Los Angeles Partner Mark A. Oertel was recently appointed as a Vice-Chair of the American Bar Association Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section (ABA/TIPS) Fidelity and Surety Law General Committee for the 2023-24 bar year.

New Orleans Partner Nancy A. Cundiff, New York Partner Cristina R. Yannucci, and San Diego Partner Peter L. Garchie will present a webinar titled “Ethics I: Ethical Concerns That Keep Claims Professionals Awake At Night,” on July 20, 2023, at 9:00 a.m. PT.

In a recent decision, the Kentucky Supreme Court placed stricter limitations on the opinions that biomechanical engineers may offer at trials in Kentucky courts. Specifically, the published opinion issued in Renot v. Securea, Supreme Ins. Co., 2023 Ky. LEXIS 163, recognizes a new space for the testimony of biomechanics experts – “The Goldilocks Zone.”

In Sarah Gregory and New Prime, Inc. v. Jaswinder Chohan, et al., ___S.W.3d ___, No. 21-0017, 2023 Tex. LEXIS 528 (June 16, 2023), the Texas Supreme Court reversed and remanded a $15 million non-economic damages award in a wrongful death suit where there was no evidence to support the amount of the award.

Houston Associate Vy Nguyen will present on the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) regulations at the first annual ARMA California Conference, hosted at the Beckman Center in Irvine, California on July 28.

Pittsburgh Managing Partner Todd Gray will join a panel at the American Trucking Associations (ATA) Litigation Center’s 2023 Trucking Legal Forum in La Jolla, California on July 18 at 2:35 p.m PT.

In a joint enforcement effort, the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed civil penalties totaling over $3.3 million on Microsoft Corporation. The penalties were issued to resolve alleged and apparent violations of U.S. export controls and sanctions laws. Microsoft voluntarily disclosed the violations, cooperated with the investigation, and implemented remedial measures. This alert explores the details of the case and its implications for technology companies operating through foreign subsidiaries.

Providence Partner and East Providence City Solicitor Michael J. Marcello recently secured a victory in a property tax mater in the Rhode Island Supreme Court on behalf of a Rhode Island municipality. In this case, the appellant, a business advisory company, sought to apply a 10-year statute of limitations for property tax appeals. Specifically, the company appealed a decision of the trial court that granted summary judgment in favor of Lewis Brisbois’ municipality client. The trial court had found that the petitioner’s attempt to challenge a property tax as illegal and excessive was time-barred because it was filed more than 90 days after the initial tax was due. 

The Colorado legislature concluded the 2023 Legislative Session on May 8, 2023. As in prior years, the legislature passed several new employment-related bills that significantly expand employee protections and increase compliance burdens on Colorado employers. Governor Jared Polis recently signed many of these bills into law, so the compliance clock is now running.

There are over $300 billion dollars' worth of Russian assets from Russia's central bank that have been frozen by the United States and its allies, though it will take further authority from Congress to attach the assets that have been seized or frozen. Seizures by the Russian Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs Task Force (REPO Task Force), as part of a coordinated multilateral effort, are authorized in the U.S. under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), 50 U.S.C. §§1701–1707. However, the IEEPA does not allow the U.S. Government to take ownership over the assets (as it is not a “vesting” statute), unless the U.S. is “engaged in armed hostilities or has been attacked by a foreign country or foreign nationals.” This is not the current state of the conflict in Ukraine.

On June 16, 2023, the Rhode Island General Assembly wrapped up its 2023 legislative session. As in previous years, the General Assembly passed several new employment-related bills that expand employee protections and increase compliance burdens on Rhode Island employers. Governor Daniel McKee is expected to sign these bills into law in the coming days.

Atlanta Partner Jonathan D. Goins was recently named to Law360’s 2023 Media & Entertainment Editorial Advisory Board.

Co-Chair of Lewis Brisbois’ Data Privacy & Cybersecurity Practice Kamran Salour  will speak at the upcoming Global GRC, Data Privacy & Cyber Security ConfEx on June 28 at 10:00 a.m. PT. Mr. Salour will participate in the first collaborative round table discussion of the day. 

The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA), as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) (collectively, the CPRA) introduced significant changes to the data privacy landscape, enhancing consumer protections and imposing new obligations on businesses. The CPRA went into effect on January 1, 2023, and will be enforced beginning July 1, 2023.

Hartford Managing Partner Angeline Ioannou was quoted in a Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM) Magazine Pride Month celebration article on what it means to be an ally in the workplace.