Welcome back to another beautiful Friday, and another beautiful Top 10 in Law Blogs! This week features a fascinating consideration of the legal ramifications of “beers for a cause” from Daniel Croxall, David Regan’s thoughtful meditation on World Mental Health Day, and Jeff Simon on the potential impacts of a shift in venture investment towards the Midwest. Here’s to a wonderful Fall weekend!
General Release Bars Family from Recovering Art from the Holocaust – By Viktoriya Liberchuk: A general release: the end of a litigation or relinquishment of a right? Every attorney and litigant often breathes a sigh of relief when a litigation comes to a conclusion. But is that always the case? Not when the release covers more than may have been intended. In a recent decision by Commercial Division Justice Andrea Masley, the Court held that a general form release, which settled a dispute involving one piece of artwork within an allegedly stolen collection of several other pieces of artwork, barred Plaintiff from bringing a subsequent action to recover any other pieces within the collection. View Full Post
FDA Tackles the Escalating Medical Device Cybersecurity Threats – By Lawrence J. Tabas, Esq., Alina Chuklin, Esq., Benjamin Waters, Esq.: Cybersecurity and data breaches have been in public spotlight in the past several years as a result of recurring cyber-attacks on numerous organizations, business, its customers and communities in general. Media have been actively discussing cybersecurity trends and looking at the rise of identity technologies and web intelligence. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights, more than 170 million American health records have been exposed since 2009. View Full Post
Are “Beers for a Cause” an Illegal Inducement? – By Daniel Croxall: Alcoholic beverage control agencies across the U.S. prohibit inducements. That is, a brewery can’t “induce” a patron to buy a beer through means of solicitation, payment, free goods, or other things of value. For example, California Business & Professions Code section 24200.5(b) requires mandatory license revocation if a brewer allows “any persons to solicit or encourage others, directly or indirectly to buy drinks in the licensed premises under any commission, percentage, salary, or other profit-sharing plan, scheme, or conspiracy.” View Full Post
World Mental Health Day – By David Regan: The news today will be full of stories about mental health, aimed at raising awareness of this critical issue. Similarly, many companies will be running events to support employees’ mental health, encouraging them to feel comfortable disclosing their any issues and to seek support. This is all very laudable and forms an important part of the ongoing efforts to end the stigma of mental illness. View Full Post
Congress takes the lead on U.S.-Africa Policy – By Witney Schneidman: While the nation has been transfixed by the confirmation hearings of Judge Brett Kavanaugh for a seat on the Supreme Court, Congress passed significant legislation on Africa that has attracted virtually no attention. On October 3, the Senate passed the Better Utilization of Investments Leading to Development Act, better known as the Build Act. View Full Post
Law firm data retention – they can’t hack what you no longer have – By Peter Sloan: Last week’s post explored why law firms need data security policies. Before we move on, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention another policy that’s absolutely crucial for the law firm’s data security posture – a records management policy, coupled with an up-to-date and legally validated records retention schedule. What does a records retention schedule have to do with data security? View Full Post
Unlimited annual leave gathers momentum – By Rachel Bernasconi and Amanda Cavanough: It’s no secret that Australians love their annual leave. In recent years, many companies have chosen to go above and beyond minimum standards by offering extra leave – reflecting the view that rested employees are generally happier and more productive at work. Some companies even let employees decide how much leave to take. For example in 2014, Virgin Group unveiled an ‘unlimited’ annual leave policy. Our 2014 blog observed that “time would tell” if the unlimited annual leave policy was an enlightened approach to workplace flexibility, or a step too far. View Full Post
The Venezuelan Petro: A Blocked and Chained Cryptocurrency in the United States – By Gustavo J. Membiela, Uriel A. Mendieta and Rail Seoane: On October 2, 2018, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro appeared on national television and announced the official launch of the Venezuelan Petro cryptocurrency. While the official website and wallet for the Petro appear to have launched and be fully operational, and it appears to be presently trading in various cryptocurrency exchanges, United States persons should be extremely wary of trading or investing in the Petro. View Full Post
Historic Shift in Venture Investment Could Benefit Kansas City and Region – By Jeff Simon: Many commentators have noted recently that the near-monopoly Silicon Valley has enjoyed in technology startups is beginning to erode. Last month, The Economist magazine dubbed the trend a “techsodus” from the Bay Area and stated that “[Silicon] Valley’s influence is peaking.” Much of the venture capital investment aimed at technology startups is still raised in and flows into California, but increasingly, when startups look to scale their business models, they are doing it elsewhere, due to the increasingly high costs associated with the Bay Area in terms of talent, real estate, and taxes. View Full Post
Land Use Hearings – The Wild West – By Esch McCombie: Whether you are a fan of John Wayne, Clint Eastwood or, to a much lesser extent, Will Smith, you are familiar with the Wild (Wild) West. During my first year as an associate, the members of our Land Use Group described land use hearings, such as a hearing for a conditional use or a variance, as the Wild West as compared to proceedings in a courtroom. View Full Post