Publications
Every compliance officer is charged with a single, but at times, daunting task: to keep his or her firm out of trouble. Millions of dollars are spent each year by securities firms to achieve this goal in the form of staff salaries, training and testing. Millions more are spent each year — largely in the […]
Every compliance officer is charged with a single, but at times, daunting task: to keep his or her firm out of trouble. Millions of dollars are spent each year by securities firms to achieve this goal in the form of staff salaries, training and testing. Millions more are spent each year — largely in the […]
I. Sources of Authority — Legal Bases for Policies & Procedures Pursuant to Section 203(e) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, the SEC may sanction anyone who ” has failed reasonably to supervise, with a view to preventing violations of the provisions of such statutes, rules and regulations, another person who commits such a […]
Every compliance officer is charged with a single, but at times, daunting task: to keep his or her firm out of trouble. Millions of dollars are spent each year by securities firms to achieve this goal in the form of staff salaries, training and testing. Millions more are spent each year — largely in the […]
Spring 2011 In this Issue Wiggin and Dana expands Philadelphia officeCT Privacy Forum – September 15, 2011Lead Article – Insurance Coverage for the Computer AgeFrom the CourtsFrom the Regulators Wiggin and Dana Expands Philadelphia Office and Adds Investment Management and Broker-Dealer Regulation Practice Group: Richard Levan Joins Firm’s Philadelphia Office Wiggin and Dana LLP is […]
Special Patent Reform Edition Last week, the US Senate passed the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (H.R. 1249), legislation that marks the biggest change to U.S. patent law since at least 1952. The measure now heads to the White House for President Obama’s signature, and he is expected to sign it September 16, 2011. Once signed […]
We are writing to alert government contractor clients about a recent change in the OFCCP audit process. In the past, the OFCCP has requested contractors to provide an extensive amount of information during an audit to support the numbers in the contractor’s affirmative action plan (“AAP”). Now, in addition to requesting such data, the OFCCP […]
Wiggin and Dana hosted its Fourth Annual Health Care Compliance and Enforcement Roundtable on September 14, 2011, featuring federal and state health care enforcement authorities discussing current initiatives and priorities with the provider community. Many issues were discussed and debated including Connecticut Department of Social Services Medicaid audits, the Federal and Connecticut False Claims Acts, […]
On October 5, 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) does not have the authority to bring court actions to collect disciplinary fines. Fiero v. Fin. Indus. Regulatory Auth., Inc., Docket Nos. 09-1556-cv, 09-1863-cv, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 20173 (2d. Cir. 2011). The ruling […]
On September 8, 2011, The United States Senate passed H.R. 1249, the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (the “Act”). When President Obama signs the Act into law, it will represent the most extensive change to U.S. patent law since 1952. The Act’s provisions will be applied in phases: some retroactively, some effective immediately, and others effective […]
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed an Illinois district court’s grant of summary judgment in a supplier’s favor on a distributor’s Connecticut Franchise Act (“CFA”) claim, holding that the distributor “failed to show that more than 50% of its business resulted from its relationship with [the supplier], and thus failed to establish the […]
New Crime Reporting Requirements for Long-term Care Facilities The Elder Justice Act provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the federal health care reform law) include new crime reporting requirements for long-term care facilities. The requirements took effect when the President signed the health care reform law on March 23, 2010. Although the […]
A recent holding by the United States Circuit Court for the Second Circuit suggests that the sale of a single infringing good and its shipment into New York may constitute sufficient grounds for a New York court to exercise personal jurisdiction over a trademark infringer. (Chloé v. Queen Bee of Beverly Hills, LLC, 09-3361-cv (2d […]
The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) is seeking comments from industry on seven new “best practices” designed to prevent the diversion of controlled items subject to the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”). The Federal Register Notice describing these updated best practices is attached to this Advisory. Comments on the proposed best practices […]
In a relatively brief span of twenty months, the Supreme Court of Connecticut has issued three opinions interpreting Connecticut’s wage payment statute, codified at Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-72 (“Section 31-72”). That statute creates a cause of action in favor of an employee who is not paid his or her earned “wages”—statutorily defined as “compensation […]
Non-Competition Agreements and Professional Networking Sites Employers in a number of industries frequently require employees to execute non-competition agreements whereby that employee, upon termination of employment, is prohibited from engaging in certain competitive activities and/or doing business with the former employer’s customers for a specified period of time. Historically, the former employer discovers violations or […]
A recent Securities and Exchange Commission settlement highlights the significant consequences facing companies and their executives when they fail to adhere to the SEC’s prohibition on selective disclosure of material information. To resolve accusations by the SEC that it violated Regulation FD, the SEC’s rule prohibiting such selective disclosure, Office Depot recently agreed to pay […]
Hartford, Connecticut has suddenly found itself on the cutting-edge of a significant development under federal labor law. The Hartford Regional Office of the National Labor Relations Board recently issued a complaint against American Medical Response of Connecticut, Inc. accusing the ambulance company of illegally terminating an employee because she posted negative comments about her supervisor […]
Now that we feel reasonably confident that Congress will not reinstate the estate and generation-skipping transfer tax laws retroactively, we believe that 2010 affords unique estate planning opportunities that may not be available in 2011. BackgroundFor 2010 the federal estate and generation-skipping transfer (GST) taxes were repealed in their entirety. If Congress does not extend […]
Intellectual property owners have long advocated for legislation protecting against the widespread distribution of pirated content and counterfeit products on the Internet. Senators Patrick J. Leahy and Orrin G. Hatch have recently responded to these calls by introducing the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA). COICA targets web sites that are “dedicated to infringing […]
ONC Establishes Temporary EHR Certification Program and Publishes Final Rule on EHR Technology Standards: Impact on Meaningful Use Incentive Payments and Stark/Anti-kickback Compliance On June 24, 2010, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) in the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) promulgated a final rule establishing a […]
In This Issue: FTC and DOJ Issue Revised Horizontal Merger Guidelines Wiggin and Dana Authors Influential Brief on Confidentiality of Documents Produced Under an Antitrust Subpoena Resale Price Maintenance Redux In-House Attorney/Client Communications Are Not Privileged In The European Union FTC AND DOJ ISSUE REVISED HORIZONTAL MERGER GUIDELINES On August 19, 2010, the Department of […]
In a settlement announced April 7, 2011, the Securities and Exchange Commission for the first time assessed financial penalties against individual executives for violating customer privacy rules. The SEC imposed the fines on three former brokerage executives of GunnAllen Financial for violating Regulation S-P, also known as the “Safeguard Rule.” The rule requires, among other […]
Robert Robin Stein of Stamford has been appointed a member of the Connecticut Siting Council (Council) by Governor Dannel P. Malloy (D). Governor Malloy has also nominated Mr. Stein to be Chairman of the Council, a position held by Dan Caruso since 2006. In announcing his appointment of Mr. Stein, Governor Malloy said, I’ve known […]
Daniel C. Esty has been appointed the Commissioner of the new Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (“DEEP”). At the same time Governor Dannel P. Malloy (D) introduced his appointee for this position he also announced the consolidation of the Department of Public Utility Control (“DPUC”) with the Department of Environmental Protection “to allow […]
The SEC may soon issue welcome news for hedge fund advisers registering for the first time as investment advisers under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. According to a recent letter from associate director of the SEC’s Division of Investment Management, Robert Plaze, the SEC may extend the registration deadline of certain investment advisers, including […]
In an Advisory released in 2009, we reported on the steps taken by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) to embolden its efforts in attacking systemic discrimination in employment, and thus, to continue driving agency focus from individual discrimination cases to agency driven charges attacking such suspected systemic discrimination practices. Since that Advisory, the EEOC […]
The authority of the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services (OIG) to exclude individuals who themselves engage in wrongdoing from participation in health care programs is well-established. Indeed, exclusion under those circumstances is viewed as a logical consequence of a criminal conviction based on an individual's personal involvement […]
On December 17, 2010, President Obama signed the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Authorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 into law. In addition to extending many of the Bush-era tax cuts for 2011 and 2012, including setting the maximum income tax rate at 35% and the maximum capital gains rate at 15%, this bill temporarily […]
Thomas B. Leonardi was introduced as the next Commissioner of the Connecticut Insurance Department. Governor Dannel P. Malloy (D) introduced his appointee for this carefully watched position during a press conference on Friday, February 4, 2011. Mr. Leonardi, 56, currently is the President and CEO of Northington Partners, Inc., a venture capital and private equity […]