News & Legal Updates Archive

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. 

McDonald Hopkins' Counsel Kevin Butler shares how a proposed Ohio bill could impact local municipalities implementing Ohio's new marijuana law

The headlines dominating the news this year touted wins in major strikes involving the United Auto Workers, SAG-AFTRA and the Teamsters, to name only a few. However, despite these apparent “wins,” did the unions genuinely succeed? What can employers learn from these recent events as we head into 2024? David Schelberg, an attorney in our Labor and Employment Department, weighs in.

On January 1, 2024, the process of forming a business entity in the U.S. will substantially change when the Corporate Transparency Act goes into effect. The CTA is a U.S. law that requires reporting companies to disclose company information and certain beneficial ownership information to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

A recent decision by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals sheds light on the dynamic relationship between users’ social media activity and courts’ personal jurisdiction over users arising from such activity.

McDonald Hopkins is committed to being the first choice among its clients. With the addition of six new associates throughout several practice groups, it also continues to prove it is a destination firm for talented attorneys looking to establish their careers in a collaborative and inclusive work environment.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services updated Medicare billing standards for remote physiologic monitoring and remote therapeutic monitoring, and provided related guidance in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) 2024 Final Rule.

In a notable victory, Richard Blake, a Member with McDonald Hopkins and Chair of the firm’s Government Compliance, Investigations and White Collar Defense Practice Group, successfully defended his client against charges brought by the U.S. Department of Justice Tax Division.

Proactive steps employers can take to begin to prepare for a proposed salary level adjustment that aims to boost the minimum salary requirement for overtime exempt of executive, administrative, and professional workers under the FLSA by over 50%.

A new final rule from the NLRB will make it far easier for the organization to declare that joint employment status exists in commonplace business relationships like franchising, contracting, and supply chains.

In the rapidly changing landscape of cybersecurity, a recently discovered vulnerability affecting Citrix raises concerns about the effectiveness of multi-factor authentication for unpatched Citrix users.

McDonald Hopkins’ unwavering commitment to safeguarding clients’ digital assets and sensitive information is attracting new talent to its versatile Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice Group with the hiring of two new associates - Aysha F. Allos and Arriana Sajjad.

The OIG recently arrived at an unfavorable determination, finding that a proposed arrangement between laboratories for the purchase of the technical component of anatomic pathology could generate prohibited remuneration under the federal Anti-Kickback Statute.

McDonald Hopkins’ members Kevin Washburn and Karina Conley were featured on the Cleveland's WKYC and WOIO’s evening shows to share their expertise and discuss the impact of Ohio’s passage of Issue 2.