Publications
Greetings, Court Fans! It was a busy day at One First Street yesterday, with five new decisions. In City of Austin v. Reagan National Advertising (No. 20-1029), the Court clarified its test for determining when speech-restrictions are content based and therefore presumptively invalid. In United States v. Vaello Madero (No. 20-303), the Court held that […]
On Wednesday, April 6, 2022, the White House announced that the U.S. would impose “severe and immediate economic costs on the Putin regime for its atrocities in Ukraine, including in Bucha.” Following the announcement, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) and the Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) implemented President Biden’s directive, imposing a […]
We are pleased to announce that Wiggin and Dana has established a cross-specialty practice group of intellectual property, corporate and emerging companies, fund formation, litigation, and art law attorneys to provide clients with one-stop access to the full suite of legal services necessary to assist our clients in navigating the exciting but complex world of […]
Greetings, Court Fans! The big SCOTUS news this week came yesterday, with the 53-47 Senate vote to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first African American woman to serve on the Supreme Court. Congrats, Judge Jackson/America! As always you can find all sorts of analysis of the confirmation and soon-to-be Justice Jackson’s potential impact […]
Greetings, Court Fans! Just one new decision this week. In Badgerow v. Walters (No. 20-1143), the Court resolved a circuit split over a technical jurisdictional issue involving the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), while airing the ever-diminishing differences among the Justices when it comes to formalistic or functional approaches to statutory interpretation. Section 4 of the […]
In recent months, the United States has imposed a complex mix of economic sanctions and export controls on the Russia Federation, Belarus, and the Self-Declared Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (DNR and LNR). In Wiggin and Dana’s Summary of Recent OFAC Sanctions and BIS Export Controls on Russia, Belarus, and the Self-Declared Donetsk and Luhansk […]
Greetings, Court Fans! While most eyes were on the confirmation hearings of the Court’s next (presumptive) justice, the current crew kept busy with two new decisions, each touching on First Amendment concerns. In Houston Community College System v. Wilson (No. 20-804), the Court held that the First Amendment does not preclude a public college from […]
Wiggin and Dana Partners, Joseph Casino and Michael Kasdan provide a 2022 update to their article “Patent Litigation: Mapping a Global Strategy,” published by Thomson Reuters and The Practical Law Company. The article provides a global approach to patent litigation and strategic consideration based on administrative proceedings for patent disputes and discusses the impact of the procedural difference in various forums. To […]
Guess what? More U.S. sanctions on Russia…Today’s Executive Order (March 11) prohibits: 1. IMPORTS into the U.S. of fish, seafood, alcohol, and non-industrial diamonds from Russia (more items may be added later). OFAC published several FAQs and General Licenses related to this restriction, including: GL17 permitting imports under pre-existing contracts through March 25; and FAQs clarifying that […]
On March 3, 2022, the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) issued a rule expanding restrictions in Part 746.5 of the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) to impose export license requirements for transfers to and within Russia on a long list of additional items related to oil and gas exploration and production. The […]
Greetings, Court Fans! The Nine have been active of late, with four opinions coming out late last week and another yesterday morning. There was also significant news yesterday on the orders docket. Here follows our harried (if not quite hurried) effort to bring you up to speed. First up, in United States v. Tsarnaev (No. […]
Partner Michael Menapace has co-edited “A Practical Guide to Cyber Insurance for Businesses,” published by the American Bar Association. The ABA describes this publication as, “a practical guide for insurance brokers, underwriters, risk managers and businesses as each of these constituencies work with each other to choose the right cyber insurance product for commercial businesses.” […]
Greetings, Court Fans! The big news today (setting aside the early rumblings of World War III) is of course President Biden’s nomination of D.C. Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown-Jackson to succeed Justice Breyer on that other federal appeals court in the District. You’ll have to look elsewhere (and you won’t have to look far) for hot […]
On February 24, 2022, the U.S. announced significant additional financial sanctions targeting Russia and Belarus in connection with the situation in Ukraine. New export controls were also announced – more to follow on those later. For now, here’s an overview of the new financial sanctions. These are in addition to the sanctions announced earlier in the week, and […]
On February 22, 2022, the US government followed its February 21st embargo on the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk Republics with additional sanctions. The additional sanctions, described by President Biden as a “first tranche,” to be followed by more if Russia continues its activities in Ukraine, are: (1) blocking sanctions on two large Russian banks (VEB and Promsvyazbank) and […]
On Monday February 21, 2022, the Biden Administration issued a new Executive Order (“the Order”) imposing sanctions on the self-declared republics of Donetsk and Luhansk in Eastern Ukraine (“DNR” and “LHR,” respectively). The Order creates an embargo on the two regions, prohibiting: (i) direct or indirect export, reexport, sale, or supply, from the United States or by a […]
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently weighed in on the California Institute of Technology v. Broadcom Ltd. et al., No. 20-2222 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 4, 2022)) (CalTech) case, dismissing a $1.1B damage award against Broadcom and Apple and issuing a precedential opinion that clarifies three areas of patent law: (i) […]
Greetings, Court Fans! Last week’s big news was not found in the pages of the U.S. Reports. As you’ve surely heard, last Thursday Justice Breyer officially announced his retirement from regular service on the Court after that news was leaked the day before. The decision will take effect when the Court recesses for the summer […]
Greetings, Court Fans! This week, as many Court Watchers debated what three of The Nine did (or did not) say about masking (or not masking) on the bench, we remained focused as ever on the Court’s decisions. While the Court’s lone signed opinion—an 8-1 ruling on the Confrontation Clause—was hardly a match for the masking […]
Greetings, Court Fans! On Thursday, the Court issued two hotly anticipated decisions involving the Biden Administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates. In National Federation of Independent Business v. Department of Labor (No. 21A244), a 6-3 Court stayed the OSHA’s mandate that would have required 84 million workers to be vaccinated or obtain weekly negative tests. But in […]
Greetings, Court Fans! On Friday, the Court issued its second signed opinion of the term, and it was the decision we all thought was going to be OT21’s first: Whole Women’s Health v. Jackson, No. 21-463. As we previewed last time, the case involves two challenges to a recently enacted Texas law, S.B.8, which generally […]
Partner Benjamin Diessel, Senior Counsel Robert Langer and Associate Zeynep Aydogan authored a piece titled, “FTC Merger Policy Shifts May Spur Uncertainty And Risk” for Law360. The article discusses the recent measures that the Federal Trade Commission has taken to “reshape its enforcement priorities for review of mergers and acquisitions.” Traditionally, new policies have been […]
In a highly anticipated 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court stayed enforcement of OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) requiring large employers to implement vaccine or testing policies. This means employers can put pencils down on complying with the ETS, at least for the time being. History As most employers are well aware by now, on November […]
Happy New Year to our clients and friends! In these challenging times, we want to assure you that we are here to provide timely, cost effective and thoughtful legal counsel to a diverse client base. Attached is our M&A practice year end review. We trust you will find it both interesting and a reflection of […]
On January 11, 2022, Partners Jody Erdfarb‘s and Maureen Weaver‘s article titled, “Preparing for a new reality: Hospice survey enforcement in 2022,” was published in McKnight’s Home Care. The article discusses new challenges that home hospices can expect in 2022 and how to prepare for them. Jody and Maureen explain, “On Jan. 1, 2022, new […]
Those following the large employer vaccine mandate saga will recall that, on November 6, 2021, OSHA issued its long-awaited Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) requiring employers with 100 or more employees to implement vaccination policies mandating that their employees either be vaccinated or submit to weekly testing and wear face coverings. On November 12, 2021, however, […]
On December 15, 2021, Jody Erdfarb‘s and Maureen Weaver‘s article titled, “Get Ready Now For 2022’s New Hospice Oversight,” was published in Law360. The article discusses the new hospice regulations that Medicare-certified hospice programs can expect in 2022. Jody and Maureen explain, “…the purpose of these new regulations is to increase and improve transparency, oversight […]
Greetings, Court Fans! And Happy Thanksgiving! Yes, we know that’s not usually the most proximate holiday when we hit your inboxes for the first time in a term, and, yes, there have been some interesting cert grants and orders on the “shadow docket” that we probably should have been dishing about over the last month […]
Biden Administration Issues Proclamation to Restrict Direct U.S. Entry from Countries Impacted by Omicron COVID-19 Variant Effective Monday, November 29, 2021, travelers are not permitted to travel directly to the U.S. if they have been physically present, within the past fourteen (14) days, in any of the following countries: South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, […]
As 2021 draws to a close, we present our annual year-end advisory. Our 2021 edition outlines the current estate and gift tax environment, including projections for next year, and highlights year-end planning opportunities. We also welcome the addition of a new Private Client Services partner in our Greenwich office, Vanessa L. Maczko. To read the […]