On September 9, 2024, the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and the Treasury (HHS, Labor, and the Treasury, collectively, the Departments) issued final rules (the 2024 Final Regulations) to implement the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Continue Reading
Reuters Legal News | Crypto Ownership and Custodial Wallets: Owning Without Owning?
Over the last decade, year over year, hackers have stolen billions of dollars in cryptocurrencies. Last month, another of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges was hacked in what has been called the largest crypto heist in history. The exchange was Bybit, based in Dubai, and the Continue Reading
Employee Relations Law Journal | ERISA “Stock Drop” Cases: Should Plan Fiduciaries Rest Easy?
Prior to 2014, many federal courts applied a “presumption of prudence" standard when evaluating a fiduciary's decision to offer employer stock as an investment option under their company’s retirement plan. However, Fifth Third Bancorp v. Dudenhoeffer, drastically changed this, as the U.S. Supreme Continue Reading
Employee Relations Law Journal | Excessive Fee Suits Imperil ERISA Fiduciaries for Health and Welfare Plans
The standards that ERISA fiduciaries owe to the plans they oversee have been called “among the highest duties known to law... more exacting than the duties imposed upon common law trustees.” In recent years, ERISA fiduciaries of retirement plans have experienced heightened scrutiny from plan Continue Reading
Reuters Legal News | When Stolen Crypto is Recovered, Who Is Entitled to Restitution?
It was a Bitcoin hack so big and complex that the laptop used to trace and recover the stolen coins will soon be on display at the Smithsonian. There was a recovery effort so grand it yielded 80% of the stolen Bitcoin and the largest forfeiture in the history of the Department of Justice. The Continue Reading
AdExchanger | Maryland Is The New State To Watch When It Comes To Data Privacy
There are now 19 states that have enacted comprehensive consumer data privacy laws, eight of which are currently in effect. When talk turns to the most impactful of these state privacy laws, the conversation usually starts and stops with California. However, recent developments should alter Continue Reading
Employee Relations Law Journal | ERISA Forfeiture Litigation: The New Frontier
There have been important developments from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as well as pending court cases regarding the proper use of forfeitures which arise under defined contribution plans, such as 401k plans. These developments present potential conflicts and liabilities that employers and Continue Reading
Reuters Legal News | Valuing Crypto in the Bankruptcy Multiverse
The recent bankruptcy filings by several major crypto platforms have given rise to unexpected realities for customers and investors. The sudden change in rights, legal exposure in bankruptcy litigation and varying outcomes in the several different proceedings can be reminiscent of a Hollywood Continue Reading
Reuters Legal News | Debtors Without a Cause: Whether Non-Distressed Entities Can Access Bankruptcy
The benefits afforded debtors in bankruptcy are so compelling that businesses have initiated bankruptcy proceedings without experiencing insolvency or imminent financial distress. But do such businesses have the right to do so? With no express guidance under the Bankruptcy Code, and no bright Continue Reading
O’Dwyers Public Relations | Going for Olympic Gold: Marketers Hope To Reach the Podium in Paris, Even if Not on the “Official” Team
Just about everyone dreams of participating in the Olympics – walking among the parade of nations being draped with a bronze, silver, or maybe even gold, medal. Most learn at an early age that we possess neither the skill nor the single-minded discipline necessary to fulfill this dream. So, we Continue Reading