Welcome back to another Top 10 in Law Blogs! Kevin LaCroix brings some heartening news to start your weekend; the United States saw zero bank failures in 2018, only the third time since the FDIC was founded in 1933. According to Tyler Sines, Maxine Waters–who assumed office last week as the Chair of the House Financial Services Committee–took a major steps for the promotion of diversity and inclusion in the financial services sector. Reflecting on high-profile news this week that lawyers for President Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, failed to redact a federal court document properly, Karen Rubin reminds legal professionals that included in our ethical duties is a demand for technological competency. Happy Reading, Lexbloggers!
Scientists using stem cell technology in pursuit of E. coli infection treatments–By Coral Beach: A researcher in search of treatments for potentially fatal E. coli infections says the impossible is now plausible because of stem cell technology and organoids of intestinal tissues. Antibiotics are frequently not recommended for patients infected with E. coli bacteria, making new treatment options especially important. Professor Alison Weiss of the University of Cincinnati College…View Full Post
Here’s Some Good News: No Bank Failures in United States For First Time since 2006–By Kevin LaCroix: Want some good news? During calendar year 2018, there were exactly zero bank failures in the United States. Zero. Nil. Nada. Zilch. The last time there were no U.S. bank failures was waaaay back in 2006. Needless to say, a lot has happened since then. But the best part of all is that because of…View Full Post
The Battle Over LGBT Rights Rages On–By Dan Ballintine: Most of you will recall the fight in numerous political elections just a few years ago over the issue of whether same-sex couples have the right to marry. The Supreme Court put the issue to rest through a decision in 2015, holding that the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides the fundamental right and…View Full Post
Third-party Delivery Services Account for $9 billion in Restaurant Sales, Expected to Reach $16 billion by 2022–Hunter M. Glenn, Sarah S.M. Carpenter and Jessica G. Yeshman: In a 2017 interview, Nigel Travis, former CEO of Dunkin’ Brands, stated that “delivery will be the next wave” in the restaurant industry and that it would “be like a revolution,” occurring “faster than anyone thinks.”…View Full Post
Renewed Focus on Diversity and Inclusion for Rep. Waters-led House Financial Services Committee–By Tyler Sines: Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA), the newly appointed Chair of the House Financial Services Committee (the “Committee”), took a first step last week towards one of the major priorities of the Committee under her leadership – the promotion of diversity and inclusion in the financial services sector. The first change under the new Chair’s watch was…View Full Post
Redacting documents can be tech challenge — and legal ethics risk, too–By Karen Rubin: Everyone knows that we have an ethical duty of competence, and in most jurisdictions this includes a duty to be aware of the “benefits and risks” of relevant technology. Examples of possible technology issues affecting our practices: encryption (and cyber-security in general), cloud storage, e-mail handling, the internet of things — there are many more. And snafus from failing to understand technology...View Full Post
Fashion law insights with chair and vice-chair of Franco-Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry IP Committee–By Natalia Gulyaeva and Alexandra Bakhtiozina: The Intellectual Property Committee of the Franco-Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry was elected at a meeting on 22 November 2018, dedicated to the legal protection of intellectual property assets in the fashion industry. Partner Natalia Gulyaeva, who heads the firm’s IP, Media and Technology Group for Russia / Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), has been…View Full Post
Medication or Hazardous Waste? EPA Creates Significant New Requirements for Managing Unused Pharmaceuticals–By Laura Whiting, Sarah A. Slack and Peter Tomasi: On December 11, 2018, U.S. EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler signed a new hazardous waste pharmaceutical rule. The final rule retains a proposed requirement, opposed by industry, that prescription pharmaceuticals sent from health care facilities to reverse distributors first be considered “disposed of,” regulated as solid waste and evaluated for hazardous classification at the health…View Full Post
Uber Resumes Testing of its Autonomous Vehicles After Significant Changes to Its Safety Plan–By Mark C. Levy: Advancing autonomous vehicles to widespread use requires significant testing, and if that testing is performed in real world conditions, safety of third parties must be an ongoing and evolving paramount concern. The March 2018 crash of an Uber Advanced Technologies Group (UATG) autonomous vehicle in Arizona resulted in the death of a pedestrian. Local…View Full Post
Internal Revenue Service Announces Tax Filing Season to Begin on January 28–By Matthew D. Lee: Despite the government shutdown, the Internal Revenue Service has announced that it will process tax returns beginning January 28, 2019, and will provide refunds to taxpayers as scheduled. “We are committed to ensuring that taxpayers receive their refunds notwithstanding the government shutdown. I appreciate the hard work of the employees and their commitment to…View Full Post