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<b><i>Online Extra</b></i><br>HHS Cracks Down on Health Care Privacy Violations under HIPAA
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services shattered previous records for enforcing the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act in fiscal year 2016, according to an analysis by McDermott Will & Emery health care attorneys.
Salvaging a Patent After a Post-Grant Proceeding
When the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) decides to institute a post-grant proceeding, the subject patent is in jeopardy.
Retiring Boomers Pose Big Challenges For Firms
The boomer generation — 75 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964 — and a tiny cadre of over-70s Silent Generation lawyers currently make up just under half of partners at Am Law 200 firms. As partners with the greatest seniority, they constitute a majority in the equity and management ranks, and control an outsize share of client relationships. The impacts of retirement are amplified because a long surge in hiring and promotion that began when boomers entered law firms has halted since the financial crisis.
Duty to Warn and Third-Party Conduct: A Look at Two Recent New York Cases
In the past year, New York's highest court, the Court of Appeals, issued two decisions addressing both the scope of a defendant's duty to warn in negligence and products liability actions, and the scope of tort liability in actions predicated upon third-party conduct.
Managing Risk in Light of 'Shadow IT'
Information Governance in the Age of Cloud Application Proliferation
Law Firms, Meet Your New Regulator: Your Clients
While major banks, retailers, hospitals and insurance companies were the brick and mortar of a growing media monument to hubris and cyber overconfidence, law firm breaches went mostly unnoticed. That is, until government agencies and law enforcement grew concerned that the wealth of intellectual property curated by law firms could be used to manipulate financial markets by front running trades.
Client Document Security Audits: Is Your Law Firm Ready?
It is essential for all law firms to safeguard their clients' documents against ever-evolving threats and thoroughly understand the security challenges and potential solutions in today's demanding world of legal document compliance.
Looking to the FFIEC Revised Information Security Booklet for Best Practices in Data Security for Financial Institutions
The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) recently revised its Information Security Booklet. The changes bring the financial services industry closer to the goal of having a clearly defined set of cybersecurity and data protection protocols to ensure regulatory compliance.
Optional Safety Equipment
<b><i>Part Two of a Two-Part Article</b></i><p><p>In last month's newsletter, the author began a discussion of the manufacturer practice of making increased safety features available to purchasers — but only for a price. The discussion concludes herein.
Legal Tech: e-Discovery: Judge Says 'NO' to Party's Bid to Force Use of Predictive Coding
Would Judge Peck's admiration and advocacy for predictive coding lead him, upon a request by the opposing party, to force a responding party to use it against that party's own wishes? Judge Peck recently faced this issue, putting potential use of predictive coding at odds with established precedent and procedure regarding how to conduct discovery.

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    A majority of courts consider the <i>contra proferentem</i> doctrine to be a pillar of insurance law. The doctrine requires ambiguous terms in an insurance policy to be construed against the insurer and in favor of coverage for the insured. A prominent rationale behind the doctrine is that insurance policies are usually standard-form contracts drafted entirely by insurers.
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  • Abandoned and Unused Cables: A Hidden Liability Under the 2002 National Electric Code
    In an effort to minimize the release of toxic gasses from cables in the event of fire, the 2002 version of the National Electric Code ("NEC"), promulgated by the National Fire Protection Association, sets forth new guidelines requiring that abandoned cables must be removed from buildings unless they are located in metal raceways or tagged "For Future Use." While the NEC is not, in itself, binding law, most jurisdictions in the United States adopt the NEC by reference in their state or local building and fire codes. Thus, noncompliance with the recent NEC guidelines will likely mean that a building is in violation of a building or fire code. If so, the building owner may also be in breach of agreements with tenants and lenders and may be jeopardizing its fire insurance coverage. Even in jurisdictions where the 2002 NEC has not been adopted, it may be argued that the guidelines represent the standard of reasonable care and could result in tort liability for the landlord if toxic gasses from abandoned cables are emitted in a fire. With these potential liabilities in mind, this article discusses: 1) how to address the abandoned wires and cables currently located within the risers, ceilings and other areas of properties, and 2) additional considerations in the placement and removal of telecommunications cables going forward.
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