Articles

10.20.17

EEOC Wellness Regs Could Feel Better in 2018

Why it mattersThe Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has promised to revise its regulations for employer wellness programs by mid-2018 in a new filing in Washington, D.C., federal court. In 2016, the agency issued final rules attempting to clarify how the Americans with Disabilities Act ...


10.18.17

FCPA and Healthcare: The DOJ’s New Bedfellows

By John F. Libby, Partner, Corporate Investigations and White Collar Defense | Jacqueline C. Wolff, Partner, Corporate Investigations and White Collar Defense | Kenneth B. Julian, Partner, LitigationWhy it matters: In a speech on July 25, 2017, Sandra Moser, acting chief of the Fraud Section of the ...


10.18.17

Criminal Charges, Civil Fines for Bitcoin Exchange and Operator

By John F. Libby, Partner, Corporate Investigations and White Collar Defense | Jacqueline C. Wolff, Partner, Corporate Investigations and White Collar Defense | Kenneth B. Julian, Partner, LitigationWhy it matters: On July 26, 2017, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that a grand jury in the ...


10.16.17

Far From 'Concrete'

Companies and class action defense attorneys jumped for joy in May 2016 when the Supreme Court issued its decision in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, 136 S. Ct. 1540 (2016). That opinion discussed a threshold constitutional requirement for being able to bring a lawsuit in federal court: standing (i.e., a ...


10.02.17

California Takes On Drug Pricing: Real Progress or Illusion?

Californians and others around the country following the California legislature’s multiyear debate on prescription drug pricing may have stood up and taken notice on Sept. 13 when the state Senate followed the Assembly in passing SB-17 to facilitate greater transparency in brand-name and ...


10.01.17

Digital Engagement Demands a Nimble HIPAA Strategy

Mobile apps, e-mail and text messaging present new opportunities for health plans and healthcare providers to engage their members and patients. However, organizations must keep in mind that sending electronic protected health information (ePHI) through these channels poses HIPAA ...


09.30.17

Failure to Approve Oklahoma Waiver Undermines Trust Between HHS and States

By failing to follow through on repeated assurances to Oklahoma that its 1332 reinsurance waiver would be approved on an expedited timeline, the federal government dealt a devastating blow to Oklahoma consumers and magnified suspicions that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is more ...


09.28.17

Proposed Legislation Aims to Make Patent Owners "STRONGER"

By Yasser M. El-Gamal, Partner, Intellectual Property | Ehab Samuel, Counsel, Intellectual PropertyWhy it matters: In late June 2017, proposed legislation titled the “STRONGER Patents Act of 2017” was introduced in the Senate with the goal of amending the ...


09.28.17

Copyright Protection for AI Machine Created Works?

By Yasser M. El-Gamal, Partner, Intellectual Property | Ehab Samuel, Counsel, Intellectual PropertyWhy it matters: Should the artistic efforts of robots, computers or other artificially intelligent machines be afforded copyright protection? If so, who, or what, would ...


09.27.17

When Is It Not a Constitutional Taking Case?

"The normal focus of this column is to examine what it takes to properly allege a constitutional property violation, a taking of property within the meaning of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution or Article I, section 19 of the California Constitution. This month’s ...