March 10, 2020

Disability Accommodation Request Form (ADA)

By: Joseph D. Guarino , DLA Piper This form is a Disability Accommodation Request (ADA) that an employee can use to request a reasonable accommodation. It contains practical guidance and drafting notes. This form is intended for private employers. It is based on federal law and does not address all potential state law distinctions; thus, you should check any relevant state and local laws. Employee Information: ...

March 10, 2020

Disability Accommodation Request Resolution Form (ADA)

By: Sara Kula , DelBello Donnellan Weingarten Wise & Wiederkehr, LLP An employer may use this form to document the determination of an employee’s request for a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The form is intended for private employers. It is based on federal law and does not address all potential state law distinctions; thus, you should check any relevant state and...

March 10, 2020

Americans with Disabilities Act: Guidance for Commercial Real Estate Owners

By: Jonathan R. Mook, DiMuroGinsberg, P.C. and Howard (Skip) Maginniss, MAGINNISS + DEL NINNO ARCHITECTS One goal of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (the ADA or the Act) is to ensure that commercial facilities and public accommodations are accessible to persons with disabilities. As a result, ADA regulations have far-reaching effects on both newly constructed and existing buildings. THIS ARTICLE EXPLAINS...

March 10, 2020

Antibody Claims: Patent Eligibility and Written Description Issues

By: Christopher E. Loh , Venable LLP The rise of antibody-based treatments in the pharmaceuticals market has been accompanied by developments in U.S. patent law that may adversely affect the scope of intellectual property protections available for such treatments. Some of those developments concern the basic patent eligibility requirement. 1 Others concern the written description and enablement requirements. 2 This...

March 10, 2020

High Yield vs. Investment Grade Covenants

By: David Azarkh and Sean Dougherty, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP There are fundamental differences between the covenants of high yield and investment grade debt securities. While investment grade covenants tend to be less restrictive and more limited, high yield covenants are often much more onerous, in large part because of the creditworthiness of the issuer. This checklist outlines key debt covenants and explains...

March 10, 2020

The Enforceability of Boilerplate Contractual Provisions

By: Jim Wagstaffe and The Wagstaffe Group Recent caselaw has upheld the enforceability of boilerplate contractual provisions regarding forum selection, choice of law, and mandatory alternative dispute resolution. These clauses, seemingly innocuous in their inception, often provide the fulcrum for success or failure in ensuing litigation. This article addresses this important development in the law. SO-CALLED BOILERPLATE...

January 16, 2020

Animated “Motion Trademarks” Grow in Popularity and Legal Protection Around the World

By: Belinda J. Scrimenti , Pattishall, Mcauliffe, Newbury, Hilliard & Geraldson LLP Digital technology has led to innovative advertising and marketing. Brand owners are increasingly using the technology to create and protect new forms of trademarks, consisting of motion, holograms, and other multimedia features. WHILE U.S. TRADEMARK LAW HAS PROTECTED THESE types of marks for many years, much of the international...

January 16, 2020

Updates and Legal Developments Winter 2019

AMAZON’S DATA STORAGE VIOLATES ILLINOIS BIOMETRIC PRIVACY LAW, STATE RESIDENTS ALLEGE AMAZON WEB SERVICES IS VIOLATING THE ILLINOIS Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), 740 Ill. Comp. Stat. Ann. 14/1, by allowing commercial customers to use its cloud storage services to house employees’ biometric data without obtaining permission or disclosing the purpose for the storage, a group of Illinois residents...

January 16, 2020

The California Consumer Privacy Act is in Effect: What to do Now

By: Andrew L. Rossow, Esq. WITH THE CALIFORNIA CONSUMER PRIVACY ACT (CCPA) now in effect, is your firm and/or business ready for the new compliance requirements? The CCPA is codified under Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.100. Background On May 25, 2018, the European Union’s (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) took effect, replacing the previous EU Directive. Under the GDPR, any individual in the EU who...

January 16, 2020

Data Privacy Laws, Hackers Put New Emphasis on Cyber Insurance

By: Rich Ehisen THE CALIFORNIA CONSUMER PRIVACY ACT (CCPA) 1 and other state data privacy laws have done more than motivate companies to rethink how they manage consumer data; they also have many organizations thinking more than ever about how they manage their cyber insurance coverage. Once considered a niche product, cyber insurance policies have become common for companies that handle large amounts of consumer...

January 16, 2020

Drafting Choice-of-Law Provisions

By: Timothy Murray , Murray, Hogue & Lannis ONE TIME I FOUND MYSELF ON THE SET OF A HOLLYWOOD soundstage for a popular television show about a lawyer. In the law library of the fake TV law firm, I noticed something that viewers at home couldn’t see: the case reporters containing judicial decisions were all out of order—the volumes were shelved randomly, not according to number. That, of course, would...

January 16, 2020

Negotiating an Underwriting Agreement

By: Anna Pinedo, Brian Hirshberg , and Raffi Garnighian, Mayer Brown LLP In connection with a registered securities offering, the underwriters of the offering typically enter into an underwriting agreement with the issuer of the securities and any selling stockholders. THE UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT SETS FORTH THE TERMS and conditions pursuant to which the underwriters will purchase the offered securities and distribute...

January 16, 2020

Guidance for Real Estate Developers on Complying with the Endangered Species Act

By: Parker Moore and Katrina Krebs , Beveridge & Diamond PC This article provides an overview of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) 1 and discusses the obligations of real estate developers and property owners with respect to the ESA. CONGRESS ENACTED THE ESA IN 1973 TO PROTECT AND recover imperiled species and their habitats. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service ...

January 16, 2020

Sustainability-Linked Loans: Financing the Green Transition

By: Amara Gossin , Barclays and Bob Lewis Sidley , Austin LLP Sustainability-themed debt instruments represent one response of the financial community to the need to channel capital towards facilitating a carbon transition. Since green bonds debuted in 2012, the types and numbers of these instruments have grown. ONE OF THE NEWEST ENTRANTS TO THE MARKET IS sustainability-linked loans, which first began to appear in...

January 15, 2020

Discovery on Behalf of Plaintiffs in Trade Secret Misappropriation and Breach of Restrictive Covenant Actions

By: Kevin Cloutier , Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP This article discusses both written discovery and depositions in misappropriation of trade secret and restrictive covenant actions. Specifically, the article addresses the following topics: expedited discovery, written discovery requests, and best practices for restrictive covenant and trade secret depositions. Expedited Discovery Expedited discovery...

January 15, 2020

Deposition Questions in a Trade Secret Misappropriation and Breach of Restrictive Covenant Action (Plaintiff Employer to Defendant)

By: Kevin Cloutier , Shawn Fabian , and Mikela Sutrina , Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP The deposition questions in this form are provided by way of example only. Each question should be followed with appropriate further inquiry. You should review all rules concerning depositions applicable in the jurisdiction where your case is pending. These annotated deposition questions do not cover all potential...

January 15, 2020

Data Integrity Risk Management for Life Sciences Companies

By: Scott Bass and Deeona Gaskin , Sidley Austin LLP This article addresses key topics related to the management of data by drug, biologic, and medical device companies whose products are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This includes strategies for identifying potential data integrity compliance gaps and questions to ask drug, biologic, medical device, and other life sciences clients. ALTHOUGH...

January 15, 2020

Financial Definitions in High-Yield Indentures

By: Timothy B. Howell and Alex Petrossian , Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP The defined terms in any agreement are considered as the building blocks upon which the rest of the agreement is based, particularly when it comes to the negative covenants in a bond indenture. THIS ARTICLE WILL INTRODUCE A FEW KEY FINANCIAL definitions found in high-yield indentures, with a particular focus on how they are derived from the...

January 15, 2020

Removal and Remand: Tips for Making Your Case Disappear from Your Opponent's Choice of Forum

By: Jim Wagstaffe and the Wagstaffe Group This article addresses new strategies based on recent case law for a party seeking to remove a case to federal court or to avoid removal and stay in state court. The article covers topics such as forum selection clauses, pleading claims, ambiguity in the complaint, federal preemption, and amendments to the complaint. BEFORE WE BEGIN, LET’S UNDERSTAND THE APPEARANCE and...

January 15, 2020

LexisNexis Receives UN Foundation Global Leadership Award

The United Nations Foundation’s Global Leadership Award was presented to LexisNexis Legal & Professional CEO Mike Walsh in recognition of the company’s contributions to advancing the rule of law across the globe. THE AWARD RECOGNIZES LEXISNEXIS’ “EXTRAORDINARY commitment to advancing the rule of law globally by strengthening equality under the law, transparency of law, independent judiciaries...

November 05, 2019

Climate Change Considerations In M&A Transactions

By: Annemargaret Connolly and Thomas D. Goslin , Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP Climate change is arguably the most high-profile and rapidly evolving environmental issue facing the global business community today. Governments of nearly every nation have acknowledged the risks posed by a warming climate and have taken some action either to combat those risks, to mitigate the physical effects of climate change, or both...

November 05, 2019

Acquisition, Construction, and Project Development

By: Deonne Cunningham , Lead Counsel, North America Business (Wholesale), Direct Energy This article outlines the various steps that are required for acquiring or constructing a new natural gas facility and/or pipeline infrastructure project. YOU AND COUNSEL FOR THE OTHER PARTIES INVOLVED IN the project will need to clear several hurdles before the project is complete and the pipeline and/or facility is in service...

November 05, 2019

Federal Environmental Regulations Affecting Oil and Gas Operations

This article provides you and your clients with an overview of the federal environmental regulation affecting the oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) industry. THERE IS SUBSTANTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION OF oil and gas E&P at the federal and state levels through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other agencies. Although it is estimated that states conduct between 80 and 90% of all enforcement...

November 05, 2019

Allocating Environmental Risks in the Transaction Agreement

By: Annemargaret Connolly and Thomas D. Goslin , Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP UPON COMPLETION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL DUE DILIGENCE investigation, the buyer should have obtained a solid understanding of the environmental issues requiring attention after operations are acquired. Furthermore, the new information allows the purchaser to intelligently address environmental issues in deal negotiations. The primary way in...

November 05, 2019

U.S. Oil and Gas Industry M&A Trends 2018/19

By: I. Bobby Majumder , Reed Smith LLP Market Activity 2019 has been eventful for the domestic oil and gas industry. Oil and gas acquisitions in the United States hit a 10-year low in the first quarter, with deal value plunging by over 90% just from the fourth quarter of 2018. A rapid reduction in oil prices in late 2018 is believed to have triggered these effects. However, the second quarter of 2019 brought a resurgence...