Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP

Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP is a large business law firm that traces its roots to 1846 in Ohio. From its eight offices across Ohio, Illinois, Florida, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., Porter Wright provides counsel to a worldwide base of clients.

We are inspired every day to provide seamless legal counsel across business needs and locations to help clients solve problems, take advantage of opportunities and achieve business goals. From small start-ups to large, publicly-traded corporations, our clients have depended on us as they've grown, become part of a global economy and evolved to meet new demands in the marketplace.

Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP Blogs

Antitrust Law Source

Banking & Finance Law Report

Employee Benefits Law Report

Employer Law Report

Federal Securities Law Source

Oil & Gas Law Report

Technology Law Source

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Latest from Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP

Employer Law Report

H-1B registration for 2021 cap season dates announced

By Catherine Kang

December 10, 2019

On Dec. 6, 2019, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the initial registration period for the H-1B cap season 2021 will begin on March 1, 2020 and end on March 20, 2020. Once selections have been announced, those selected will have 90 days to submit the petitions. H-1B electronic registration requirement On Jan. 31, 2019, USCIS issued the final rules requiring employers to electronically register each intending beneficiary to enter the random selection…

Employer Law Report

Multi-state employers: Be prepared for January 1 minimum wage increases

By Jourdan Day

December 6, 2019

While many employers are gearing up for the holidays, many employees across the U.S. will see an increase in minimum wage. On Jan. 1, 2020, the minimum wage will increase in numerous states and cities throughout the country that have adopted their own minimum wage laws, which provide for a higher rate than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. In areas where minimum wage laws overlap, employees are entitled to receive the highest…

Employee Benefits Law Report

DOL proposes a more practical rule for electronic ERISA disclosures

By Victoria Hanohano-Hong & Deb Boiarsky

November 12, 2019

On Oct. 23, 2019, the Department of Labor (DOL) released a proposed rule for electronic delivery of ERISA disclosures. Although the DOL already allows for electronic delivery under the 2002 Electronic Safe Harbor, its availability is limited and technology quickly outpaced its usefulness. The proposed rule creates a new, additional safe harbor the DOL calls the “Notice and Access” safe harbor that will allow for electronic delivery as a default method of delivery for…

Banking & Finance Law Report

Commercial Loans: Equity Cure Provisions

By Andy Bojko & Jack Meadows

November 4, 2019

Background In loan agreements, lenders customarily require the borrower to make various financial covenants whereby the borrower promises to achieve certain financial metrics, often requiring the borrower to stay above or below certain thresholds based on its operations. Since financial covenants are based on past financial performance, breaches of financial covenants typically cannot be cured in the absence of some sort of cure provision. This is why the concept of an equity cure provision is…

Banking & Finance Law Report

Temper Your Expectations on Cannabis Banking Reform: foreseeable pitfalls of the SAFE Banking Act

By Frank Tice & Jack Meadows

October 28, 2019

On September 25, 2019, the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act of 2019 passed the U.S. House of Representatives by an impressive margin of 321 to 103. The U.S. Senate—once seen as a gauntlet of insurmountable obstacles to cannabis banking reform—has also seen some meaningful progress. Senator Mike Crapo (R., Idaho), the influential chair of the Senate Banking Committee overseeing the SAFE Act in the Senate, previously expressed no interest in allowing the SAFE…

Employer Law Report

Employers should review their parental leave policies in wake of parental leave class action settlement

By Avi Allen

October 23, 2019

With multiple avenues for expanding a family and a plethora of different family models, employers would be wise to re-consider their parental leave policies to suit the needs of the modern family. In May, a large multi-national corporation settled a class action lawsuit regarding its parental leave policy for $5 million. As written, the employer’s policy gave its employees who were primary care-givers 16 weeks of paid leave, and gave its employees who were non-primary…

Antitrust Law Source

Putative class counsel in generic drug antitrust MDL can’t get a slice of the opt-out pie . . . At least not yet

By Jason Dubner

October 21, 2019

Before even moving for certification of the putative classes they seek to represent, Interim Class Counsel (ICC) in the In re Generic Pharmaceuticals Pricing Antitrust Litigation sought to insure they would get not only their own piece of the pie, but also a sizable sliver of everyone else’s. Claiming they are prosecuting potentially “the largest cartel case in the history of the United States,” the ICC petitioned the court for preemptive orders that would have…

Employee Benefits Law Report

Final IRS hardship regulations – Less of a hardship to take and administer

By Greg Daugherty, Deb Boiarsky & Victoria Hanohano-Hong

October 21, 2019

Special thanks to Victoria Hanohano-Hong, Porter Wright law clerk, for her assistance on this article. The IRS recently published final regulations, which amend the hardship withdrawal rules for 401(k) and 403(b) plans. The regulations reflect statutory changes to 401(k) and 403(b) plans, including changes made by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. Most of the changes are optional and do not require employer adoption; some are not optional. The following changes are mandatory for…

Employer Law Report

NLRB invites feedback on when an employee’s comments should lose the protection of federal labor law

By Arslan Sheikh

October 21, 2019

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) invited interested parties to submit feedback about when an employee’s offensive or inappropriate workplace comments should lose the protection of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Specifically, the NLRB is inviting employers and other parties to submit briefing about whether it should reconsider its standards for determining whether Section 7 of the NLRA protects employees who make “profane outbursts and offensive statements of a racial or sexual…

Oil & Gas Law Report

New Ohio regulations reduce minimum spacing requirements for horizontal oil and gas wells

By Chris Baronzzi

October 11, 2019

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources – Division of Oil & Gas Resources Management (DOGRM) recently revised its rules governing spacing of horizontal oil and gas production wells. The new rules, which became effective on Oct. 10, 2019, will bring Ohio’s horizontal well spacing regulations in line with what accepted science and drilling data indicates is a more efficient and productive spacing for horizontal wells in Ohio. Under the prior version of Ohio Administrative Code…

Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP

Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP Blogs

Blog Authors

H-1B registration for 2021 cap season dates announced

Multi-state employers: Be prepared for January 1 minimum wage increases

DOL proposes a more practical rule for electronic ERISA disclosures

Commercial Loans: Equity Cure Provisions

Temper Your Expectations on Cannabis Banking Reform: foreseeable pitfalls of the SAFE Banking Act

Employers should review their parental leave policies in wake of parental leave class action settlement

Putative class counsel in generic drug antitrust MDL can’t get a slice of the opt-out pie . . . At least not yet

Final IRS hardship regulations – Less of a hardship to take and administer

NLRB invites feedback on when an employee’s comments should lose the protection of federal labor law

New Ohio regulations reduce minimum spacing requirements for horizontal oil and gas wells

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