Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP

Sheppard Mullin is a full-service Global 100 firm with more than 900 attorneys in 15 offices located in the United States, Europe and Asia. Since 1927, industry-leading companies have turned to Sheppard Mullin to handle corporate and technology matters, high-stakes litigation and complex financial transactions. In the U.S., the firm’s clients include more than half of the Fortune 100.

Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP Blogs

Antitrust Law Blog

Art Law Blog

Cannabis Law Blog

China Law Update Blog

Class Action Defense Strategy Blog

Construction & Infrastructure Law Blog

Corporate & Securities Law Blog

Covering Your Ads® Blog

Executive Compensation Law Blog

Eye On Privacy

False Claims Act Defense

Fashion & Apparel Law Blog

FCC Law Blog

FDA Law Update

Finance & Bankruptcy Law Blog

Financial Institutions Law Blog

Global Trade Law Blog

Government Contracts & Investigations Blog

Healthcare Law Blog

Hospice Law Blog

Insurance Law Blog

Intellectual Property Law Blog

Labor & Employment Law Blog

New York Commercial Division Round-Up Blog

NY Courts & The Fair Labor Standards Act

Real Estate, Land Use & Environmental Law Blog

U.S. Legal Insights for French Businesses

U.S. Legal Insights for Korean Businesses

Venture Law Blog

Latest from Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP

Law of the Level

Azure Heroes – Microsoft Partners With Enjin to Offer Crypto Collectible Rewards

By James Gatto

December 10, 2019

Microsoft has announced a partnership with Enjin to offer a blockchain based recognition program. Azure Heroes aims to reward individuals for verifiable acts of impact such as coaching, creating demos, building sample code, blogging about Azure or completing certain challenges. Community members that have demonstrated their contributions will be recognized with badges across a number of categories. Azure Heroes is branded as a new and fun way to earn digital collectibles for meaningful impact in the technical…

Law of the Ledger

Azure Heroes – Microsoft Partners With Enjin to Offer Crypto Collectible Rewards

By James Gatto

December 10, 2019

Eye On Privacy

New European Data Protection Board Guidance on Data Protection by Design and by Default

By Liisa Thomas, Kari Rollins & Elfin Noce

December 10, 2019

The European Data Protection Board recently requested comments on its data protection “by design and default” guidelines. Comments are due by mid-January of next year. The Guidelines provide clarity about how to address GDPR’s requirement that companies take “appropriate” technical and organizational steps to protect personal information and individuals. Part of the law’s requirements, according to the guidelines, is that companies can show that the measures they took are effective.…

FDA Law Update

FDA Issues Warning Letters to 15 Companies, Consumer Update on CBD Safety

By Allison Fulton & Christopher Van Gundy

December 10, 2019

On November 25, 2019, FDA issued Warning Letters to 15 companies illegally marketing cannabidiol (CBD) products. On the same day, U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) published a revised consumer update, “What You Need to Know (And What We’re Working to Find Out) About Products Containing Cannabis or Cannabis-derived Compounds, Including CBD,” describing the “very limited” scientific information available about CBD and its health effects. The points made in the Warning Letters and…

Law of the Level

Left Empty Handed: Valve Shut Down on Written Prior Art, Highlighting Importance of System Art

By Harper Batts & Chris Ponder

December 6, 2019

System art is of increasing importance in patent disputes despite being frequently overlooked or “left for later” in many cases. A recent decision in the Ironburg Inventions v. Valve Corp. case highlights the importance of system prior art, particularly as IPR success rates have dropped from their high points in 2012-15.…

Intellectual Property Law Blog

Left Empty Handed: Valve Shut Down on Written Prior Art, Highlighting Importance of System Art

By Harper Batts & Chris Ponder

December 6, 2019

Intellectual Property Law Blog

3 Steps in Furtherance of Avoiding Devastating Spoliation Sanctions in Trade Secret Misappropriation Litigation

By Rebecca Edelson, Seong Kim & Angela Reid

December 5, 2019

Preservation of electronically stored evidence (ESI) may be critical in trade secret cases. When a dispute revolves around whether a defendant accessed and/or transmitted the plaintiff’s trade secret material maintained in an electronic file, the file’s metadata can have evidentiary importance. Similarly, the defendant may have an interest in the plaintiff’s own disclosures of the alleged trade secret because such disclosures may negate its status as a trade secret (e.g., by showing the plaintiff did…

Healthcare Law Blog

The Granston Memo in 2019: Recent Cases Highlight the Granston Memo’s Effectiveness as a Tool to Dismiss False Claims Act Cases

By Michael Paddock & Keeley A. McCarty

December 5, 2019

The “Granston Memo” has proven to be a boon again in 2019 for False Claims Act (“FCA”) defendants. In a January 15, 2019 Sheppard Mullin FCA Defense Blog article, we highlighted a growing movement by the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) to utilize its dismissal power on meritless and burdensome qui tam FCA cases following an internal policy memorandum issued in early 2018, now dubbed the “Granston Memo.” The Granston Memo encouraged DOJ…

Cannabis Law Blog

Tenant Protection Act of 2019 May Have Unintended Consequences in the Cannabis Space

By Whitney Hodges

December 4, 2019

The California Legislature has passed Assembly Bill 1482 – Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (“AB 1482”), providing for comprehensive statewide residential rent control and eviction protections. Signed by Governor Newsom in October 2019, and commencing January 1, 2020, AB 1482, among other things, requires a landlord to evict a tenant only for “just cause” if the tenant has occupied the property for more than 12 months. (See original post here.) AB 1482 will…

Real Estate, Land Use & Environmental Law Blog

Start Spreadin’ the News: California Court Says No to New York, New York; Rejects Forum Selection Clause

By Steven Cardoza & Jacqueline Gottlieb Luther

December 4, 2019

Sinatra may have found success in the city that never sleeps, but a California court has just made it more difficult for any party doing business with a California resident to do the same. At least, when it comes to resolving disputes without a jury in a New York courtroom, or in the courtroom of any other jurisdiction that enforces pre-dispute jury trial waivers. This case will be of major interest to commercial lenders, and…

Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP

Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP Blogs

Blog Authors

Azure Heroes – Microsoft Partners With Enjin to Offer Crypto Collectible Rewards

Azure Heroes – Microsoft Partners With Enjin to Offer Crypto Collectible Rewards

New European Data Protection Board Guidance on Data Protection by Design and by Default

FDA Issues Warning Letters to 15 Companies, Consumer Update on CBD Safety

Left Empty Handed: Valve Shut Down on Written Prior Art, Highlighting Importance of System Art

Left Empty Handed: Valve Shut Down on Written Prior Art, Highlighting Importance of System Art

3 Steps in Furtherance of Avoiding Devastating Spoliation Sanctions in Trade Secret Misappropriation Litigation

The Granston Memo in 2019: Recent Cases Highlight the Granston Memo’s Effectiveness as a Tool to Dismiss False Claims Act Cases

Tenant Protection Act of 2019 May Have Unintended Consequences in the Cannabis Space

Start Spreadin’ the News: California Court Says No to New York, New York; Rejects Forum Selection Clause

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