Source: https://www.velaw.com/Insights/?q=&page=4&count=20&tab=publications
Timestamp: 2019-04-25 20:20:46+00:00

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V&E’s Carly Milner and Aurra Fellows discuss the need to understand what discovery will be available and whether that meets their needs.
Everyone knows by now that the European Union passed a sweeping privacy law that was implemented in May of 2018 regulating how businesses may use personal data.
On March 6, Director James M. McDonald of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) announced a new Enforcement Advisory at the American Bar Association’s National Institute on White Collar Crime, aimed at encouraging cooperation with CFTC investigations related to foreign corruption.
In the first FCPA enforcement action of the 2019 season, DOJ issued a particularly lenient declination to Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation, but required additional disgorgement beyond what the SEC could collect in its own parallel action and indicted two of the company’s most senior executives.
As you may know, the United States, Canada, and Mexico negotiated a new trade agreement in November 2018 titled the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), which is intended to replace NAFTA.
The U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed to review the scope of the federal Clean Water Act (“CWA”), which prohibits the discharge of pollutants into navigable waters from any point source.
The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) typically stick to a game plan when it comes to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”), historically focusing on high risk markets and select industries with heavy foreign government involvement, such as energy and resource extraction, life sciences and pharmaceuticals, and financial services.
In order to effectively drive a culture of ethical conduct, companies must ensure that compliance priorities set by executive leadership extend to even the lowest level employees.
In Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, LLC, 586 U.S. __ (2019), the Supreme Court of the United States held that a suit for copyright infringement cannot commence until after the Copyright Office has granted registration of a copyright.
In Rimini Street, Inc. v. Oracle USA, Inc., 586 U.S. __ (2019), the Supreme Court of the United States held that an award of “full costs” for copyright infringement under Section 505 of the Copyright Act is limited to and may not go beyond the six enumerated categories of costs authorized under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1821 and 1920.
In a (perhaps unsurprising) recent decision in the case of Canary Wharf (BP4) T1 Ltd v European Medicines Agency(the “EMA”),1 the High Court ruled that BREXIT would not amount to an event frustrating a lease.
Please join Vinson & Elkins in a conversation with Charles Robinson.
In the eight years since Lady Gaga first sang that she lives “just as free as her hair,” workplace race discrimination issues related to hair grooming policies have become more prominent.
In early February, the U.S. Department of Justice took the unprecedented step of temporarily shutting down two Tennessee pharmacies accused of allowing opioid prescriptions to flow into the local market unchecked, signaling an escalation in the DOJ’s enforcement surrounding the opioid cases.
In a recent decision, Spirit Energy Resources Ltd & Ors v Marathon Oil UK LLC  EWCA Civ 11, the English Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal brought by Spirit Energy and TAQA in respect of their liability for a share of a pension deficit for employees engaged in joint operations.
Avoiding slipping up on the FLSA’s rules and regulations is notoriously difficult, both for small businesses as well as large companies with sophisticated HR and legal teams. If your business hasn’t looked recently at its wage and hour practices, use our quick checklist to performing a high-level, 30-minute desk audit to identify some of the most common blind spots that might need further review.
With apologies to President Kennedy’s prosaic description of alliances, antitrust issues — if not properly managed — can make alliances the source of legal issues.
V&E IP partner, Jennifer Chen, will be attending the Women Corporate Directors' 2019 Asia Pacific Institute program on February 21-22, 2019 in Tokyo, Japan at The Westin Tokyo.
North American Petroleum Accounting Conference (NAPAC) brings petroleum industry professionals together for two days of intense and important educational sessions enhanced by lively, productive discussions.
Michael Ward, VP & Chief Compliance Officer at Juniper Networks, and V&E partners Matt Jacobs and Jessica Mussallem will share insights about the Yates Memo, in addition to how corporate leaders can minimize liability risks for themselves and their companies in light of the expanding attention on corporate and individual misconduct.
Sean Becker, head of V&E’s Labor & Employment practice, is leading a session entitled, “Anti-SLAPP for Employment Lawyers” at UT Law’s 25th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference, a premier program on employment law practice in Texas.
Nothing is more important to a lawyer's long-term success than a fundamental understanding of the rules of professional conduct.
V&E is proud to sponsor upcoming Tax Executive Institute (TEI) Tax School sessions.
V&E is a proud Ruby sponsor of the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL) Dallas Conference, taking place May 3 in Dallas, TX.
V&E partner Gary Huffman is speaking at the Practising Law Institute (PLI): Tax Planning for Domestic & Foreign Partnerships, LLCs, Joint Ventures & Other Strategic Alliances programs in Chicago and New York.
V&E is a Silver Sponsor of the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) Dallas - Fort Worth (DFW) Chapter's Annual Symposium, and V&E has two distinct speaking roles at this conference.
The #MeToo movement presents unique challenges not only for human resources managers and general counsel, but also for boards that are increasingly recognizing the reputational damage that can be caused by workplace complaints. This presents special challenges for the energy industry.
The Federal government is a key economic actor in the energy industry as the lessor of drilling rights in territorial waters and on almost 650 million acres of land. When the Federal oil and gas lease program makes news headlines, it frequently elicits passionate reactions.
V&E is once again a proud sponsor of the 2018 Kayo Women's Real Estate Summit, taking place April 23rd and 24th in Washington D.C.
V&E attorneys will describe several recent transactions in which MLPs are converting into corporations, eliminating IDRs or combining into a single public entity.
Vinson & Elkins is pleased to be sponsoring the TowerXchange Meetup Europe 2018. TowerXchange is the primary thought leadership body in the global telecom tower industry.
V&E counsel, Jamie Tabb, will be a panelist in the “OTAs: No FAR Doesn't Necessarily Mean No Problems” session.
On Friday, April 13, the Houston Chapter of Financial Executives International (FEI) is hosting its 2018 CFO University.
Vinson & Elkins is pleased to be sponsoring Global Arbitration Review’s GAR Live Construction Disputes conference in Paris. The conference offers a unique opportunity to explore and discuss key themes with top construction disputes focussed practitioners and arbitrators from around the world.
Equilar and Nasdaq are excited to offer a one-day program for public company compensation committee members, chief HR and senior-level compensation executives, general counsel, and corporate secretaries.
Join The George Washington University Law School, the Journal of Energy and Environmental Law, GW Environmental & Energy Law Association, and the Environmental Law Institute for a symposium on the Public Trust Doctrine in Washington, DC.
V&E partner Lawrence Elbaum (CCL/NY) will join Shaun Bisman, Principal, Compensation Advisory Partners and Gillian Emmett Moldowan, Counsel, Compensation, Governance & ERISA, Shearman & Sterling LLP for The Knowledge Group’s live webcast.
On February 27, V&E Tax lawyers Megan James and Julia Pashin will speak on a panel titled, “Upstream Oil and Gas Like-Kind Exchange Transactions after Tax Reform,” at the upcoming Tax Executive Institute (TEI) Tax School.
V&E was a gold sponsor of Kayo’s inaugural Women’s Real Estate Investment Summit, which took place Monday, April 24th and Tuesday, April 25th in Brooklyn. With over 60 speakers and approximately 200 attendees from 18 states and four countries, the summit showcased diverse perspectives on trends in the real estate and hospitality sectors, with an exciting focus on the experiences of women professionals in the industry.
The energy sector’s recovery from a historic decline in oil prices in 2016 has driven renewed interest in the sector’s investment opportunities. Further fueling this interest is rising demand and advances in technology that are yielding significant cost reductions in the way oil and gas are developed and produced.
This program addressed technology’s growing impact on the oil and gas industry. The panel discussed cutting edge technologies that are currently impacting the oil and gas industry, the origins and the future of oil and gas technology as well as certain legal and commercial issues to consider when investing in, working with, and/or acquiring energy technology companies.
This program covered alternatives to traditional forms of capital raising, including 144A Equity Offerings and Special Purposes Acquisition Companies (SPACs). The presentation looked at recent market trends and precedents in such financings.
As the Trump Administration advances its agenda, several environmental NGOs will look to make good on their pledge to rely on citizen suit statutes to accomplish their public policy priorities. These groups hope to achieve judicial rulings on environmental theories that may not be endorsed by either the legislative or executive branches, while also being reimbursed for their efforts.
On January 19, 2017, the Treasury Department and the IRS released final regulations providing guidance on the treatment of income from natural resource activities of publicly traded partnerships as qualifying income for purposes of section 7704(d)(1)(E) of the Internal Revenue Code.
In this presentation, we previewed TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC and Impression Products, Inc. v. Lexmark International and discussed the issues and potential outcomes. We also took one additional step and discussed what these cases may mean to the business of law.
U.S. oil and gas policy may undergo substantial change in the next administration. Federal rules governing methane emissions, the leasing of government lands, exports, and much more could be revised in the coming years.
In this program, V&E attorneys discuss recent IPO activity in the energy space, the IPO timeline and process overview, issues that arise during the IPO process, financial statement and structuring considerations, and governance matters.
This program will cover the status of the proposed qualifying income regulations and 2016 MLP capital markets transactions, with a focus on institutional preferred equity.
This presentation introduced V&E’s new nationally recognized team of Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) lawyers to the firm’s clients, and explored the corporate and tax similarities between master limited partnerships (MLPs) and REITs.
In this presentation, V&E attorneys cover sponsor acquisitions of MLPs, MLP acquisitions of GPs and IDRs, and subordinated unit restructurings.
In this program, attorneys from V&E’s Corporate and Bankruptcy practices provide strategic and practical issues to consider when acquiring oil and gas properties from distressed, insolvent and bankrupt sellers.
This program covers alternative sources of capital raising in a distressed market, including private master limited partnerships (private MLPs), private investments in public equity (PIPEs), preferred offerings to private equity investors and the retail public (private and retail preferred offerings), and MLP consolidations (MLP roll-ups).
This program covers the typical organizational and capital structure of MLPs, governance and accounting issues, and a primer on tax considerations and qualifying income.
Third parties who receive trial subpoenas can face adverse rulings that are costly and time-consuming.
Produced by the firm’s nationally recognized antitrust practice, the Vinson & Elkins Energy and Chemicals Antitrust Report provides a comprehensive analysis of antitrust developments specific to the energy and chemical industries. The Report also provides merger enforcement data over the last decade specific to these industries.
Department of Justice prosecutors face new scrutiny concerning their role in Deutsche Bank’s internal investigation as an employee recently convicted of wire fraud for improper efforts to affect the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) attempts to overturn his conviction.
Contacting legal counsel as soon as possible following discovery of a data breach can increase a company’s ability to comply with various state and local laws.
Last week, SeungJoo Lee of the Korean Prosecution Service, who is currently a Secondee Investigator with the World Bank Integrity Vice Presidency, suggested that Korean prosecutors may bring more cases under the Act on Preventing Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions (“FBPA”) — a departure from this statute’s rare use over the past two decades.
Last week, the DOJ’s Antitrust Division signaled a renewed focus on interlocking directorates — situations where competing corporations have common officers or directors.
On December 19, 2018, the European Union reached a preliminary deal that would strengthen the European Banking Authority’s (“EBA”) ability to combat money laundering.
Directors and officers increasingly face personal exposure from litigation risk, regulatory investigations, and shareholder activism, but the right program of directors and officers (“D&O”) liability insurance can reduce such exposure.
On December 1, Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer (CFO) of Chinese telecommunications giant, Huawei Technologies, was arrested by Canadian authorities at the request of the United States.
With Proven oil reserves of more than 109 billion barrels and natural gas of over 32 million cubic meters (according to BP's Statistical Review of World Energy 2018), Russia is a major global producer, supplier and consumer of oil and gas.
FCPA cases infrequently make it to trial. But, on December 5, 2018, a jury convicted Chi Ping “Patrick” Ho on seven counts related to his participation in bribery schemes involving officials of Chad and Uganda.
The government (yet again) avoided having a district court rule that it had turned a private company into an arm of the state.
On December 3, 2018, a group of U.S. banking regulators issued a joint statement encouraging banks to use innovative approaches to enhance their Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering (BSA/AML) compliance efforts.
The United States Solicitor General recently filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in a False Claims Act (“FCA”) case arising out of the Ninth Circuit in which it recommended that the Court leave in place a lenient standard of materiality articulated by the Ninth Circuit.
While sexual harassment has been a longstanding problem in America's workplaces, it's not an issue that typically preoccupies governing boards in either the corporate or non-profit sectors. Historically, human resources managers and in-house lawyers have handled most sexual harassment complaints - even the rare cases that have gone to trial - without ever notifying their companies' boards. That is no longer the case.
2018 has seen the United States and China trade a number of blows before a preliminary accord was reached between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping earlier this week.
A recent brouhaha about the disclosure of Facebook’s confidential material to the UK’s House of Commons shines a spotlight on the tenuous protection granted to materials produced in discovery.
On November 14, the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division announced a resolution in a noteworthy case that marks the use of Section 4A of the Clayton Act for only the fourth time in decades.
On October 26, Walmart announced a $160 million settlement with a class of shareholders who sued the company for disclosing too little too late about possible FCPA violations.
Some employer attendance policies use a tally system where employees accrue “points” for absences or tardiness. If an employee hits a certain number of points, disciplinary action is taken.
As previously discussed here and here, this administration appears to be doing everything it can to enforce President Trump’s “Buy American and Hire American” executive order, by making it more difficult for employers to get work visas.
It usually begins like this. A client receives a letter from a very good customer asking to certify that the client is in compliance with Executive Order 11246, the 1965 Executive Order which established requirements for non-discriminatory practices in hiring and employment on the part of U.S. government contractors.
Now for a little shameless self-promotion. As a reader, I am sure that you have noticed that we blog on a wide range of employment and other workplace-related issues, writing with an eye for practical application.
It’s no secret that the cost of healthcare in the United States is rapidly rising. Many employers are trying to reduce these costs for their employees by offering wellness programs that lower insurance premiums.
I have tried many employment discrimination cases since the Civil Rights Act of 1991 allowed for jury trials.
Earlier this year, I discussed New York State’s new sexual harassment law, which goes into effect on October 9, 2018.
On September 1st, a new data protection law took effect in Colorado. The statute requires Colorado employers to implement procedures to protect and eventually destroy employees’ personally identifiable information, and it expands employers’ notification requirements if employees’ information is compromised as the result of a data breach.
A few weeks ago in this blog, my colleague Martin Luff discussed how buyers of businesses are increasingly using “Weinstein reps” in corporate transactional agreements in order to ensure that they are not acquiring companies that might be especially vulnerable to harassment litigation which could result in a financial or reputational liability.
I have been a member of the Massachusetts Bar for 20 years and, even though I have lived in Texas since 2005, I still get calls about Massachusetts non-compete agreements from time to time. In the wake of the state’s recent passage of a lengthy — but not entirely clear — non-compete statute, I expect those calls will become more frequent.
In a recent opinion, United States Oil Recovery Site Potentially Responsible Parties Group (“USOR Site PRP Group”) v. Railroad Commission of Texas, No. 17-20361, 2018 WL 3649653, (5th Cir. Aug. 1, 2018) the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit confirmed that sovereign immunity bars claims in federal court by private parties against states and state agencies under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (“CERCLA” or “Superfund”), 42 U.S.C. § 9601 et seq.
Following a trend we have seen since President Trump took office, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) recently issued new guidance making it more difficult for applicants — and potentially more expensive for employer sponsors — to get work visas.
In an unusual enforcement action, on July 2, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that Dow Chemical Company (“Dow”) agreed to settle charges relating to “inadequate” perquisite disclosures in their SEC filings from 2011 through 2015.
When talking about background checks in the first two parts of this series, we focused our attention on “consumer” or “investigative” reports an employer might obtain from a third-party company that specializes in doing background checks.
As Louis Brandeis observed, sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants. The exposure and discussion prompted by the #MeToo movement has shone a cleansing light on the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace.
Those of us who spend time in litigation have often heard clients question why litigation has become so expensive.
A petition for ballot Initiative #108 was submitted to the Colorado Secretary of State in advance of the August 6, 2018 deadline for proposals to be considered for inclusion on Colorado’s general election ballot on November 6, 2018.
The Office of the Colorado Secretary of State confirmed on Monday, August 6, 2018 that a petition for ballot Initiative #97 was turned in by the deadline period and will be considered for inclusion on the November 6, 2018 general election ballot.
After complying with all of the procedural requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, what are you going to do about that five-year old DWI conviction, the two-year old bad check conviction, or that very recent assault conviction that your recent star college grad applicant pled guilty to after getting into a barroom fight during Spring Break in his junior year?
Matt Jacobs appears on MSNBC to discuss the legal implications of Roger Stone’s indictment in the Mueller investigations.
Matt Jacobs sits in on an MSNBC panel to discuss the subject of legal troubles facing the Trump family in light of allegations of the inaugural committee misusing and abusing funds.
V&E's Matt Jacobs, a former federal prosecuter, sits down with MSNBC during a panel discussing the Mueller investigation.
Daniel LeBey, partner, capital markets and M&A at Vinson & Elkins LLP, participated in a video interview at REITwise 2018, Nareit’s Law, Accounting & Finance Conference in Hollywood, Florida.
Hear from V&E Partner John B. Connally, Practice Group Leader, former Management Committee member, and LGBT affinity group member, on what he thinks are the two most important things when considering where to start your law career.
V&E partner Craig Tyler outlines implications of the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) for misappropriation taking place outside of the U.S. and looks specifically at the International Trade Commission as a venue for cracking down on misappropriating products imported into the U.S.
On May 11, 2016, the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) was signed into law, providing a federal civil remedy for trade secrets misappropriation.
Increasingly, organizations are purchasing cyber-insurance or requiring their vendors to do so to mitigate risks related to cyber-attacks. In this video, partner Devika Kornbacher helps companies think through choosing the coverage that is best for them.
The new Defend Trade Secrets Act was signed into law by President Obama on May 11, 2016. V&E partner Steve Borgman explains what the new law is, how it differs from existing trade secrets law, and how the new law can be beneficial to parties involved in a trade secrets dispute.
A common problem that arises in complex cross-border operations involving intellectual property is something referred to as the coordination problem. Rights under the law in one country may be exploited under the laws of another country. These problems can be addressed contractually if proper forethought is given.
On October 1, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) National Enforcement Initiatives (“NEIs”) for fiscal years 2017-2019 took effect.
Marie Yeates, co-chair of V&E's Appellate practice, and Appellate partner Michael Heidler have deep experience handling energy appeals, particularly in Texas and Louisiana.
On May 12, 2016, EPA issued a slate of final rules and an information request under the Clean Air Act directed at the oil and gas industry. This is the first time EPA is directly regulating methane as a greenhouse gas. These rules will have widespread application to the oil and gas industry, including production, processing, transmission, and storage.
Martin Luff, counsel in V&E’s International Employment practice, highlights some of the differences between U.S. and international transactions with regards to the transfer of employment and employee benefits. Buyers and sellers must consider all potential issues that may arise in the different jurisdictions where business deals occur.
Martin Luff, counsel in V&E’s International Employment practice, highlights the issues employers must consider when implementing global layoffs or reductions in force.
There are several benefits to workers’ compensation insurance. For example, it provides benefits to an employee in the event of a workplace injury and provides an exclusive remedy protecting the employer from most types of negligence claims.
Major changes to the rules for auditing the tax items of partnerships were made by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 and will come into effect in 2018.

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