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Inflation Reduction Act
Protecting Critical Energy Infrastructure from Pipeline Sabotage
Oil and gas provides nearly two thirds of all energy used in the United States, which is primarily transported by pipelines. The United States currently has roughly 2.8 million miles of pipelines. Most of this infrastructure is buried, but aboveground...
Expansive Integrity Management Training and Qualification Advisory
PHMSA issued a brief advisory reminding gas transmission operators of training and qualification requirements under the integrity management regulations. The advisory responds to inconsistencies in operator implementation of these rules (at 49 C.F.R. Part 192.915) and outlines PHMSA’s “expectations.” Further...
Underground Natural Gas Storage: Regulations and Fees Move Forward Despite Appeal and Criticism
Last December, PHMSA issued an interim final rule (IFR) to establish—for the first time ever—minimum federal standards for underground natural gas storage facilities. The IFR imposes significant new requirements in a short timeframe for “downhole facilities,” including wells, wellbore tubing...
Tech Rally – Industry Giants Back Google's Play to Protect Data
On March 10, 2017, Google Inc. filed its objection to a Pennsylvania magistrate judge's order to comply with search warrants and turn over personal user data partially stored on foreign servers abroad. A number of technology companies, including Yahoo!, Microsoft...
Another Win for Respondents’ Rights: District Court Opines on the Scope of De Novo Review
On March 8, 2017, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California issued an order affirming that ETRACOM LLC and its owner (the “Respondents”) are entitled to a full trial on the merits and discovery rights in an...
Fate of Environmental Justice Considerations
Just last summer, EPA released its final version of the Technical Guidance for Assessing Environmental Justice in Regulatory Analysis (EJ Technical Guidance), defining “environmental justice” as “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national...
New York DFS Finalized Cybersecurity Regulations Go Into Effect March 1, 2017
On February 16, 2017, the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) announced the final version of the “first-of-its-kind” cybersecurity regulations governing financial institutions, insurance companies, and other DFS-regulated entities. The regulations will become effective March 1, 2017, with...
SEC Announces Expedited Program to Vacate pre-Dodd Frank Collateral Bars from Non-Associated Industries
On January 17, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit vacated in part a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) order that imposed a collateral bar against Gregory Bartko, the former CEO and chief compliance officer of a...
DOJ Releases New Guidance on Compliance Programs
On February 8, 2017, the Fraud Section of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) quietly published pointed and specific guidance on how it assesses – and intends to assess – compliance programs in a report titled “Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs”...
Shareholders Seeking Books and Records Must Demonstrate Credible Basis to Infer Wrongdoing
On February 2, 2017, the Delaware Court of Chancery reaffirmed that shareholders seeking to inspect the books and records of Delaware corporations must demonstrate a credible basis to infer corporate wrongdoing. Accusations based on mere "suspicion and curiosity" will not...
To Obtain Data Abroad, Government Just Googles It
As technology companies expand globally they increasingly are storing customer electronic data in servers outside the United States. To keep apace, the Justice Department has become more creative in adapting existing legal instruments and more persistent in advancing arguments to...
NY Expands Jurisdictional Reach Over Foreign Banks Using Correspondent Accounts
The New York Court of Appeals recently gave a leg-up to plaintiffs seeking to hale foreign banks before New York state courts, clarifying that the use of a New York-based correspondent account could, under certain circumstances, suffice to provide personal...
Federal Regulators Unveil Proposed Cybersecurity Standards for Large Financial Firms
On October 19, 2016, federal regulators issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking titled “Enhanced Cyber Risk Management Standards.” 1 The draft standards, jointly released by the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Office of the Comptroller...
Attorney-Client Privilege in Washington State No Longer Applies When Employment Ends
In order to preserve the attorney-client privilege, counsel who conduct internal investigations begin employee interviews with an “Upjohn Warning”—a disclosure indicating that counsel represents the employer, not the employee, that the content of the interview is privileged and that the...
Post-Election Update 2016
CONTENTS Overview Energy Environment Tax Appropriations & Budget Trade Consumer Protection Financial Services __________________________________________________________________________________________ OVERVIEW The 2016 election results have significant implications for companies across a wide range of industry sectors. From environmental policy to financial services to tax reform...