Pay Transparency: The New Way of Doing Business [Compensation & Benefits Review]

Publication - Employment Litigation, Labor & Employment

In an article titled “Pay Transparency: The New Way of Doing Business,” Debra Friedman, a member of Cozen O’Connor’s Labor & Employment Department, discusses the federal government’s recent Executive Orders mandating pay transparency for the federal contracting community. This new way of doing business has potentially profound implications for all employers. Companies must be prepared for employees, the federal government and third parties to closely scrutinize their compensation systems and decision-making practices.

Debra Friedman Discusses the EEOC’s Stance on Wellness Programs

News - Employment Litigation, Labor & Employment

In an article titled “EEOC Targets Wellness Programs,” Debra Friedman, a member of Cozen O’Connor’s Labor & Employment Department, discusses the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s recent actions against employers for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) with their company wellness programs. “The EEOC describes it as ‘you can’t penalize employees,’ but they have not defined what constitutes a penalty,” observed Debra. “Employers need to understand this is an evolving area, and there’s a lack of guidance from the EEOC, so we need to wait and see whether EEOC and courts will find wellness programs that are compliant with the ACA regulations to be compliant with ADA and GINA,” she added.

Supreme Court Declines to Review 3rd Circuit Ruling; Crime-Fraud Exception to Attorney-Client Privilege Decision Persists [Metropolitan Corporate Counsel]

Publication - White Collar Defense & Investigations

Nicole Sprinzen, a member of Cozen O’Connor’s Criminal Defense & Internal Investigations practice, discusses the Supreme Court’s decision to decline to review a Third Circuit ruling finding that the privilege typically recognized for attorney-client communications is broken where a client indicates that he will undertake potentially unlawful action after being advised about the contours of the law.

Historic U.S.-China Agreement to Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions [Utility, Environmental & Energy Alert]

Publication - Environmental Regulatory & Due Diligence - Climate Change

In a surprise announcement last evening from Beijing, President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping committed to ambitious cuts in carbon emissions over the next 15 years with the hope of preventing catastrophic global warming. The joint announcement calls for the United States, by 2025, to reduce carbon emissions by 26-28 percent below 2005 levels and for China to reduce net carbon emissions starting in 2030 or earlier and to increase the overall share of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption to around 20 percent by 2030.

Protecting Your Idea: Should You Patent It?

News - Intellectual Property, Patents

In an article titled "Protecting Your Idea: Should You Patent It?" Edward Weisz, a member of the Intellectual Property Department, discusses the timing of filing a patent application or a provisional patent application.

Kids Are People Too: The Effects of Divorce on Children [Avvo's Naked Law Blog]

Publication - Family Law

During a recent custody trial, I was privy to an interview between the judge and a child who was the subject of the matter. Although the judge tried to make the interview as painless as possible, asking the child mundane questions about school and activities like a well-meaning relative or adult friend, no one in the room, the child included, could evade the tension and heaviness in the air.

Texas Court Construes Professional Liability Policy to Require Defense of Law Firm in Fee Dispute [Global Insurance Alert]

Publication - Insurance Coverage, Professional Liability Insurance Coverage - Insurance

In Shamoun & Norman, LLP v. Ironshore Indemnity, Inc., Cause No. 3:14-1340, In the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas, the federal district court construed a professional liability policy issued by Ironshore to require a defense of the law firm policyholder in a fee dispute, despite an absence of allegations that the insured law firm negligently provided any legal service.

Supreme Court Takes on Knowledge Standard in Securities Suits [The Legal Intelligencer]

Publication - Appellate, Securities Litigation & SEC Enforcement, White Collar Defense & Investigations

In an article titled “Supreme Court Takes on Knowledge Standard in Securities Suits,” Stephen Miller, a member of Cozen O’Connor’s Commercial Litigation Department, and Kaitlin DiNapoli, an associate in the Commercial Litigation Department, discuss Omnicare v. Laborers District Council Construction Industry Pension Fund, in which shareholders invoked the securities laws to sue Omnicare for proclaiming in its U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission registration statement that its contracts with drug companies were lawful. This term, the U.S. Supreme Court will explore the pleading standard necessary to proceed on such a securities claim: May the plaintiffs merely allege that such a statement was objectively wrong, or must the plaintiffs also allege that the speaker did not believe that the statement was true?

Jennifer Brandt Discusses PA Boy Beaten to Death by His Parents on Fox 29 News

News - Family Law

Jennifer Brandt, of the firm's Family Law practice, appeared on Fox 29 News to discuss the story of the Chester County boy beaten to death by his parents. The couple, Jillian Tait, 31, and Gary Lee Fellenbaum, 23, were charged with the murder of Tait’s three-year-old son.

Supreme Court Addresses Treatment of Incriminating Evidence [The Legal Intelligencer]

Publication - Appellate, White Collar Defense & Investigations

In an article titled “Supreme Court Addresses Treatment of Incriminating Evidence,” Stephen Miller, a member of Cozen O’Connor’s Commercial Litigation Department, and Michael O’Donnell, an associate in the Commercial Litigation Department, discuss two cases that the U.S. Supreme Court will decide in the coming months relating to incriminating evidence – one concerns finding it, and the other concerns destroying it.

Hayes Hunt Discusses Biometrics and the Fifth Amendment in TIME

News - White Collar Defense & Investigations

In an article titled ''Why the Constitution Can Protect Passwords But Not Fingerprint Scans,'' Hayes Hunt, a member of Cozen O'Connor's Commercial Litigation Department, discusses a recent Virginia court decision addressing the application of the Fifth Amendment to cellphone fingerprint passcodes. The court ruled that while the Fifth Amendment protects defendants from revealing their numeric passcodes, considered a self-incriminating testimonial, it does not extend the same protection to finger scans and other biometrics.

Cozen O’Connor Attorneys Named to First Judicial District of Pennsylvania's 2014 Pro Bono Roll of Honor

Press Release

Sixteen Cozen O'Connor attorneys have been named to the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania's 2014 Pro Bono Roll of Honor. Each year, the pro bono committee of the First Judicial Court recognizes attorneys who have provided pro bono services to litigants in the Philadephia Courts. In order to be named to the Roll of Honor, an attorney must practice in Philadelphia County, must have provided services to a client in a case before the FJD, must not be employed by an organization whose primary purpose is the provision of free legal services to the underprivileged, and must have provided legal services with no expectation of receiving a fee.

IRS Releases Guidance on Private Business Use, and ACOs and Management Contracts [Public Finance and Health Law Alert]

Publication - Health Care & Life Sciences, Public & Project Finance - Health Care & Life Sciences

BPT Not Prohibited on Freight Brokerage Services

Publication - Tax

A divided panel of the Commonwealth Court held that a city was not prohibited from imposing its Business Privilege Tax on the gross receipts of a freight broker. S & H Transport, Inc. v. City of York, No. 165 C. D. 2014 (Pa. Commw. Oct. 15, 2014). The taxpayer contracted with its customer to provide common carrier transportation services. The taxpayer would then contract with a common carrier to transport the items, negotiating the lowest feasible price. The difference between what the taxpayer charged its customer and what the common carrier charged the taxpayer constituted the taxpayer's profit.

Michael Klein Discusses Settlement of D&I Silica’s Suit Against Wyoming County in The Scranton Times-Tribune

News

In an article titled “Judge OKs silica sand settlement,” Michael Klein, a member of Cozen O’Connor’s Utility, Environmental & Energy practice group, discusses the recent settlement of his client’s lawsuit against Wyoming County. D&I Silica sued the county after its permit for a proposed land development was rejected by the county planning commission. Following the settlement, Senior Judge Brendan Vanston commended D&I Silica and the county for reaching a resolution and added that without the agreement, “D&I would have prevailed and your county and tax dollars would have taken a big hit.”

Bonds 101 [Pa. Township News]

Publication - Business, Public & Project Finance

Mark Vacha discusses bond requirements that can help your township communicate more effectively with counsel and enhance compliance after bonds to finance an upcoming project are issued.

Pennsylvania Water Law: Contamination Incidents and Liability [American Water Works Association]

Publication

In an article titled “Pennsylvania Water Law: Contamination Incidents and Liability,” Dexter Hamilton, a member of Cozen O’Connor’s Commercial Litigation Department, Michael Klein, co-chair of the firm’s Energy & Utilities Industry team, and Thomas Leonard, an associate in the Commercial Litigation Department, address recent water contamination incidents and the inevitable legal actions that follow.

Judicial Conference Further Amends Proposed Discovery Rule Changes in Response to Extensive Comments [PBA Federal Practice Committee October Newsletter]

Publication

In an article titled “Judicial Conference Further Amends Proposed Discovery Rule Changes in Response to Extensive Comments,” Thomas Wilkinson, a member of Cozen O’Connor’s Commercial Litigation Department, and Joshua Ruby, an associate in the Commercial Litigation Department, discuss the Judicial Conference Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure’s (Standing Committee) amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Absent changes imposed by the Supreme Court and Congress, the new rules will go into effect on December 1, 2015. Although not as expansive as the draft amendments proposed last year, the proposals substantially revise the Rules governing discovery practice in the federal courts.

David Barron Discusses the Do's and Don'ts of Halloween Costumes in the Office in the Houston Chronicle

News - Employment Litigation, Labor & Employment

In an article titled ''On Halloween, employees should save the sexy maid outfit for after work,'' David Barron, a member of Cozen O’Connor’s Labor & Employment Department, offers some do’s and don’ts to guard against sexual harassment and discrimination claims when it comes to picking a costume for the office Halloween party.

DOT Passenger Protection Rulemaking #3, NextGen, Ebola, Drones, Enforcement Actions, Security Fees [Aviation Regulatory Update]

Publication - Aviation, Aviation Litigation, Transportation & Trade, Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) / Drones - Aviation

This edition of the Cozen O’Connor Aviation Regulatory Update covers comments filed on DOT’s Passenger Protection Rulemaking #3, the FAA’s continuing plans for NextGen implementation, federal agency statements on the Ebola virus and its potential impact on air travel, the expansion of commercial drone operations, new enforcement actions by DOT and the FAA, and changes to regulations and policies affecting the aviation industry.