Loud and Clear: FinCEN Demands a Culture of Compliance
October 02, 2014
The onslaught of civil and criminal enforcement actions against financial institutions for violating anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing laws has continued its brisk pace in the past few months, with enforcement of the AML provisions of the Bank Secrecy Act and the sanctions regulations administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control showing no signs of slowing down.
Efficient Review In a Time-Sensitive Government Investigation
October 02, 2014
Over the past 10 years, government investigations have become increasingly sophisticated in analyzing electronically stored information (ESI). Federal executive departments and agencies have made substantial investments in advanced analytical systems that help investigators and prosecutors filter voluminous amounts of incoming ESI. Respondents to Civil Investigative Demands (CIDs) must recognize that the information provided will be analyzed using these powerful tools.
Cross-Border Cybercrime and the Cybersecurity Wars
October 02, 2014
The Home Depot data breach may be the largest in the U.S. yet, affecting not only millions of customers in the U.S., but also shoppers at its 180 stores in Canada. Home Depot said customers who shopped at its U.S. and Canadian stores as far back as April were exposed, meaning the breach extended for more than four months including the busy summer season.
FRCP Overhaul
October 02, 2014
Some 75 years after the adoption of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP), an overhaul is imminent and it will fundamentally affect product liability litigation practice.
Bank Secrecy Act
October 02, 2014
When companies, especially financial institutions, and not individuals are charged with serious offenses, criticism is now common. Yet such criticism may be particularly unwarranted in the high-profile BSA prosecutions of recent years, where criminal liability rests on an institutional failure to maintain appropriate systems and controls.
Off-Campus Student Housing
October 02, 2014
Between 2009 and 2011, there were 23.2 million college students in the U.S. In 2013, the Census Bureau recorded that 25% resided off-campus. What does that mean for insurers of these properties?
At the Intersection: Cutting Corners and the Question of Clarity
October 02, 2014
Proponents of Legal Project Management (LPM), Legal Process Improvement (LPI) and other approaches for driving greater efficiency and value into legal service delivery get a lot of blow-back. One of the more common gripes we hear is that "LPM encourages corner-cutting." Is this true?
Patentability of Computer-Implemented Inventions
October 02, 2014
In <i>Alice Corporation v. CLS Bank International,</i> the U.S. Supreme Court issued another in a line of cases dealing with the issue of the patentability of software inventions. Based on this opinion, one thing remains clear: The issue is far from definitively decided.
Additional Insureds
October 02, 2014
Inter-company indemnification agreements in underlying contracts often require not only the insured's indemnification of the would-be additional insured, but also that the indemnifying company secure CGL coverage, sometimes written as coverage that is "not less than" a certain amount.
Collecting Social Security Numbers
October 02, 2014
In the first half of 2014, at least 96 significant data breaches were reported, compromising more than 2.2 million records. Of these breaches, at least 46 involved records that may have contained Social Security Numbers (SSNs). What the affected businesses may not know is that the mere collection of SSNs may have put them in violation of state laws, in addition to the liability they may now face for having failed to protect the SSN information.
