Publications
Telia Company AB was fined more than $730 million for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations in 2017, Haliburton, nearly $30 million and Mondelez International, $13 million. Other examples abound. Given these staggering penalties, the announcement late last year that the Department of Justice was issuing a revised FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy creating a presumption […]
Wiggin and Dana Outsourcing Partners, Mark Heaphy and John Kennedy, authored the publication, Outsourcing: United States Overview, which is a Q&A guide giving a high level overview of legal and regulatory requirements on different types of outsourcing; commonly used legal structures; procurement processes; formalities required for transferring or leasing assets; data protection issues; customer remedies […]
Wiggin and Dana Outsourcing Partners, Mark Heaphy and John Kennedy, authored the publication, Transferring Employees on an Outsourcing in the United States: Overview, which is a Q&A guide giving a high level overview of the rules relating to transferring employees on an outsourcing, including structuring employee arrangements (including any notice, information and consultation obligations) and […]
U.S. economic sanctions programs received top billing in the news this year, following major changes further restricting trade with Cuba, Russia, North Korea, and Venezuela, including a significant expansion of secondary sanctions, which target foreign businesses for transactions that have no nexus to the U.S., but conflict with U.S. national security or foreign policy objectives. […]
Economic sanctions are touted as a powerful tool in the fight against terrorism, rogue regimes, and transnational criminal organizations. Each round of new sanctions is accompanied by bold assertions of the positive effect the sanctions will have on national security. Critics, on the other hand, contend economic sanctions will cause unintended consequences by harming U.S. […]
Almost every sailor has experienced it –– while on the bow on a breezy day, a rogue wave or unforeseen puff causes the sailor to drop a line. After quickly recovering and completing the task at hand, the skipper asks, What happened? The sailor inevitably responds by saying something along the lines of, I don’t […]
Introduction As emails, texts, and tweets have proliferated on college campuses, courts have struggled to determine how these digital communications interact with student privacy laws such as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). A pre-digital age statute, FERPA requires schools to provide students with access to their own education records that the school […]
Dear Compliance Corner, Before-and-after pictures are the cornerstone of our marketing strategy. We always take pictures of our patients before using Clear Aligner Therapy and after the course of therapy is complete— and we use those photos in a variety of ways to market our practice. We post them on a bulletin board in our […]
On Sept. 8, the U.S. Department of Justice dropped all charges against former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife Maureen. The government's decision marked a stunning end to a case that grabbed headlines for years. The immediate media reaction was that the Supreme Court's July decision in McDonnell v. United States, 136 S. Ct. […]
Plaintiffs in medical malpractice cases have at times sought to hold a hospital liable for the alleged negligent acts of physicians not employed by the hospital. Some cases involve community physicians who treat their patients at the hospital; others involve hospitals contracting with independent physician groups to provide emergency, radiology, anesthesiology or pathology services at […]
On 2 October 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice (‘DOJ’), National Security Division (‘NSD’) published guidance [1] encouraging organizations to voluntarily self-disclose possible willful – and therefore criminal – violations of U.S. export controls and sanctions directly to NSD. This guidance is applicable not only to U.S. companies, but to non-U.S. companies that are subject […]
In 2015, more than one hundred Wiggin and Dana lawyers and professional staff dedicated time and effort to 108 pro bono matters. The firm’s longstanding commitment to pro bono work has been honored by various organizations, including the Connecticut Bar Association, Connecticut Legal Services and the Anti-Defamation League. The firm’s pro bono clients include The […]
In the recent case of Bozelko v. Papastavros, 323 Conn. 275 (Sept. 27, 2016), the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled that expert testimony is required to establish the element of causation in a legal malpractice case. Thus, even where an attorney’s performance was deficient, if the plaintiff cannot present expert testimony that the outcome of her […]
AbstractBefore striking down laws increasing copyright’s domain, judges and legislators are asking for evidence that information products will be created even if copyright protection is not provided. The future of Internet technology depends on locating this evidence in time to limit expansive copyright. United States law, however, already protects information products under copyright. Hence, this […]
The Federal Trade Commission Franchise Rule (FTC Rule)1 does not provide a private right of action,2 but its detailed disclosure standards are a siren call for franchisees looking for a good cause of action. In the fifteen states with state franchise disclosure laws providing a private right of action, franchisees generally assert claims under those […]
The U.S. Department of Justice continues to churn out policies and guidance reflecting the view that it is not merely looking to punish companies for their employees’ misdeeds, but to help the companies get better quicker. Whether viewing the Fraud Section’s recent Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs1 or the National Security Division’s Guidance on Voluntary […]
It is no secret that home turf is an advantage. Plants grow best in their native soil and climate. Sports teams win more often on their home court or field.[1] This trope remains true in litigation. An attorney litigating in his or her home court knows the judges and can tailor litigation strategy to the […]
Bradley International Airport now boasts direct service to Dublin, Ireland, Edinburgh, Scotland, and various destinations in Canada. Those entering and leaving the United States through Bradley and other international airports and border crossings should be aware of an important exception to the Fourth Amendment warrant requirement and the corresponding broad authority vested in U.S. Customs […]
Wiggin and Dana partners, Mark Heaphy and Tamia Simonis, are the contributing authors of the chapter on USA outsourcing for the International Comparative Legal Guide to: Outsourcing 2017. To read the full guide, click on the printable PDF link at the top or bottom of this page or read the content online
With the enactment of the Hatch-Waxman Act, Congress spurred generic competitors to enter the market and lower the cost of expensive, brand-name pharmaceuticals. At the same time, to incentivize new drug development, the act provides limited regulatory exclusivity periods for drug innovators.[1] As a product’s market exclusivity period wanes, drug innovators may use creative and […]
Wiggin and Dana Intellectual Property Partner, Michael Kasdan, co-authored an article with Merav Shor, for Practical Law Intellectual Property & Technology, called Tracking Technologies: Privacy and Data Security Issues. This article provides an overview of the privacy issues surrounding common consumer tracking techniques, including online behavioral advertising, mobile device and precise geolocation tracking, geofencing, and […]
The announcement by Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser, that he wouldn't respond to a subpoena from the Senate Intelligence Committee—requesting a list of contacts with Russian officials—had TV news producers (and members of Congress) scrambling to get Fifth Amendment experts on the line. But Flynn wasn't breaking new ground: Two years earlier, when […]
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania recently joined the majority of other jurisdictions that in holding that a policy providing an exclusion for an employee of the insured meant an employee of the insured seeking coverage under the policy, but not of any of the other insureds under the policy, or even of the Named Insured. […]
Contractual liability exclusions are frequently found in commercial general liability policies. These exclusions prevent coverage for bodily injury or property damage, which the insured is obligated to pay — not because it has some tort-based liability, but because the relevant risk is assumed by the insured in a separate contract. However, these policies often contain […]
Wiggin and Dana Intellectual Property Partners, Joe Casino and Mike Kasdan, authored the publication, Patent Litigation: Mapping a Global Strategy, which outlines key strategic considerations for patentees seeking to file patent infringement suits against an alleged infringer in more than one jurisdiction, in particular, the differences between key jurisdictions in timing, procedure, and substantive patent […]
Your client is “Speedboard,” a Missouri corporation with its principal place of business in New Haven, Connecticut. Your client manufactures skate boards and sales are world-wide. The plaintiff is a 35 year old father who “borrowed” his son’s board for a “joy ride.” During that ride the board unexpectedly gathered speed, the father lost his […]
For several years, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) has been gathering information and issuing instructive guidance to investment advisers for protecting against cybersecurity intrusions. But with the announcement of its second round of cybersecurity examinations in September 2015—as well as a recently settled enforcement action against an […]
In 1991, Congress enacted the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) to curb the use of unwanted robocalls and spam faxes, which were inundating consumers. For years, there was little litigation involving the law. As recently as 2007, there were only 14 TCPA lawsuits filed in federal court. But litigation has skyrocketed. Last year, there were […]
By granting cert and agreeing to hear an appeal from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in United States v. Salman, 792 F.3d 1087 (9th Cir. 2015), the U.S. Supreme Court may clarify the scope of the “personal benefit” prong of insider trading law. Clarity on this aspect of insider trading law could be […]
Introduction This article will cover two topics: (1) potential charges to consider in cultural property prosecutions, and (2) authentication and appraisal of cultural property. It is based on a presentation for “The Prosecution of Cultural Property Crime,” an online training program created in conjunction with the U.S. State Department that is available on LearnDOJ for […]