New Federal Focus on AI, Data Privacy and Civil Rights Protection
On October 30, 2023, President Biden issued an Executive Order on the safety, security, and trustworthiness of artificial intelligence (the “Executive Order”).[1] Given the recent adoption and integration of digital tools and services utilizing artificial intelligence, such as ChatGPT, that can quickly generate content, the Executive Order establishes new standards to protect the civil rights…
Read More
How DOJ’s Safe Harbor Policy Rewards Honesty Within M&A Deals
Be you a merger and acquisition attorney, corporate compliance officer, or counsel to an acquiring entity or target entity, you should review the Department of Justice’s new Merger and Acquisition Safe Harbor Policy (“Policy”) to enhance your law firm’s diligence process, to educate your company’s compliance personnel, and/or to incorporate procedures to report criminal conduct…
Read More
New York Times vs. OpenAI: Fair Use Fight with Billions at Stake
On the third day of Christmas, Microsoft Corp. (“Microsoft”) and OpenAI, Inc. (together with its named affiliates, “OpenAI”) didn’t get any French hens: Instead, the software giant and leading artificial intelligence research and deployment company were named as defendants in a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by The New York Times (the “Times”) in the United…
Read More
Corporate Transparency Act: Frequently Asked Questions
The Corporate Transparency Act (the “CTA”) is a federal law that requires certain “reporting companies” to file a beneficial ownership information (“BOI”) report containing personal information about their “beneficial owner(s)” and “applicants” to the Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”). This is a significant change that will affect many businesses in the U.S.,…
Read MoreVenture Capital Firms Face New Reporting Requirement With California Law
Over three and a half years since the death of George Floyd spurred some members of the venture capital community to enact promises to increase their investments in diverse entrepreneurs, California has enacted legislation in an attempt to track that performance. On October 8, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill 54…
Read MoreEasements: How They’re Established, Extinguished And Much More
Easements are a long-recognized tool and staple of property transfer and ownership in the United States. They are a property right that can reflect an ownership interest in land to non-owners of the property which they encumber. The most basic definition of an easement is a right which runs with the land that allows a…
Read MoreLessons For Founders From Sam Altman’s Short-Lived OpenAI Ouster
We’ve all read countless headlines and articles about the removal and swift return of Sam Altman as CEO of OpenAI over the past several weeks. Simply put, the nonprofit board voted to remove Altman as a result of a disagreement concerning the safety of AI and allegations that Altman was not consistently candid in his…
Read More
Florida State’s Way Out of ACC? Exit Penalties Could Be Ruled Unenforceable
Last summer, we wrote about the Atlantic Coast Conference’s (“ACC”) “ironclad” Grant of Rights agreement being the only document keeping top schools from leaving for either the Big Ten or Southeastern Conference (SEC), conferences that distribute considerably higher revenues to their members. The Grant of Rights had been successful in preventing such exits because of…
Read More
How 2024 Employment Law Updates Affect Your Wallet, Unions & More
As could be expected in 2023, employers have had to adapt to an ever-changing landscape of employment laws, regulations, and in the case of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) a growing library of general counsel memoranda. Here’s a snapshot of several important employment law developments that employers should understand heading into the new year.…
Read More
Time to Step Up? Florida’s Community Property Trust Act Worth A Look
Unknown to many Floridians, Florida enacted the Community Property Trust Act which went into effect on July 1, 2021, and established the ability to convert non-community property into community property. The community property “opt-in” option is a welcome addition to the Florida statutes, which, when analyzed carefully, may provide income tax benefits, particularly for homeowners…
Read More