On October 3, 2019, the United States and United Kingdom signed an agreement on cross-border law enforcement demands for data from service providers (“Agreement”). The Agreement is the first bilateral agreement to be entered under the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (CLOUD) Act. It obligates each Party to remove barriers in their domestic laws so that U.S. and U.K. national security and law enforcement agencies may obtain certain electronic data directly from Communications…

Global Policy Watch

United States and European Union Impose Additional Sanctions in Response to Actions by Turkish Government

By Stephen Rademaker, Peter Flanagan, Corinne Goldstein, David Lorello & Alexandra Francis on October 17, 2019

Introduction On October 14, 2019, President Trump issued an Executive Order Blocking Property and Suspending Entry of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Syria. This Order provides authority for the imposition of sanctions (including secondary sanctions) on certain entities and individuals in response to Turkey’s military operations in Syria, which the Order states endanger innocent civilians, destabilize the region, and undermine the campaign to defeat the Islamic State. The Executive Order provides authority…

Global Policy Watch

U.S.-China Trade Truce Leaves Considerable Uncertainty for Global Business

By Christopher Adams on October 15, 2019

President Trump last Friday announced tentative agreement on the first installment of a possible multi-stage deal to end the year and a half trade war between the United States and China. “The deal I just made with China is, by far, the greatest and biggest deal ever made for our Great Patriot Farmers in the history of our Country,” boasted Trump, saying China had pledged to buy $40-50 billion in U.S. agricultural products while also…

Inside Compensation

Corpus Linguistics and ERISA Litigation

By Jack Lund on October 15, 2019

On July 10, 2019, the Sixth Circuit considered vexing questions of statutory interpretation in an ERISA case. A dispute over whether a transaction bonus plan was an ERISA employee pension benefit plan hinged on the meaning of two terms common in federal statutes: “results in” and “extending to.” While the meaning of the statute was plain to the entire panel, Judges Stranch and Thapar quarreled over the evidence that a court might rightly consider when…

Covington Digital Health

Ideation Question #4: What Data Will Be Needed to Substantiate the Offering?

By Wade Ackerman & Libbie Canter on October 15, 2019

This is the fourth of our video posts on 10 questions that can help lawyers contribute to the digital health ideation process. Today’s video explores the question: what data will be needed to substantiate the offering?…

Inside Government Contracts

Flying in Friendly Skies: An In-Depth Look at the FAA’s Unique Bid Protest Forum

By Jay Carey, Kayleigh Scalzo & Carl Wiersum on October 15, 2019

Federal contractors usually think of two bid protest forums: the Government Accountability Ofﬁce and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. But another protest forum often ﬂies under the radar: the Federal Aviation Administration’s Ofﬁce of Dispute Resolution for Acquisition — aka the ODRA. In a continuation of our blog post earlier this year, we take an in-depth look at the ODRA’s bid protest process in this new Briefing Paper.…

Covington Competition

Vestager outlines portfolio plans in European Parliament confirmation hearing

By Johan Ysewyn, Miranda Cole, Peter Camesasca, Kevin Coates & Barbara Monti on October 15, 2019

After her confirmation hearing in front of the European Parliament on Tuesday 8 October, Magrethe Vestager looks certain to remain as Competition Commissioner for a second term and to combine that with a broader responsibility for digital policy development. Both the second term and the combination of the competition portfolio with a policy brief are unprecedented in recent decades. Several key points, including the way in which she intends to manage digital matters and a…

Cov Financial Services

Leaders of the SEC, CFTC, and FinCEN Issue Joint Statement Emphasizing AML Obligations for Digital Asset Activities

By Jean Veta, Nikhil Gore, Anne M. Termine & Sam Adriance on October 14, 2019

On Friday, the leaders of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”), and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) (collectively, the “Agencies”) issued a “Joint Statement on Activities Involving Digital Assets” (the “Joint Statement”). The Joint Statement serves as a reminder that businesses engaged in activities involving digital assets – or, as they are sometimes called, virtual currencies or cryptocurrencies – should be attentive to their anti-money laundering (“AML”) obligations, including under…

Inside Privacy

New Draft ePrivacy Regulation Released

By Kristof Van Quathem on October 14, 2019

The Council of EU Member States – one of the two main EU lawmaking bodies – recently released a new draft version of the ePrivacy Regulation (“EPR”). Negotiations on the regulation have been deadlocked for a while, but seem to be gathering new momentum under the Finnish Presidency. Below we highlight some selected topics that may be of interest to readers. Users will have to be reminded (probably every 12 months) of their right to…

Global Policy Watch

The Week Ahead in the European Parliament – October 11, 2019

By Sebastian Vos on October 11, 2019

Summary Next week, Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”) will gather in Brussels for committee meetings and political group meetings. It will be relatively quiet in camera, but a lot will be happening behind the scenes. Over the past two weeks, MEPs have rejected three candidates for the next European Commission, one from each of the three largest political groups. Just yesterday, MEPs rejected Sylvie Goulard, the French candidate associated with the Renew Europe party…

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U.S. and U.K. Sign CLOUD Act Agreement

United States and European Union Impose Additional Sanctions in Response to Actions by Turkish Government

U.S.-China Trade Truce Leaves Considerable Uncertainty for Global Business

Corpus Linguistics and ERISA Litigation

Ideation Question #4: What Data Will Be Needed to Substantiate the Offering?

Flying in Friendly Skies: An In-Depth Look at the FAA’s Unique Bid Protest Forum

Vestager outlines portfolio plans in European Parliament confirmation hearing

Leaders of the SEC, CFTC, and FinCEN Issue Joint Statement Emphasizing AML Obligations for Digital Asset Activities

New Draft ePrivacy Regulation Released

The Week Ahead in the European Parliament – October 11, 2019

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