BLT: April 2018

     

    Featured Articles

    Business & Corporate

    A New Year, a New, Firmer DOJ: Recently Released Parameters for DOJ in False Claims Act Litigation

    Thomas H. Barnard, Marisa Rosen Dorough

    The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) kicked off 2018 with two new resolutions to help clarify some enforcement and litigations policies, both of which are directly relevant to claims brought under the False Claims Act. The DOJ issued two internal memoranda in January 2018 that offer valuable insight into how the DOJ intends to prosecute, or opt to dismiss, pending and future civil enforcement actions.

    Business & Corporate

    Federal Judge Adopts CFTC Position That Cryptocurrencies Are Commodities

    James Joseph Benjamin Jr., Jan-Paul Bruynes, Peter I. Altman, Nicholas C. Adams, Kelly Handschumacher

    A New York federal judge held that virtual currencies are commodities that can be regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”), enjoining the defendants, an individual and affiliated entity, from trading cryptocurrencies on their own or others’ behalf or soliciting funds from others, and ordering an expedited accounting. CFTC v. McDonnell, No. 18-cv-0361, Dkt. 29 (E.D.N.Y. Filed Jan 18, 2018).

    Business & Corporate

    Searches of Electronic Devices: Recent Developments and Judges’ Ethical Responsibilities

    Keith Fisher

    Last year, I authored an article for Business Law Today discussing the ethical obligations of lawyers in connection with potential searches of confidential information on their portable electronic devices by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—both agencies within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This companion article briefly considers the ethical obligations in this scenario of judges—including business court judges and bankruptcy judges—under the canons of judicial conduct. Like lawyers, judges should consider whether consenting to a device search by a CBP or ICE agent is compatible with their professional responsibilities.

    Business & Corporate

    Tattletale: Supply-Chain Investigations and the Attorney-Client Privilege

    Susan A. Maslow

    The global fight against child labor and forced labor has been led for decades by the International Labor Organization (ILO). The ILO’s most recent estimate is that 25 million people around the world, including millions of children, are currently subjected to forced labor.[1] Under U.S. law, section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930[2] prohibits the importation of merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured, wholly or in part, in any foreign country by convict, forced, or indentured labor.

    Month-In-Brief