Alert
Published 06/23/2020
By Patrick F. Nugent
Industries Higher Education
On June 15, 2020, the NCAA and Power Five Conferences [1] were hit with a class action complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The complaint, filed on behalf of plaintiffs Grant House (a member of Arizona State University’s men’s swimming and diving team) and Sedona Prince (a member of the University of Oregon’s women’s basketball team), seeks certification of nationwide classes of current and former student-athletes who seek damages and equitable relief related to the use of their names, images and likenesses (NILs). The complaint takes aim at the NCAA’s...
Alert
Published 06/19/2020
Services Litigation | White Collar and Government Enforcement
1. With deteriorated economic conditions, high unemployment and a $2 trillion government stimulus, the current environment is ripe for fraud. The Department of Justice has prioritized swift action against those suspected of pandemic-related illegal activity. Multi-agency enforcement collaborations at the state and federal levels are already resulting in prosecutions on a variety of charges, including fraudulently obtaining CARES Act paycheck protection loans, falsely claiming drugs could prevent COVID-19 and the theft of COVID-19-related medical supplies and selling them on eBay . 2...
Article
Published 06/19/2020
Industries Real Estate
Services Real Estate Services
Alert
Published 06/19/2020
By Alexander R. Bilus, Scott D. Patterson, Douglas A. Sampson
Services Cybersecurity and Privacy
This alert has been updated with new information reflecting the district judge’s denial of Capital One’s appeal. In a recent decision, a Virginia federal magistrate judge held that the attorney work product doctrine did not protect from discovery a forensic investigation report created for Capital One in the wake of a 2019 data breach. See In re Capital One Consumer Data Security Breach Litigation , MDL No. 1:19md2915, 2020 WL 2731238 (E.D. Va. May 26, 2020). This new decision threatens companies’ ability to protect such reports from disclosure to class action plaintiffs and other third...
Alert
Published 06/18/2020
By David G. Shapiro, Stanley J. Kull, Daniel Berman
During this past week, the U.S. Small Business Administration (the SBA ) has released a number of new or amended rules (the Rules ) providing additional guidance on the Paycheck Protection Program ( PPP ) in light of the changes made by the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 (the Flexibility Act ), which was signed into law on June 5, 2020. Our previous alert on the Flexibility Act can be found here . Additionally, the SBA has released new PPP loan forgiveness applications and instructions. Below are highlights of the additional guidance provided by the SBA. Payroll Threshold...
Alert
Published 06/18/2020
By Justin C. Danilewitz, JosephA. Valenti, Allison L. Burdette
The CARES Act pumped over two trillion dollars into the American economy, with much of that money going directly to individuals in the form of stimulus checks or to small businesses in the form of Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loans. Many of those recipients will spend that money lawfully in any number of ways. Yet, as many recently announced prosecutions make clear, the stimulus and PPP injections have increased the opportunities for fraud. In turn, compliance risks are heightened for financial institutions—particularly Bank Secrecy Act and Anti-Money-Laundering (“BSA/AML”) risks. [1]...
Videos
Published 06/18/2020
Services : White Collar and Government Enforcement
With more than $2 trillion marked for COVID-19 relief, the U.S. Department of Justice is prioritizing to act swiftly against pandemic-related irregularities. This presentation will cover best practices for risk management and compliance surrounding the financial stimulus. In addition, the program will recap lessons learned from the 2008 financial crisis to forecast and survey likely enforcement trends in the post-COVID-19 economic landscape.
Alert
Published 06/17/2020
By Jacqueline A. Brooks, Richard D. Leigh
The Federal Reserve Board (“ FRB ”) announced on June 15, 2020 the launch of its Main Street Lending Program (the “ Lending Program ”) for small and mid-size businesses. Registration for lenders opened on June 15th and the FRB encouraged lenders to begin making loans under the Lending Program immediately. Lenders that wish to participate in the Lending Program can register through an online portal on the FRB’s website. The Lending Program, authorized under Section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act, consists of three loan facilities: The Main Street New Loan Facility, which provides for new...
Alert
Published 06/16/2020
By Patrick F. Nugent
Industries Energy
“Sometimes a complicated regulatory scheme may cause us to miss the forest for the trees, but at bottom, these cases boil down to a simple proposition: A trail is a trail, and land is land.” Justice Thomas, Opinion of the Court in United States Forest Service v. Cowpasture River Preservation Association , No. 18–1584 (June 15, 2020) In United States Forest Service v. Cowpasture River Preservation Association , one of this Term’s most closely-watched cases, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the United States Forest Service has authority under the Mineral Leasing Act to grant...
Article
Published 06/16/2020
Industries Health Care
Services Labor and Employment
Blog Post
Published 06/16/2020
By Alexander Reich
Videos
Published 06/16/2020
Industries Higher Education
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Education released its much anticipated final rule and regulations governing Title IX. The Department has stated that the updated regulations must be fully adopted by colleges and universities by August 14, 2020. This webinar provides advanced instruction and recommendations on how your campus stakeholders should approach employment-related issues specific to updates to the Rule and how the Rule may impact current written policies or future institutional responses relating to employment-related issues.
Alert
Published 06/12/2020
Services Corporate | Corporate Governance | General Corporate
1. Assess your company's current risks and understand the current environment. Remain flexible and adjust to changing circumstances, including employment rules and restrictions and local, state and national laws impacting your reopening plans and continued operations. Analyze the strength and viability of your key vendor relations and make transition plans if necessary. Keep in touch with key customers and address any vulnerabilities in your relationship. Be prepared for potential claims—both on offense and defense. 2. Focus on assessing and fortifying stability in your organization in order...
Blog Post
Published 06/12/2020
By Sunu M. Pillai
Industries: Construction
Alert
Published 06/11/2020
By Cathleen M. Devlin, Melissa A. Clarke
Services Environmental
Three environmental conservation groups have announced plans to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in response to EPA’s issuance of its March 26, 2020 Temporary Policy Memo , which modified the agency’s enforcement discretion in light of the sweeping impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States (“Temporary Enforcement Policy”). The Center for Biological Diversity, Waterkeeper Alliance Inc. and Riverkeeper Inc. contend that EPA’s Temporary Enforcement Policy enables polluting industries, including oil and gas companies, to shirk their obligations to comply with...
Article
Published 06/11/2020
Services Intellectual Property Litigation | Litigation