Know What's Happening in Legal
Know What's Happening in Legal
Delaware Supreme Court revives insurers' contract claims against Blackbaud over ransomware breach
The court reversed lower‑court dismissals, allowing insurers to pursue breach‑of‑contract claims against Blackbaud for its 2020 ransomware incident. Blackbaud previously paid a $3M SEC fine and $49M settlements to state attorneys general for misleading breach disclosures.
Also developing:
The Inter‑American Development Bank (IDB) Group has imposed a twenty‑four‑month Conditional Non‑Debarment on ECOSAC AGRÍCOLA S.A.C. and its subsidiary after confirming fraudulent financial representations made to an IDB Invest loan between 2022 and 2023. The settlement, reached through the Office of Institutional Integrity, requires ECOSAC to report compliance through an independent monitor and maintain cooperation with ongoing investigations. Failure to meet these conditions would trigger a full four‑year de‑barment. The new majority owner, Atitlán Grapes, was not involved in the misconduct and is exempt from the sanction.
Legalgain released a whitepaper titled "Integrity Meets Intelligence" outlining structural requirements for reliable AI legal research. The report identifies three core pillars: high‑integrity legal data, domain‑specific model architecture, and agentic multi‑step workflows. It argues that many current legal AI tools...
The U.S. EPA finalized a rule that pushes key coal‑combustion residual (CCR) compliance dates into 2027‑2032, extending facility evaluation reports, groundwater‑monitoring design, and closure‑plan deadlines. The extensions respond to industry‑wide challenges such as locating historic engineering records, contractor shortages, and...
Under the Trump administration, the DOJ has refined its corporate enforcement policy to more actively reward voluntary disclosures of misconduct. Companies that promptly self‑report, fully cooperate, and remediate can receive declinations and potentially avoid disgorgement, as illustrated by recent False...
A coalition led by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Imperial Valley Equity & Justice has asked Governor Gavin Newsom and Caltrans to immediately revoke permits that allow federal agencies such as Customs and Border Patrol and the DEA to install...
Senators Josh Hawley and Elizabeth Warren introduced the Break Up Big Medicine Act, a "Glass‑Steagall"‑style bill that would prohibit common ownership of health‑care providers with insurers, PBMs, or drug/medical device wholesalers, forcing divestiture within a year. The legislation targets vertically...
The SEC’s recent clarification of Rule 14a‑8 reshapes how companies must handle shareholder proposals, while regulators intensify scrutiny of proxy advisors. Concurrently, vote‑no/withhold campaigns and new retail voting programs are gaining traction, adding complexity to the 2026 proxy season. Updated guidance...
In this episode, Chris Mitchell, Doug Dawson, and Sean Gonsalves dissect recent telecom mergers, examine Starlink’s attempts to influence the BEAD (Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment) funding rules, and discuss new research linking reduced competition to higher consumer prices. They...
Jay Clayton, former SEC chair and U.S. attorney, reiterated his long‑standing criticism of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), arguing that aggressive U.S. enforcement can unintentionally boost corruption abroad. He cited the act’s high compliance costs as a driver for...
Several recent proxy statements claim that moving a corporation from Nevada to Delaware provides greater dividend‑distribution flexibility. A detailed comparison of Nevada’s NRS 78.288 and Delaware’s statutory and case‑law framework shows Nevada already allows broad dividend authority, especially when articles of...
In this episode, hosts Patrick Smith and Cedra Mayfield sit down with Geoffrey Potter, the veteran head of Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler’s anticounterfeit practice, to explore how his team conducts globe‑spanning investigations that resemble an international detective thriller. Potter...
HaystackID announced on February 10, 2026 that Jeff Shapiro will serve as Managing Director for Europe, anchoring its Global Advisory practice in London. The appointment comes as the EU AI Act and Data Act enter critical enforcement phases, demanding localized...
Board director compensation across the Russell 3000 and S&P 500 showed modest growth in 2025, with total pay up 2% in the Russell 3000 and flat in the S&P 500, keeping median compensation near $250,000. Shareholder‑approved caps are now in...
The SEC’s proposed 2024 Climate Rule would require large accelerated filers to disclose Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse‑gas emissions and obtain third‑party assurance, mirroring EU sustainability mandates. Under Section 11, underwriters remain liable for non‑expertised portions of registration statements, shifting risk when...
Digital distribution has dramatically expanded creators' reach, but platform ecosystems now dominate visibility, pricing, audience data, and monetisation. This shift has eroded creators' bargaining power, even as publishers access larger audiences. Axel Springer’s new research frames copyright as an economic...
Former judge Paul Cassell argues that shifting criminal law toward a victim‑centric model could curb the growing politicization of prosecutions. He contends that ordinary citizens—victims and families—should have greater input, reducing reliance on politically exposed prosecutors. Critics warn that empowering...
Brazil’s LexML portal, built on the open‑source Akoma Ntoso XML standard, aggregates official texts, court decisions, and bills into a single searchable system. While the platform centralizes legislative documents, it fails to integrate political metadata such as bill sponsors or...
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is openly deploying AI tools—such as cryptocurrency tracing, financial anomaly detection, travel‑pattern analysis, and intake triage—to boost white‑collar investigations. At the same time, the DOJ’s enforcement agenda warns that companies must govern their own AI...
ISS added a negative overriding factor to its EPSC evaluation in December 2025. Plans that receive a Plan Features pillar score below seven points may now trigger a recommended vote against the equity plan proposal. ISS does not disclose how...
The Luxembourg Centre for European Law and the Association of European Competition Law Judges are hosting a self‑preferencing seminar in Luxembourg on 26 February, featuring Judge Octavia Spineanu‑Matei, Professor Walid Chaiehloudj and the author. A second event, the European Commission’s “Shaping...
The article argues that regulator‑regulatee agreements are not merely a peripheral tool but the dominant paradigm shaping modern regulation. Across sectors—from automobile safety to artificial intelligence and data‑privacy settlements—agreements precede, accompany, or replace traditional command‑and‑control rules. This perspective blurs the...
On January 23, 2026 the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance released a suite of updated Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations covering proxy filings, executive compensation in spin‑offs, tender‑offer mechanics, lock‑up agreements, and securities‑offering integration. The revisions eliminate voluntary PX14A6G filings for...
The second African private international law symposium highlighted a surge in judicial engagement with cross‑border disputes across twenty‑six jurisdictions. Participants underscored the lingering influence of colonial legal frameworks and the need for reforms that reflect African economic realities. The symposium...
The Sequoia Project released two practical guides on February 9, 2026 to accelerate automated, computable patient consent across the United States. One guide provides model legislative language to align state‑level sensitive health‑data laws with national technical standards, while the second offers...
In this episode Edward Corona dissects the sudden 16% plunge of Hims & Hers Health (HIMS), linking it to a dual blow from GLP‑1 hype‑driven expectations and mounting legal and FDA scrutiny. He explains how lawsuits and regulatory pressure are...
The FDA’s new guidance clarifies, rather than rewrites, the line between general‑wellness wearables and regulated medical devices, emphasizing intended use as the decisive factor. By allowing sensor‑rich products to remain unregulated if they avoid medical claims, the agency reduces regulatory...
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a regulatory update effective April 13 that expands documentation, face‑to‑face (F2F) and prior‑authorization requirements for Medicare‑covered DMEPOS items. Eight new oxygen‑related codes join the F2F/WOPD list, while seven additional items—five orthoses and...
The Northern District of California allowed a DMCA §1201(a) claim to survive a motion to dismiss in Cordova v. Huneault, finding that YouTube’s rolling‑cipher encryption qualifies as an access‑control measure. The court emphasized that the public‑viewable nature of the videos does...
USCIS opened the FY 2027 H‑1B cap registration window for March 4‑19, 2026, requiring online registration and a $215 fee per entry. The season will be dominated by a new wage‑weighted lottery that assigns multiple entries to higher wage levels (Level II‑IV) versus a...
The new brief co‑authored by NDI, OGP and Transparency International exposes how confidentiality clauses in sovereign loan contracts conceal billions of dollars of public debt. It cites cases such as Mozambique’s $2 billion hidden debt and Senegal’s recent audit, showing that...
The Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA), enacted in 2023, criminalizes foreign officials who demand bribes from U.S. companies, aiming to fill a perceived gap in the FCPA’s demand‑side coverage. Thirteen members of Congress recently sent a letter to Attorney General...
Recent securities class actions against Charming Medical, PomDoctor, China Liberal Education Holdings, and Picard Medical illustrate a growing litigation focus on low‑float IPOs and social‑media‑driven pump‑and‑dump schemes. Plaintiffs allege that thin public floats, concentrated insider ownership, and inadequate IPO disclosures...
DISCO unveiled a scaled agentic AI extension to its Cecilia Q&A platform, targeting massive e‑discovery projects with millions of documents and terabytes of data. The enhancement introduces an autonomous multi‑step reasoning engine that can independently break down complex legal queries...
In this 30‑minute episode, the hosts break down how earnouts can bridge the valuation gap for VC‑backed companies during M&A transactions, emphasizing the need for solid legal structures rather than verbal promises. They walk listeners through the key clauses that...
The Delaware Supreme Court issued an en banc opinion in Johnson & Johnson v. Fortis Advisors, affirming and partially reversing a Chancery ruling that awarded former Auris Health shareholders over $1 billion in an earnout dispute. The decision is the first...
Legalization has driven daily marijuana use from about 6 million in 2012 to roughly 18 million today, now exceeding daily alcohol consumption. Health consequences—including cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, psychotic episodes, and impaired driving—have risen sharply alongside use. The New York Times editorial proposes...
California’s Labor Commissioner secured a $6.2 million settlement with Alco Harvesting LLC to resolve paid‑sick‑leave and wage‑and‑hour violations affecting more than 10,000 farmworkers, including H‑2A laborers. The agreement allocates $4.2 million in back wages directly to workers and $1.5 million for sick‑leave and...
The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, enacted in 2021, created a rebuttable presumption that Xinjiang‑origin goods are barred from the U.S. market. U.S. Customs data show a sharp drop in UFLPA‑related detentions, from roughly $1.58 billion in 2023 and $1.40 billion in...
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a 90‑month prison term for Omar Wala, who pleaded guilty to conspiring to manufacture and distribute counterfeit generic alprazolam pills on the dark web. The court upheld the district court’s fraud loss calculation,...
A Southeast Asian fintech founder reported navigating seventeen regulatory changes in three years, illustrating that Asian fintech rules now shift roughly every quarter. The article argues that treating regulatory environments as stable has led to billions in remediation costs and...
The FCPA Institute is returning to a virtual format on February 23‑25, offering a three‑day, nine‑hour intensive via Zoom. Led by Professor Koehler, the program covers anti‑bribery provisions, books‑and‑records rules, enforcement trends, and practical compliance tactics. Participants gain hands‑on skills...
Congress reauthorized funding for the FCC and other agencies, preventing a shutdown and keeping regulatory operations running smoothly. The FCC implemented a new CORES database rule that forces broadcasters to update their FCC Registration Number and related contact details within...
India’s DPIIT released a Working Paper proposing a hybrid compulsory licence to streamline AI‑training data use, aiming to give developers legal certainty and speed up innovation. The Artist Rights Institute (ARI) submitted a public comment urging a measured approach, emphasizing...
The First Circuit affirmed a district court’s dismissal of a lawsuit against Armslist for lack of personal jurisdiction in New Hampshire, but crafted a nuanced analysis of purposeful availment. The court emphasized that thousands of New Hampshire listings, advertising revenue, and the...
Law firms are increasingly worried that once discovery documents are produced, opposing counsel could feed sensitive client information into large language models like ChatGPT. Stephen Embry highlights the gap between traditional document‑protection measures and the emerging risk of AI‑driven data...
Career prosecutors are abandoning U.S. Attorney offices as the DOJ openly solicits candidates who support former President Trump, signaling a politicized hiring push. Simultaneously, Indiana has relaxed bar admission rules, allowing graduates of non‑ABA‑accredited online law schools to sit for...
The episode dissects the court’s denial of Compass’s request for a preliminary injunction against Zillow over the Zillow Listing Access System (ZLAS). It explains that while the ruling is a legal victory for Zillow, it doesn’t spell immediate disaster for...
Eleven of Next Step Healthcare's fourteen Massachusetts nursing homes have been placed in court‑appointed receivership after landlords reported nearly $15 million in unpaid rent and $3 million owed to lenders. Audits show chronic late payments and inspection failures that jeopardized resident safety....
Former Leighton Holdings CEO David Savage pleaded guilty to concealing a $45 million bribe to Iraqi officials and was fined a symbolic AUD $1,000. The penalty is dramatically lower than sentences imposed on foreign intermediaries involved in the same scheme, who faced...
A Pennsylvania truck driver voluntarily disclosed a 15‑year‑old armed‑robbery conviction during a job interview, prompting an immediate rejection. The employer argued the ban‑the‑box law didn’t apply because the information wasn’t obtained from a state agency. The Third Circuit reversed, holding...
