When Laws Conflict: What Ethics Rule Applies to a California Lawyer Advising On Cannabis?
6/30/20
By: Greg Fayard
It goes without saying that a lawyer—from California or elsewhere—shall not counsel a client to do something illegal.
But what about a state law that conflicts with a federal law? For example, federal laws that criminalize the …
Teamwork Makes The Dream Work: Lawyer in Same Firm Allowed To Submit Expert Affidavit On Behalf of Firm’s Client
6/30/20
By: Gregory Blueford
In a case of first impression, the Georgia Court of Appeals reversed a trial court’s order granting a motion to dismiss after determining the trial judge improperly dismissed the case because the expert affidavit in support of …
The Pandemic Risk Insurance Act of 2020 is Introduced in Congress
6/29/20
By: Wayne Hammack
Since March 2020 the House Financial Services Committee has considered the creation of a federal reinsurance program to provide a safeguard for businesses against future pandemic-related business interruption losses. An early memorandum calling for the creation of …
The Right to Recover Costs
6/24/20
By: Dhave Balatero
In California, the right to recover costs is entirely a creature of statute (Murillo v. Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc. (1998) 17 Cal.4th 985, 989) and Cal. Code. Civ. Pro. section 1032 is “the fundamental authority for awarding …
OSHA Issues Guidance On Reopening for Non-Essential Businesses
6/24/20
By: Hillary Freesmeier
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, better known as OSHA, has recently released its Guidance on Returning to Work for those businesses that have been deemed “non-essential” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Guidance directs a Three Phase …
Massachusetts Superior Court Rules Non-Compete Agreement Fully Enforceable Despite Minor Change in Job Duties Between Signing and Enforcement of Agreement
6/22/20
By: Janet Barringer and Zinnia Khan
The Massachusetts Superior Court’s recent decision in Now Business Intelligence, Inc. v. Sean Donahue, et al., held minor changes in an employee’s job duties will not create a “new employment contract” so as …
States Target Infrastructure Investment to Spark Economic Recovery
6/22/20
By: Thomas Hay
Government leaders and industry groups are contemplating a major investment in infrastructure in the anticipated “Phase 4” coronavirus relief package. Last week, the American Public Works Association (APWA) called upon Congress to include infrastructure investment as a key …
Hurricanes, Pandemics, and Shortages, Oh My: Considerations for Hurricane Season in the Time of Coronavirus
6/18/20
By: Anastasia Osbrink
According to forecasters with the Climate Prediction Center at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (“NOAA”), a division of the National Weather Service, the 2020 hurricane season has a 60% chance of being an “above-normal season.” (See …
The End of Qualified Immunity?
6/18/20
By: Christopher S. Lee
Since its genesis in Pierson v. Ray, the qualified immunity doctrine has never been shy of critics. If you were to talk to the late Justice William Douglas (the lone dissenter in Pierson) about …
A Summary of the Executive Order on Policing and “Instances of Misconduct”
6/18/20
By: Jake Loken
Seeking to address the “instances in which some [law enforcement] officers have misused their authority, challenging the trust of the American people, with tragic consequences,” President Trump issued the Executive Order on Safe Policing for Safe Communities, …
FINRA Amends Rules to Incentivize Timely Payment of Arbitration Awards
6/17/20
By: Kathleen Cusack and Kirsten Patzer
On May 21, 2020, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced that effective September 14, 2020, its Membership Application Program (MAP) rules will be amended to further incentivize the timely payment of arbitration awards. …
U.S. Supreme Court Rules 6-3 That Federal Employment Law Prohibits Discrimination On The Basis Of Sexual Orientation Or Gender Identity
6/17/20
By: Ryan Greenspan
In perhaps the most significant and far-reaching employment-law decision in decades, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 15, 2020 that the 1964 Civil Rights Act’s prohibition of discrimination “because of… sex” necessarily includes discrimination based on …