Wilmington Managing Partner Francis G.X. Pileggi recently spoke with the Delaware Business Court Insider (part of Law.com) for an article titled, “New Shareholder Voting Requirements Could Offer Corporations Litigation Buffer,” which discusses changes to the Delaware General Corporation Law that went into effect on August 1, 2023.

New York Partner and National Chair of Lewis Brisbois' Entertainment, Media & Sports Practice Steven C. Beer will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award in the Global Impact and Leadership Excellence category, presented on August 25 at the Hip Hop Legend awards ceremony at the Alhambra Ballroom in Harlem. This event will cap an exciting summer of hip hop's 50th anniversary celebrations around New York City, and honor a musical genre that has transcended its local roots to become a truly global phenomenon.  

Houston and Salt Lake City Partner William (“Bill”) S. Helfand recently secured an appellate win when the First District Court of Appeals of Texas determined that Lewis Brisbois’ client – a city attorney – was entitled to government immunity in a matter involving claims of slander. 

Zoom, the popular videoconferencing application, recently addressed concerns and sparked discussions regarding its updated terms of service (TOS) related to the use of user data for training its artificial intelligence (AI) models. The updates, which became effective on July 27, have prompted conversations about data privacy, ownership, and the ethical implications of AI development.

Following up on its Tri-Seal Compliance Note earlier this year cracking down on third-party intermediaries’ evasion of Russia-related sanctions and export controls, the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Treasury and Justice have issued a new Tri-Seal Compliance Note (“Note”) proposing voluntary self-disclosure (“VSD”) of potential violations of sanctions, export controls, and other national security laws. The Note describes VSD policies of each department that can provide significant mitigation of civil or criminal liability that could extend to non-prosecution agreements or a reduction of 50 percent in the base penalty amount for civil or criminal penalties. 

Atlanta Partner Seth M. Friedman recently authored a Law360 Expert Analysis piece on the state of Georgia’s mirror-image rule, which holds that an insurer’s response to a demand must be a mirror image of the demand in order to have an enforceable settlement agreement. Georgia state courts have found that even minor deviations by an insurer in its response can lead to no enforceable settlement agreement.  

The Oregon Consumer Privacy Act (OCPA) is the 11th comprehensive privacy law passed in the United States that gives individuals – in this case, Oregonians – significant control over their personal information. The OCPA, which goes into effect on July 1, 2024, applies to businesses that provide services and products to Oregonians and either control (i.e., collect) or process personal information from at least 100,000 Oregon consumers, or control or process personal information from 25,000 Oregon consumers where 25% of the business’s gross annual revenue comes from selling personal information.

The Connecticut Supreme Court issued a key ruling on August 8, 2023 regarding the immunity conferred under Executive Order 7V for civil lawsuits against health care professionals and providers.

Orange County Partner Justin S. Kim recently spoke with Global Data Review (GDR) for an article which discusses whether Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 would confer immunity against claims based on generative Artificial intelligence. 

On July 26, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced new proposed rules for regulating brokerages and money managers using artificial intelligence (AI) to serve their clients. The SEC’s plan aims to address concerns about potential conflicts of interest that arise when financial services firms use the burgeoning technology. Companies and individuals in the financial industry should take note.

Atlanta Partner Jonathan D. Goins recently spoke with the Daily Report (part of Law.com) for an article titled, “Pay Attention: IP and Employment Lawyers Are Pointing Out These AI Trends.” The article discusses how artificial intelligence (AI) is creating challenges in intellectual property and employment law across a broad spectrum of industries, including entertainment.  

Boston Partner Patricia Gary will moderate a panel on integrating climate-resilience into critical public infrastructure, hosted by the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) on August 9 at 1:30 p.m. ET.

Atlanta Partner Steven H. Lee recently spoke with Law360 for an article titled, “Trump Associates' Loyalty Tested As Indictments Pile Up,” which discusses the growing number individuals in Donald Trump’s “orbit” who now face criminal charges. Mr. Lee was previously quoted in a Law360 article about the former president being indicted by a grand jury for conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

New Jersey Partner Afsha Noran and Managing Partner Colin P. Hackett recently obtained their third “no cause” verdict in six months, this time on behalf of a national restaurant chain and decade-long firm client. 

Welcome to the July edition of the CyberCapsule. In this edition, we highlight new ways the Biden administration is attempting to combat cyber incidents and the threat actors' continued evasiveness and pervasiveness. The SEC also made a splash, both with the recent Covington order and with the long-awaited released of its disclosure rules. And, finally, we remind our readers of two newly amended data breach notification statutes.