Singapore’s Court of Appeal (“Court”) recently ruled that a bank’s determination that a vessel was subject to U.S. sanctions laws and regulations was an insufficient basis for denying payment to a beneficiary on letters of credit for which the bank was responsible.

Seattle Administrative Partner Benjamin J. Stone recently spoke with Law360 about a Washington state Supreme Court decision affirming that Alaska Airlines did not run afoul of the Washington Family Care Act when it refused to grant a flight attendant last-minute vacation leave to care for her sick child, as part of a roundup of the most impactful rulings in the state in 2023.

On December 11, 2023, the United States Department of Commerce, Department of the Treasury, Department of Justice, Department of State, and Department of Homeland Security issued a joint “Quint-Seal Compliance Note” (“Compliance Note”), targeted at entities operating in the global maritime and transportation industries.

There were several important developments in labor and employment law last year in the state of Florida. Below is a summary of these key changes.

Atlanta Partner Adi Allushi and Associate Cecilia Walker recently secured a defense verdict for a national property management corporation on claims brought by a vendor and cross-claims lodged by the property owner. Lewis Brisbois’ client is a national corporation, over a century old, that managed over 140 properties with 40,000 units.

In a fast moving series of legal actions and agreements involving the NCAA and the state attorneys general from Ohio, Colorado, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia, the NCAA and the seven plaintiff states have now filed a joint motion seeking to convert the recent temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by U.S. District Court Judge John Pierson Bailey from the Northern District of West Virginia into a preliminary injunction, vacating the scheduling of a preliminary injunction he

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Controls (OFAC) has settled with Swift Prepaid Solutions Inc. d/b/a daVinci Payments (daVinci), a financial services and payments firm based in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, for $206,213 for 12,391 apparent violations of OFAC sanctions on Crimea, Iran, Syria and Cuba. 

Wilmington Partner Rafael X. Zahralddin will speak on “death trap” provisions in Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code at an upcoming Strafford webinar on January 18 at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Houston Partner Norman Ray Giles and Houston and Salt Lake City Partner Bill Helfand on Tuesday obtained summary judgment in favor of a police officer in a lawsuit stemming from a fatal officer-involved shooting.

Judge Michael Ricciuti, who presides over the Massachusetts state asbestos litigation docket, has been appointed to a new role as Chief Justice of Massachusetts Superior Court, effective December 22, 2023. The appointment is expected to result in the end of his tenure overseeing the state asbestos litigation. 

On November 2, 2023, The United States Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) blocking sanctions on more than 100 Russian and third-country entities and individuals, including Russian energy, metals, technology, and financial sector entities, as well as persons in multiple countries involved in the supply of dual-use and other controlled items to Russia. The new sanctions aim to further weaken Russia’s military and industrial capabilities in connection with its pursuit of the war in Ukraine.

Lewis Brisbois has bolstered its expansive capabilities in no-fault insurance law with the addition of Kevin Davis to its New York office as a Partner and member of the firm’s Transportation and General Liability Practices. Mr. Davis comes to Lewis Brisbois from a large national carrier, where he served as a senior attorney in the no-fault and SIU unit.

On November 15, 2023, the European Union (EU) High Representative Josep Borrell, together with the European Commission, submitted to the Council of the European Union (the Council) a proposal for the 12th package of EU Russia-related sanctions.

Atlanta Partner Steven Lee recently spoke with Law360 Pulse regarding trends in cryptocurrency-related enforcement actions in 2023, particularly as it related to Binance Holdings Ltd.’s payment of a record $4.3 billion fine to end a years long U.S. Department of Justice probe into money laundering and sanctions violations. At the time, Binance was the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange platform.

Nashville Associate Austin Wells has been named to the MusicRow 2024 N.B.T. (Next Big Thing) Industry Directory list, which, according to the publication, “highlight[s] a rising class of music industry leaders.”