A Supplemental Whitepaper Addressing Sandy's Impact on Commercial and Residential Property Owners and Construction Companies [Cozen O'Connor Whitepaper]

Publication - Labor & Employment, Real Estate, Real Estate Litigation

This whitepaper provides an overview of construction related issues potentially raised by storm damage, including delay claims, areas of responsibility of municipalities and design professionals, environmental concerns and other topical matters.

Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012 [Business Law Alert]

Publication - Business

On January 2, 2013, President Obama signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013 (H.R. 4013) (NDAA 2013). The Act contains several new Iran sanctions that target Iran’s energy, shipbuilding and shipping sectors, including its ports. The Act also imposes new obligations on insurers and underwriters providing services to those industries.

Best Practices for Corporate Internal Investigations [The Legal Intelligencer]

Publication

By now, the concept of Upjohn warnings should be familiar to any counsel, whether in-house or external, who represents a corporation's interests in an internal investigation.

Cozen O’Connor Ranks in Top Five for Women in Leadership Positions

News

In a recent survey conducted by The American Lawyer, Cozen O’Connor ranked in the top five AmLaw 100 firms for women in leadership positions. The survey, conducted for 2012, sought to determine how many female partners had, “advanced to the highest ranks of law firm hierarchies.”

Flood Subrogation Under the Fifth Amendment [Subrogation and Recovery Alert]

Publication - Subrogation & Recovery - Insurance

When can the Federal Government be pursued for a flood damage subrogation claim? Are one-off floods considered a taking of property requiring compensation under the 5th Amendment, or are repetitive flooding events required? Are state laws better avenues to evaluate flood claims?

Aiming to Please: Guns in the Workplace [Labor & Employment Alert]

Publication - Labor & Employment

What will you do when the CEO calls tomorrow morning and says, ''I just got a report that two of our employees are carrying loaded guns at work, or they have them in their cars in the employee parking lot?''

Jim Heller Discusses the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act in Inside Counsel

News - Products Liability

In an article titled, ''Cheat Sheet: A Guide to Navigating Two New Federal Consumer Safety Measures,'' Jim Heller, chair of Cozen O'Connor's Product Liability Practice Group, advises companies on combating negative consumer reports, and complying with the regulatory requirements of the CPSIA.

Cozen O'Connor Member Discusses Case of Ohio Teacher Suing School District for Discrimination

News - Family Law

Jennifer Brandt, a member of the firm’s Philadelphia office and Family Law Practice, was a guest on Money with Melissa Francis on January 17, 2013 on the Fox Business network.

New York Court Enforces Legal Malpractice Policy’s Business Pursuit and Business Enterprise Exclusions [Global Insurance Alert]

Publication - Insurance Coverage, Professional Liability Insurance Coverage - Insurance

In Abrams, Fensterman, Fensterman, Eisman, Greenberg, Formato & Eininger, LLP v. Underwriters of Lloyds, London, no. CV11-665, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1204 (E.D. N.Y. January 2, 2013), the District Court for the Eastern District of New York upheld a legal liability insurer’s denial of coverage to a law firm. The court agreed with the insurer that although two complaints filed against the law firm and its partners alleged professional malpractice, the policy’s business pursuit exclusion and business enterprise exclusion applied.

Third-Party Bad Faith Litigation - Insurers' Attorney-Client Privilege and Work Product Doctrine Protections Limited by Tripartite Relationship in Underlying Liability Action [Global Insurance Alert]

Publication - Bad Faith, Insurance Coverage - Insurance

In what may be the continuation of a trend toward the erosion of the attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine in bad faith litigation, another court has held that an insurer's communications with defense counsel retained for the insured in an underlying liability suit are discoverable and not subject to the attorney-client privilege or work product doctrine in a subsequent third-party bad faith lawsuit, under Georgia law.

Cozen O’Connor Member Named to Board of PaSPCA

Press Release

Philip Kircher, a member of Cozen O’Connor’s Philadelphia office, was named to the board of the Pennsylvania SPCA, the commonwealth’s largest animal welfare organization.

Justices Take on Thorny Intellectual Property Cases [The Legal Intelligencer]

Publication - Appellate

In the most recent Supreme Court term, justices heard oral arguments and granted certiorari on several cutting-edge questions of intellectual property law.

NLRB Overrules Anheuser-Busch: Witness Statements Now Subject to Disclosure [Labor & Employment Alert]

Publication - Labor & Employment, Labor Relations & Disputes - Insurance

Last year, we notified you that the National Labor Relations Board will now consider a general employer rule requiring confidentiality during an internal investigation into an employee complaint to be an unfair labor practice. The Board has now taken things even further.

Fiscal Cliff Act Impacts on Energy Efficiency Credits [Real Estate Alert]

Publication - Real Estate, Real Estate Litigation - Real Estate & Construction

Besides extending the lower tax rates for millions of Americans, as well as avoiding across the board federal budget cuts, the eleventh-hour legislative compromise reinstated two business and personal tax credits applicable to energy efficiency residences and appliances. Contractors or developers of homes or low-rise multi-family projects, as well as individuals considering energy efficient renovations or appliance purchases, should consider the availability of these tax credits.

The Fiscal "Curb" [Private Client Services Alert]

Publication

For gift and estate tax purposes, the much feared "fiscal cliff" turned out to be more like a "fiscal curb" as Congress has now enacted legislation largely leaving in place the tax rules which have been in effect for the last two years.

Cozen O'Connor Represents Governor Corbett and the Commonwealth of PA in Lawsuit Against NCAA

News

To read the official press release from Governor Corbett’s office and to follow the lawsuit, click here.

Cozen O’Connor Member Discusses Icelandic Girl Petitioning to Keep Her Name on Fox News

News - Family Law

Jennifer Brandt, a member of the firm’s Philadelphia office and Family Law Practice Group, appeared as a guest on the Fox News Network Thursday, January 3. Jennifer was there to discuss the case of the Icelandic girl petitioning the Icelandic government to allow her to keep her birth name, which is not on the list of approved names for Icelandic citizens.

Authorized: The Case for Duty of Loyalty Suits Against Former Employees Under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act

Publication - Technology, Privacy & Data Security

Chris Dodson wrote a law review note titled "Authorized: The Case for Duty of Loyalty Suits Against Former Employees Under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act" published in the Drexel Law Review.

Benefits from Life Insurance Prior to Death - New Appleman on Insurance Law Library Edition, Chapter 88 [LexisNexis]

Publication - Insurance Coverage - Insurance

LexisNexis retained Ken Levine to draft its chapter on living benefits under life insurance policies, for the publisher’s preeminent Appleman on Insurance library treatise. This chapter reviews the manner in which these benefits arise, including a discussion of cash surrender and nonforfeiture values; the historical evolution of regulation to preserve and administer these benefits; policy loans; accelerated death benefits; the secondary (viatical) market, tax treatment of these benefits; and, authority and support for other aspects of these benefits.

Winter 2013 [Business Law Observer]

Publication - Business