marks
As brands mature over time, their owners often seek to update marks that are subject to a federal registration or registration application. In some cases, the impetus for the amendment may be deliberately to freshen, tweak, or otherwise modernize the subject mark. In other cases, brand owners may recognize after the fact that their current usage of a mark does not match the mark as originally registered or applied for.
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MOST POPULAR STORIES
- Protecting Innovation in the Cyber World from Patent TrollsWith trillions of dollars to keep watch over, the last thing we need is the distraction of costly litigation brought on by patent assertion entities (PAEs or "patent trolls"), companies that don't make any products but instead seek royalties by asserting their patents against those who do make products.Read More ›
- Private Equity Valuation: A Significant DecisionInsiders (and others) in the private equity business are accustomed to seeing a good deal of discussion ' academic and trade ' on the question of the appropriate methods of valuing private equity positions and securities which are otherwise illiquid. An interesting recent decision in the Southern District has been brought to our attention. The case is <i>In Re Allied Capital Corp.</i>, CCH Fed. SEC L. Rep. 92411 (US DC, S.D.N.Y., Apr. 25, 2003). Judge Lynch's decision is well written, the Judge reviewing a motion to dismiss by a business development company, Allied Capital, against a strike suit claiming that Allied's method of valuing its portfolio failed adequately to account for i) conditions at the companies themselves and ii) market conditions. The complaint appears to be, as is often the case, slap dash, content to point out that Allied revalued some of its positions, marking them down for a variety of reasons, and the stock price went down - all this, in the view of plaintiff's counsel, amounting to violations of Rule 10b-5.Read More ›
- Meet the Lawyer Working on Inclusion Rider LanguageAt the Oscars in March, Best Actress winner Frances McDormand made “inclusion rider” go viral. But Kalpana Kotagal, a partner at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll had already worked for months to write the language for such provisions. Kotagal was developing legal language for contract provisions that Hollywood's elite could use to require studios and other partners to employ diverse workers on set.Read More ›
- Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar InvestigationsThis article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.Read More ›
- The DOJ Goes Phishing: The Rise of False Claims Act Cybersecurity LitigationWhile the DOJ Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative is still in its early stages and cybersecurity regulations are evolving, whistleblower plaintiffs have already begun leveraging the FCA to pursue alleged noncompliance with government cybersecurity requirements.Read More ›