A Blog About Current Issues in White Collar Defense

As of March 21, 2018, both chambers of Congress have approved H.R. 1865—the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017 (FOSTA). In a rare show of bipartisanship, both Houses approved the bill with veto-proof majorities—the House by a vote of 388 to 25 and the Senate by a vote of… Read More

As previewed in our previous post, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) unanimously approved new cybersecurity interpretive guidance—a format used to clarify the SEC’s views on security laws and regulations—on Wednesday of last week. The guidelines make no mention of how they affect and interplay with other regulators’ data privacy requirements, so whether… Read More

As predicted, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken additional steps to clamp down on the exploding ICO market: yesterday the Wall Street Journal  reported the agency had issued “dozens of subpoenas and information requests to technology companies and advisors.” After repeated warnings from regulators like SEC Chairman Jay Clayton, the SEC is now sending… Read More

When a company suffers a data breach, it is hit with a barrage of issues. For instance, How can it safeguard against another breach? Who should it notify of the breach and when (Authorities? The people whose data was compromised?)? What type of measures should it undertake to minimize possible damage to those whose data… Read More

This holiday season was undoubtedly festive for Senator Bob Menendez, whose corruption trial ended with a deadlocked jury in mid-November.  The Department of Justice (DOJ) has yet to announce whether it will elect to re-try the New Jersey senator, but here are some of the factors they will, and will not, consider in making that… Read More

Last year, the Senate and House approved the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act along partisan lines; on December 21st, President Trump signed the bill into law. Nearly 1100 pages long, the Act makes a number of sweeping changes to the U.S. tax code. Among other things, the bill reduces individual income tax rates, nearly doubles… Read More

Today, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a one-page memo to all U.S. Attorneys that announced a sharp reversal on the DOJ’s approach to marijuana prosecutions. Under the Obama administration, the DOJ issued a memorandum in 2013 (the “Cole memo”) that basically provided a safe harbor to the marijuana industry in states that legalized recreational marijuana…. Read More

The high-profile prosecution of the disgraced physician who treated U.S. Olympic gymnasts ended with a stern sentence but a lingering mystery regarding victim rights.  U.S. District Court Judge Janet Neff, serving in the Western District of Michigan, sentenced Larry Nassar to 60 years in prison for his possession of child pornography, as well as some… Read More

Congress is poised to deliver on tax reform this year. As part of the package, both houses are seeking to encourage the repatriation of trillions of dollars that corporations and wealthy individuals have been stockpiling offshore. For decades, corporations and wealthy individuals have been able to avoid taxes legally by transferring assets to tax-friendly jurisdictions… Read More