Articles

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 ...


09.27.17

Spoofed Robocalls Yield Another Multimillion-Dollar Fine From FCC

By Christine M. Reilly, Chair, TCPA Compliance and Class Action Defense | Diana L. Eisner, Associate, LitigationCiting more than 21 million illegal calls, the Federal Communications Commission proposed an $82 million fine against Best Insurance Contracts, Inc., and owner Philip Roesel.The agency ...


09.27.17

Surprising Results for U.S. Chamber Statistics on TCPA Cases

By Christine M. Reilly, Chair, TCPA Compliance and Class Action DefenseDuring a 17-month period after the Federal Communication Commission’s July 2015 order, the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform compiled a database of 3,121 Telephone Consumer Protection Act cases filed ...


09.26.17

Who Is Responsible for Hazardous Material Cleanup?

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has determined that 13 Superfund sites were flooded and possibly damaged as a result of Hurricane Harvey. Refineries and chemical plants were reported to have been impacted by flooding, and it is not yet known how many smaller facilities that managed ...


09.24.17

Are the Politics of Climate Change Finally Reaching a Turning Point?

When Hurricane Harvey swept through South Texas last month, it inundated Houston and the surrounding coastline, displaced thousands, flattened homes and killed scores of residents. President Donald Trump tweeted about the “HISTORIC rainfall in Houston” and the ...