News & Legal Updates Archive

Public corporations, such as JetBlue Airways Corp. and Molson Coors Beverage Company, are citing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives as a “risk” factor in their 10-K filings. The growing DEI pushback is a good reminder for employers that fairness and equality, regardless of protected characteristics, and based upon bona-fide qualifications, is a good compass by which to make employment-related decisions.

Executive Compensation: why the niche service is rapidly growing in demand and how McDonald Hopkins' Executive Compensation Group has emerged as a leader in the field.

If Maine passes its data privacy protection law, it is set to be the strongest data privacy law in the United States. While the enactment remains uncertain, its potential adoption signals a move towards stricter state-level data privacy laws in the U.S., especially in the void of overarching federal regulations. 

Crain's Cleveland Business has selected McDonald Hopkins' Christal Contini and Elizabeth Sullivan to its 2024 list of Notable Women in Law.

The increased integration of and reliance upon managed service providers allows businesses to focus on what they know best and outsource the rest, but it has also shifted an ever-increasing burden of data stewardship to MSPs. This article provides a high-level overview of considerations MSPs should take into account regarding privacy compliance, cybersecurity and risk management and a variety of other best practices.

Peter Bernhardt, the leader McDonald Hopkins' West Palm Beach office, has been featured on the cover of Country Club Living Palm Beach North magazine.

In a significant legal move, a prominent figure in the healthcare consulting sector, represented by McDonald Hopkins, has sought leave to file an amended complaint against Nordic Consulting Partners and its CEO. The lawsuit alleges a series of deceptive practices that constitute fraud, copyright infringement, and intellectual property violations that have significantly impacted his innovative healthcare software, Wellward.

McDonald Hopkins is proud to announce the addition of Alaina Karsten to its Litigation Department. Karsten is a leader in her field, bringing a wealth of expertise and a track record of success to the firm. Her hiring reinforces that McDonald Hopkins is a premiere choice for talented attorneys looking to grow their careers.

Crain's Chicago Business has selected McDonald Hopkins' Blair Dawson, Emily Johnson, and Michelle Kantor to its 2024 list of Notable Women in Law.

The Attorney General’s report outlines themes of early enforcement efforts with respect to privacy policies, matters concerning the collection of sensitive data, and heightened protection for teen and children's data. 

McDonald Hopkins recently released its 2024 Business Outlook survey results and has since been featured in several newscasts and publications, taking a deeper dive at survey results.

AI can enhance the discovery process, ease the burden associated with collecting and analyzing large data sets, improve legal research, and optimize the drafting and reviewing of contracts and other legal documents, but attorneys should also be prepared to challenge its use by opposing counsel or third parties when appropriate.

From 2020 to 2023, there was a high degree of uncertainty in the future of tax and estate planning. This year, with a split in legislative control and less of a chance the laws will change, the outlook is more predictable and our Estate Planning and Probate team has highlighted 5 key changes and planning opportunities related to gift, tax, and retirement planning.

AI's versatility has made it highly attractive to criminal groups, who have leveraged the technology to enhance existing cybercrime methods and build new ones.  

Cybersecurity threats target every industry, and food and agriculture are not exempt from this threat. This has piqued the interest of the legislature, which has recently taken steps to counter these threats.

Top officials from various federal departments and agencies recently convened to discuss progress on directives set out in an October 2023 executive order concerning the safe, secure, and trustworthy development and use of artificial intelligence. 

McDonald Hopkins conducted its 2024 Business Outlook Survey and the results show business owners are approaching this year with cautious optimism.

Researchers at Cybernews and Security Discovery recently uncovered what they are referring to as the most significant data breach ever - the “Mother of all Breaches” or “MOAB.”This data breach accounts for 26 billion exposed records.

New Jersey has joined about a dozen other states by enacting new and comprehensive privacy legislation. The law, Bill S332, was signed into law on January 16, 2024 and will take effect in January 2025. The law applies to data controllers that do business in New Jersey or target New Jersey residents.

McDonald Hopkins is proud to announce Sharon Cruz as the newest addition to the firm. Sharon is Counsel in McDonald Hopkins’ Litigation Department and is joining the firm’s distinguished Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice Group.

New Hampshire is now the 14th state to pass a comprehensive data privacy law, with Senate Bill 255, the New Hampshire Data Privacy Act. Assuming it makes it through the remaining legislative process, the new law would go in effect on January 1, 2025.

While some courts consider forensic reports as work product or attorney-client privileged, other courts, including the District Court for the Western District of Washington, hold otherwise. The court’s decision demonstrates how important it is for companies to engage experienced privacy counsel to lead cybersecurity initiatives, especially with framing incident response agreements. 

McDonald Hopkins is proud to congratulate Michelle Kantor on her appointment to the Board of Directors of Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP).

Artificial intelligence (AI) is seemingly everywhere these days, and discussions abound about how it will impact individuals’ daily lives as well as businesses from an operational and compliance perspective.  In this series, the McDonald Hopkins Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Team will be providing the most current information and developments on AI. To begin the conversation, we present an overview of what AI is and how it can be leveraged.

The FTC is proposing additional revisions to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule that will strengthen the privacy and protection of information belonging to children under the age of 13, and eliminate further monetization of children’s information for commercial use.

McDonald Hopkins LLC, a business advocacy and advisory firm, is thrilled to announce the addition of Megan Juel as Counsel in the Business Department and as a part of the firm’s Executive Compensation and Governance Practice Group.

Investment in a franchise operation may be appealing to a franchise owner and private equity funds for a variety of reasons.

In a recent case interpreting the Ohio Alcoholic Beverage Franchise Act, the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that “when a brewery exercises no control over its product in Ohio, it’s not subject to the state’s franchise laws.”

In an article for the Northern Ohio chapter of the Turnaround Management Association, Michael Kaczka, Jory Berg, and Jack Spencer provide insight on whether a bankruptcy trustee can sell or assign causes of action that arise from the trustee’s avoidance powers under section 544(b) of the Bankruptcy Code.

Colorado’s approach to facilitate such opt-outs via Universal Opt-Out Mechanisms, along with California’s similar proposal to require internet browsers to send an opt-out preference signal, demonstrate a trend towards consumer agency over when and how personal data is shared online.

The FTC proposed additional changes to strengthen the chief privacy law concerning minors in the United States but is it enough?

Montana is appealing a decision by a U.S. judge to block the state's TikTok ban. The state's TikTok ban represents the first attempted ban of this scope in the U.S., both on the federal and state level. McDonald Hopkins will monitor how this case unfolds in the Ninth Circuit.

In response to historically long 2023 professional licensure wait times, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker approved Public Act 103-0568 or HB 2394, which requires the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, IDFPR, to identify and begin implementing a licensing software solution through an expedited procurement process.

Nine attorneys at McDonald Hopkins have been selected to the 2024 Ohio Super Lawyers list and four McDonald Hopkins attorneys have been selected to the 2024 Ohio Rising Stars list.

Criminal groups are increasingly using AI as a tool to launch greater cyber attacks. But could the key to cybersecuriy against these attacks, also be AI? Organizations are finding ways to strengthen and create new methods of cyber defense using AI, too. 

The United Kingdom Information Commissioner's Office recently announced the creation of its online resource for businesses with guidance on employer data protection.

A recent false claims settlement and consumer fraud alert are good reminders of the importance of medical necessity and respecting medical judgment when furnishing or billing for remote patient monitoring services.

To combat the vulnerabilities and potential exposure that Google has identified, the company is encouraging users, including corporations, to install the latest version of Chrome.

McDonald Hopkins' counsel Jason Faust explained the rules of ESOP shares to Cincinatti's WCPO ABC 9 News.

David Kall's take on Ohio's Issue 2 tax impact featured in Crain's Cleveland

The United States Department of Justice confirmed Tuesday that a recent outage of the ALPHAV cybercriminal group’s data leak site was part of a global law enforcement operation involving the FBI and several international law enforcement agencies.

Applicable businesses must comply with Utah's Consumer Privacy Act provisions before the start of the New Year when it goes into effect. Let's dive into what those businesses need to know.

The past year has been dominated by news of Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour and Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour but tickets have been incredibly difficult to come by. This is largely due to ticket scalpers,  however, the Internal Revenue Service, IRS, is taking action to help concert-goers.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments for Moore v. US earlier this month. Given the potential impacts of the impending ruling, taxpayers and tax professionals alike are eager for the decision.

Kathryn Hickey has been selected to the 2024 Maryland Super Lawyers list, and  Spencer Pollock and David Shafer are on the state's Rising Star list. 

On December 8, 2023, the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) Board unanimously voted to approve a legislative proposal that would require internet browsers to send consumers an opt-out preference signal.

The European Union's provisional agreement on the Artificial Intelligence Act represents a significant step towards the legal and ethical governance of AI technologies. 

Notorious ransomware group ALPHV’s public-facing leak site was knocked out of service late last week. The outage led security researchers to speculate that a law enforcement operation may disrupted the group’s activities.

Kate Wensink and Franklin Malemud recently shared insight on trust litigation and cross-state issues for the Estate Planning Council of Cleveland's Estate Planning Issue, published by Smart Business. 

Recently Russian national, Vladimir Dunaev, pleaded guilty to charges connected to his involvement in the development and deployment of Trickbot malware, asophisticated Trojan, developed and designed to steal financial data primarily through the use of phishing emails.