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Trump and Trade

Commerce Self-Initiates Inquiries into Possible Circumvention Involving Exports of Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products Completed in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Malaysia, South Africa & the UAE

By Thompson Hine International Trade on August 15, 2019

The Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration (Commerce or ITA) has announced the self-initiation of inquiries into possible circumvention involving exports of certain corrosion-resistant steel products (CORE) made with substrate from China or Taiwan, completed in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Malaysia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and then exported to the United States. In undertaking these inquiries, ITA will determine whether imports of CORE completed in each of these countries using Chinese-origin substrate,…

The Law for Lawyers Today

Do we need a new “data-breach privilege”? Thoughts on the Sedona Conference proposal

By Karen Rubin & Tom Zych on August 15, 2019

The outlines of the attorney-client privilege and work-product doctrine are well-established. But how should they apply when an organizational client suffers a cybersecurity event or other intrusion that results in a data breach? Should information about the company’s security policies pre-breach and its post-breach response be given any enhanced protection? Under what circumstances? The questions are burning ones, given recent data-security catastrophes that have exposed financial, health and other data of millions of people. After…

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Electronic communications with clients – what to know before you hit “send”

By Craig Foster on August 14, 2019

If you’re a robo-adviser, chances are you want to create a fully “digital” experience for clients that doesn’t involve sending paper documents. For example, you may want to email clients or communicate with them directly through your firm’s online platform. If you’re going to ditch the paper, the SEC expects you to follow its guidance on the use of electronic media before doing so. That guidance is found in a series of SEC releases published…

Trump and Trade

USTR Finalizes Section 301 Tranche/List 4 of Chinese Products Facing a 10 Percent Tariff & Announces Postponement of Tariff for Certain Products

By Thompson Hine International Trade on August 13, 2019

The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released a press statement announcing the list of imports from China that will face a Section 301 10 percent tariff (see also Trump and Trade Update of May 14, 2019). Implementation of the tariff on approximately $300 billion worth of Chinese products will occur in two phases. For most products, the tariff will go into effect on September 1, 2019, as announced by President Donald Trump on August 1,…

ERISA Litigation

Plaintiffs Increasingly Push for Non-Monetary Concessions from Plan Fiduciaries in ERISA Fee Settlements

By Brian J. Lamb on August 12, 2019

Court filings made this week show that Johns Hopkins has settled its ERISA fee case on proposed terms that include making a $14.5 million settlement payment, the second highest settlement in a 403(b) fee case, behind Vanderbilt ($14.5 million), and ahead of Duke ($10.65 million), U. Chicago ($6.5 million) and Brown ($3.5 million). The most eye-catching feature of this proposed settlement is not the size of the monetary payment, but rather the litany of non-monetary…

ERISA Litigation

Crime Doesn’t Pay…Or Does It?

By Mark Kroboth & Julia Love on August 8, 2019

It sounds like something you might see on Dateline. A happy couple with a white picket fence in the suburbs. And then … the unthinkable happens …. one spouse murders the other. The last thing on anyone’s mind is what happens to the retirement plan assets….unless you are a plan administrator. A principal purpose of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) is to provide a uniform set of rules for plan administrators…

The Law for Lawyers Today

Keeping up with the Joneses: Should the Rules of Professional Conduct bend for in-house lawyers?

By Karen Rubin & Imokhai Okolo on August 8, 2019

In-house attorneys face unique situations when it comes to client relationships and job responsibilities. But when it comes to ethical obligations, the Model Rules don’t recognize any difference between lawyers who work in-house and others. Model Rule 1.0(c) defines “law firm” to include lawyers employed “in the legal department of” an organization, and it has been noted that notwithstanding the “square-peg-round-hole” problem, all the ethics rules apply to corporate counsel. A recent Washington state supreme…

Trump and Trade

Trump Administration Expands Economic Sanctions on Venezuela

By Thompson Hine International Trade on August 6, 2019

President Trump yesterday signed an executive order imposing additional sanctions on the Venezuelan government. The order, “Blocking Property of the Government of Venezuela,” blocks all property and interests in property of the Venezuelan government within the jurisdiction of the United States. It authorizes the secretary of Treasury, in consultation with the secretary of State, to block all property and interests in property of the persons who have been determined to have “materially assisted, sponsored, or…

Trump and Trade

Treasury Secretary Mnuchin Designates China a Currency Manipulator in Response to China’s Currency Devaluation

By Thompson Hine International Trade on August 6, 2019

The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced yesterday that Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin is designating China as a “currency manipulator,” stating that “China has taken concrete steps to devalue its currency, while maintaining substantial foreign exchange reserves despite active use of such tools in the past. The context of these actions and the implausibility of China’s market stability rationale confirm that the purpose of China’s currency devaluation is to gain an unfair competitive…

ERISA Litigation

Plan Service Provider Contracts: To Provide or Not To Provide To Plan Participants

By Melanie M. Lazor & Stephen Penrod on August 6, 2019

You are working hard to administer your benefit plan in accordance with all the requirements of ERISA and the Code when you receive a written request for “a copy of the bargaining agreement, trust agreement, contract or other instrument under which the plan is established or operated.” This language is directly from Section 104(b)(4) of ERISA, but does that mean you have to provide a copy of the long, detailed and sometimes confidential service provider…

Thompson Hine LLP

Thompson Hine LLP Blogs

Blog Authors

Commerce Self-Initiates Inquiries into Possible Circumvention Involving Exports of Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products Completed in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Malaysia, South Africa & the UAE

Do we need a new “data-breach privilege”? Thoughts on the Sedona Conference proposal

Electronic communications with clients – what to know before you hit “send”

USTR Finalizes Section 301 Tranche/List 4 of Chinese Products Facing a 10 Percent Tariff & Announces Postponement of Tariff for Certain Products

Plaintiffs Increasingly Push for Non-Monetary Concessions from Plan Fiduciaries in ERISA Fee Settlements

Crime Doesn’t Pay…Or Does It?

Keeping up with the Joneses: Should the Rules of Professional Conduct bend for in-house lawyers?

Trump Administration Expands Economic Sanctions on Venezuela

Treasury Secretary Mnuchin Designates China a Currency Manipulator in Response to China’s Currency Devaluation

Plan Service Provider Contracts: To Provide or Not To Provide To Plan Participants

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