Washington

March 2021

Since the beginning of the Brexit process in 2016, Covington’s Brexit Task Force–comprised of over 40 lawyers and former senior diplomats and policymakers, in London, Brussels, Frankfurt, Dublin, and Washington–has advised clients in a wide range of industries on the challenges and opportunities created by this historic event. While the EU-UK negotiations have ...

April 9, 2021, Covington Alert

On April 8, 2021, for the third time in ten days, the Staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued cautionary guidance to private operating companies considering going public in the United States through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), referred to as a deSPAC transaction. John Coates, Acting Director of the Division of ...

April 9, 2021, Covington Alert

In a slide presentation for the OECD Steering Group of the Inclusive Framework circulated late Thursday, April 8th, the Biden Administration outlined its negotiating position on the OECD’s BEPS 2.0 project. The OECD’s project involves two “pillars”: Pillar 1 would create new income apportionment and nexus rules to allow jurisdictions to tax certain multinational ...

April 8, 2021

LOS ANGELES / WASHINGTON—Variety has named Covington partners Matt DelNero, Mitch Kamin, Robyn Polashuk, and Neema Sahni to its 2021 Legal Impact Report, their second consecutive year receiving the recognition. Variety’s Legal Impact Report “profiles the top business lawyers working in entertainment and media.” In its feature, Variety notes Covington’s role in ...

April 8, 2021, Covington Alert

There were several notable developments in the first quarter of 2021 affecting class actions. The Supreme Court issued significant decisions regarding personal jurisdiction and TCPA class actions and heard oral argument in a case that has the potential to create significant hurdles to plaintiffs seeking to certify classes that contain many class members who lack ...

April 7, 2021, Law360

April 2, 2021, Covington Alert

On March 31, 2021, in light of the increasing number of private operating companies seeking to go public in the United States through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), referred to as a deSPAC transaction, the Staff of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance and the SEC’s Office of the Chief Accountant released separate public ...

April 2, 2021, Covington Alert

On Thursday, April 1, 2021, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) released an advance notice of proposed rulemaking ("ANPR"), presenting the public with its first opportunity to comment on the beneficial ownership disclosure requirements in the Corporate Transparency Act ("CTA"), a key component of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 ("AMLA"). ...

March 25, 2021, Covington Alert

In 2019, the EU adopted Regulation (EU) 2019/1381, which introduced certain amendments to the EU General Food Law Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 (“GFL Regulation”), as well as certain other associated Regulations in the food space (e.g. GMOs, smoke flavorings, additives etc.), regarding e.g. risk communication, notification of studies, consultation of third parties ...

March 18, 2021, Covington Alert

Even corporations with careful political law compliance practices can be caught off guard when they learn that an employee is running for public office. The corporation may have a good understanding of what the corporation's obligations and restrictions are in the political arena, but not fully know how to handle the compliance issues stemming from an employee's ...

March 18, 2021, Law360

March 17, 2021, Covington Alert

With a growing chorus of support across the progressive landscape, the For the People Act of 2021 has emerged as a key legislative priority for congressional Democrats in the 117th Congress. Envisioned as a “transformational anti-corruption and clean elections reform package,” the bill would enact sweeping changes to federal election laws along with important ...

March 12, 2021, Law360

Jean Veta and Jeremy Newell are quoted in Law360 regarding the legal risks financial institutions still face one year into the COVID-19 pandemic. Regarding investigations into relief loans, Ms. Veta says banks have been acting as partners with the U.S. Department of Justice in investigating PPP fraud. “Indeed, the banks were victims in these frauds. However, it ...

March 11, 2021

WASHINGTON—The National Law Journal has named John Buchanan to its inaugural list of Insurance Law Trailblazers, a recognition of legal professionals who have made significant marks on the practice, policy and advancements of insurance law. Mr. Buchanan is senior counsel in Covington’s Washington, D.C. office and was the firm’s first Insurance Practice Group ...

March 10, 2021

WASHINGTON—Covington advised WSFS Financial Corporation in its definitive merger agreement with Bryn Mawr Bank, a transaction valued at approximately $976 million. Following the merger, WSFS believes it will have nearly $20 billion in assets and an approximately $43 billion wealth management business. Under the terms of the agreement, stockholders of Bryn Mawr ...

March 10, 2021, Covington Alert

With a growing chorus of support across the progressive landscape, the For the People Act of 2021 has emerged as a key legislative priority for congressional Democrats in the 117th Congress. Envisioned as a “transformational anti-corruption and clean elections reform package,” the bill would enact sweeping changes to federal election laws along with important ...

March 8, 2021, Covington Alert

With a growing chorus of support across the progressive landscape, the For the People Act of 2021 has emerged as a key legislative priority for congressional Democrats in the 117th Congress. Envisioned as a “transformational anti-corruption and clean elections reform package,” the bill would enact sweeping changes to federal election laws along with important ...

March 8, 2021, Education Week

Kevin King spoke with Education Week about the Supreme Court’s ruling in a case involving students’ free speech rights on school and college campuses. Mr. King says, “The court’s decision is a win for civil rights. By reaffirming that parties may sue even when a violation does not cause easily identifiable harm, this decision will ensure that the courthouse ...

March 8, 2021, Law360

Kevin King is quoted in Law360 regarding the Supreme Court’s ruling in a case involving students’ free speech rights on school and college campuses. Mr. King said, “that an issue to watch now is whether lower courts will adopt the suggestions by Justices Roberts and Kavanaugh to allow defendants to avoid judgment on the merits by paying the nominal damages. It ...

March 5, 2021, Law360

Andrew Jack and Kevin Poloncarz spoke with Law360 about Covington’s creation of an initiative dubbed Sustainability Solutions, which advises clients on how to build sustainable and environmentally conscious strategies. As mentioned in the article, Covington offers a toolkit for general counsels who may want some information about topics ranging from climate ...

March 5, 2021

NEW YORK—Covington represented Mavis Tire Express Services in its acquisition by an investor group led by BayPine LP in partnership with TSG Consumer Partners LP and existing significant equity-holder West First Management, a holding company controlled by David and Stephen Sorbaro. Golden Gate Capital, Mavis' current lead financial partner, will retain a ...

March 5, 2021, Covington Alert

With a growing chorus of support across the progressive landscape, the For the People Act of 2021 has emerged as a key legislative priority for congressional Democrats in the 117th Congress. Envisioned as a “transformational anti-corruption and clean elections reform package,” the bill would enact sweeping changes to federal election laws along with important ...

March 5, 2021, Covington Alert Series

With a growing chorus of support across the progressive landscape, the For the People Act of 2021 has emerged as a key legislative priority for congressional Democrats in the 117th Congress. Envisioned as a "transformational anti-corruption and clean elections reform package," the bill would enact sweeping changes to federal election laws along with important ...

March 2, 2021, Covington Alert

Summary On February 24, 2021, President Biden signed an Executive Order entitled “Executive Order on America’s Supply Chains” (the “Order”). Among other things, the Order is an initial step toward accomplishing the Biden Administration’s goal of building more resilient American supply chains that avoid shortages of critical products, facilitate investments to ...

March 2, 2021, The National Law Journal

Andrew Smith spoke with The National Law Journal about rejoining Covington from the FTC. Mr. Smith says he feels he can hit the ground running with a built-in client base after his stint in government. “Those are relationships I developed with clients at Covington over several years, and many if not all of them continue to be clients of Covington. I hope to pick ...

March 1, 2021

WASHINGTON—Andrew Smith, most recently the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the Federal Trade Commission, has rejoined Covington as a partner in its Advertising and Consumer Protection, Data Privacy and Cybersecurity, and Financial Services practices. He will be based in the firm’s Washington office. While serving as Bureau Director at the FTC, ...

March 2021, The Banking Law Journal

February 2021, Government Contracting Law Report

February 26, 2021, Financial Times

Andrew Jack is quoted in the Financial Times regarding the SEC’s announcement that it is updating its guidance for corporate climate change disclosures. Mr. Jack says the SEC’s announcement will spark “open season” for agency staffers to raise concerns about companies’ climate change information disclosures. “The most ripe target will be companies that are ...

February 25, 2021

WASHINGTON—Covington represented Merck & Co., Inc. in its definitive agreement  under which Merck, through a subsidiary, will acquire Pandion Therapeutics, Inc., at a price of $60.00 per share in cash, representing an approximate total equity value of $1.85 billion. Pandion is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel therapeutics designed to ...

February 25, 2021, The Intercept

Ishita Kala is quoted in The Intercept regarding her representation of a client in a case involving excessive use of force by law enforcement. Ms. Kala says, “it’s been very disillusioning for him to see how long this process has been drawn out and the lack of justice that results from it. What happened to him was truly a brutal assault, and he deserves justice.”

February 17, 2021

WASHINGTON—Covington partners have elected Phyllis Jones and Lisa Peets to the firm’s eight-member Management Committee, which includes three women, two of whom are women of color. Ms. Jones and Ms. Peets will serve four-year terms and work with other members of the committee in setting the firm’s strategy, overseeing the firm’s operations, supporting the firm’s ...

February 17, 2021

PALO ALTO—Covington advised Standard Cognition, which provides an autonomous checkout solution that can be quickly and easily installed in retailers’ existing stores, on its $150 million Series C funding led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 with participation from existing investors CRV, EQT Ventures, and TI Platform Management, as well as new investors SK Networks, ...

February 17, 2021, The American Lawyer

Phyllis Jones and Lisa Peets spoke with The American Lawyer about their recent election to Covington’s Management Committee.  Ms. Peets discussed her supporters along the way, saying, “those clients who have been committed since the early days, before diversity was as much of a focus as it is today” have been “important to my longevity and success.” Ms. Jones ...

February 17, 2021, Center for Strategic & International Studies

Kim Breier appeared on the Center for Strategic & International Studies’ Mexico Matters podcast, episode “Waking Up To a New Reality: Where is Mexico Heading?”

February 17, 2021

WASHINGTON—Covington advised Humacyte, Inc., in its merger with Alpha Healthcare Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company. The transaction implies a pre-money valuation of $800 million for Humacyte with existing Humacyte shareholders rolling over 100% of their equity into equity of the combined company. In connection with the execution of the ...

February 11, 2021

WASHINGTON—Hakeem Rizk has been named to the National Black Lawyers Top 40 Under 40 class of 2021. Mr. Rizk is an associate in the firm’s San Francisco office. He represents clients in class actions, insurance recovery, and commercial litigation matters. He also maintains an active pro bono practice. The National Black Lawyers 40 Under 40 recognizes the top 40 ...

February 11, 2021

WASHINGTON—Covington has chosen Shanghai partner Helen Hwang to be a member of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity’s 2021 Fellows Program. As one of the co-leaders of Covington’s Asia compliance and investigations practice, Ms. Hwang’s practice focuses on counseling clients through complex and sensitive anti-corruption internal investigations and ...

February 8, 2021

WASHINGTON—Covington is advising Veritas Capital on the acquisition of Cubic by Veritas and Evergreen Coast Capital for $2.8 billion. The transaction is expected to close during the second quarter of 2021. Cubic is a technology-driven provider of integrated solutions that increase situational understanding for transportation, defense C4ISR, and training ...

February 2021, Energy Law Report

February 2021, Energy Law Report

February 2021, Futures and Derivatives Law Report

February 1, 2021

WASHINGTON—Mergers & Acquisitions magazine has named Catherine Dargan as one of 2021’s “Top 25 Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A.” This special feature honors “consummate dealmakers who are also champions of change and powerful advocates for diversity, equity and inclusion.” This is the second year in a row that Ms. Dargan was singled out for this ...

January 29, 2021, Covington Alert

On January 20, 2021, U.S. presidential power transferred—peacefully—to Joseph R. Biden. Presidential transitions historically have brought near-term uncertainty for parties undertaking mergers and acquisitions in the United States, particularly transactions subject to review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). It typically takes ...

January 29, 2021, Law360

Mike Wagner and Samantha Clark are quoted in Law360 regarding President Biden’s makeover of the Buy American requirements. Mr. Wagner spoke about determining domestic-sourced components in a product, saying, “Replacing the component test would be an alteration of the fundamental structure of the Buy American Act analysis that's been around for decades, and would ...

January 28, 2021

WASHINGTON—The Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC) has awarded Covington a perfect score of 100 percent for the thirteenth consecutive year on its Corporate Equality Index (CEI), a national benchmarking survey and report on corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ workplace equality.   “The firm continues to view diversity and inclusion as a key ...

January 28, 2021, Covington Alert

On January 25, 2021, President Biden issued a much-anticipated Executive Order announcing plans to strengthen the U.S. Government’s preference for domestically-sourced goods and services, including a proposal to tighten longstanding exceptions to domestic preference requirements. Executive Order 14005 on Ensuring the Future Is Made in All of America by All of ...

January 27, 2021

WASHINGTON—Covington is advising Veritas Capital on the acquisition of Perspecta Inc. by Veritas portfolio company Peraton for $7.1 billion. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2021. Following closing, Perspecta will be combined with Peraton, a trusted provider of highly differentiated space, intelligence, cyber, defense, homeland security ...

January 26, 2021

WASHINGTON—The Deal named Catherine Dargan and Amy Wollensack among the “Top Women in Dealmaking” in its publication, The Dealmaker Quarterly. Comprising the top women in dealmaking as nominated by their peers, this year’s list identifies women who have displayed excellence in their respective legal fields including mergers and acquisitions, private equity, ...

January 26, 2021, The National Law Journal

Beth Brinkmann spoke with The National Law Journal about her previous role as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Division where she oversaw the Division’s nationwide appellate litigation. Ms. Brinkmann explained that, “The job provides the opportunity to represent countless federal agencies and officials and to handle a ...

January 25, 2021

By: Muyun Hu On December 25, 2020, the Institute of Food Science and Technology (“IFST”) issued China’s first plant-based meat standard T/CIFST 001-2020 (the “Standard”). The Standard will take effect on June 25, 2021. The Standard is a group standard issued by a government sponsored industry association and adopted by its members.[1] Group standards can ...

January 25, 2021, Law360

Robert Kelner is quoted in Law360 regarding the increased scrutiny over Paycheck Protection Program loans following the overhaul of Democratic leadership. Mr. Kelner compares the change to 2009, when Democrats reclaimed the White House and kept control of Congress. Lawmakers investigated the roots of the financial crisis and probed companies that accepted ...

January 22, 2021, Covington Alert

On January 19, 2021, the Department of Commerce (“Commerce”) published an Interim Final Rule to implement provisions of Executive Order 13873, “Executive Order on Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain” (May 15, 2019) (the “ICTS Order”).  Unless suspended by the Biden Administration, the Rule will go into effect 60 days ...

January 22, 2021

WASHINGTON / SAN FRANCISCO— The BTI Consulting Group has named Covington lawyers James Garland, Corinne Goldstein, Benedict Lenhart, Peter Lichtenbaum, Clara Shin, and Sarah Wilson to its 2020 “Client Service All-Stars” list, which recognizes “attorneys who stand above all the others in delivering the absolute best in client service.” Mr. Garland, based in ...

January 22, 2021, Covington Alert

The ethics rules that apply to Presidential appointees shifted Wednesday, in some ways significantly, as President Biden, just hours after being sworn in, signed an “Executive Order on Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel” and President Trump, just hours before his term expired, revoked his Executive Order on Ethics. This alert summarizes the key ...

January 15, 2021, Covington Alert

On Wednesday, January 13, the Supreme Court heard arguments in AMG Capital Management LLC v. Federal Trade Commission. This case raises the question whether the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been properly using Section 13(b) of the FTC Act, the provision authorizing requests for preliminary and permanent injunctions where the FTC believes the defendant “is ...

January 14, 2021, Law360

William Massey is quoted in Law360 regarding expectations of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission under a Biden Administration. Mr. Massey says, “I would expect the Democrats to ask FERC to take a somewhat more assertive role in taking greenhouse gas emissions into account in certificating pipelines and structuring the wholesale markets, and respecting state ...

January 11, 2021, Covington Alert

After the election of two Democratic Senate candidates in the Georgia runoff elections on January 5, 2021, the Senate this year will be equally divided between 50 Democratic Senators (and those caucusing with them) and 50 Republican Senators. Governing in an equally divided Senate presents several challenges regarding the internal rules of the Senate, the makeup ...

January 8, 2021, Law360

January 6, 2021, Commercial Dispute Resolution

Louise Freeman spoke with Commercial Dispute Resolution about the UK Supreme Court’s judgment in Mastercard v. Merricks, a decision with implications for the country’s class actions regime. Ms. Freeman says that the decision “breathes new life into the class action regime, under which no classes have been certified since it was introduced in 2015.” The ...

January 6, 2021, MedTech Insight

Scott Danzis is quoted in MedTech Insight regarding the FDA’s final guidance on its new Safer Technologies Program for Medical Devices (STeP) program, which is intended to provide additional support to developers of medical devices that significantly improve on existing products. Mr. Danzis says that STeP is a "welcome complement" to the FDA's Breakthrough ...

January 4, 2021, Covington Alert

On December 27, 2020, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 was signed into law.[1] Nestled among the much-publicized $2.3 trillion package for COVID-19 relief and appropriations are three significant reforms to copyright and trademark law. Here is what you need to know. 1. Trademark Modernization Act (“TMA”): Codified Presumption of Irreparable Harm, ...

January 4, 2021, Bloomberg Law

Micaela McMurrough is quoted in Bloomberg Law regarding a new law setting cybersecurity standards for Internet of Things devices that federal agencies buy. Ms. McMurrough says “The statute leverages the purchasing power of the federal government to raise the floor on IoT device cybersecurity.”

January 3, 2021, Law360

January 3, 2021, Law360

Jean Veta spoke with Law360 about the fallout from the Paycheck Protection Program fraud. Ms. Veta says 2021 could be the year that the federal government broadens its pursuit of PPP fraudsters to include the banks and other lenders that served them. Although the program did not require financial institutions to rigorously vet PPP loan applicants. Some banks ...

January 3, 2021, Law360

Anne Termine spoke with Law360 about the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s expected focus on mitigating climate risks in 2021. Ms. Termine says, “A lot of it requires action outside of the CFTC, but I think the agency is ready to join in on discussion and provide regulations for their registered entities as necessary.” 

January 3, 2021, Law360

Jennifer Johnson spoke with Law360 about the FCC’s spectrum sharing decision. Ms. Johnson says spectrum reorganization efforts are a prime area for cooperation in an evenly split FCC. “The expectation going forward under a Biden administration would be that there would be more coordination, and we'd be less likely to see those interagency disputes. There's ...

January 3, 2021, Law360

Dan Russell spoke with Law360 about derivative sovereign immunity for a government contractor claiming to have acted on behalf of U.S. instruction. What's at stake is whether federal contractors facing similar claims have a quick route for potentially cutting off a suit, or face years of often-complex litigation, according to Mr. Russell. “The reason why ...

January 3, 2021, Law360

Mark Perlis is quoted in Law360 regarding the implementation of FERC's small-scale clean energy rule. Mr. Perlis says putting together implementation plans will be a delicate dance between parties including DER providers, utilities, state regulators, and regional grid operators. “Then the rule itself gives the states certain levers, and it will be interesting to ...

January 3, 2021, Law360

Sandy Hoe is quoted in Law360 regarding the FAR Council's proposed amendment to the Buy American Rules to increase the price penalties for purchasing nondomestic products. Mr. Hoe says that increase could draw a reaction from other countries if their companies find it more difficult to participate in U.S. deals. There could be “some equally domestic-favoring ...

January 3, 2021, Law360

Lindsey Tonsager is quoted in Law360 regarding the major cybersecurity and privacy policy issues to watch in 2021. Ms. Tonsager spoke about the ramp up in California Consumer Privacy Act enforcement. She says, “The agency [California Privacy Protection Agency] will have the broadest authority in the country to issue regulations on topics like automated ...

December 30, 2020

WASHINGTON—Covington advised Vectrus on regulatory matters in its recently announced acquisition of Zenetex, a leading provider of technical and strategic solutions focused on enabling mission readiness, performance, and enhanced protection for defense and national security clients globally. The transaction is valued at approximately $112 million, net of $11 ...

December 23, 2020, Covington Alert

On December 21, 2020, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) to seek comment on a contemplated regulatory framework that, if finalized, would transition to USDA portions of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) pre-existing animal biotechnology regulatory oversight. In particular, USDA ...

December 22, 2020, The Wall Street Journal

Anne Termine spoke with The Wall Street Journal about the CFTC’s enforcement actions against Vitol, a Swiss energy firm for bribery misconduct. The Vitol settlement lays the legal foundation for future foreign corruption cases by the CFTC. While the CFTC doesn't have statutory authority to enforce antibribery laws directly, the case introduces a theory for how ...

December 21, 2020

WASHINGTON—Covington is assisting Veritas Capital-backed Gainwell Technologies in its acquisition of HMS for approximately $3.4 billion. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2021. Veritas will look to optimize the HMS solution set across Gainwell and Veritas-backed Cotiviti, Inc. Gainwell will acquire the HMS capabilities focused on the ...

December 18, 2020, Food Safety News

December 18, 2020, Food Navigator

Brian Sylvester spoke with Food Navigator about the legal issues for food and beverage companies to watch in 2021. Mr. Sylvester says, “I expect cell-based meat to take center stage in the evolving food regulatory conversations occurring in the U.S. and around the world. Earlier this month, in a global first, Singapore greenlighted the first ever cell-based meat ...

December 18, 2020, Bloomberg Law

December 18, 2020, Law360

Kayleigh Scalzo is quoted in Law360 regarding the impact of COVID-19 on government contractors and how the Department of Housing and Urban Development could have assisted these companies. While protests related to COVID-19's impact on federal contracting had been expected, the exact context that the case came in was not, Ms. Scalzo says. “We probably all thought ...

December 17, 2020, Covington Alert

On December 10, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a decision in Rutledge v. Pharmaceutical Care Management Association holding that Arkansas’s Act 900, which regulates pharmacy benefit managers’ (“PBMs”) pharmacy reimbursement practices, is not pre-empted by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”). PBMs have long asserted ...

December 16, 2020, Covington Alert

On December 15, 2020, the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) voted 3–1 to approve a final rule that significantly revises and clarifies the regulatory framework applicable to brokered deposits, under which less-than-well-capitalized insured depository institutions (“IDIs”) are generally prohibited from accepting funds ...

December 16, 2020, Law360

December 16, 2020, Covington Alert

On November 10, 2020, a New York federal court dismissed an insurer’s counterclaims that sought to estop a policyholder from recovering sums in excess of a policy sublimit that the insurer had allegedly procured through inequitable conduct. Pilkington North Am., Inc. v. Mitsui Sumitomo Ins. Co. of Am., 18 Civ. 8152 (JFK), No. 175 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 10, 2020). The ...

December 15, 2020, Stars and Stripes

Benjamin Block is quoted in Stars and Stripes regarding the firm’s pro bono representation of military families suing Corvias, a housing company responsible for maintaining the upkeep of on-base housing. Mr. Block says it is “very disappointing” that Corvias ended participation in discussions with residents about their concerns and blamed these families. “But, ...

December 15, 2020, Bloomberg Law

Peter Hutt II spoke with Bloomberg Law about Boeing’s attempt to recover $1 million the U.S. withheld in a Navy contract dispute. Mr. Hutt says the problem with the regulation Boeing is challenging “is its ‘heads-we-win, tails-you-lose’ approach that disadvantages contractors and systematically provides windfalls to the government.” He adds, “This one-sided ...

December 14, 2020, Covington Alert

On December 10th, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice announced its first criminal indictment targeting an alleged conspiracy to reduce employee wages. The DOJ charged the former owner of a therapist staffing company with conspiring to reduce pay rates for healthcare worker contractors, but did not charge the company itself. Specifically, ...

December 14, 2020, Global Banking Regulation Review

Nikhil Gore is quoted in Global Banking Regulation Review regarding reform to the anti-money laundering framework as part of the National Defense Authorisation Act (NDAA), introducing a new beneficial ownership registration regime for shell companies. Mr. Gore says the beneficial ownership registry “helps make sure that banks, which are very much invested in ...

December 11, 2020, Covington Alert

On December 8, 2020, the House passed the National Defense Authorization Act (the “NDAA” or “Act”), which includes over 200 pages of significant reforms to the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) and other anti-money laundering (“AML”) laws that have been working their way through Congress for several years. Despite some remaining objections from President Trump and ...

December 11, 2020, Intellectual Property Magazine

Beth Brinkmann highlights top IP Supreme Court cases of the year.  Beth also opines on  what the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg could mean for IP law in a podcast for Intellectual Property Magazine.

December 11, 2020, The Wall Street Journal

Michael Chittenden is quoted in The Wall Street Journal regarding the options for excess FSA dependent-care spending. Mr. Chittenden says the best option is to find expenses to claim. There are strict limits on what expenses the IRS considers eligible, and employers and plan administrators don't have flexibility to alter the rules. Most importantly,  expenses ...

December 10, 2020

WASHINGTON—Global Data Review has named Covington to The GDR 100 Elite. The ranking profiles the top 20 firms with a broad international presence and a consistent track record of delivering cutting-edge advice to household name clients around the world, who between them handle the lion’s share of cross-border work in data privacy. The firms featured in The GDR ...

December 10, 2020, Covington Alert

This e-alert is part of a series of e-alerts summarizing publicly available FDA enforcement letters (i.e., warning letters and untitled letters) relating to the advertising and promotion of prescription drugs, medical devices, and biologics. In November, the Office of Prescription Drug Promotion (OPDP) posted the following untitled letter on FDA’s website: ...

December 10, 2020, The Hill

The Hill has named Covington’s Holly Fechner, Muftiah McCartin, and Bill Wichterman to its annual “Top Lobbyists” list. The list recognizes Washington’s top policy experts and influencers voicing the concerns of the nation’s largest companies, labor unions, and associations in the nation’s capital. Named to the list for the eighth consecutive year, Ms. Fechner ...

December 10, 2020, Associated Press

Ishita Kala spoke with the Associated Press about her representation of two clients imprisoned for nearly a quarter-century in separate shootings being granted  retrials after the original proceedings were tainted by discriminatory conduct  from an ex-prosecutor who excluded jurors based on race and gender. Ms. Kala says, “Even a single use of a peremptory ...

December 9, 2020, Center for Strategic and International Studies

December 9, 2020

NEW YORK / WASHINGTON—Variety has named Stuart Irvin and Adrian Perry to its 2020 Dealmakers Impact Report, recognizing "top negotiators that have kept Hollywood humming." Mr. Irvin is the founder of Covington’s video games and esports practice and works in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. He is an international leader in the field of esports and advises game ...

December 8, 2020, Covington Alert

On November 24, 2020, Glass Lewis published updates to its proxy voting guidance for annual shareholder meetings to be held after January 1, 2021. The updated proxy voting guidelines primarily concern board composition, governance matters, environmental and social issues, and compensation issues. Glass Lewis also published updates to its guidance on shareholder ...

December 8, 2020, Law360

December 8, 2020, Bloomberg Law

Anne Termine is quoted in Bloomberg Law regarding the CFTC’s foreign bribery enforcement action against oil trader Vitol Inc. Ms. Termine says commodities traders “will likely sit up and take notice” of the Vitol settlement because of the expansive use of the CFTC’s powers to get at conduct that normally falls under anti-bribery laws. That “kitchen sink” ...

December 8, 2020, SCOTUSblog

Supreme Court argument tips, cracking the glass ceiling for hiring women in the Solicitor General's Office, and giving birth one day and winning a SCOTUS case the next -- hear these stories and more from Beth Brinkmann on SCOTUSblog’s podcast, “SCOTUS Spotlight.”

December 8, 2020, Law360

Anne Termine is quoted in Law360 regarding the CFTC’s vote to approve electronic trading rules. Ms. Termine says, “The electronic trading rule has been a long controversial one and one the industry is waiting for finality on. The bankruptcy rule is noteworthy because it is the first overhaul in an extremely long time.”

December 8, 2020

WASHINGTON—Covington is assisting Veritas Capital and its portfolio company Peraton with their pending acquisition of the federal IT and mission support services business of Northrop Grumman for $3.4 billion. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2021. Peraton is a trusted provider of highly differentiated space, intelligence, cyber, defense, ...

December 7, 2020, S&P Global

Broderick Johnson is quoted in S&P Global regarding the challenges President-elect Biden will face with Congress. Mr. Johnson says, “We have seen such excessive partisanship and oftentimes a lot of ambiguity as to what the Trump administration would accept that it became an even more difficult environment in which to get anything done even with the COVID ...

December 7, 2020, Covington Alert

On December 1, 2020, the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) submitted a proposal (the “Proposal”) to the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) to amend its listing standards to require, subject to certain exceptions, new disclosures regarding director diversity. If adopted, the Proposal would require the board of a Nasdaq-listed company to have at least ...

December 7, 2020, Business Insider

Chris DeCresce spoke with Business Insider about the complexities for  companies who choose to go public. Mr. DeCresce says going public isn't all roses. It “does add another layer of complexity to the business.” He adds, “Drafting the S-1 can put a lot of stress on the CFO and the accountants. It can also distract the management team from their traditional ...

December 4, 2020, Covington Alert

On November 30, 2020, emergency temporary COVID-19 workplace standards (“ETS”) issued by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Cal/OSHA”) took effect. The ETS, which requires stringent workplace protocols intended to curb the spread of COVID-19, applies to all California employers, other than those subject to the Cal/OSHA Aerosol ...

December 3, 2020, Covington Alert

On November 23, 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) issued a final rule amending its regulations under 12 C.F.R. Part 7 relating to the activities and operations of national banks and federal savings associations. The final rule, which becomes effective on April 1, 2021, governs a range of topics, including permissible derivatives ...

December 3, 2020, Covington Alert

I. Introduction On November 2, 2020, the SEC’s Division of Enforcement issued its Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2020 and just two weeks later Jay Clayton confirmed that he would be ending his tenure as Chairman of the SEC at the end of this year.[1]  In a year dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Chairman Clayton caps off his enforcement legacy with what could ...

December 3, 2020, The Counter

Brian Sylvester spoke with The Counter about Singapore’s approval of cell-cultured meat for human consumption, the first country to do so. Mr. Sylvester says several major issues remain unresolved for now. For instance, while FDA already regulates cells cultured for biomedical use, it does not yet stipulate how similar practices should be used for food ...

December 2, 2020, Law360

December 2, 2020, Covington Alert

As discussed in the previous two installments in this series dealing with voluntary separation programs and global reductions in force, workforce reorganizations can take various forms and, even within a particular scenario, there can be many nuances. One constant, however, is usually advance planning. The importance of this cannot be overstated, especially in a ...

December 2, 2020, Covington Alert

Seizing a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity to work with the Biden-Harris team—potentially the most transatlanticist administration in decades—the European Commission and the European External Action Service today adopted a detailed and comprehensive plan to reinvigorate and reimagine the transatlantic partnership. The proposed strategy will be further debated, ...

December 1, 2020

WASHINGTON —Law360 named Covington as one of its Firms of the Year for the third consecutive year. The firm won eight Practice Group of the Year awards, tied for the most of any law firm. The recognition highlights the firm's depth and breadth of practice across its corporate, litigation, and regulatory practices, as well as key industry sectors like life ...

January 2021, Privacy & Cybersecurity Law Report

December 1, 2020, PR News

December 1, 2020, Covington Alert

With a COVID-19 vaccine now on the horizon, employers are considering whether they can require employees to be immunized. Although mandating COVID-19 vaccination for employees will likely be permissible with some exceptions, employers will also need to grapple with a number of challenging issues, such as whether they should require the vaccination and what to do ...

November-December 2020, Journal of Robotics, Artificial Intelligence & Law

November 24, 2020, Covington Alert

As large companies across the globe continue to navigate the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many are considering workforce reorganizations as a way to reduce costs in light of geopolitical and economic uncertainties, flagging demand, and a rapidly changing outlook for recovery. Workforce reorganizations can take many forms; however, many companies will consider ...

November 19, 2020, Pink Sheet

Paula Katz is quoted in the Pink Sheet regarding her record requests from the FDA on behalf of her clients. Ms. Katz says clients have asked the firm to reply to the official listed as the contact on the records request and “ask for a teleconference to discuss the request and make sure that the things you’re providing are effective and responding and that you ...

November 16, 2020, Bloomberg Law

Karen Solomon is quoted in Bloomberg Law regarding FDIC Chair Jelena McWilliams's final potential acts as part of the Trump administration as it relates to "valid when made" and "true lender" rules. According to Ms. Solomon, McWilliams and the administration would also have to weigh the potential impact of lawsuits challenging both the FDIC's and OCC's "valid ...

November 16, 2020

With the election over, the process of selecting and vetting individuals to fill the next administration’s key appointed positions is quickly shifting into high gear. For those who are called to serve in such positions, the decision to enter the process may be one of the most important and life-changing decisions they ever make. Accordingly, it is critical for ...

November 16, 2020

WASHINGTON—Global Banking Regulation Review has named Covington partner Michael Nonaka to its “45 Under 45,” a list of the leading, next-generation banking regulation specialists. Mr. Nonaka is co-chair of the Financial Services Group and advises banks, financial services providers, and non-bank companies on a broad range of compliance, enforcement, ...

November 10, 2020, Law360

Law360 mentioned Covington’s representation of Pilkington North America Inc. in its insurance suit claim for tornado damage to its Illinois facility. Jad Khazem was a member of the Covington team and argued a successful motion to dismiss insurer counterclaims.

November 10, 2020, Covington Alert

Following the election, media companies and broadcasters are considering what new policies and actions the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) might take once the Biden administration is in place. As we have previously discussed, although the FCC is an independent agency, its agenda will be controlled by the Chair that will be appointed by the President. A ...

November 9, 2020, Agenda

Michael Francese spoke with Agenda about the Biden Administration’s impact on compensation committees. Mr. Francese says, “Biden’s platform is pretty vague on compensation matters.” He says Biden is “very focused” on tax rates for individuals, corporations, and estates. “Those will all kind of filter into compensation decisions,” he adds. He adds if any quick ...

November 9, 2020, Covington Alert

Now that former Vice President Biden has been projected to win the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election, expect the transition to commence from the Trump Administration to a Biden Administration. Control of the U.S. Senate remains in the balance with two runoff elections in Georgia on January 5, but either way, the Senate majority will be razor thin and hence less ...

November 9, 2020, Covington Alert

On November 6, 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held the first of three public meetings regarding its Food Traceability Proposed Rule. The proposed rule, which is required by section 204 of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), would impose additional traceability recordkeeping requirements on entities that manufacture, process, pack, or hold ...

November 9, 2020, Covington Advisory

Under the False Claims Act’s (“FCA”) first-to-file bar, “no person other than the Government may intervene or bring a related action based on the facts underlying the pending action.” But can a relator amend her complaint to add, remove, or substitute relators without violating the first-to-file bar? Recently, the Third Circuit in In re Plavix answered “yes,” ...

November 8, 2020, Law360

Eric Mogilnicki is quoted in Law360 regarding bank regulation in a Biden presidency. Mr. Mogilnicki says with more banks and nonbank lenders seeking to deploy alternative data sources and machine learning in lending, the Biden administration will have a unique opportunity to address growing frictions between those new technologies and decades-old regulatory ...

November 7, 2020, Law360

Gary Guzy spoke with Law360 about BigLaw’s likely boom under a Biden Administration. Mr. Guzy says his team expects the Biden administration to take “immediate and sweeping” steps to address climate change and will make the transition to cleaner energy a big part of its economic recovery plans. “This will present extensive new investment, innovation, and project ...

November 7, 2020, POWER Magazine

November 6, 2020, Law360

November 6, 2020, Bloomberg Law

Jeremy Newell spoke with Bloomberg Law about the nominations for key financial regulatory positions, a topic the Senate Banking panel will have to address under a Biden administration. He says, “It’s an incredibly difficult issue in terms of getting to legislation you could actually move forward.”

November 5, 2020, Financial News

Eric Holder and Covington are mentioned in Financial News regarding the firm’s representation of the Biden campaign.

November 5, 2020, Covington Alert

As both presidential and down-ticket candidates gear up for post-election recounts and related litigation in several states, they and their political parties will be raising new funds to finance these efforts. As with campaign contributions made before the election, there are a variety of rules that apply to contributions to support post-election disputes. The ...

November 5, 2020, Politico

Robert Kelner, Zachary Parks, and Brendan Parets’ article, “Guidance Regarding Contributions to Recount and Election Dispute Funds,” was quoted in Politico.

November 4, 2020, Law360

Muftiah McCartin and Bill Wichterman spoke with Law360 about the U.S. Senate’s uncertainty and its impact on COVID-19 pandemic relief. Ms. McCartin says a quick action on a continuing resolution would clear the decks for budget writers to tackle a major stimulus bill and the fiscal year 2022 budget. Other expiring items could get pushed into next year, including ...

November 3, 2020, Covington Alert

Presidential elections, whatever their outcome, often serve as a natural inflection point in the regulatory cycle, marking a shift in regulatory priorities and agendas. This is particularly true in bank regulation, where higher-profile regulatory changes are often accompanied by lower-profile but equally important changes in supervisory approaches and practices. ...

November 2, 2020

WASHINGTON—Law360 has named three Covington lawyers as MVPs. The awards single out lawyers from across numerous practice areas based on their success in high-stakes litigation, complex global matters, and record-breaking deals.   The Covington lawyers recognized as Law360 MVPs are:   Jay Carey was recognized for helping data services giant Optum successfully ...

November 2, 2020, Covington Alert

On September 11, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued a final rule amending its statistical disclosure requirements for bank holding companies, banks, savings and loan holding companies, and savings and loan associations (“banking registrants”) in registration statements and other disclosure documents. The final rule replaces Guide 3, ...

November 2, 2020, Natural Food Products Insider

Natural Food Products Insider included Miriam Guggenheim’s remarks from  the "Now, New, Next" conference about the legalization of CBD products through Congress, not the FDA.  Ms. Guggenheim doubts that FDA would be the one to make CBD a lawful dietary ingredient in supplements. “It will happen from Congress. It’s possible that FDA will make a little clearer ...

November 2, 2020

WASHINGTON—The National Law Journal named Covington to its 2020 “Appellate Hot List.” Lawyers and law firms featured in the annual special report were recognized for winning “high-profile and high-stakes wins in the nation’s highest appellate courts across a number of practice areas—from Constitutional rights to immigration law to pharmaceutical and intellectual ...

October 30, 2020

WASHINGTON—Covington represented GovernmentCIO, LLC, a leading provider of high-end technology and digital solutions to the Federal Health IT Services market, in its sale to Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe. GovCIO is a rapidly growing provider of advanced technology solutions and digital services to the federal government. In the 10 years since its founding, ...

October 29, 2020, Covington Alert

Stability in the Democratic House means more investigations. It appears likely that the Democratic majority will retain control of the House of Representatives. The election stability in the House will translate into few, if any, changes in the leadership of the key committees most consistently involved in congressional investigations. Moreover, the rules ...

October 29, 2020, SHRM

Lindsay Burke and Carolyn Rashby spoke with SHRM about the actions employers can take when employees are not social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ms. Burke says, “Disciplining an employee for not wearing a mask while off duty or, for example, attending large events could violate these laws. But if a jurisdiction with an off-duty law has an executive ...

October 28, 2020, Covington Alert

The outcome of the national elections next week will have consequential implications at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The election may affect the composition of FDA’s leadership team, and stakeholders can expect differences in policies and priorities between a second Trump Administration and a new Biden Administration. Control of the U.S. Senate ...

October 27, 2020, Law360

October 27, 2020, Covington Alert

The November 3, 2020 election is likely to be a watershed event in the development of privacy law in the U.S. This client alert provides a high-level overview of the areas in which change is likely to occur, depending on how the election turns out. 1. Federal Legislation Unlike most countries of its size, the U.S. does not yet have a broadly applicable data ...

October 23, 2020

WASHINGTON—Global Investigations Review has ranked Covington among its top five in its annual GIR 30, a list of the leading global firms best suited to handle sophisticated cross-border government-led and internal investigations. GIR noted that Covington has “won praise from multinational clients for its ability to handle a wide variety of white-collar matters ...

October 22, 2020, Covington Alert

On October 20, 2020, the federal banking agencies adopted a final rule to implement the net stable funding ratio (“NSFR”), a standardized liquidity requirement that the agencies proposed in May 2016. Once effective on July 1, 2021, the final rule will require certain larger banking institutions to maintain a minimum level of stable funding as measured over a ...

October 22, 2020, Covington Alert

This is a playbook for a virtual meeting of shareholders of a public company. This playbook answers questions that companies may have about planning and holding such a meeting.

October 22, 2020, Global Banking Regulation Review

Randy Benjenk spoke with Global Banking Regulation Review about the FDIC’s newly adopted net stable funding ratio. Mr. Benjenk says with the U.S. presidential election looming, it is unlikely that the NSFR rules will be revisited soon even if there is a change in political administration. “The NSFR has not been as big of a political focus as other prudential ...

October 21, 2020

LOS ANGELES—Covington has been honored by Human Rights First as a recipient of the annual Marvin E. Frankel Award, given to firms that exhibit outstanding dedication to pro bono service helping Human Rights First achieve justice for refugees, asylum-seekers, and clients in immigration detention across the country. The Marvin E. Frankel Award honors the memory of ...

October 21, 2020, Covington Alert

On Tuesday, October 20, 2020, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation issued a proposed rule that would supersede and codify, with certain changes described below, a 2018 Interagency Statement Clarifying the Role of Supervisory Guidance (the “2018 Statement”). Like the 2018 Statement, the proposed rule would be adopted on an interagency basis with the Board of ...

October 21, 2020, Thomson Reuters

Andrew Jack and Kevin Poloncarz are quoted in a Thompson Reuters article regarding the emergence of ESG and sustainability focused practices within major law firms.  The article describes Covington's 100+ lawyer cross-disciplinary sustainability solutions team as the largest ESG Big Law undertaking and highlights the firm's focus on carbon reduction; corporate ...

October 21, 2020, Politico

Muftiah McCartin is quoted in Politico regarding the firm’s lobbying efforts in the third quarter of 2020. Ms. McCartin says, “As we expected, our LDA numbers are still impacted by the pandemic's toll on legislative activity. However, we expect a very sharp uptick in the post-election period both in the U.S. and in our global policy practice. Should there be a ...

October 19, 2020, Food Navigator

Brian Sylvester is quoted in Food Navigator regarding the USDA’s labeling of cell-cultured meats. Mr. Sylvester says that he didn't think an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) would extend the timeline in a meaningful way. “Instead, it could actually be an efficient means of collecting needed data sooner rather than later to lay the foundation for a ...

October 19, 2020, The Wall Street Journal

Yan Luo is quoted in The Wall Street Journal regarding China’s new export restrictions. Ms. Luo says, “With recent events, China feels a greater need to have this export law in place.” Chinese authorities feel that export-control measures have been used against Chinese companies and they need a way to reciprocate. “The precise point is we don't know how they ...

October 16, 2020, Communications Daily

Gerry Waldron is quoted in Communications Daily regarding the presidential election’s impact on the current dysfunction between the FCC and other federal agencies on spectrum management. Mr. Waldron says Capitol Hill will likely want to watch to see if the relationship between the FCC and other agencies “gets better on its own” in either a Biden or Trump ...

October 16, 2020, Politico

Kevin Coates spoke with Politico about a move unveiled by the U.S. Secretary of State demanding greater foreign funding disclosure. Mr. Coates described the move as “Partly right, partly wrong.” Right that “think tanks disclose foreign governments. Wrong that it doesn’t also cover think tanks disclosing all funding, foreign and domestic, state and private. ...

October 15, 2020, Global Investigations Review

Anne Termine is quoted in Global Investigations Review regarding this year’s aggressive spoofing enforcement from the CFTC. Ms. Termine says the marked increase in the agency’s spoofing-related enforcement actions in recent years is due to the software generating more leads. She adds that the marked increase in the agency’s spoofing-related enforcement actions ...

October 14, 2020, Law360

Eric Mogilnicki is quoted in Law360 regarding the rising number of CFPB enforcement cases in the last five years. Mr. Mogilnicki says, “I think it's a coincidence. These cases take time to germinate, and the bureau has been working on the assumption that Seila Law wouldn't disrupt its enforcement activities. I can't imagine they were holding back waiting for ...

October 13, 2020

WASHINGTON—Covington has promoted Ichiro (“Ike”) Morinaga to Senior Of Counsel. Mr. Morinaga heads Covington’s Japan practice and leads the firm’s relationships with a range of Japanese corporations as well as trade associations and governmental agencies. “Capitalizing on his prior experience as an international banker, Ike brings a unique, business-focused ...

October 12, 2020

WASHINGTON—Covington represented TriState Capital Holdings, Inc., which entered into a definitive agreement with funds managed by Stone Point Capital LLC to raise $105 million in new capital to finance the continued execution of the company’s high-growth strategy for its TriState Capital Bank and Chartwell Investment Partners businesses. TriState Capital is a ...

October 12, 2020, Covington Alert

This e-alert is part of a series of e-alerts summarizing publicly available FDA enforcement letters (i.e., warning letters and untitled letters) relating to the advertising and promotion of prescription drugs, medical devices, and biologics. In September, the Office of Prescription Drug Promotion (OPDP) posted three warning letters on FDA’s website, including ...

October 9, 2020, Covington Alert

Last week, the SEC announced settled enforcement actions against two public companies and two former senior executives based on small allegedly improper quarterly accounting adjustments that cumulatively overstated the companies’ reported earnings per share (EPS) by as little as one penny. These actions arise from the agency’s ongoing EPS initiative, which ...

October 9, 2020, The Rose Sheet

The Rose Sheet covered Gerald Masoudi and Peter Hutt’s FDA panel at the FDLI annual conference, “Time for Independent U.S. FDA? COVID-19 Political Pressure Reignites Debate.” Mr. Masoudi suggests some benefits to the current reporting structure. “If you look at the other functions within HHS with which FDA interacts on a regular basis,” such as the Centers for ...

October 8, 2020

WASHINGTON—Covington represented Uber Technologies in its Rule 144A offering of $500 million principal amount of 6.25 percent senior notes due 2028. Uber received net proceeds of approximately $495 million, which it used to redeem an outstanding series of senior notes. The Covington capital markets team included Kerry Burke, Brian Rosenzweig, Jennifer Uren, ...

October 7, 2020, Food Navigator

Brian Sylvester spoke with Food Navigator about the labeling of cell-cultured seafood. Mr. Sylvester says, “USDA has not yet invited public comment on the labelling of cell-cultured meat & poultry but is expected to do so in due course. It is reasonable to expect that USDA will ultimately put out a similar request and will collaborate with FDA on reviewing ...

October 6, 2020, Law360

October 6, 2020, Law360

October 6, 2020, Covington Alert

On September 21, the Federal Reserve released an advance notice of proposed rulemaking ("ANPR") to solicit views on potential changes to the agency's Community Reinvestment Act regulations. The Board’s issuance of the ANPR follows the May 2020 release of a final rule by the OCC that substantially reforms the OCC’s CRA regulations. The ANPR's unusual level of ...

October 6, 2020, Covington Alert

Covington's Class Action Litigation Group has assembled an update that highlights and discusses several notable developments in the third quarter of 2020 affecting class actions.

October 5, 2020, Covington Alert

On September 23, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments to the shareholder proposal rule: Rule 14a-8 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Rule 14a-8 requires companies that are subject to the federal proxy rules to include shareholder proposals in their shareholder meeting proxy statements, subject to certain procedural and ...

October 5, 2020, Reuters

Dustin Cho and Neema Sahni spoke with Reuters about the role lawyers have played in guiding professional sports leagues through COVID-19. Mr. Cho says on the insurance front, event cancellation coverage has been a hot issue. He notes that both Wimbledon and the British Open tennis tournaments succeeded in getting coverage from their insurers under their event ...

October 2, 2020, Covington Alert

On September 21, the FTC and the DOJ announced proposed changes to the rules that govern when transactions must be notified to the agencies pursuant to the HSR Act, as well the information that is required for such filings.

October 1, 2020, Covington Alert

On September 30, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) unanimously adopted an order formalizing the referral and review process associated with “Team Telecom”—the group of national security and law enforcement agencies responsible for assessing foreign investment in U.S. telecommunications, submarine cable licensees, and broadcast licensees. The order ...

October 1, 2020

WASHINGTON—Covington has promoted 14 lawyers to its partnership.   “Our new partners practice in a wide range of the firm’s key practices and add importantly to our strengths,” said Doug Gibson, Covington’s chair. “This new partner class demonstrates that we continue to build an exceptional pipeline of superbly talented lawyers, across our offices and ...

October 1, 2020

WASHINGTON—Gerald Masoudi, former General Counsel of Celgene Corporation and then JUUL Labs, has rejoined Covington’s Food, Drug, and Device Practice Group in Washington as a partner. Mr. Masoudi has more than 25 years of broad experience in the life sciences industry. He served as Chief Counsel of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration from 2007 to 2009. He ...

October 1, 2020, American Banker

Randy Benjenk is quoted in the American Banker regarding the Federal Reserve's proposal to modernize the Community Reinvestment Act, which could bridge the divide with the OCC. Mr. Benjenk says that some provisions of the Fed’s outline are “strikingly similar to the OCC’s final rule, either in concept or execution.” He adds, “The commonalities may be a ...

October 1, 2020, NPR

Julie Dohm is quoted in NPR regarding the use of unproven COVID-19 treatments and compounded drugs. Regarding compounded drugs, Ms. Dohm says, “They are subject to a lower quality standard, and so it's very important that they really only be used when medically necessary.”

October 1, 2020

WASHINGTON—Covington's Charles Hamilton and Kendra Mells have been named to the National Black Lawyers Top 40 Under 40 class of 2020. Mr. Hamilton represents clients in white collar matters involving federal and state regulators, internal investigations and complex commercial litigation matters. In addition, Mr. Hamilton maintains an active pro bono practice, ...

September 30, 2020, Inside Cybersecurity

Susan Cassidy is quoted in Inside Cybersecurity regarding the request from contractors for greater transparency on audit results from the DoD’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program. Ms. Cassidy says she is concerned about how the relationship will work between the prime and subcontractor. “All contractors will need to have a basic assessment [under ...

September 30, 2020

NEW YORK—Latinvex has selected Nicole Duclos, Veronica Yepez, Mary Hernández, and Ashley Sprague to its 2020 list of the “Top 100 Female Lawyers” at international law firms specializing in Latin America. Covington is among the top three law firms with the most women on the list and the law firm with most women in the FCPA category. Ms. Duclos represents clients ...

September 28, 2020

WASHINGTON—Covington partner Jennifer Saulino has been named a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, one of the premier legal associations in North America. Ms. Saulino is the eighth Covington lawyer among the current Fellows, joining Lanny Breuer, Robert Haslam, Carolyn Kubota, John Nields, George Pappas, William Phillips, and Robert Sayler. Ms. ...

September 25, 2020

WASHINGTON—Covington represented leading defense contractor Amentum on government contracts and other regulatory matters in its just-announced deal to acquire DynCorp International, a worldwide leader in aviation and logistics support service. Together, the two companies will create one of the largest providers of mission critical support services. The ...

September 25, 2020

WASHINGTON—The Deal recognized Catherine Dargan as its Healthcare, Pharma & Biotech Dealmaker of the Year at its annual “Deal Awards.” Ms. Dargan has advised numerous companies on their important strategic transactions for over 20 years. She has broad experience in mergers and acquisitions, both public and private (domestically and cross-border), and partnering ...

September 24, 2020, Covington Alert

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, voting in the 2020 general election is likely to look different than we have seen in recent times. Election officials across the country are working through in-person voting and vote-by-mail procedures and individual voters are deciding how best to cast their ballots. At the same time, many corporations are recognizing this ...

September 22, 2020, Covington Alert

Yesterday, FDA released a proposed rule that, if finalized, would impose additional traceability recordkeeping requirements for certain high-risk foods. This rulemaking is required by section 204 of FSMA, and is an additional action in FDA’s ongoing FSMA implementation. FDA proposes to establish a “Food Traceability List” (FTL) that would enumerate certain foods ...

September 22, 2020, MedTech Insight

Shankar Duraiswamy is quoted in MedTech Insight regarding the uncertainty around the Affordable Care Act’s coverage of medtech after the passing of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Mr. Duraiswamy points out that Justice Roberts has previously "narrowly ruled that that some parts of the ACA can be severed from the individual mandate" and remain ...

September 21, 2020, Covington Alert

 On September 16, 2020, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (the “ANPR”) seeking public comment on significant potential amendments to anti-money laundering (“AML”) regulations under the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”). The ANPR proposes three principal changes to the current BSA/AML regime — in ...

September 21, 2020, Covington Alert

On September 15, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB” or “Bureau”) released an Outline of Proposals under Consideration and Alternatives Considered for the small business data collection rulemaking mandated by Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act and a High-Level Summary of Outline of Proposals under Consideration for SBREFA: Small Business ...

September 17, 2020, Covington Alert

On September 14, 2020, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced five Withhold Release Orders (WROs) against products from certain factories and companies doing business primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) of China based on allegations of forced labor. CBP and other U.S. government departments and agencies have repeatedly stated ...

September 17, 2020, Law360

Holly Fechner spoke with Law360 about a coalition of groups tackling the lack of diversity in patenting. Ms. Fechner told Law360 that a key initiative of the group is advocating for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to collect demographic data on inventors through support of the bipartisan Inventor Diversity for Economic Advancement Act, which was introduced ...

September 17, 2020, Covington Alert

Drug manufacturers have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by adopting measures to ensure continuity in their operations—continuity that is vital to safeguarding the global drug supply. In doing so, some have faced unprecedented challenges with regard to ensuring the health of their employees, preventing COVID-19 transmission at their facilities, and mitigating ...

September 15, 2020

WASHINGTON—The Diversity Lab, an incubator for ideas and solutions that boost diversity and inclusion in law, has certified Covington as having achieved the “Mansfield Rule Certification 3.0 Plus” after completing the twelve-month certification program. The "Mansfield Rule Certification 3.0" measures whether law firms have affirmatively considered at least 30 ...

September 15, 2020, Covington Alert

The Trump Administration has released the much-anticipated executive order entitled “Lowering Drug Prices by Putting America First” (commonly referred to as the “Most-Favored-Nation” or “MFN” executive order). President Trump initially had announced the MFN executive order during his July 24, 2020 press conference highlighting four separate executive orders ...

September 15, 2020, Covington Alert

The first half of September has seen two major regulatory updates from USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). First, on September 14, 2020, FSIS published a proposed rule to expand the circumstances under which FSIS will generically approve the labels of meat, poultry, and egg products, which specifically proposes that FSIS will cease evaluating ...

September 15, 2020

WASHINGTON—Covington was recognized as a Deal of the Year winner in the Capital Markets category at the inaugural IFLR1000 United States Awards, in connection with its work as co-issuer’s counsel on Uber Technologies’ U.S. IPO on the New York Stock Exchange. Covington served as Uber’s co-counsel on its $8.1 billion initial public offering of 180,000,000 shares ...

September 14, 2020, Communications Daily

David Bender spoke with Communications Daily about the European Court of Justice’s decision in Schrems II being challenged in Ireland. Mr. Bender says since the decision, it has been a “very confusing time.”

September 12, 2020, Berlingske

Amanda Kramer spoke with Berlingske about the difficulties some employees have when reporting sexual harassment in the work place. Ms. Kramer says, “It is often unrealistic for women to approach a manager who has hired the person who is committing the sexual harassment and may even have a friendly relationship with him or her. “ Ms. Kramer, who has extensive ...

September 11, 2020

WASHINGTON—Covington represented Adtalem Global Education Inc., a  workforce solutions provider, in its entry into a definitive agreement to acquire Walden University, an online healthcare education provider, from Laureate Education, Inc. for $1.48 billion. Adtalem Global Education Inc. is the parent organization of American University of the Caribbean School of ...

September 11, 2020, Covington Alert

This e-alert is part of a series of e-alerts summarizing publicly available FDA enforcement letters (i.e., warning letters and untitled letters) relating to the advertising and promotion of prescription drugs, medical devices, and biologics.

September 10, 2020, The Wall Street Journal

Anne Termine is quoted in The Wall Street Journal regarding a memo from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission detailing how it will evaluate corporate compliance programs. Ms. Termine says, “It’s making clear the expectation that industry and market participants should operate in a certain way and have clear and robust systems and controls.” The guidance ...

September 9, 2020, Covington Alert

On September 1, 2020, the Office of Management and Budget issued a highly-anticipated interim final rule (“Rule”) implementing the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act. Consistent with the U.S. Government's increasingly sharp focus on supply chain security, the Rule authorizes the Executive Branch to exclude indefinitely “covered articles” (products and ...

September 8, 2020, Covington Alert

On August 26, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the ”SEC”) amended the definitions of “accredited investor” in Rule 501(a) of Regulation D and “qualified institutional buyer” (“QIB”) in Rule 144A, each under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”). These amendments are part of the SEC’s broader effort to simplify, harmonize, and improve the ...

September 8, 2020, Law360

September 4, 2020, Law360

September 3, 2020, Inside Cybersecurity

Susan Cassidy is quoted in Inside Cybersecurity regarding new rules and procedures around the operations of the Federal Acquisition Security Council. Ms. Cassidy says, “The FASC has a tremendous amount of discretion on how they can collect information internally, through contractors and from nonfederal entities. It is unclear to me how broadly that information ...

September 2, 2020

BRUSSELS–Covington has named Dan Cooper to lead its European data protection practice as co-chair of the firm’s global Data Privacy & Cybersecurity Practice, and he has relocated to Brussels to be closer to the institutions and courts that govern the European data privacy landscape. The firm has more than 100 lawyers focused on data privacy and cybersecurity ...

September 1, 2020, Law360

August 31, 2020, Covington Alert

On August 26, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments to the business (Item 101), legal proceedings (Item 103) and risk factor (Item 105) disclosure requirements of Regulation S-K. These amendments are part of the SEC’s ongoing Disclosure Effectiveness Initiative, the goal of which is to modernize the business and financial ...

August 27, 2020, Medtech Insight

Scott Danzis spoke with Medtech Insight about a Department of Health and Human Services announcement stripping the FDA of its oversight over Laboratory Developed Tests, or LDTs. Mr. Danzis says, “By the terms of the policy that was issued, it is not restricted to COVID-19 LDTs. It is broader than that. Moreover, we’ve had recent discussions with senior HHS ...

August 26, 2020

WASHINGTON—Covington represented CFBanc Corporation (“City First”) in its transformational merger of equals with Broadway Financial Corporation (“Broadway”) to create the largest Black-led Minority Depository Institution (MDI) in the nation with more than $1 billion in combined assets under management and approximately $850 million in total depository ...

August 25, 2020, The Pink Sheet

Tom Cosgrove is quoted in The Pink Sheet regarding virtual inspections conducted by the FDA during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Cosgrove says, “We were hoping to see some progress on remote or virtual facility inspections.” He notes that the agency has been working hard to avoid the need for pre-approval inspections by, for example, requesting records and talking ...

August 25, 2020, Covington Alert

On August 19, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a new policy concerning laboratory developed tests (LDTs). Under this policy, HHS has determined that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must engage in notice-and-comment rulemaking before requiring premarket review of LDTs. Depending on the next steps from HHS and FDA, this ...

August 20, 2020, Covington Alert

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS” or the “Committee”) released its Annual Report to Congress regarding its review of certain transactions involving foreign investment during 2019. The current Annual Report was released just two and a half months after the previous Annual Report, covering 2018, demonstrating the Committee has ...

August 20, 2020

WASHINGTON—Covington partner Jean Veta has been appointed by American Bar Association President Patricia Lee Refo to serve a three-year term on the ABA’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, representing the D.C. Circuit.   The committee, which has performed its role in the judicial nomination process since 1953, provides an impartial evaluation of the ...

August 20, 2020, Covington Alert

On August 17, 2020, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) released a Final Rule (the “August 17 Final Rule”) significantly expanding U.S. export controls restrictions on certain non-U.S. items reexported, exported from abroad, or transferred (in-country) in transactions involving Huawei or its affiliates designated on the BIS Entity ...

August 20, 2020, Covington Alert

On August 19, FDA announced the availability of a temporary guidance for industry entitled, “Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Drug and Biological Product Inspections During COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Questions and Answers.” FDA issued the guidance to address frequently-asked questions from industry regarding the impacts of the COVID-19 public health ...

August 14, 2020, Covington Alert

On August 13, 2020 the Federal Reserve System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, National Credit Union Administration, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the Agencies) issued joint guidance to clarify and update their policies with respect to the enforcement of the Bank Secrecy Act’s (BSA’s) anti-money laundering (AML) program requirement.[1] ...

August 13, 2020, Covington Alert

While the world continues to battle the coronavirus, another battle wages on in the courts, as insurers continue to issue blanket denials for COVID-19 business interruption losses. Many are closely watching how the judicial and legislative branches will answer what have emerged as two key questions: Do the causes of COVID-19 business interruption losses ...

August 12, 2020

WASHINGTON—The American Lawyer has named Covington to its 2020 “A-List,” an annual ranking of the top 20 firms based on revenue per lawyer, pro bono commitment, diversity, associate satisfaction, and percentage of female equity partners. Covington has appeared on the “A-List” fifteen times since it was introduced in 2003. This year, the firm ranked sixth ...

August 12, 2020, Axios

David Bender is quoted in Axios regarding the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield, which was recently struck down in Europe, but still stands in the U.S. Mr. Bender says, “It's a tough situation for a lot of companies. Frustrated and confused is how I'd describe the general mood.”

August 11, 2020, Covington Alert

On August 4, 2020, OEHHA, the California agency in charge of Prop 65 announced a proposed regulation that, when final, would exempt from Prop 65 products containing listed chemicals introduced through cooking or heat-processing. Acrylamide has been the most widely targeted chemical created through cooking, but the proposal would also provide a mechanism for ...

August 11, 2020, Food and Beverage Insider

August 10, 2020, Law360

Kayleigh Scalzo has been named a Law360 Rising Star in Government Contracts.

August 10, 2020, Center for Stategic & International Studies

August 7, 2020, Covington Alert

On August 5, 2020, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) published a proposed rule that would amend the USDA organic regulations in an effort to strengthen oversight and enforcement of the production, handling, and sale of organic agricultural products. The proposed changes come in response to concerns about the ...

August 7, 2020, Law360

Jennifer Saperstein has been named a Law360 Rising Star in Compliance.

August 7, 2020, Law360

Jennifer Plitsch spoke with Law360 about a presidential executive order calling for federal agencies to be required to buy domestically produced versions of medicines. Ms. Plitsch says, “Those will be significant, certainly at the outset [of the order going into effect], in light of the current market.” She adds that under the definition of "produced in the ...

August 6, 2020, Covington Alert

On July 16, 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union struck down the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield (“Privacy Shield”) in the Schrems II decision. Even though Schrems II invalidated the Privacy Shield with immediate effect as a matter of EU law, U.S. regulators swiftly indicated that they will continue to administer the Privacy Shield and that self-certified ...

August 5, 2020, American Banker

Karen Solomon is quoted in the American Banker regarding the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s new charter license for payments companies. Ms. Solomon says, “Whether a payments charter would be less likely to attract a lawsuit depends, at least in part, on the legal theory that the OCC uses to support it. If the theory underlying the payments charter ...

August 5, 2020, Covington Alert

On Monday, FDA published for public comment a proposed rule concerning the submission of certain data elements for veterinary devices imported or offered for import via the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) or other U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)-authorized electronic data interchange (EDI) system.[1] Comments are due by October 19, 2020. The ...

August 4, 2020, Covington Alert

On Friday, FDA announced the Animal Drug User Fees (ADUFA fees) and Generic Animal Drug User Fees (AGDUFA fees) for Fiscal Year 2021.

August 4, 2020, Law360

August 3, 2020, The Review of Securities & Commodities Regulation

August 3, 2020

WASHINGTON —The National Law Journal has named Covington partner David Zionts a “DC Rising Star,” recognizing him as one of the “region’s 40 most promising lawyers age 40 and under.” In his profile, Mr. Zionts described his biggest win from his career, saying, “I’m proud of many victories in my appellate practice, but the win that stands out the most came at the ...

August 2020, Privacy Laws & Business

2020, Global Legal Insights - Pricing & Reimbursement

August 2020, Insights

August 1, 2020, CNN

Michael Imbroscio’s role in the Clinton Administration during the impeachment process was highlighted by CNN. Mr. Imbroscio served as an Associate Counsel to the President.

July-August 2020, Intellectual Property & Technology Law Journal

July 30, 2020, Washington Technology

Samantha Clark appeared on Washington Technology’s Project 38 podcast to discuss how the ban on Chinese technology impacts government contracts.

July 28, 2020, Law360

William Woolston has been named a Law360 Rising Star in Benefits.

July 27, 2020, Covington Alert

On July 22, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted several proxy rule amendments dealing with proxy advisory firms as part of its ongoing effort to modernize the proxy voting system. The proxy rule amendments, which were proposed in November 2019, codify the SEC’s view that proxy voting advice generally constitutes a solicitation under the ...

July 24, 2020, Covington Alert

On July 24, 2020, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service (“AMS”) published proposed updates to its list of bioengineered (“BE”) foods. Under the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard (“NBFDS”), manufacturers, importers, and certain retailers must make a BE disclosure for foods on this list or foods containing ...

July 23, 2020, Covington Alert

FDA announced this week that it intends to extend its enforcement discretion policy regarding investigational new drug (IND) and premarket approval requirements for certain regenerative medicine products through May 2021. In light of the COVID-19 emergency, manufacturers will have six additional months after the initial November 2020 deadline to prepare and ...

July 22, 2020, Covington Alert

Yesterday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued draft guidance describing the agency’s thinking on topics relevant to clinical research related to the development of drugs containing cannabis or cannabis-derived compounds. While the draft guidance is limited to drug development and does not address other types of products, some of FDA’s thinking may ...

July 21, 2020, Covington Alert

On July 17, 2020, Commonwealth Edison Company (“ComEd”), an Illinois utility company, entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (the “DPA”) with the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ” or the “Department”) to resolve allegations of bribery under 18 U.S.C. § 666, which prohibits theft or bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds. Aside from the ...

July 21, 2020, Covington Alert

On July 20, 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) released a proposed rule intended to establish a bright-line test to identify the “true lender” in lending partnerships between national banks and federal savings associations, and third parties. Uncertainty in this area has caused confusion because the identity of the lender determines which ...

July 21, 2020, Law360

Anne Termine is quoted in Law360 regarding the impact that the Dodd-Frank Act has had on the opaque swaps market. Ms. Termine says, “The No. 1 goal is transparency of an opaque market. I think that has been a success. The problem is: Has it created almost too strict of a structure?”

July 21, 2020, Law360

Muftiah McCartin is quoted in Law360 regarding the firm’s lobbying efforts in the second quarter of 2020. Ms. McCartin says, “The COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally altered our work this spring. Now in the throes of summer, we see a constant drumbeat of clients seeking assistance as they deal with unprecedented economic and health care pressures.”

July 20, 2020, Bloomberg Government

Muftiah McCartin spoke with Bloomberg Government on the impact of COVID-19 on lobbying in the second quarter of 2020. Ms. McCartin says that although COVID-19 drove most of their work, clients “are calling on us to help assess and navigate broader social policies such as environmental sustainability and police reform.”

July 20, 2020, Law360

Karen Solomon is quoted in Law360 regarding the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s proposed  rule to clarify the “true lender” question. Ms. Solomon says, “The OCC's proposal is a clear and very straightforward way of resolving the true lender issue.” She adds the OCC makes clear in its notice that if a bank is designated the loan originator, it will ...

July 20, 2020, Covington Alert

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to present public companies with new regulatory compliance and financial reporting challenges. Adjusting the presentation of GAAP financial measures to take into account COVID-19-related expenses is one such challenge and should be considered carefully in light of the SEC’s heightened scrutiny in this area. The SEC’s Division of ...

Summer 2020

  In this video, Covington's Business and Human Rights practice team members Daniel Feldman, Tom Plotkin, and Hannah Edmonds-Camara address: how is human labor in the spotlight? how are supply chains impacted? how can companies address business and human rights challenges?

July 17, 2020, Law360

Broderick Johnson spoke with Law360 about Congress’ urgency to pass another comprehensive pandemic relief package. Mr. Johnson says, “The necessity and urgency of getting something done over the next several weeks seems pretty clear. It's in the interest of the White House, it's in the interest of House Democrats, and it's in the interest of Senate ...

July 16, 2020, Covington Alert

On July 15, the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) released its final report to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), outlining its recommendations for the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (Dietary Guidelines). The Dietary Guidelines, a joint effort of HHS and USDA, provide the ...

July 16, 2020, Law.com

Lisa Peets is quoted in Law.com regarding the European Court of Justice’s judgment in the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield. Ms. Peets says that the judgment means that the 5,000 or so U.S. companies signed up to the Privacy Shield will have to find an interim solution until EU and U.S. officials have worked out a new data protection deal. “The invalidation of the Privacy ...

July 15, 2020, Covington Alert

In this update, we detail the key legislative updates in the second quarter of 2020 related to artificial intelligence (“AI”), the Internet of Things (“IoT”), cybersecurity as it relates to AI and IoT, and connected and autonomous vehicles (“CAVs”). The volume of legislation on these topics has slowed but not ceased, as lawmakers increasingly focus on the ...

July 15, 2020, Covington Alert

On Monday, FDA rolled out its Blueprint for Smarter Food Safety; Modern Approaches for Modern Times. The Blueprint had been nearly ready for release several months ago, but was delayed when Covid-19 required FDA to divert its resources to responding to the pandemic. The Blueprint is intended to enhance and streamline the prevention of and response to food ...

July 15, 2020, The National Law Journal

The National Law Journal interviewed James Garland about his experience working from home and the recent actions of the DOJ. Now that it has been four months since offices in D.C. largely closed down and he has been working from home, Mr. Garland says, “Fortunately, our practices have remained busy, even into the pandemic. So we’ve got a lot of matters still ...

July 14, 2020, Bloomberg Law

Holly Fechner spoke with Bloomberg Law about the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s goal of boosting the percentage of Black patent owners. Ms. Fechner says, “I think we have this vision of inventors as this person alone in a garage but really invention and patenting is a team sport.”

July 13, 2020, Law360

Dustin Cho has been named a Law360 Rising Star in Insurance.

July 13, 2020, Global Arbitration Review

July 13, 2020, Covington Alert

On July 10, 2020, the U.S. Government's Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (“FAR Council”) released a prepublication version of the interim rule governing Section 889(a)(1)(B) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Pub. L. No. 115-232), and added some clarifications to definitions that impact Section 889(a)(1)(A), ...

July 10, 2020, Covington Alert

On July 8, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) submitted a report to Congress describing the results of the agency’s sampling and testing of products in the CBD marketplace. The Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 required FDA to perform the study to help determine the extent to which such products are mislabeled or adulterated. In this report, FDA ...

July 9, 2020, Covington Alert

The second quarter of 2020 is the first period in which most U.S. public companies were fully confronted with challenges presented by the COVID-19 global pandemic. The SEC and its staff (the “Staff”) have recently issued a number of statements regarding disclosure considerations and updates to reporting relief that will affect various aspects of companies’ ...

July 8, 2020, The Wall Street Journal

Jennifer Saperstein is quoted in The Wall Street Journal regarding the second edition of the guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The guide warns companies that their internal accounting controls must take into account operational realities. Ms. Saperstein says the additional language appears to signal that the SEC will continue taking an expansive ...

July 7, 2020, Covington Alert

There were several notable developments in the second quarter of 2020 affecting class actions. The Judicial Panel of Multidistrict Litigation will hold a hearing at the end of July on several requests to consolidate lawsuits related to the COVID-19 pandemic on an industry-wide basis. Courts issued important decisions addressing Article III standing and the ...

July 7, 2020, Covington Alert

On July 2, 2020, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (“AMS”) published final guidance documents and FAQs to assist companies in complying with the National Bioengineered (“BE”) Food Disclosure Standard (“NBFDS”). Under the NBFDS, a responsible party need not make a BE disclosure for a BE food if the party can show (1) the food is sourced from a non-BE crop or ...

July 7, 2020, Communications Daily

Kevin King is quoted in Communications Daily regarding the Supreme Court case Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants, which determined the constitutionality of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Mr. King says, “The Court's severability ruling means that the case likely will have limited practical significance for regulated parties. Although ...

July 6, 2020, Covington Alert

            On June 29, 2020, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) released guidance regarding financial institutions’ Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) and anti-money laundering (“AML”) risk considerations with respect to hemp-related businesses.[1] The guidance is intended to enhance the access of lawful hemp-related businesses to financial services and ...

July 6, 2020, Covington Alert

On July 3, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice’s (“DOJ” or the “Department”) Criminal Division and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) Enforcement Division quietly released A Resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Second Edition (the “Second Edition”). The first edition of the Resource Guide (the “First Edition”) was ...

July 6, 2020, Law360

Sean Akins has been named a Law360 Rising Star in Tax.

July 6, 2020

WASHINGTON—Covington has ranked first in average pro bono hours performed by lawyers based in the United States in 2019 for the second year in a row, according to The American Lawyer newly released Annual Pro Bono Survey. The American Lawyer also ranked Covington second overall among Am Law 200 firms in its annual survey. The scorecard considers the average ...

July 6, 2020, Covington Advisory

The False Claims Act (FCA) only imposes liability on those who “knowingly” cause the submission of false claims. 31 U.S.C. § 3729. “Knowingly” is defined as having “actual knowledge,” acting “in deliberate ignorance of the truth or falsity of the information,” or, at minimum, acting “in reckless disregard of the truth or falsity of the information.” To establish ...

July 6, 2020, Law360

Eric Mogilnicki is quoted in Law360 regarding the Supreme Court's decision settling the long-standing debate around the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Mr. Mogilnicki says the move to remand the case nevertheless "suggests that ratification is a live legal issue.” He adds, “Although the court doesn't quite say that ratification is ...

July 6, 2020

WASHINGTON— Law360 has named Covington partners Sean Akins, Dustin Cho, Adrian Perry, Jennifer Saperstein, Kayleigh Scalzo, Ashley Simonsen, and William Woolston among its “Rising Stars.” Covington’s seven “Rising Stars” were the most of any firm this year. This annual recognition honors top lawyers under 40 “whose legal accomplishments transcend their age.” ...

July 3, 2020, Intellectual Property Magazine

Beth Brinkmann appeared on Intellectual Property Magazine’s podcast to discuss the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit’s ruling in Arthrex v. Smith & Nephew. The court determined that the appointment of administrative patent judges by the Secretary of Commerce was unconstitutional.

July 1, 2020, Law360

July 2020, ILR Briefly

June 30, 2020, Bloomberg Law

Eric Mogilnicki spoke with Bloomberg Law about the Supreme Court’s case considering the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which has led to an examination of its past actions. Mr. Mogilnicki says the Supreme Court may have “opened Pandora’s box” that could allow companies to nullify enforcement actions and even regulations from when ...

June 30, 2020, Bloomberg Law

Anne Termine is quoted in Bloomberg Law regarding the increased credit risks within the global financial system due to the slow progress in replacing Libor. Ms. Termine says, “Libor was beautiful in its simplicity because you had one type of rate structured one way to be applied across multiple currencies. There are no easy answers.”

June 29, 2020, Covington Alert

On June 25, 2020, five federal financial regulators jointly issued a final rule that modifies existing regulations implementing the Volcker Rule’s general prohibition on banking entities investing in, sponsoring, or having certain relationships with hedge funds or private equity funds (collectively, “covered funds”). The substance of the final rule is largely ...

June 27, 2020

WASHINGTON—Covington represented Piramal Enterprises Limited (PEL) in the sale of a 20% stake in Piramal Pharma Limited (Piramal Pharma), a wholly owned subsidiary of PEL that will contain its pharmaceutical businesses, to CA Clover Intermediate II Investments, an affiliated entity of CAP V Mauritius Limited, an investment fund managed and advised by affiliated ...

June 25, 2020

WASHINGTON—The Women in Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF) has named Covington to its 2020 Gold Standard Certification list in both the United States and United Kingdom. This is the sixth year in which the firm has been recognized in the U.S. and the first for both countries. WILEF grants Gold Standard status to major law firms that meet objective criteria ...

June 24, 2020, Covington Alert

On June 22, 2020, in Liu v. SEC, the U.S. Supreme Court, by an 8-1 majority, upheld the SEC’s decades-old practice of seeking disgorgement of ill-gotten gains from securities law violators in civil enforcement actions filed in federal district court. The SEC’s victory, however, was tempered by the Court’s insistence that disgorgement must be strictly limited to ...

June 23, 2020, Covington Alert

As consumers rely more and more on the “independent” reviews of their peers in choosing products and services, advertisers need to remain vigilant that their role (if any) in disseminating such reviews is fairly disclosed, accurate and not misleading. The pitfalls in this area were recently illustrated by a pair of enforcement actions brought by the Federal ...

June 23, 2020, Covington Alert

On June 22, 2020, President Trump issued a proclamation titled “Proclamation Suspending Entry of Aliens Who Present a Risk to the U.S. Labor Market Following the Coronavirus Outbreak” (“June 22 Proclamation”). The June 22 Proclamation blocks the entry of foreign workers entering the United States on certain nonimmigrant visa categories, including H-1B, H-2B, ...

June 23, 2020, Law360

Gerald Hodgkins is quoted in Law360 regarding the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion in Liu v. SEC, which determined that the SEC can obtain disgorgement through enforcement actions in district courts as a form of equitable relief. Mr. Hodgkins says the regulator's current practice of seeking a tippee's profits from a tipper in insider trading cases likely won't fly ...

June 22, 2020, Covington Alert

On June 1, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced that he has submitted to the Office of Administrative Law the final regulations implementing the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”). While the final regulations do not make any changes to the second modified version of the regulations released in March, the commentary released by the Attorney ...

June 22, 2020, Covington Alert

Drug manufacturers have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by adopting critical measures to ensure continuity in their operations—continuity that is vital to safeguarding the global drug supply. In doing so, they have faced unprecedented challenges with regard to ensuring the health of their employees, preventing COVID-19 transmission at their facilities, and ...

June 22, 2020, Covington Alert

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, state and local lawmakers have implemented measures requiring financial institutions to provide relief to consumers, such as forbearance on loan payments or waiving fees. The OCC has released a bulletin reminding stakeholders that federally-chartered institutions generally are governed primarily by uniform federal standards ...

June 22, 2020, Bloomberg Law

Kayleigh Scalzo is quoted in Bloomberg Law regarding the decision by losing bidders for federal contracts  not to protest COVID-19 contract awards in court or before the agency responsible for ensuring contract integrity. According to Ms. Scalzo, staying on the good side of the federal agencies that many contractors have long-term relationships with may explain, ...

June 19, 2020, Washington Business Journal

June 18, 2020, Covington Alert

June 18, 2020, Law360

June 18, 2020

WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court of the United States, in a 5-4 ruling, struck down the Trump Administration’s attempt to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provides individuals who were brought to the U.S. as children the opportunity to live and work legally in United States. Covington has represented the University of ...

June 15, 2020, Politico

Miriam Guggenheim spoke with Politico about the proliferation of CBD retailers and manufacturers and the wave of recent class-action lawsuits. Ms. Guggenheim says, “It's an area of uncertainty. I do think this is an area where FDA has primary jurisdiction, and the courts should allow at least the questions of the legality of CBD or hemp extracts to be determined ...

June 12, 2020, Covington Advisory

Next week marks the four-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark False Claims Act (“FCA”) decision in Universal Health Services, Inc. v. Escobar, 136 S. Ct. 1989 (2016). In Escobar, the Court set a high bar for demonstrating the materiality of an alleged violation to the Government’s payment decision, declaring that “if the Government regularly pays a ...

June 11, 2020, Covington Alert

On May 20, 2020, the SEC adopted amendments to requirements for financial disclosures about acquired and disposed businesses. These rules have remained largely static for several decades, even as many other SEC rules and forms have undergone significant revisions in that time period. The amendments are intended to reduce the complexity and costs associated with ...

June 11, 2020, Law.com International

Witney Schneidman is quoted in Law.com International regarding the postponement of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) due to a concentration on limiting the spread of COVID-19. Mr. Schneidman says, “AfCFTA will give Africa more control over its own destiny, and accelerate economic growth.” Speaking on the cross-border impacts of AfCFTA, he adds, ...

June 10, 2020, Covington Alert

The COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating the digital transition and the adoption of artificial intelligence (“AI”) tools and Internet of Things (“IoT”) devices in many areas of society. While there has been significant focus on leveraging this technology to fight the pandemic, the technology also will have broader and longer-term benefits. As the New York Times has ...

June 10, 2020, Bloomberg

Samantha Clark spoke with Bloomberg about the threat to government contractors over the Huawei ban. Ms. Clark says, “It’s inevitable to find Huawei prevalent in systems across China, Europe, and Africa. Some companies that might sell products that eventually get bought by the U.S. government’s many links down the line don’t even realize just how much they are ...

June 9, 2020, Covington Alert

It has been publicly reported that discussions are underway within the Trump Administration for a coordinated interagency initiative to remove key industrial supply chain dependencies from overseas, especially China, and redouble efforts to secure such supply chains in the United States. While this initiative proceeds alongside ongoing efforts to secure supply ...

June 9, 2020, STAT News

Julie Dohm is quoted in STAT News regarding the FDA’s temporary policy allowing smaller pharmacies to make certain drugs for treating COVID-19 without first receiving a patient’s prescription for the drug. The condition for this new policy is that the pharmacies sell the drugs to a hospital that can prove it could not source the drugs from elsewhere. Ms. Dohm ...

June, 2020, Privacy & Cybersecurity Law Report

June 8, 2020, Covington Alert

On 23 March 2020 the UK government required all non-essential businesses to close their premises and the general public was advised to stay at home unless making essential journeys. This was made law on 25 March 2020 via the Coronavirus Act 2020, enforceable from 1 p.m. on 26 March 2020. Whilst some types of non-essential businesses have subsequently been ...

June 4, 2020, Law360

Karen Solomon spoke with Law360 about the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s push to speed up the digital transformation in banking. Ms. Solomon says, “Acting Comptroller Brooks has been a strong advocate for the use of technology in banking. This ANPR clearly places technology and innovation at the top of his agenda for the OCC.” The agency’s request ...

June 4, 2020, Med City News

Libbie Canter is quoted in Med City News regarding the privacy concerns for employers seeking to track employees in order to limit the spread of COVID-19. Ms. Canter says when it comes to contact tracing and location monitoring, companies should be cautious in the questions they ask and how much data they collect. She adds, “Companies need to think about not ...

June 3, 2020, Covington Alert

On May 27, 2020, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston ("FRBB") posted a number of documents that provide important additional details about its Main Street Lending Program ("MSLP"), including updated FAQs, new required agreements and forms, and new lender and borrower guides. The following summary highlights key FAQ changes and summarizes each of the new MSLP ...

June 2, 2020, Covington Alert

Increased attention has recently been given by both investors and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to promoting clear and comparable disclosures of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors. On May 21, the SEC's Investor Advisory Committee (Committee) debated and endorsed recommendations of the Investor as Owner Subcommittee that the SEC ...

June 1, 2020, Covington Alert

On May 19, 2020, President Trump issued an executive order to promote "Regulatory Relief to Support Economic Recovery." Noting the harmful effect COVID-19 has had on the American economy, the order directs federal agencies, including independent agencies such as the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, to take steps to ease burdens on regulated entities in ...

May 29, 2020, Covington Alert

In this update, we provide an overview of a number of recent international developments in the area of business and human rights ("BHR"). While public policy and corporate agendas have slowed in the past several months as a result of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been recent indications that key stakeholders—including governments, ...

May 29, 2020, Covington Alert

On May 27, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo certified to Congress pursuant to the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 that "Hong Kong does not continue to warrant treatment under United States laws in the same manner as U.S. laws were applied to Hong Kong before July 1997." In a statement, Secretary Pompeo attributed this action to the announced ...

May 28, 2020, American Banker

Jeremy Newell is quoted in the American Banker regarding the Federal Reserve’s plan to publish stress tests results of banks’ pre-coronavirus condition. According to Mr. Newell, “It could be that the Fed could take the sensitivity analysis, and if they saw results that were especially concerning for them, use that as the basis of individual engagement with a ...

May 27, 2020, Global Investigations Review

Anne Termine spoke with Global Investigations Review about the U.S. Commodities and Futures Trading Commission’s vow to recognize punishments issued by other agencies when calculating its own civil penalties. Ms. Termine says the new guidance lacked information about the technical aspect of penalty calculations, such as how investigators decide how many separate ...

May 26, 2020, Covington Alert

On May 20, 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”) issued a final rule overhauling its regulations implementing the Community Reinvestment Act (the “CRA”). The CRA, enacted in 1977, incentivizes banks to meet the credit needs of their entire communities, including low- and moderate-income (“LMI”) neighborhoods. The final rule makes the ...

May 26, 2020, STAT News

Thomas Cosgrove is quoted in STAT News regarding the cost for U.S. pharmaceutical companies to produce drugs domestically. Mr. Cosgrove says, “What would it take the supply chain to come all the way back to the U.S.? It’s simple: It will take decades and billions.”

May 26, 2020, SHRM

Carolyn Rashby spoke with SHRM about the decisions companies will have to make when employees are fearful of entering the office due to COVID-19 concerns. Ms. Rashby says after decisions about who can and can't work remotely are made and communicated, disciplining or firing employees who refuse to come in out of a generalized fear likely is permissible in many ...

May 26, 2020, National Defense

May 26, 2020, Covington Alert

On May 22, 2020, FDA issued a temporary policy permitting manufacturers to use existing labels even if they need to make minor ingredient changes due to supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 public health emergency. Limited shortages and other disruptions in the supply of food ingredients have already occurred, and manufacturers may experience ...

May 26, 2020, Covington Alert

As we reported in our prior client advisory on the wave of investigations to follow the pandemic, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act established three new bodies to conduct oversight and investigations on pandemic-related issues. Separately, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a special committee to conduct additional ...

May 22, 2020, Society of Actuaries

May 22, 2020, Covington Alert

Today, May 22, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) issued an important no-action letter template in response to an application by the Bank Policy Institute (“BPI”), which could serve as the basis for no-action letter applications by BPI members and other deposit-taking institutions that wish to offer a standardized, small-dollar credit product as ...

May 22, 2020, Covington Alert

Earlier this week, FDA and USDA issued a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) establishing how the two agencies will communicate and collaborate with respect to the potential invocation of the Defense Production Act (“DPA”). The agreement outlines how the agencies will determine whether USDA will exercise its presidentially-delegated DPA authorities over ...

May 21, 2020, Covington Alert

Slack-fill class actions have been proliferating. The vagaries of the definition of “nonfunctional slack fill” have made food, candy, and cosmetics manufacturers easy prey. But after the Second Circuit’s May 11 decision in Critcher v. L’Oréal USA Inc., slack-fill claims against cosmetics manufacturers will be harder to bring. Courts are now more likely to find ...

May 21, 2020, Covington Alert

On May 21, 2020, the Department of the Treasury, as chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”), published in the Federal Register a proposed rule (the “Proposed Rule”) that would amend the requirements to file with CFIUS certain transactions involving U.S. businesses that produce, design, test, manufacture, fabricate, or develop ...

May 21, 2020, Covington Alert

On May 19, OSHA issued updated guidance reinstating employers’ obligations to record work-related COVID-19 cases. The guidance takes effect May 26. OSHA had previously suspended this obligation for most employers in an April 10 enforcement discretion document, but advocates for both employers and employees have recently pressed for more robust guidance from OSHA ...

May 21, 2020, Covington Alert

On May 20, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (collectively, the “agencies”) issued interagency principles (the “Lending Principles”) to encourage supervised banks, savings associations, and credit unions ...

May 20, 2020, Covington Alert

Last week, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the United States Department of Agriculture, through the Deputy Administrator for Animal Care (Animal Care), published its final revised regulations for licensing dealers, exhibitors, and operators of auction sales under the Animal Welfare Act, 7 U.S.C. §§ 2131, et seq. (AWA). The revised ...

May 20, 2020

NEW YORK—Latinvex has named Covington lawyers Nicole Duclos, Rubén Kraiem, Miguel López Forastier, and Gabriel Mesa among its list of Latin America’s Top 100 Lawyers. Ms. Duclos represents clients in international commercial and investment arbitration, as well as transnational litigation.  According to the publication, “Nicole Duclos is a skilled practitioner ...

May 20, 2020, Law360

Randy Benjenk spoke with Law360 about the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s overhaul of bank regulations of lending to low-income and underserved communities. The rulemaking document still leaves some open questions, including what specific numerical thresholds and benchmarks banks will be judged against under the revised grading methodology. Mr. ...

May 20, 2020, Bloomberg Law

Randy Benjenk is quoted in Bloomberg Law regarding new anti-redlining rules from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Mr. Benjenk says the OCC’s plans to assess new data as banks are still complying with existing CRA rules is going to create problems for the industry and the agency’s examiners. He adds, “CRA personnel are going to have to be doing many ...

May 20, 2020, Financial Times

Christopher Hanson is quoted in the Financial Times regarding the private sector’s undertaking of COVID-19 testing for its employees. Mr. Hanson notes that diagnostic testing “presents an array of regulatory considerations” in the U.S., such as checking whether a test has been approved by regulators. He says that even in the U.S. “the landscape is changing ...

May 19, 2020, Covington Alert

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS” or the “Committee”) released its Annual Report to Congress regarding foreign acquisitions of, and investments in, U.S. businesses reviewed by CFIUS in 2018. The Committee also released a table reflecting data on the total number of formal reviews (not declarations) in 2019.

Updated July 2019, Covington Guide

In 1938, Congress enacted the Foreign Agents Registration Act ("FARA"), requiring "foreign agents" to register with the Attorney General. As amended over the years, it applies broadly to anyone who acts on behalf of a "foreign principal" to, among other things, influence U.S. policy or public opinion. Until recently, it was a backwater of American law—and a ...

May 19, 2020, Law.com

Daniel Suleiman spoke with Law.com about the U.S. Treasury Secretary’s warning to companies improperly tapping into pandemic relief loans meant for struggling small businesses. Mr. Suleiman says, “There is a lot of public scrutiny on this program right now, in particular on public companies and others who accepted these loans. And that can sometimes drive ...

May 19, 2020

WASHINGTON —Marlene Aquino has joined Covington as its Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer. Ms. Aquino will serve as Covington’s most senior administrative officer for diversity and inclusion and work closely with the leaders of the firm’s Diversity & Inclusion Initiatives and the Management Committee in setting and implementing the firm’s strategic plans and ...

May 18, 2020, Covington Alert

On May 11, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) issued new guidance on the development of drugs and biologics to treat or prevent COVID-19: COVID-19 Public Health Emergency: General Considerations for Pre-IND Meeting Requests for COVID-19 Related Drugs and Biological Products (“Pre-IND Guidance”) and COVID-19: Developing Drugs and Biological ...

May 18, 2020, Covington Alert

Businesses are developing plans for reopening workplaces. As they do, many employers are considering ways to determine which employees can safely return to the workplace, and what protective equipment should be provided to employees once they return. In both the United States and European Union, many of the products used in these strategies are regulated as ...

May 18, 2020, Law360

Daniel Suleiman and Amanda Kramer spoke with Law360 about the safe harbor deadline established by the Small Business Administration for companies that may have improperly taken out loans through the Paycheck Protection Program. According to Mr. Suleiman, since SBA’s announcement that companies with substantial market value will not meet the required ...

May 17, 2020, Kyiv Post

May 15, 2020, Covington Alert

On May 7, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) announced that it had finalized the Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2021 (“2021 NBPP Final Rule”). The final rule, which will go into effect on July 13, 2020, expressly allows certain health plans to determine, to the extent permitted by state law, whether to count pharmaceutical ...

May 14, 2020, Covington Alert

The SEC and its staff continue to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic by providing public companies and other filers with relief from certain reporting requirements, as well as rule amendments. Recently, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance (the “Division”) issued several frequently asked questions (“FAQs”) relating to the SEC’s March 25, 2020 Order that ...

May 14, 2020, Covington Alert

On May 7, 2020, the First Circuit handed down Lee v. Conagra Brands, Inc., which reinstates a previously-dismissed complaint alleging that Wesson Oil labeled “100% Natural” is plausibly misbranded because it contains corn oil made with GMOs. Until now, GMO class actions have had a mixed reception in the district courts. Lee is the first circuit court decision to ...

May 14, 2020, Covington Alert

The recently-enacted Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) added new section 506J to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA). This section requires manufacturers of certain devices to notify FDA of an interruption or permanent discontinuance in manufacturing during, or in advance of, a declared public health emergency. On May 6, ...

May 13, 2020, Covington Alert

Last month, we highlighted congressional efforts to ensure that Congress is able to continue conducting the business of the American people during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. After weeks of halting progress, those efforts took an important step forward this morning with the release of a proposed resolution that would temporarily modify the House rules to enable ...

May 13, 2020, The National Law Journal

Beth Brinkmann spoke with The National Law Journal about the historic U.S. Supreme Court teleconference arguments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ms. Brinkmann says, “The participation by Justice Thomas is a real benefit of the phone format. His questions to the advocates allow them the opportunity to address his concerns. It also means that the conversation can ...

May 13, 2020, Law360

May 13, 2020, Roll Call

David Martin spoke with Roll Call about the success of companies that consider environmental, social, and governance issues in their business models through the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Martin says, “The pandemic is causing companies to ask and answer questions which ESG, in some areas at least, has already been asking. What is your ability to cope with a broader ...

May 12, 2020, Covington Alert

So-called "pay-to-play" rules can be a source of substantial anxiety for companies and investment firms doing business with state or local governments. Due to these pay-to-play rules, the personal political contributions of company executives, directors, employees, and even family members of employees can cause their investment firm employers to lose millions of ...

May 12, 2020, Global Data Review

Libbie Canter is quoted in Global Data Review regarding a bill that would regulate contact-tracing apps and similar projects geared towards tracking the spread of COVID-19. Ms. Canter says the bill is narrow in scope, but where it does apply, the protections are stronger than those offered by state laws like the CCPA. She raises questions about how the bill ...

May 11, 2020, The Wall Street Journal

Lindsay Burke is quoted in The Wall Street Journal regarding the actions employers can take when asking employees to return to work during the COVID-19 pandemic. When addressing the concerns of an employee who is nervous to commute to work, Ms. Burke says, “If you are able to work from home, ask to do so. If you are considered a vulnerable individual or have an ...

May 11, 2020, American Banker

Jeremy Newell is quoted in the American Banker regarding the Federal Reserve’s management of middle-market loan relief. Mr. Newell says the Main Street Lending Program is “just fundamentally different than anything the Fed has ever undertaken in its other emergency liquidity facilities” and likely requires more time to make sure all processes are in place. He ...

May 7, 2020, Covington Alert

The Commerce Department on May 4, 2020, announced a new investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, this time examining whether “laminations for stacked cores for incorporation into transformers, stacked and wound cores for incorporation into transformers, electrical transformers, and transformer regulators are being imported into the ...

May 7, 2020, Covington Alert

In response to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, Nasdaq has adopted temporary relief through June 30, 2020 from shareholder approval requirements pertaining to the so-called “20% rule.” The relief is effective immediately and intended to give Nasdaq-listed companies additional flexibility to raise capital through private placements in situations where ...

May 6, 2020, Covington Alert

On May 1, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on “Securing the United States Bulk-Power System” (the “Order”) that gives the Department of Energy new authorities to block or mitigate certain transactions involving bulk-power system electric equipment designed, developed, manufactured or supplied by a “foreign adversary” based on national security ...

May 6, 2020, Covington Alert

On April 29, 2020, in a webinar hosted by the European Parliament’s Responsible Business Conduct Working Group, EU Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders announced that the European Commission (the “Commission”) will move swiftly to introduce regulation on mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence for companies, with its legislative proposal to ...

May 5, 2020, Covington Alert

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently published a Guidance for Industry, Exemption and Exclusion from Certain Requirements of the Drug Supply Chain Security Act During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (Guidance), to (1) clarify the applicability of the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) to certain distribution activities, and (2) ...

May 5, 2020, Agence France-Presse

Lindsay Burke spoke with Agence France-Presse about the lawsuits U.S. businesses may face from employees who contract COVID-19 while at work. Ms. Burke says companies should follow government guidelines to protect themselves legally as they bring employees back into the workplace. “We are generally advising employers to resume on-site operations in a voluntary ...

May 5, 2020, Law360

May 4, 2020, Covington Alert

In recent weeks, plaintiffs’ law firms that do not specialize in insurance coverage have filed requests to consolidate coronavirus-related insurance lawsuits into a single, federal multi-district litigation (MDL) proceeding, or into state or federal court class actions. The premise of these efforts is that coronavirus-related property and business interruption ...

May 4, 2020, Covingotn Alert

Since Covington’s last client alert on developments for the food industry during the COVID-19 public health crisis, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) have posted a number of updates of interest to the industry. Additionally, President Trump has issued an Executive Order ...

May 4, 2020, Covington Alert

On May 4, 2020, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (the “FRBNY”) released an updated series of Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”) regarding two of the Federal Reserve’s liquidity facilities established to provide financial assistance to businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic: the Primary Market Corporate Credit Facility (“PMCCF”) and the Secondary ...

May 4, 2020

WASHINGTON—For the third consecutive year, The National Law Journal has named Covington to its “Pro Bono Hot List.” The law firms appearing on the 2020 Pro Bono Hot List were recognized for taking on “some of the biggest issues of our time.” In its profile of the firm, The National Law Journal highlights Covington’s Pro Bono efforts in two significant matters. ...

May 1, 2020, American Banker

Karen Solomon is quoted in the American Banker regarding the potential emergence of fully remote bank exams. Ms. Solomon says, “The agencies can’t just pick up where the old schedule left off by the time the pandemic winds down. It’s going to take some time to catch up. This is uncharted territory."

April 30, 2020, Covington Alert

This Alert discusses relevant mechanisms and cross-border trends in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in the pharmaceutical sector. It focuses on international developments and does not consider the many initiatives and activities that are taking place at the national or local level.

April 30, 2020, Covington Alert

Poison prevention has been one of several top priorities of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”) during the COVID-19 pandemic. President Trump’s recent speculation about the ingestion of disinfectants as a potential COVID-19 treatment prompted the agency to tweet an urgent safety warning the following day, and product manufacturers have issued ...

April 30, 2020, Covington Alert

As the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic spreads through every industry, companies that previously steered clear of Washington, D.C. may find themselves contacting the federal government for assistance. From communicating with Members of Congress about potential provisions of the CARES Act to requesting new forms of assistance from federal agencies that oversee ...

April 29, 2020, Daily Journal

April 29, 2020, Covington Alert

As states grapple with the effects of the COVID-19 crisis, many have opted to make changes to campaign finance and lobbying reporting due dates and filing procedures. Covington has assembled a chart of changes to state campaign finance and lobbying filing schedules that states have announced as of last week.

April 29, 2020, Covington Alert

April 29, 2020, Roll Call

David Martin is quoted in Roll Call regarding the lasting effects of coronavirus on corporate annual meetings. Mr. Martin says, “I think this year’s experience will be a real needle-mover.” He also notes that  virtual meetings also have smaller carbon footprints, an impact about which some investors are increasingly concerned. Ultimately, how big of a shift ...

April 29, 2020, The Wall Street Journal

Benedict Lenhart spoke with The Wall Street Journal about the lawsuits filed by policyholders suing their property insurers to pay coronavirus-related claims. Mr. Lenhart says with the mounting litigation, “it could be the battle of epidemiologists” over the presence of COVID-19, including contamination on surfaces and the duration of the contamination.

April 29, 2020, Covington Alert

The day we have all been expecting has finally come — CFIUS filing fees are going into effect on May 1, 2020. As discussed in our earlier alert, on March 4, 2020, the Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) issued a proposed rule regarding CFIUS filing fees, which were authorized under the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (“FIRRMA”). ...

April 29, 2020, Covington Alert

On April 28, 2020, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) published two final rules and one proposed rule to modify certain license exceptions and definitions in the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) (15 CFR Parts 730 – 774), based on concern that sensitive products and technologies were being diverted to military uses ...

April 27, 2020, Covington Alert

Since Covington’s last client alert on developments for the food industry during the COVID-19 public health crisis, FDA and USDA have posted a number of updates of interest to the industry.

April 27, 2020, Bloomberg Law

April 27, 2020, Law360

Michael Lloyd is quoted in Law360 regarding the implications of EU data protection laws on the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act’s requirements. Mr. Lloyd says there has been very little, if any, traction for cases against FATCA in the U.S. He adds, “Those cases went nowhere in the U.S. They didn’t survive and there has been no real challenge.”

April 27, 2020, The Wall Street Journal

Lindsay Burke spoke with The Wall Street Journal about the incentives companies can offer to employees returning to work. Ms. Burke says, “Extremely large companies might offer to subsidize people's purchases of private vehicles or subsidize rental cars.”

April 27, 2020, The Wall Street Journal

Yan Luo is quoted in The Wall Street Journal regarding China’s tough, new adoption of  cybersecurity rules for buyers of technology equipment, which could place foreign tech products at a disadvantage in the Chinese market. Ms. Luo says the prospect of potentially lengthy reviews may prompt Chinese companies to stay away from foreign products and services.

April 27, 2020, Covington Alert

Whether a company is an essential business or is expecting to reopen in the coming weeks, a number of challenges must be addressed in order to provide a safe environment in which employees can work, while at the same time mitigating risk and restoring operations. Generally speaking, employees can be required to come to the workplace, but this general rule must ...

April 24, 2020, Law360

Ronald Dove spoke with Law360 about the potential increase in trademark litigation cases following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Mr. Dove says, “An accidental infringement by a small mom-and-pop business is not likely to lead to an award of profits and financial ruin. But a willful or reckless disregard of preexisting trademark rights will now more readily be ...

April 23, 2020, Covington Alert

As the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) is about to re-open following passage of a bill that will provide additional $310 billion in funds to the program (including funds reserved for loans by certain small and mid-sized lenders), the rules of the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) that prohibit or restrict loans to the small business ventures of bank ...

April 23, 2020, Covington Alert

On April 22, 2020, President Trump issued a proclamation titled “Proclamation Suspending Entry of Immigrants Who Present Risk to the U.S. Labor Market During the Economic Recovery Following the COVID-19 Outbreak” (the “Proclamation”). The Proclamation prohibits, for 60 days beginning on April 23, 2020, individuals who are currently outside the United States from ...

April 23, 2020, Financial Times

Lindsay Burke and Carolyn Rashby spoke with the Financial Times about the request from U.S. businesses that seek a shield from litigation if they expose employees to COVID-19 after calling them back to work. Both Ms. Rashby and Ms. Burke note that the firm’s employment practice has been flooded with questions about how employers could minimize their legal risks ...

April 23, 2020, Fortune

Robert Kelner spoke with Fortune about the recent allegations of politicians committing insider trading and the implications under the STOCK Act. Mr. Kelner says, “Prior to the STOCK Act, it was a source of controversy whether the existing securities laws applied to members of Congress.” He points to “carve-outs” in Section 10 of the STOCK Act that, while not ...

April 23, 2020, Daily Journal

Wade Ackerman and Scott Danzis spoke with the Daily Journal about their work with clients on emergency use authorization (EUA) requests. Mr. Ackerman says of the firm, “One of the things I appreciate about being in California, but also part of this firm that’s deeply connected with D.C., is that we have connectivity with what’s going on at FDA and on the ...

April 23, 2020, Bloomberg Law

Carolyn Rashby is quoted in Bloomberg Law regarding the increase of “work sharing,” a tool that lets employees tap into jobless benefits when their hours are reduced, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ms. Rashby says, “Having an option to keep people employed at some reduced percentage of their hours and pay but having that option to quickly say, ‘OK we’re ready to ...

April 23, 2020, Bloomberg Law

Thomas Brugato spoke with Bloomberg Law about the EPA’s warning to e-commerce platforms that they were being used to sell disinfectants that fraudulently claim to fight the coronavirus. Mr. Brugato says, “It’s been the case for some time that online sellers of pesticides are responsible for insuring compliance with the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and ...

April 2020, Covington Alert

This is a playbook for a virtual meeting of shareholders of a public company, with a particular focus on the unique situation facing companies due to the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. It includes answers to questions that companies may have in deciding upon and planning for such a meeting.

April 22, 2020, Covington Alert

On March 30, 2020, CMS announced that, in light of the coronavirus pandemic, it would be waiving several Medicare reimbursement regulations to permit reimbursement to providers treating patients remotely, consistent with current social distancing guidelines, and would be allowing providers to receive reimbursement for Medicare Part B drugs that are administered ...

April 22, 2020, Covington Alert

Whether a company is an essential business or is expecting to reopen in the coming weeks, a number of challenges must be addressed in order to provide a safe environment in which employees can work, while at the same time mitigating risk and restoring operations. Generally speaking, employees can be required to come to the workplace, but this general rule must ...

April 22, 2020

WASHINGTON—Covington represented satellite provider Ligado Networks in its successful application for rights to deploy 5G services over its mid-band spectrum. On April 22, the full Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a unanimous decision approving Ligado’s application, finding that it will advance economic and security interests nationwide. The ...

April 22, 2020, Bloomberg Law

Muftiah McCartin spoke with Bloomberg Law about lobbying efforts in first quarter of 2020. Ms. McCartin says she thought the action this year would be Democrats teeing up priorities for 2021, including legislation addressing climate change, infrastructure spending and drug pricing. “Now we are just dealing with keeping our head above water! We had no idea then ...

April 21, 2020, Covington Alert

Since Covington’s last client alert on substantive FDA developments for the food industry during the COVID-19 public health crisis, the agency has posted a number of updates of interest to the industry.

April 21, 2020, Covington Alert

Whether a company is an essential business or is expecting to reopen its doors in the coming weeks, a number of challenges must be addressed in order to provide a safe environment in which employees can work, while at the same time mitigating risk and restoring operations. Generally speaking, employees can be required to come to work, but this general rule must ...

April 21, 2020, Law360

Muftiah McCartin is quoted in Law360 regarding COVID-19’s impact on federal lobbying efforts in the first quarter of 2020. Ms. McCartin says, “We had no idea then how hectic it would be as companies across industries are now facing an economic crisis that demands federal attention, and will continue to demand attention through the end of the year, both on the ...

April 21, 2020, Bloomberg Law

Lindsay Burke and Carolyn Rashby spoke with Bloomberg Law about the uphill battle employees who contract COVID-19 on the job may face if they choose to sue their employer. Ms. Burke says, “We’re in territory we haven’t seen before. We are looking at a whole lot of different legal risks and issues. It’s not clear how they will play out. Traditionally an illness ...

April 20, 2020, Covington Alert

In response to ongoing requests for tariff relief from importers facing economic hardship during the COVID-19 crisis as well as pressure from Congress, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury released a joint temporary final rule on April 19, 2020, that provides importers with an option to delay the payment of certain ...

April 17, 2020, Covington Alert

Whether a company is an essential business or is expecting to reopen its doors in the coming weeks, a number of challenges must be addressed in order to provide a safe environment in which employees can work, while at the same time mitigating risk and restoring operations. Generally speaking, employees can be required to come to work, but this general rule must ...

April 16, 2020, Covington Alert

The leading proxy advisory firms, Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. and Glass, Lewis & Co., recently published their approaches on key governance topics facing public companies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Generally, both firms seek to balance flexibility in responding to current circumstances against established corporate governance policies.

April 16, 2020, Bloomberg Law

April 16, 2020, Covington Alert

Whether a company is an essential business or is expecting to reopen in the coming weeks, a number of challenges must be addressed in order to provide a safe environment in which employees can work, while at the same time mitigating risk and restoring operations. Generally speaking, employees can be required to come to work, but this general rule must be ...

April 14, 2020, Covington Alert

The Department of Justice Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition issued another reminder yesterday that the COVID-19 pandemic does not exempt companies from complying with federal antitrust laws. The agencies’ latest statement focuses on the labor force and emphasizes the agencies’ intent to protect workers responding to the ...

April 14, 2020, Covington Alert

The CARES Act established a $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) that authorizes participating lenders to make federally-guaranteed loans to small businesses as part of Congress’s COVID-19 relief effort. Just days after lenders began accepting PPP applications, lawsuits were already being filed challenging how lenders administer the PPP. In Profiles, ...

April 14, 2020, Law360

Amanda Kramer and Gerald Hodgkins were quoted in Law360 regarding the potential fraud schemes that may be exposed  during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ms. Kramer says, “Ponzi schemes are often discovered when investors seek to redeem their investments and learn that the money's not there. As we saw in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, a loss of confidence in the ...

April 13, 2020, Managing IP

In Managing IP, Gary Rubman offered litigation tips and advice to lawyers tasked with educating judges in patent cases in less patent-popular courts. Mr. Rubman says lawyers might have to take more time to go over certain technical issues with less experienced judges. He adds, “Sometimes you have to more fully explain concepts that might be better understood by ...

April 9, 2020, Covington Alert

The SEC and its staff have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by providing public companies and other filers affected by the pandemic with relief from certain reporting requirements, as well as helpful disclosure guidance.

April 9, 2020, Covington Alert

Today, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve announced the creation of four new liquidity facilities and the expansion of three previously announced liquidity facilities to provide credit to borrowers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Whereas the previously announced programs primarily targeted certain financial markets and their participants (such as ...

April 8, 2020, Covington Alert

As the world moves online during the COVID-19 pandemic, companies’ privacy and security practices are coming under increased scrutiny. Because class actions often follow such scrutiny, as demonstrated by lawsuits recently filed against Google and Zoom, companies should keep the following six developments on their radar as they rush to meet the demands of our new ...

April 8, 2020, Covington Alert

On Saturday, April 4, 2020, the White House released the long-awaited Executive Order (“EO”) formalizing the “Team Telecom” Process, titled the “Executive Order on Establishing the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the United States Telecommunications Services Sector” (“the Committee”). This EO provides, for the first time, formal ...

April 8, 2020, Covington Alert

Employers are facing new challenges in responding to COVID-19 and its implications for their workplaces in the United States. The checklist below will assist in thinking through the issues most likely to need attention in the immediate future. Information, agency guidance, and potential responses to COVID-19 are changing rapidly. This checklist was last updated ...

April 7, 2020, Covington Alert

Boards of directors, compensation committees and executive officers have begun to confront the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their compensation programs. This alert highlights key considerations for public companies as they make important decisions regarding these programs.

April 7, 2020, Covington Alert

The Federal Trade Commission has traditionally responded forcefully to public health and economic crises, and it is doing so again in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The current crisis does present some additional complications, however, because of its impact on the operations of the agency itself. Three particular aspects of the FTC’s consumer ...

April 7, 2020, Covington Alert

Ninety-five percent of employing businesses in the United States are small businesses. As we discussed in detail here, the CARES Act seeks to support small businesses through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), in addition to other Small Business Administration (SBA) efforts involving the Emergency Advance: SBA ...

April 7, 2020, Corporate Counsel

David Fagan is quoted in Corporate Counsel regarding the impact of coronavirus on CFIUS. Mr. Fagan says, “It is not that CFIUS is closed, but there is an impact on CFIUS too, and you have to factor that into your planning.” He adds that the increasing delays mean that parties that proceed to close a transaction on the basis of a “no action” to a declaration ...

April 6, 2020

WASHINGTON—Stacey Grigsby has joined Covington as a partner in its Commercial Litigation Practice in Washington. Ms. Grigsby is a stand-up trial lawyer who has drawn upon her experience in the private and public sector to get successful results for clients. She has served as a principal attorney in numerous bench and jury cases involving high stakes disputes in ...

April 6, 2020, Covington Alert

On March 24, 2020, the CFTC unanimously voted to adopt final interpretive guidance on when “actual delivery” of retail commodity transactions in virtual currencies occurs within the meaning of Section 2(c)(2)(D) of the Commodities Exchange Act, making them eligible to meet the exception from regulation as a futures contract. The CFTC previously published ...

April 6, 2020, Law360

April 6, 2020, Financial Times

Ben Lenhart is quoted in the Financial Times regarding the conflict between insurance companies and policyholders over losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Lenhart says of the possible exceptions, “We do believe that there is coverage. We disagree strongly with the view that it is generally excluded."

April 6, 2020, Covington Alert

As the coronavirus pandemic continues across the country, many corporations, organizations, and individuals are looking for ways they can help fight back. This often includes donating money, goods, or services to federal, state, or local government entities. These well-intentioned donations can generate compliance problems if not handled appropriately from the ...

April 5, 2020, Covington Alert

On March 27, 2020, Congress passed and the President signed into law H.R. 748, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the CARES Act). Recognizing the critical supply chain risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress included multiple provisions in the CARES Act that aim to mitigate and prevent future medical product shortages (these ...

April 3, 2020, Covington Alert

COVID-19 (hereinafter, “the coronavirus”) is causing significant interruptions to the legal system across the United States, with implications for actual and potential subjects in government investigations and defendants in enforcement actions. This client advisory analyzes the pandemic’s potential effects on the default statute of limitations for federal crimes ...

April 2, 2020, Covington Alert

On March 18, 2020, the President invoked a portion of the Defense Production Act, 50 U.S.C. §§ 4501 et seq., (the “DPA”), in order to address shortages of personal protective equipment and ventilators needed to treat patients affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

April 2, 2020, Covington Alert

When an executive officer or director becomes seriously ill, including due to COVID-19, U.S. public companies and foreign private issuers must consider their disclosure obligations as well as governance and other key topics. This alert discusses these considerations.

April 2, 2020, Covington Alert

On March 27, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) updated its guidance entitled “FDA Guidance on Conduct of Clinical Trials of Medical Products during COVID-19 Pandemic” (Updated Guidance).

April 2, 2020, Covington Alert

The U.S. Department of Commerce (“Commerce”) recently published a new rule which makes it much more likely that the agency will investigate currency undervaluation as a countervailable subsidy. The new rule applies to countervailing duty (“CVD”) investigations or administrative reviews initiated on or after April 6, 2020. Under this new rule, Commerce could ...

April 1, 2020, Risk Management

April 1, 2020

LONDON—Covington represented Sitryx on an exclusive global licensing and research collaboration with Eli Lilly and Company. The collaboration will study up to four novel preclinical targets identified by Sitryx that could lead to potential new medicines for autoimmune diseases. Under the terms of the agreement, Sitryx will receive an upfront payment of $50 ...

April 1, 2020, Covington Alert

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act opens up new Small Business Administration (SBA) loan opportunities to support many companies and nonprofit organizations with 500 or fewer employees.

April 2020, Privacy Laws & Business

April 2020, Briefing Papers

April 2020, The Life Sciences Law Review - Edition 8

April 1, 2020, Covington Alert

The scope and scale of recent events is almost inconceivable. All of us —including the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) — are sailing in uncharted waters. That said, while we may not have all of the answers, we are able to share some insights from the CFIUS front lines regarding how the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic ...

April 2020, The Banking Law Journal

April 1, 2020, Covington Alert

This e-alert is part of a series of e-alerts summarizing publicly available FDA enforcement letters (i.e., warning letters and untitled letters) relating to the advertising and promotion of prescription drugs, medical devices, and biologics.

April 1, 2020

WASHINGTON—The National Law Journal has named Covington's John Hurvitz to its list of “Healthcare and Life Sciences Trailblazers.” This list features 26 honorees who are recognized as “agents of change” whose work has advanced innovation in the health care and life sciences industries. Mr. Hurvitz co-chairs C&B's Life Sciences Industry Group, heads the firm's ...

April 1, 2020, Bloomberg Law

Thomas Brugato is quoted in Bloomberg Law regarding the EPA’s increased enforcement measures against products making unproven antiviral or disinfectant claims in light of the coronavirus pandemic. Mr. Brugato says, “This is the tip of the iceberg. I think we’ll definitely see more cases like this.” He adds that given the clear public health implication of the ...

March 31, 2020, Covington Alert

On March 30, 2020, the inspectors general of several major agencies selected the Department of Defense Inspector General, Glenn Fine, to lead a newly created federal oversight entity that will investigate waste, fraud, and abuse in connection with the massive new coronavirus economic relief legislation. The inspectors general were exercising new authority ...

March 30, 2020, Covington Alert

On March 28, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) updated its March 19, 2020 “Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce” advisory list. These updates largely focus on clarifying which workers CISA considers to be essential, which may be helpful for the human and animal food industries. At the same ...

March 30, 2020, Covington Alert

On Friday, March 27, 2020, FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) issued a Fact Sheet on “Safely Distributing Unused Human Food for Animal Food Use During COVID-19.” The advisory accompanying the Fact Sheet explains that because of COVID-19-associated restrictions on in-store dining, certain businesses may have surplus food that, if not usable for human ...

March 30, 2020, Covington Alert

Since the last financial crisis, the commercial real estate industry has accumulated vast amounts of debt. By one account, there is currently more than $3.6 trillion in mortgage debt secured by commercial and multi-family residential properties. Much of this debt is held by real estate investment trusts (“REITs”), in the form of commercial mortgage-backed ...

March 30, 2020, Covington Alert

On Friday, March 27, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released updated guidance to ensure that drug manufacturers notify FDA as soon as possible of potential interruptions in manufacturing that could lead to drug shortages. The Guidance, titled “Notifying FDA of a Permanent Discontinuance or Interruption in Manufacturing Under Section 506C of ...

March 29, 2020, Covington Alert

Medical device manufacturers are facing numerous novel legal, regulatory, and commercial issues as a result of the evolving COVID-19 public health emergency. This slide presentation addresses key regulatory considerations for medical device companies seeking to supply products that are in critical need, including the Emergency Use Authorization pathway and other ...

March 27, 2020, Covington Alert

As numerous restaurants have shut down or limited their service in response to state and local public health orders, many food manufacturers and foodservice distributors have excess inventory on hand that is labeled for use in restaurants, but not for retail sale. Yesterday, in response to industry requests for labeling flexibility in order to shift such ...

March 27, 2020, Federal Computer Week

Susan Cassidy spoke with Federal Computer Week about the concerns of defense contractors under the coronavirus relief package. According to Ms. Cassidy, equitable adjustments aren't necessarily a guarantee and require a mutual agreement between the contractor and government as well as quantifiable proof the costs have increased due to the changing environment ...

March 27, 2020, American Banker

Jeremy Newell spoke with the American Banker to discuss the new coronavirus stimulus package that includes language allowing lenders that have already implemented the Current Expected Credit Losses to delay compliance until the end of the national emergency. According to Mr. Newell, while two and a half years seems like a long time, their impending conversion ...

March 27, 2020, Covington Alert

On March 27, 2020, Congress passed H.R. 748, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”). Subtitle F of the CARES Act would significantly change FDA’s regulations of over-the-counter (OTC) monograph drugs subject to OTC Drug Review. Congress had introduced earlier versions of the bill, with the latest bill, S. 2740 – Over-the-Counter ...

March 27, 2020, Law360

Brian Rosenzweig is quoted in Law360 regarding the effects of coronavirus on startup business funding. Mr. Rosenzweig says, "There will still be [funding] opportunities, but it will be more competitive.”

March 27, 2020, Covington Alert

While Board duties remain unchanged in a crisis situation such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the role of a board of directors continues to be one of oversight, the disruption and dislocation resulting from the pandemic warrants greater and more frequent coordination between boards of directors and management teams which have responsibility for day-to-day ...

March 26, 2020

WASHINGTON—Managing IP recognized Covington with two “Impact Case of the Year” awards at its 2020 Americas Awards. The Managing IP awards program recognizes remarkable achievements and developments in the past 12 months. Managing IP recognized Covington for representing Return Mail, Inc. in its victory in the U.S. Supreme Court establishing that a federal agency ...

March 26, 2020, Covington Alert

When consumers use their credit cards to purchase goods or services that they never receive, the Fair Credit Billing Act gives consumers the right to dispute the charge directly with their credit card issuer. As merchants cancel orders and reservations in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis, creditors should prepare themselves for a dramatic increase in consumers ...

March 26, 2020, Covington Alert

Companies incorporated in the United States are required to hold annual shareholder meetings. These meetings have traditionally been held at a physical location, sometimes with the option to participate remotely. In recent years, however, some public companies have adopted virtual-only annual shareholder meetings. Due to growing concerns around the global ...

March 26, 2020, Bloomberg Law

March 26, 2020, Law360

March 26, 2020, Covington Alert

Due to the ongoing pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus and COVID-19, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) has issued guidance for broadcasters regarding the clarification or relaxation of certain rules, including recent guidance on calculation of lowest unit charge and on local sharing agreements. These actions are intended to help stations respond ...

March 25, 2020, Covington Alert

In light of the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act ("FFCRA") and New York State’s sick leave law, both of which were signed on March 18, 2020, many New York employers will need to be prepared to comply with their new federal and state sick leave obligations to employees impacted by COVID-19. As discussed in a prior client alert, the FFCRA requires ...

March 25, 2020, Covington Alert

Piracy has long been a problem in America, although modern day pirates of intellectual property bear little resemblance to their old-school counterparts sailing along the Caribbean and the American coast. Yet in a ruling on Monday, March 23, the Supreme Court tied together the legacies of those two very different types of pirates: modern-day state governments ...

March 25, 2020, Covington Alert

The U.S. Congress appears close to finalizing the scale and scope of stimulus legislation to address the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although its final shape remains uncertain, it is highly likely to provide for one or more lending programs, loan guaranty programs, and other financing programs administered by the federal government to direct ...

March 25, 2020

WASHINGTON—India Business Law Journal has named Ralph Voltmer to its 2020 “International A-list.” The list consists of the world’s top 100 India-focused lawyers at international law firms. Mr. Voltmer, chair of Covington’s India Practice and a partner in the firm’s corporate group, has been active in India for 20 years, working with companies such as Reliance ...

March 25, 2020, Law360

Samantha Clark is quoted in Law360 regarding the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s announcement that it obtained coronavirus test kits without relying on the Defense Production Act. Ms. Clark told Law360 she was surprised by the quick turnaround.  “Everyone is on high alert that [the Defense Production Act] could be used and could be used on short notice,” ...

March 25, 2020, Covington Alert

USTR may exclude tariffs on Chinese imports related to COVID-19 response In response to COVID-19, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative ("USTR") announced on March 20, 2020, that it is inviting comments on possible modifications to the list of goods from China subjected to additional tariffs under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 (“Section 301 ...

March 25, 2020, National Products Insider

Miriam Guggenheim is quoted in National Products Insider regarding how food and drug facilities can manage the spread of COVID-19. Ms. Guggenheim says, “The FDA, from the perspective that this is not a food-borne illness and transmittable that way, has said that facilities will not have to shut down. The emphasis is on other employees, not the products you ...

March 25, 2020, Covington Alert

The COVID-19 pandemic and its economic consequences have spurred a tremendous amount of market volatility, and many public companies can expect questions from shareholders and analysts regarding the effect of these factors on companies’ current and future operations and liquidity. The uncertainty of the pandemic’s duration and impact on the economy may lead some ...

March 24, 2020, Covington Alert

The past several days have seen a flurry of activity among the federal banking agencies to take both proactive and responsive steps to address the impacts of COVID-19 on the banking industry and support continued lending to the real economy as the crisis unfolds. In case you missed it, here’s a quick recap of recent federal banking agency actions, along with ...

March 24, 2020, Covington Alert

As the COVID-19 public health crisis continues, U.S. businesses are dealing with unprecedented disruptions to operations and workforce stability. Most employers undoubtedly want to assist their employees during this uncertain time, but they are struggling to balance the cost of maintaining their workforce with shrinking profits. The frequent result of such a ...

March 24, 2020, Covington Alert

Over the past several weeks, states and localities across the country have implemented wide-ranging quarantines and curfews meant to slow the spread of COVID-19. Some of these measures have impeded food companies’ efforts to manufacture and distribute critical goods to their intended destinations. Even as the federal government underscores the importance of food ...

March 24, 2020, Law360

Samantha Clark is quoted in Law360 regarding the confusion some government contractors are facing on whether their business is “essential” after recent policy changes. According to Ms. Clark, to complicate matters even more, some states have implemented their own definitions of "essential," creating potential conflicts with federal guidance and confusion over ...

March 24, 2020, Covington Alert

On March 23, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “FRB”) announced the latest in a series of extraordinary actions intended to help mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the U.S. economy. Unlike the measures announced last week – which mostly involved re-establishing emergency programs that were used during the 2008–09 financial ...

March 24, 2020, Covington Alert

The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic are reverberating in every sector of the global economy, from life sciences to transportation, retail to manufacturing, financial services to sports and entertainment. As federal, state, and local governments attempt to blunt the pandemic’s public health and economic effects, many companies are frantically working with ...

March 23, 2020, Agenda

David Martin is quoted in Agenda regarding the increased importance for companies to take up environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues. Mr. Martin says that in his experience, larger companies are more likely to have greater exposure to ESG risks and reputations hinging on oversight of ESG issues, so the issues are more likely to pop up in ...

March 23, 2020

NEW YORK—The American Lawyer has named Covington lawyers Sergio Urías and Laura Torre as “Dealmakers of the Year.” The annual feature highlights “the most impressive and significant matters that deal lawyers worked on in 2019.” Shareholders of Covington’s client Prisma Medios de Pago, Argentina’s largest payment processing company, were mandated by the antitrust ...

March 22, 2020, Covington Alert

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released guidance on March 19, 2020 entitled “Postmarketing Adverse Event Reporting for Medical Products and Dietary Supplements During a Pandemic” (Guidance). The Guidance revises FDA’s February 2012 final guidance for industry on adverse event reporting during an influenza pandemic to clarify that the guidance ...

March 20, 2020, Covington Alert

March 20, 2020, Covington Alert

The full ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic are uncertain, but we should expect that significant economic dislocation will be felt not only by industries already suffering from financial distress and seeking bankruptcy relief (retail, healthcare, small biotech, pharma companies, and energy) but many other industries, including manufacturers, carriers, ...

March 19, 2020, Bloomberg

David Stein spoke with Bloomberg about legislation from Senate Democrats to shield U.S. citizens from negative credit reporting for the duration of the new coronavirus crisis. Three senators are looking to throw out a rule where credit bureaus are required under the Fair Credit Reporting Act to collect negative information. Mr. Stein  says, “To the extent that ...

March 19, 2020, BioTech

Scott Danzis spoke with BioWorld about the uptick in coronavirus testing by the FDA and CDC. Mr. Danzis says that while the FDA and the CDC struggled to move testing forward in the early days, “things have shifted dramatically” since that time. He adds that the issue of FDA regulation of lab-developed tests is of long standing, but that the Verifying ...

March 19, 2020, Covington Alert

On March 17, 2020, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that would codify the FDIC’s existing supervisory processes and policies that apply to industrial banks and industrial loan companies (collectively, “ILCs”) and their parent companies. The FDIC issued the Proposal to formalize its ILC supervisory framework and to ...

March 19, 2020, Covington Alert

Over the past forty-eight hours, FDA has issued a range of helpful information about the potential implications of COVID-19 for the food supply, including the agency’s current position regarding food safety and COVID-19, guidance concerning supplier verification onsite audit requirements, and an announcement that FDA has suspended routine surveillance facility ...

March 19, 2020, Covington Alert

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released guidance on March 18, 2020 entitled “FDA Guidance on Conduct of Clinical Trials of Medical Products during COVID-19 Pandemic” (Guidance).1 The Guidance comes at a critical time, as clinical trial sponsors, investigators, and Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) grapple with the measures needed to ensure the ...

March 18, 2020, Law360

Michael Nonaka is quoted in Law360 regarding Square Inc.’s approval from the FDIC to form a bank. The article also mentions that, Nelnet, a federal student loans company, received an approval to create a digital-only ILC. Mr. Nonaka says, “The FDIC Board’s approval of the Square and Nelnet applications shows that the ILC charter is compatible with different ...

March 18, 2020, The Wall Street Journal

David Martin is quoted in The Wall Street Journal regarding companies’ decisions to disclose potential COVID-19 infections of executives. Mr. Martin says that while companies have leeway on executive medical disclosures, they often have a strong incentive to provide timely information. Doing so prevents employees from leaking information and investors from ...

March 18, 2020, Politico

Scott Danzis is quoted in Politico regarding tracking medical device shortages and whether regulations requiring drug manufacturers to warn the government when a shortage seems likely should be applied to medical devices. Mr. Danzis says, “There's a balance that has to be struck between giving that information to FDA and creating additional reporting ...

March 18, 2020 (Updated March 24, 2020), Covington Alert

In developing plans to cope with the coronavirus (COVID-19), employers must strike the right balance between Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) requirements and restrictions on employees’ privacy and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Several key requirements are particularly relevant, and agency guidance on these topics is rapidly ...

March 18, 2020, Covington Alert

On March 17, 2020, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (DSIO) and Division of Market Oversight (DMO) each released an announcement regarding a series of no-action letters in response to the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic (see here for the DSIO announcement and here for the DMO announcement). The ...

March 16, 2020, The Wall Street Journal

Daniel Luchsinger is quoted in The Wall Street Journal regarding the effects of the Tax Cuts and Job Act on businesses in the wake of coronavirus losses. The article states that the 2017 tax code overhaul is making life harder for U.S. businesses who have suffered losses and are seeking liquidity. Mr. Luchsinger says, “You want some safety valve in the system ...

March 16, 2020, Global Data Review

Trisha Anderson spoke with Global Data Review about Congress’s lapse in renewing the Freedom Act while dealing with COVID-19. Ms. Anderson told GDR if Congress doesn’t renew the business records provision, the FBI will have to operate with pre-Patriot Act surveillance tools. She adds that the FBI would still be able to obtain business records via grand jury ...

March 13, 2020, The American Lawyer

Mitchell Dolin is quoted in The American Lawyer regarding the increased demand for  legal advice pertaining to the insurance industry caused by coronavirus. Mr. Dolin says, “There’s been a combination of actual claim work as well as forward-looking advisory work into the nature of the insurance asset and how it might respond to various scenarios. But obviously, ...

March 12, 2020, Bloomberg

René Siemens spoke with Bloomberg about the increase in concert cancellations due to the coronavirus outbreak. He  says artists, promoters and ticket sellers are still assessing the economic costs, including events that have only been postponed, and that cancellations have never happened on this scale before.

March 12, 2020, Covington Alert

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”) made significant changes to the tax code, a number of which can have unexpected effects when a company loses money in the United States or abroad.  While the immediate concerns around the spread of COVID-19 are rightfully focused on public health and welfare, given the current economic fallout arising from COVID-19, companies ...

March 11, 2020, Covington Alert

FDA has reopened the comment period indefinitely for its public hearing on products containing cannabis or cannabis-derived compounds.In doing so, FDA is seeking scientific data and information on cannabis and cannabis-derived compounds, particularly cannabidiol (CBD). On May 31, 2019, FDA hosted a public hearing on “Scientific Data and Information About ...

March/April 2020, Employee Benefit Plan Review

March/April 2020, Employee Benefit Plan Review

March/April 2020, Employee Benefit Plan Review

March 10, 2020

WASHINGTON—Covington is assisting Veritas Capital with its acquisition of DXC Technology’s U.S. State and Local Health and Human Services business in a deal valued at $5 billion. The transaction is expected to close no later than December 2020, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. DXC Technology’s U.S. State and Local Health and Human ...

March 6, 2020, Covington Alert

Yesterday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) submitted a report to Congress providing an update on the agency’s evaluation of potential regulatory pathways for CBD products, as well as a description of how FDA expects to proceed moving forward. In its report, FDA summarized the landscape surrounding CBD drugs, dietary supplements, foods, cosmetics, and vape ...

March 6, 2020, Covington Alert

Businesses are rapidly developing strategies to continue functioning and protect their workforces in the face of the growing Coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak. For obvious reasons, businesses may want to deploy health screening, testing, and professional medical advice services—including telemedicine—to their employees and dependents. It is critical that ...

March 5, 2020

NEW YORK—A three-lawyer project finance and development team has joined Covington in the U.S. Joseph Tato, a New York-based partner, represents project sponsors, equity investors, financial institutions, and governments in the development and financing of power, oil and gas, LNG, renewables, water, mining, and other infrastructure projects in the U.S., Africa, ...

May-June, Journal of Robotics, Artificial Intelligence & Law

March 4, 2020, Morning Consult

March 4, 2020, Covington Alert

Filing fees — one of the long awaited (and dreaded) innovations of the 2018 Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA) that has transformed the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) — have finally arrived. For more than 30 years, transactions could be submitted to CFIUS for review without a fee payable to the federal ...

March 3, 2020, Forbes

Brian Sylvester noted in Forbes that litigation of alternative proteins was a trend to watch in 2020. Mr. Sylvester says these cases “could influence the ongoing regulatory conversation at the federal level around new standards of identity for both plant-based and cell-cultured meat."

February 27, 2020, Bloomberg

Samuel Maruca spoke with Bloomberg about the possibility of a digital tax on tech companies doing business internationally. The U.S. and 130 other countries are currently negotiating at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development about a new international tax system that would redefine which countries can tax which corporate profits. There’s ...

February 26, 2020, Covington Alert

On January 27, Practice Fusion, Inc. (“Practice Fusion”), an electronic health record (“EHR”) company acquired by Allscripts in 2018, agreed to pay $145 million to resolve criminal and civil investigations with the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) related to an illegal kickback arrangement with a major opioid company. Practice Fusion solicited and received nearly ...

February 26, 2020, Covington Alert

Today, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) published a draft Guidance for Industry (draft guidance) proposing to standardize assay limits for medicated feeds. CVM requests electronic or written comments concerning the draft guidance be submitted to the docket by April 27, 2020. The draft guidance recommends a standardized ...

February 26, 2020, The Wall Street Journal

David Martin is quoted in The Wall Street Journal regarding the information companies are sharing with the public about how its managing its supply chain in response to coronavirus. Deciding what to disclose depends on what companies view as financially material. In the case of coronavirus outbreak risks, a big part of that calculation so far has involved ...

February 25, 2020, The American Lawyer

February 25, 2020

WASHINGTON—Covington represented Univision Holdings, Inc. in its definitive agreement to sell a majority ownership interest to private investment firms Searchlight Capital Partners, LP and ForgeLight LLC. Under the terms of the acquisition, Searchlight and ForgeLight will purchase a 64 percent interest from Univision stockholders while Televisa, a leading media ...

February 24, 2020, Covington Alert

This e-alert reviews trends emerging from warning letters and untitled letters concerning product advertising and promotion issued in 2019 by the Office of Prescription Drug Promotion (OPDP) of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), the Advertising and Promotional Labeling Branch (APLB) in the Office of Compliance and Biologics Quality (OCBQ) of the ...

February 21, 2020

WASHINGTON—Covington has chosen Washington partner Henry Liu to be a member of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity’s 2020 Fellows Program. Mr. Liu will participate in programs designed to attract, inspire, and nurture the next generation of leaders in the legal profession. Mr. Liu is a litigator specializing in defending financial institutions and other ...

February 21, 2020, Covington Alert

Today, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced in the Federal Register that it is reopening the comment period for its 2005 proposed rule regarding the modernization of its food standards of identity. FDA’s standards of identity establish detailed requirements regarding the composition and manufacturing of food products. The Agency promulgated most of ...

February 21, 2020

WASHINGTON—Covington secured a major ruling for Ukraine in an arbitration against the Russian Federation under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The ruling, issued today by a five-member arbitral tribunal, rejected the majority of Russia’s jurisdictional objections and permits Ukraine’s case to proceed to the merits. “The Tribunal’s ...

February 19, 2020, China Global Television Network

Witney Schneidman appeared on China Global Television Network to discuss U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's visit to Africa and the opportunities for American investment in the continent. Mr. Schneidman says, “Secretary Pompeo would like to see a lot more investment in Africa… But there is a big hurdle there. Americans don’t really understand Africa that ...

February 18, 2020, Fortune

Robert Kelner is quoted in Fortune regarding the capabilities of Super PACs in a presidential election and what happens campaign funds when candidates drop out of the presidential race. Mr. Kelner says, “Super PACs have fairly broad discretion on what they can do with excess funds.” He adds, “Where you see a lot of money left over in the Super PAC after the ...

February 14, 2020, Covington Alert

On February 13, 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a draft guidance document describing the pre-submission consultation process for food additive petitions (FAPs) and generally recognized as safe (GRAS) notices for ingredients used in animal feed/pet food, and describing what to include in food use authorization (FUA) requests. The Animal Drug ...

February 13, 2020, The Kojo Nnamdi Show

Ben Block and Samantha Clark were featured on The Kojo Nnamdi Show on WAMU-FM public radio in Washington, sharing their experience representing military families in a lawsuit against a privatized on-base housing company.

February 11, 2020, Global Data Review

Libbie Canter is quoted in Global Data Review regarding the California Attorney General Xavier Beccera’s revisions to the California Consumer Privacy Act’s (CCPA)  regulations. The revisions have left many businesses concerned and with unanswered questions. Ms. Canter says despite the revisions “ambiguities” remain for entities that collect data from third ...

February 5, 2020, Law360

Anne Termine is quoted in Law360 regarding the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s effort to impose position limits meant to curb speculators’ ability to distort prices. The new plan allows users to seek exemptions not set forth in the rule proposal by applying directly to their relevant exchanges. The CFTC would have 10 days to review that decision or ...

February 5, 2020, Law360

Susan Cassidy is quoted in Law360 regarding the DoD’s implementation of cybersecurity requirements for defense contractors. Ms. Cassidy says that questions about the process, such as who will audit the thousands of contractors that need to be certified for cybersecurity compliance, how they will be audited and what options they will have if they disagree with an ...

February 5, 2020

WASHINGTON—Kimberly Breier, the U.S. Department of State’s former top diplomat for Latin America, has joined Covington as a senior advisor. Ms. Breier most recently served as Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, the United States’ top diplomat for the Western Hemisphere. She led the State Department’s policy formation, oversaw U.S. ...

February 4, 2020, Law360

February 4, 2020, Covington Alert

On January 30, 2020, five federal financial regulators jointly issued a proposed rule that would modify existing regulations implementing the Volcker Rule’s general prohibition on banking entities investing in, sponsoring, or having certain relationships with hedge funds or private equity funds (collectively, “covered funds”). The proposal, which follows a 2019 ...

February 4, 2020, Legaltech News

Lee Tiedrich spoke with Legaltech News about lawyers’ obligations pertaining to the law and artificial intelligence. Ms. Tiedrich indicated that much like the internet in the 1990s, the growth of technologies such as AI continues to outstrip the development of the law. The lack of absolute regulatory clarity raises the stakes for organizations. “You need to be ...

February 3, 2020, Covington Alert

At an open meeting on January 30, 2020, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) voted 3–2 to approve a proposed rule that would impose federal position limits on derivatives. The proposed rule, if finalized, would prevent excessive speculation while allowing bona fide hedgers in agricultural, energy, metals, and other commodities markets to hedge risk ...

February 3, 2020, Financial Times

Witney Schneidman is quoted in the Financial Times regarding the United States’s and Africa’s search for a replacement to the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which gives nearly 40 African states tariff-free access to the U.S for 6,500 products, and has faced increasing criticism in Washington. Mr. Schneidman says, “Africans are saying, we are trying ...

February 3, 2020, Government Executive

Mike Wagner spoke with Government Executive about the General Services Administration's restructuring of the terms and conditions of current contracts so that they are in sync with those on the new, single contracting vehicle, which also features new contracts. . Mr. Wagner says, “Contractors should not be seeing changes to any negotiated elements of their ...

February 2020, Energy Law Report

February 2020, Government Contracting Law Report

January 30, 2020

On January 29, 2020, the Administration published Presidential Proclamation 9980 announcing that it would impose new tariffs on imports of certain derivative steel and aluminum articles. The tariff rates will be 25 percent on the steel derivatives and 10 percent on the aluminum derivatives, and will become effective February 8. This action expands the scope of ...

January 30, 2020, Covington Alert

It has been another strong year in anti-corruption enforcement, with 2019 meeting or beating the high-water mark for enforcement across a number of measurements.

January 28, 2020, Covington Alert

Because labor-related obligations in existing U.S. trade agreements are general and largely hortatory, few enforcement actions have been taken with regard to these obligations. The labor obligations in the Agreement between the United States of America, the United Mexican States and Canada (“USMCA” or “Agreement”), however, are specific and likely to be ...

January 28, 2020, Law360

Heather Finstuen is quoted in Law360 regarding CFIUS’s decision to extend its regulatory purview across a broad portion of U.S.-targeted real estate transactions. The new regulations go a step further by clearly defining sensitive locations and the proximity to those locations that could cause national security concerns, which will now be divided by The ...

January 27, 2020, Bloomberg

January 24, 2020, Intellectual Property Magazine

Beth Brinkmann was featured in Intellectual Property Magazine’s “Making Waves” to discuss her career as an intellectual property lawyer.   Ms. Brinkmann told IPM that she entered intellectual property law because the practice was becoming more robust in the U.S. and financially significant to the tech and biotech industry. She later supervised the amicus briefs ...

January 24, 2020, Law360

Eric Mogilnicki is quoted in Law360 regarding the CFPB’s new policy of restraint in bringing enforcement actions against financial services providers for abusive acts and practices. Mr. Mogilnicki says, “It is a helpful guide for how the bureau will enforce the abusiveness prohibition. However, this guide is not rooted in the language of the statute, which means ...

January 24, 2020, Covington Alert

U.S. federal policymakers continued to focus on artificial intelligence (“AI”) and the Internet of Things (“IoT”) in the fourth quarter of 2019, including by introducing substantive bills that would regulate the use of such technology and by supporting bills aimed at further study of how such technology may impact different sectors. In our fourth AI & IoT ...

January 23, 2020

WASHINGTON—Global Competition Review has once again named Covington to its 2019 "Global Elite," a list of the top 25 firms practicing competition law internationally, as well as including the firm in the list of top ten antitrust litigation practices globally. Now in its 20th year, GCR100 undertakes extensive analysis of antitrust and competition law groups in ...

January 22, 2020

WASHINGTON—The Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC) has awarded Covington a perfect score of 100 percent for the twelfth consecutive year on its Corporate Equality Index (CEI), a national benchmarking survey and report on corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ workplace equality. “Diversity and inclusion, while an important component of our efforts ...

January 21, 2020, Covington Alert

This e-alert is part of a series of e-alerts summarizing publicly available FDA enforcement letters (i.e., warning letters and untitled letters) relating to the advertising and promotion of prescription drugs, medical devices, and biologics.

January 20, 2020, Food Quality and Safety

Brian Sylvester spoke with Food Quality and Safety about a bill aimed at safeguarding accurate and transparent labeling of food products created using animal cell-culture technology. Mr. Sylvester says, “When it comes to food tech, both the FDA and USDA have accommodated new innovations into the existing regulatory framework for years: I think this is absolutely ...

January 17, 2020

WASHINGTON—Covington represented Piramal Enterprises Limited in itsdefinitive agreement to sell Decision Resources Group to Clarivate Analytics plc, in a deal valued at $950 million. The $950 million purchase price includes $900 million in cash and approximately $50 million in Clarivate ordinary shares to be issued following the one-year anniversary of ...

January 17, 2020

WASHINGTON—Am Law Litigation Daily has named Covington partner Michael Imbroscio, co-chair of the firm’s Product Liability and Mass Tort practice, as a “Litigator of the Week.” Mr. Imbroscio led the defense of Eli Lilly and Company in litigation alleging that its medicine Cialis – as well as Pfizer’s medicine Viagra – could cause melanoma, convincing the trial ...

January 16, 2020

WASHINGTON—Covington is pleased to announce that former NFL Commissioner and longtime Covington senior counsel Paul Tagliabue has been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. During Mr. Tagliabue’s tenure as Commissioner between 1989 and 2006, the League expanded from 28 to 32 teams; developed innovative models for player free agency and on-field competitive ...

January 15, 2020, Covington Alert

On January 10, 2020, President Trump issued a new Executive Order (“January 10 Executive Order”) that provides authority for the imposition of sanctions with respect to certain additional sectors of Iran’s economy, including Iran’s construction, mining, manufacturing, and textiles sectors. The January 10 Executive Order introduces both property-blocking ...

January 15, 2020, Law360

January 15, 2020, Washington Post

John Veroneau is quoted in the Washington Post regarding a recently signed partial trade deal between the United States and China. Mr. Veroneau says, “This administration is more open to intervening in the economy than most recent Republican administrations have been.”

January 14, 2020, Law360

January 14, 2020, Law360

January 14, 2020, Covington Alert

The institutional transformation of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS” or “the Committee”) that commenced more than two years ago with the introduction in Congress of the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA) now is largely complete with the issuance of the highly anticipated final regulations implementing ...

January 13, 2020, Covington Alert

On December 20, 2019, the President signed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020. Effective on that day, Section 610 of Division N of this Act contains provisions previously introduced in various bills as “the Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples Act” or “CREATES Act.”

January 13, 2020

WASHINGTON—Covington represented Elanco Animal Health in connection with an agreement with Dechra Pharmaceuticals to divest Osurnia® for $135 million in an all-cash deal. Covington also represented Elanco in an agreement to divest the U.S. rights and related assets for Capstar® to PetIQ, Inc., for $95 million in an all-cash deal. Elanco is a global animal ...

January 13, 2020, Law360

Law360 covered Covington’s win for Uber in the Delaware Supreme Court, where the firm obtained a decision affirming dismissal of a complaint seeking over $1 billion in damages from current and former officers and directors. Mark Gimbel led the Covington team, which included Will Phillips.  

January 13, 2020

WASHINGTON—Law360 has named Covington one of its 2019 “Firms of the Year” for the second consecutive year based on the firm having received six Practice Group of the Year awards. The Covington practices named 2019 Practice Groups of the Year are: Competition/Antitrust Government Contracts International Arbitration Life Sciences Media & ...

January 13, 2020

WASHINGTON—The American Lawyer has named Covington as its Product Liability Litigation Department of the Year for the second time. The firm was also recognized as a finalist for the White Collar Department of the Year and “honorable mention” for general Litigation Department of the Year. In its profile, The American Lawyer highlights Covington’s product ...

January 9, 2020, Inside Health Policy

Jessica O'Connell spoke with Inside Health Policy about the FDA's plan to remove adulterated cannabis products from the CBD market. Ms. O'Connell says, "There’s a range of products out there that aren’t compliant, and FDA only has so many resources and can only enforce so much. I think one difference here that might be helpful is that there are these robust ...

January 9, 2020, WatersTechnology

Michael Nonaka spoke with WatersTechnology about the impact of the California Consumer Privacy Act on financial institutions. Mr. Nonaka says, “There are exemptions [in the CCPA] for information that is covered by the GLBA. This is consumer information used by FIs, including broker-dealers. But there is not a broad exemption that just takes out the entirety of ...

January 8, 2020, Covington Alert

In United States v. Blaszczak,[i] a divided panel of the Second Circuit held that the federal wire fraud statute and a rarely used securities fraud statute criminalize insider trading beyond the reach of what is covered by the statute historically used to prosecute the offense. The decision may lead to an increase in insider trading prosecutions, including those ...

January 7, 2020, Covington Alert

In late December, Congress passed and the President signed into law the TRACED Act, which is aimed at curbing unwanted robocalls. The new law also directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to revise certain rules under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) to accomplish this objective, but those revisions are not expected to change typical TCPA ...

January 2020, Real Estate Finance Journal

January 1, 2020, Law360

Anna Kraus spoke with Law360 about Texas v. U.S., a Republican-led challenge to the ACA's constitutionality. "Ultimately, the outcome of this case could affect almost everyone in the country.” She adds that the case is “by far the most important case to watch in 2020.”  

January 1, 2020, Law360

Eric Mogilnicki is quoted in Law360 regarding the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), in Seila Law v. CFPB, a case that will be heard before the Supreme Court in 2020. Mr. Mogilnicki says, “The irony is that Republican resistance to former CFPB Director Richard Cordray” — who was nominated by former President Barack Obama — ...

January 1, 2020, Law360

Anne Termine is quoted in Law360 regarding CFTC’s proposal to regulate cross-border swaps and govern when cross-border swaps should be registered with the agency. Ms. Termine says, “The commission is trying to thread the needle of registration that is not over-reaching beyond our borders, yet sufficiently protects the interests of the U.S. and U.S. markets. This ...

January 1, 2020, Law360

Mike Nonaka is quoted in Law360 regarding the New York Department of Financial Services and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors’ fintech charter, which is being challenged for its validity in the Southern District of New York. Mr. Nonaka says, “The [fintech charter case] is important litigation, because many of the companies that could be interested in the ...

January 1, 2020, Law360

Fred Levy spoke with Law360 about the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act. Mr. Levy says the upcoming NDAA could also include more provisions that would expand the government’s right to obtain pricing information on commercial items, given recent congressional attention to alleged “price-gouging,” even as that definition has been applied somewhat ...

January 2020, Government Contracting Law Report

2020, SMU Law Review

2020, Best Law Firms

January 2020, The Banking Law Journal

December 30, 2019, American Banker

Mike Nonaka spoke with American Banker about fintech companies’ struggle to gain banking charters in 2019 and the prospect for better results in 2020. Mr. Nonaka says, “States are looking at how difficult the federal landscape can be, and based on their current laws, they're looking for ways to attract companies — either through their current regulations or even ...

December 29, 2019, The American Lawyer

December 20, 2019, Covington Alert

This e-alert is part of a series of e-alerts summarizing publicly available FDA enforcement letters (i.e., warning letters and untitled letters) relating to the advertising and promotion of prescription drugs, medical devices, and biologics.

December 20, 2019, Law360

Fred Levy is quoted in Law360 regarding the formation of the Procurement Collusion Strike Force, a cooperative effort among the U.S. DOJ’s Antitrust Division, in an article highlighting the top government contracts policy changes in 2019. The strike force is indicative of a broader trend in government contracts over roughly the last year: the “criminalization of ...

December 19, 2019, Covington Alert

On December 18, 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking on “Importation of Prescription Drugs” (the “NPRM”) and a Draft Guidance titled “Importation of Certain FDA-Approved Human Prescription Drugs, Including Biological Products, under Section 801(d)(1)(B) of the ...

December 19, 2019, Law360

Fred Levy spoke with Law360 about an FCA case involving a rocket and missile propulsion company misleading the U.S. DoD about its failure to safeguard "unclassified controlled technical information" from cybersecurity threats, in an article highlighting the top government contracts cases of 2019. Mr. Levy says the growing attention federal agencies are giving to ...

December 17, 2019, Covington Alert

On Friday, December 13, Principal Deputy Attorney General David Burns of the Justice Department’s (“DOJ’s” or “the Department’s”) National Security Division (“NSD”), announced a new DOJ policy for business organizations that voluntarily disclose potential criminal violations of the U.S. export controls and sanctions laws to NSD’s Counterintelligence and Export ...

December 16, 2019, Covington Alert

On December 12, 2019, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) released a notice of proposed rulemaking to overhaul the agencies’ regulatory framework for evaluating banks’ Community Reinvestment Act (“CRA”) performance. The proposal follows a 2018 advance notice of proposed rulemaking by the OCC, ...

December 16, 2019

WASHINGTON—Mergers & Acquisitions magazine has named Catherine Dargan as one of the “Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A.” The special report showcases “champions of change, committed to transforming the dealmaking world and to inspiring and guiding the next generation.” Ms. Dargan, co-leader of the firm’s Mergers & Acquisitions practice and a member of the ...

December 15, 2019, American Banker

Karen Solomon is quoted in American Banker regarding bank regulators’ push to reform the Community Reinvestment Act and its reception from the OCC, FDIC, and Federal Reserve. Ms. Solomon says, “[I]t looks to me on first read like there are multiple elements of the determination of the CRA rating. Some of it appears to be at the assessment level, some of it at ...

December 13, 2019, Covington Alert

On December 13, 2019, the United States and China formally announced a limited initial agreement to relieve trade tensions between the two countries that have been ongoing for the past 20 months. Under what the countries call a “Phase One” trade agreement, the United States will lower the rate on some already-imposed additional tariffs on Chinese imports and ...

December 13, 2019

On December 12, 2019, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC") proposed significant changes to its regulatory framework for brokered deposits for insured depository institutions ("IDIs"). The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (the "NPR"), which follows the FDIC's December 2018 Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, would modernize key aspects of the ...

December 2019, Stericycle

December 13, 2019, The Recorder

Eric Holder spoke with The Recorder for a Q&A on diversity in big law and being a role model within the legal community with Phuong Phillips, Zynga chief legal officer. What is the status of diversity and inclusion in the legal industry? What can we do to improve that?   “Our profession is not yet where it needs to be. Law firms are trying to do a better job, ...

December 13, 2019, New York Times

Ben Block is quoted in the New York Times regarding the firm’s representation of military families in their suit against Corvias, a company managing the privatized housing at the Fort Meade military base since 2002. Mr. Block says, “What they really want is to ensure that what they went through doesn’t happen to the next family, and the family after that. These ...

December 13, 2019, Legaltech News

Lee Tiedrich is quoted in Legaltech News regarding the continued use of artificial intelligence, despite ethics concerns. Ms. Tiedrich says that companies could put in “good governance processes to manage the [AI] product design, development and implementation in accordance with their ethnical principles.” She also noted that to limit bias, it is also necessary ...

December 12, 2019

WASHINGTON—The Hill has named Covington’s Holly Fechner, Muftiah McCartin, and Bill Wichterman to its annual “Top Lobbyists” list. The list recognizes Washington’s top policy experts and influencers voicing the concerns of the nation’s largest companies, labor unions, and associations in the nation’s capital. Named to the list for the seventh consecutive year, ...

December 9, 2019

WASHINGTON—Covington represented Merck & Co., Inc. in its definitive agreement under which Merck, through a subsidiary, will acquire ArQule for $20 per share in cash for an approximate total equity value of $2.7 billion. ArQule is a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company focused on kinase inhibitor discovery and development for the treatment of patients with ...

December 9, 2019, Covington Alert

On December 6, 2019, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) published a notice determining that the Digital Service Tax of France (“the DST”) is unreasonable or discriminatory and burdens or restricts U.S. commerce under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.

December 9, 2019

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS” or the “Committee”) released its Annual Report to Congress regarding foreign acquisitions of U.S. businesses reviewed by CFIUS in 2016 and 2017, a combined report covering the final year of the Obama administration and the first of the Trump administration. The report also reflects the crucial ...

December 5, 2019, Bloomberg Law

December 5, 2019, Covington Alert

On December 2, 2019, the U.S. Department of the Treasury ("Treasury Department") and the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") released final regulations, as well as new proposed regulations (the “2019 proposed regulations”), addressing issues related to the determination of foreign tax credits in light of the changes made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”).

December 4, 2019, Daily Journal

Lindsey Tonsager is quoted in Daily Journal regarding a new voter initiative designed to improve consumer privacy in California. Ms. Tonsager says, “The new ballot initiative has introduced some uncertainty into the conversation for businesses. There has been a real whiplash throughout the whole process of the CCPA. It was enacted back in 2018, and its already ...

December 2019, Government Contracting Law Report

December 2019, Government Contracting Law Report

December 2019, Privacy Laws & Business

November 27, 2019, Covington Alert

The Department of Commerce (“the Department”) has issued a proposed rule implementing the May 15, 2019 Executive Order entitled “Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain,” which we previously analyzed here. Once finalized and effective, the regulations will govern the process and procedures that the Secretary of Commerce ...

November 27, 2019, Covington Alert

Last week, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) published Draft Guidance for Industry No. 256, “Compounding Animal Drugs from Bulk Drug Substances” (Draft Guidance).

November 27, 2019, Covington Alert

On November 27, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) published in the Federal Register a final rule and proposed rule that each aim to increase the transparency of hospital and insurer prices.

November 27, 2019, Bloomberg Law

Eric Mogilnicki spoke with Bloomberg Law about the Supreme Court’s scheduling of arguments in Seila Law LLC v. CFPB, a case which will determine the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s constitutionality.  Mr. Mogilnicki commented on a potential CFPB challenge involving All American Check Cashing Inc., saying regardless of whether the Supreme Court takes All ...

November 27, 2019, Law360

Atli Stannard is quoted in Law360 regarding the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s claims of European Union banks violating privacy and anti-discrimination laws when they share customer information with the IRS. EU countries may negotiate with the Treasury Department, but only if they receive larger cross-border effort against tax avoidance. Mr. Stannard says, ...

November 26, 2019, Covington Alert

Yesterday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a consumer update on its ongoing analysis of the safety of products containing cannabis or cannabis-derived compounds, including cannabidiol (CBD). FDA also issued warning letters to 15 companies for selling CBD-containing products in violation of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act). These ...

November 25, 2019

WASHINGTON—The Women in Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF) has named Covington to its Gold Standard Certification list. This is the fifth year in which the firm has been recognized on the list. WILEF grants Gold Standard certification to major law firms that meet objective criteria concerning the number of women equity partners, in firm leadership positions, and in ...

November 25, 2019

Due to a dramatic increase in administrative proceedings against investment advisers, combined with a noticeable increase in issuer reporting / audit and accounting cases, the Securities and Exchange Commission ended Fiscal Year 2019 with a slight increase in enforcement activity compared to 2018.  Absent the results of its share class selection disclosure ...

November 25, 2019, Westlaw Journal Medical Devices

November 25, 2019, Law360

Law360 covered Covington’s representation of Ameris Bank in an American Arbitration Association proceeding before Kenneth Menendez. Benjamin Razi, Michael Rosenthal, Marianna Jackson, and Maggie Brennan provided counsel.

November 22, 2019, Law360

Karen Solomon is quoted in Law360 regarding the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s draft regulations to curb uncertainty in the consumer credit and securitization markets in the wake of the controversial  Madden v. Midland Funding decision. This court decision upset long-standing industry expectations that the ...

November 22, 2019

WASHINGTON—Law360 has named seven Covington lawyers as MVPs, third most among all firms, in their respective practice areas. The awards single out lawyers from across numerous practice areas based on their success in high-stakes litigation, complex global matters, and record-breaking deals. The Covington lawyers recognized as Law360 MVPs are: Thomas ...

November 20, 2019, Covington Alert

On November 18 and 19, 2019, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) provided long-awaited regulatory affirmation that a bank loan’s rate of interest retains its non-usurious character when acquired by a third-party. The agencies each issued proposed rules that seek, as the OCC put it, to “codify what ...

November 20, 2019, Law360

Mike Nonaka is quoted in Law360 regarding the legality of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's fintech charter and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors' model payments. Both the OCC and CSBS have taken the concerns of industry to heart, and each initiative, while potentially overlapping in their goals of reducing regulatory burdens, may very well ...

November 19, 2019, Covington Alert

New Guidelines on Outsourcing Arrangements (EBA/GL/2019/02) (“Guidelines”) have been issued by the European Banking Authority (“EBA”) and came into force on September 30, 2019. Within these Guidelines, the EBA aims to contribute to a harmonized framework for outsourcing on a European level. At the same time, the EBA acknowledges the increased interest of ...

November 19, 2019, Covington Alert

In a recent Interpretive Letter, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) addressed a proposal from an OCC-regulated bank to automate its process for filing suspicious activity reports (SARs) under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).

November 15, 2019, Law360

November 15, 2019, Sky News

Tim Stratford spoke with Ian King of Sky News regarding current U.S.-China trade negotiations. Mr. Stratford says, “If there is strong interest to do a deal, it may stop the tit-for-tat escalation of tariffs. But it may not address the real underlying issues that lead to the trade war in the first place.”

November 15, 2019

NEW YORK—Latinvex has named Covington among the top ten international law firms doing work in Latin America and first among firms in trade & sanctions. The firm was also singled out particularly for its role in handling in arbitration, corporate/M&A, and fraud/FCPA matters. Covington’s Latin America practice draws on a dedicated team of lawyers and advisors who ...

November 14, 2019, Law360

Jay Carey spoke with Law360 about the high rate of success for federal contract protests at the Government Accountability Office over the last five years, as shown in a recent GAO report. Mr. Carey say among other barriers in the way of a successful protest, protesters bear the burden of proof, often have less access to relevant information than agencies, and ...

November 11, 2019, Covington Alert

On November 5, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed two rule amendments as part of its ongoing effort to modernize and improve the proxy voting system. The SEC proposed amendments to its rules governing proxy solicitations to clarify the application of such rules to proxy advisory firms making voting recommendations and to impose new ...

November 8, 2019, AmLaw Litigation Daily

Ethan Posner, Matthew Dunn, and Christopher Denig were featured in Am Law Litigation Daily as "Litigators of the Week." The team was profiled for their complete defense win for UnitedHealth Group subsidiary Executive Health Resources in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Krysten Rosen Moller led the associate team and was involved in ...

November 8, 2019

WASHINGTON—Covington has secured a decisive win for Ukraine in proceedings against the Russian Federation before the International Court of Justice (“ICJ”) concerning violations by Russia of the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism (“ICSFT”) and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial ...

November 7, 2019, Law360

Mike Wagner is quoted in Law360 regarding the 2018 Suspension and Debarment report. Mr. Wagner says “that modest decline in suspension and debarment activity over time has also been offset in part by suspension and debarment officials' increased use of alternative measures. This dual trend is interesting — I think it speaks to the overall evolution of the ...

November 6, 2019

WASHINGTON—Covington has announced that its partners have unanimously elected Doug Gibson as chair of the firm’s Management Committee and that he will begin a four-year term on January 1, 2020. The chair leads the Management Committee in setting the firm’s strategy, overseeing the firm’s operations, supporting the firm’s representation of clients, and working ...

November 6, 2019, Covington Alert

On November 5, 2019 the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the launch of the “Procurement Collusion Strike Force” (PCSF). The creation of the PCSF marks a significant development in the government procurement enforcement landscape. Creation of the PCSF prioritizes the DOJ’s focus on government procurement offenses. As part of that effort, DOJ has launched a ...

November 6, 2019, Wall Street Journal

Gerald Hodgkins is quoted in the Wall Street Journal regarding an SEC enforcement case targeting the sale of higher-fee mutual funds. Mr. Hodgkins found that fines against such defendants are usually harder for the government to collect. Unlike Wall Street banks and public companies that are quick to pay, individuals and smaller firms accused of brazen frauds ...

November 3, 2019, Journal of Investment Compliance

October 31, 2019, Covington Alert

Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued the long-awaited interim final rule (“the rule”) establishing regulations for a domestic hemp production program. The rule provides clarity for hemp growers and related businesses and is a critical next step after the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill last December. Among other things, the rule outlines ...

October 31, 2019, Bloomberg Law

Laura Brookover is quoted in Bloomberg Law regarding a House bill to reauthorize the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for the first time in more than a decade. The bill would give the agency stronger legal footing to pursue fraudulent overseas trading activities.   Ms. Brookover says that language would potentially give the agency broader authority over ...

October 30, 2019, The Baltimore Sun

October 29, 2019, Covington Alert

Following the Department of Justice’s announcement in March of an initiative to increase enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”), the Department has rolled out a new e-file system for FARA registrations. Notably, the new system only applies to new registrants, although the Department indicated that it will transition existing registrants to ...

October 29, 2019, Law360

Law360 covered Covington’s representation of Dropbox in a trademark case before the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Clara Shin, Jeffrey Davidson, Laura Brookover, Matthew Verdin, Isaac Chaput and Diane Ramirez provided counsel to Dropbox.

October 25, 2019

WASHINGTON—The National Law Journal has named Covington to its “Appellate Hot List” for the eighth time. Lawyers and law firms featured in the annual special report were recognized for winning “key matters before the U.S. Supreme Court and federal courts of appeals.” Over the past two years, lawyers in Covington’s Appellate and Supreme Court practice ...

October 24, 2019, Covington Alert

Yesterday, FDA announced that it will grant a 6-month period of enforcement discretion for manufacturers to meet the agency's new nutrition labeling requirements. In an updated Q&A on FDA's webpage for Industry Resources on Changes to the Nutrition Facts Label, FDA added the following: I understand that FDA has received multiple requests from manufacturers to ...

October 24, 2019, Covington Alert

FDA hosted a public meeting on October 21, 2019 entitled “A New Era of Smarter Food Safety.” The purpose of the meeting was to obtain stakeholder input on the Agency’s food safety initiative launched in April 2019 and inform a strategic blueprint expected to be issued in early 2020.

October 24, 2019, Law360

Susan Cassidy spoke with Law360 about the Department of Defense’s goal for its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) and its impact on join bid contractors.   Ms. Cassidy says such teaming arrangements are already complicated and can take years to put together for big defense procurements. Although the DOD has said cybersecurity compliance will be ...

October 23, 2019, Law360

Muftiah McCartin is quoted in Law360 regarding the firm’s lobbying efforts in the third quarter of 2019. Ms. McCartin said that while it's easy to assume the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump might be the only focus of Congress in the short term, that's actually not the full story. She adds, “On the contrary, we expect Congress to be in for a very ...

October 22, 2019, Legaltech News

Trisha Anderson spoke with Legaltech News about a bilateral data access agreement, a new mechanism of the CLOUD Act and its effect on law firms. A year after the CLOUD Act, the first data-sharing agreement is most relevant to U.K. law enforcement agencies having access to the vast data held by U.S.-based tech companies, says Ms. Anderson. She adds, “The most ...

October 21, 2019, Covington Alert

The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has published a request for public comment on “ways to improve its existing regulations for negative option marketing.” 84 Fed. Register 52393 (October 2, 2019). The FTC acknowledges that negative option plans, such as prenotification negative option plans, continuity plans, and free trial and conversion plans, “can provide ...

October 21, 2019, Covington Alert

Federal policymakers continued to focus on artificial intelligence (“AI”) and the Internet of Things (“IoT”) in the second quarter of 2019, including by introducing substantive bills that would regulate the use of such technology and by supporting bills aimed at further study of how such technology may impact different sectors. In our third AI & IoT Quarterly ...

October 18, 2019, Covington Alert

On October 10, 2019, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (“Board”) released two final rules to tailor and modify the applicability of enhanced prudential standards for bank holding companies (“BHCs”), savings and loan holding companies that are not substantially engaged in insurance underwriting or commercial activities (“Covered SLHCs”), ...

October 18, 2019, Covington Alert

Vanilla-flavored yogurt, ice cream, almond and soy milk have all been caught in the crosshairs recently, targeted by more than a dozen class action lawsuits filed since May 2019 by the same New York-based law firms Sheehan & Associates and Reese LLP.

October 18, 2019, National Defense

October 17, 2019, Covington Alert

On September 10, 2019, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a No-Action Letter Policy, along with a Compliance Assistance Sandbox Policy and Trial Disclosure Program Policy, to promote innovation and facilitate compliance in consumer financial services. Covington & Burling LLP is pleased to provide this Model No-Action Letter Application as a ...

October 17, 2019, Covington Alert

This e-alert is part of a series of e-alerts summarizing publicly available FDA enforcement letters (i.e., warning letters and untitled letters) relating to the advertising and promotion of prescription drugs, medical devices, and biologics.

October 14, 2019, Journal of Investment Compliance

October 11, 2019, Bloomberg Law

Kevin King is quoted in Bloomberg Law regarding the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent rejection of several patent petitions. Mr. King says, “It’s always a challenge in patent cases, a puzzler to show that the issue has a broader impact. I think successful cases do that. They show this isn’t just about the parties. These issues have lasting consequences.”

October 10, 2019, Covington Alert

On Monday, the Federal Trade Commission held a workshop to examine whether to update the FTC’s rule adopted under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA Rule”). The Future of the COPPA Rule: An FTC Workshop featured a range of speakers and panelists, including representatives from industry, consumer groups, and academia.

October 10, 2019, Covington Alert

On October 9, the U.S. Department of Commerce issued a Final Rule adding 20 Chinese government entities and eight Chinese private sector entities (“Listed Entities”) to the Entity List maintained by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”).

October 10, 2019, AmLaw Litigation Daily

John Hall spoke with AmLaw Litigation Daily about a recent win in a federal jury trial in Kansas on behalf of Julie Burkhart, founder and CEO of pro-choice and reproductive justice organization Trust Women. Mr. Hall says one key to the defense was “to take the jury back in time and remind them of the context.” He adds, “It’s one of the most gratifying wins of my ...

October 10, 2019

WASHINGTON—The National Law Journal has named Covington's Rusty Conner to its inaugural list of "Finance, Banking, & Capital Markets Trailblazers." This list profiles 35 lawyers who are agents of change in their respective practice areas. Mr. Conner’s practice is focused on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, corporate governance, and related strategic ...

October 9, 2019, Law360

Ben Razi represented Salix Pharmaceuticals in a False Claims Act case.

October 8, 2019

WASHINGTON—A federal jury in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas today ruled in favor of Covington client Julie Burkhart, founder and CEO of pro-choice and reproductive justice organization Trust Women in Wichita, following a case brought against Ms. Burkhart by a prominent anti-abortion activist. The case involved two incidents in November 2012 ...

October 8, 2019, Covington Alert

A pharmaceutical company, Mylan, N.V., recently paid $30 million to settle an SEC enforcement action alleging multiple disclosure failures arising from an investigation by the Department of Justice.

October 8, 2019, KMUW

John Hall spoke with KMUW about a recent case in which he represented Julie Burkhart, the head of the pro-choice group Trust Women. The lawsuit stemmed from Ms. Burkhart’s protection order against an individual making violent threats towards her. Mr. Hall says, "Imagine how you would feel. You have to consider everything she knew at the time. Violence toward ...

October 8, 2019, Law360

October 7, 2019, Covington Alert

FDA has been active on the FSMA front, and released two new documents over the last few days. Last Friday, October 4, the Agency issued a draft guidance regarding establishing and implementing a recall plan under 21 CFR 117.139, the provision of the Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis, and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food (PC Human ...

October 3, 2019, Global Data Review

Global Data Review covered Yan Luo’s recent promotion to partner. Ms. Luo is a member of GDR’s inaugural 40 under 40 set. “This experience has broadened my horizons and is very fulfilling for me personally,” she told GDR.

October 2, 2019, Covington Alert

The enforcement staff of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”) recently issued guidance for when it will recommend to the PCAOB disclosing the identity of non-party audit clients in disciplinary orders against auditors. The guidance confirms a policy change that we identified earlier this year.

October 2, 2019, Covington Alert

FDA hosted a public meeting on September 27, 2019 entitled “Horizontal Approaches to Food Standards of Identity Modernization.” The purpose of the meeting was to discuss changes FDA could make across food standards to afford manufacturers greater flexibility and to facilitate innovation.

October 2, 2019, Covington Alert

On September 26, 2019, staff from the Bureau of Consumer Protection in the Federal Trade Commission held a workshop on the agency’s experience with “Made in the USA” claims. The program consisted of a series of panel discussions between staff and representatives from the business and consumer advocacy communities. The workshop followed the Commission’s pledge ...

October 2, 2019, Time

Robert Kelner spoke with Time about Senator Elizabeth Warren’s proposed new tax on lobbying. The proposal is meant to discourage major corporations from spending more than $500,000 to lobby the government. Mr. Kelner says, “I think any plan to tax lobbying is almost certainly unconstitutional. It’s extraordinarily likely to be struck down by the Supreme Court if ...

October 2, 2019, Global Arbitration Review

Nikhil Gore and Erin Thomas spoke with Global Arbitration Review about their recent promotion to partnership and contributions to the Covington’s Naftogaz team representing Ukrainian state-owned energy company Naftogaz in its $5 billion treaty claim against Russia over the seizure of its assets in Crimea.

October 2, 2019, The American Lawyer

October 1, 2019

WASHINGTON—Lindsay Kitzinger, who until recently was an Attorney Advisor in the Office of International Tax Counsel, within the U.S. Treasury's Office of Tax Policy, has rejoined Covington as a partner in its Tax Practice Group in Washington. During her time at Treasury, Ms. Kitzinger was involved in the tax reform legislation that was enacted in December 2017, ...

October 2019, Intellectual Property & Technology Law Journal

October 2019, Government Contracting Law Report

October 1, 2019, KMUW

Jennifer Saulino is quoted by NPR station KMUW from her opening arguments in a federal trial representing Julie Burkhart, founder and CEO of pro-choice and reproductive justice organization Trust Women. “This was about getting to her at home, about making her feel afraid,” Ms. Saulino told the jury.

October 1, 2019, Law360

Law360 covered William Phillips, David Pinsky, Joshua Picker, Marney Cheek, and William Lowery’s representation of Naftogaz, Ukraine's state-owned oil and gas company, in its pursuit of documents from Gazprom's Dallas-based oil and gas reserves auditor as the company pursues litigation in the Netherlands to enforce a $2.56 billion arbitral award against the ...

October 1, 2019

WASHINGTON—Covington has promoted to its partnership 14 lawyers based in eight different offices, including nine women and six lawyers of ethnically diverse backgrounds.   “Our new partners are exceptionally talented lawyers from a wide range of the firm’s offices and most important practices, and they are extremely well-positioned to carry the firm forward,” ...

April 2020

  For over 30 years, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS” or the “Committee”) focused on a narrow subset of M&A transactions and investments. That era is coming to an end.  Covington is monitoring developments:  CFIUS Publishes Final Rule Governing Mandatory Filing Requirements for Critical Technology Businesses, Covington ...

September 27, 2019, Covington Alert

Yesterday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) issued a draft guidance explaining the criteria it plans to apply when granting “expanded conditional approval” to new animal drugs not intended for minor uses or minor species that address a serious or life-threatening disease or condition or fill an unmet animal or ...

September 27, 2019, National Defense Magazine

September 27, 2019, Law360

September 27, 2019, Covington Alert

On September 26, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) announced the adoption of new Rule 163B under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”), which expands the permitted use of “test-the-waters” communications to all issuers, regardless of size or reporting status. The new rule, which the SEC proposed in February 2019, represents a ...

September 27, 2019

Last week the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS” or the “Committee”) issued its proposed final regulations (“Regulations”) to implement its expanded authorities under the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (“FIRRMA”). In doing so, CFIUS bifurcated the rulemaking process, proposing one set of regulations to govern ...

September 26, 2019, Wall Street Journal

Robert Kelner is quoted in The Wall Street Journal regarding the differences between U.S. Department of Justice’s newly unveiled online filing system for foreign agents and the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA). Mr. Kelner says, “This is not an issue just for lobbying firms and public relations firms because FARA sweeps very broadly and applies to ...

September 25, 2019

WASHINGTON—The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) has recognized Nooree Lee with its Best Under 40 Award. The award recognizes talented individuals within the Asian Pacific American legal community under the age of 40 who have achieved prominence and distinction in their fields of endeavor—be it the practice of law, academia, business, ...

September 24, 2019, Law360

September 23, 2019, Bloomberg Law

Lee Tiedrich recently participated in the “AI and the Rule of Law Roundtable” in Athens and spoke with Bloomberg Law about with the event, which was , focused on ensuring that AI tech works as intended—and that those who implement and operate such systems are competent to do so.   Ms. Tiedrich says, “Although the Roundtable participants came from different ...

September 23, 2019

WASHINGTON—Covington's Priscilla Fasoro, Fatmata Kabia, and Kendra Mells have been named to the National Black Lawyers Top 40 Under 40 class of 2019. Ms. Fasoro represents clients on a wide variety of complex commercial transactions, specializing in those involving technology and data. In particular, her practice focuses on negotiating outsourcing and other ...

September 20, 2019

For over 30 years, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS” or the “Committee”) focused on a narrow subset of M&A transactions and investments. That era is coming to an end. On Tuesday of this past week, CFIUS issued its anticipated proposed final regulations (“Regulations”) to implement the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization ...

September 17, 2019, Reuters

Mark Plotkin is quoted in Reuters regarding U.S. Treasury’s announcement that it will introduce new regulations expanding the powers of the Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS) to further scrutinize foreign investments involving sensitive technology, infrastructure, personal data, and real estate.   Mr. Plotkin pointed out that many CFIUS watchers had ...

September 17, 2019, The New York Times

Mark Plotkin spoke with The New York Times about U.S. Treasury’s announcement that it will introduce new regulations expanding the powers of the Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS) to further scrutinize foreign investments involving sensitive technology, infrastructure, personal data, and real estate.   Mr. Plotkin said that the proposed rules were ...

September 17, 2019, Law360

September 17, 2019, Financial Times

Mark Plotkin is quoted in the Financial Times regarding U.S. Treasury’s announcement that it will introduce new regulations expanding the powers of the Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS) to further scrutinize foreign investments involving sensitive technology, infrastructure, personal data, and real estate. Mr. Plotkin says, “The regulations reflect ...

September 15, 2019, La Nacion

Veronica Yepez recently spoke at the Marval International Summit on Compliance, Anti-Corruption, and Investigations conference and was quoted in La Nacion regarding how major internal investigations begin in Argentina. Ms. Yepez explained that an internal report, often, a human resources report, journalistic investigation, an internal or external audit or ...

September 12, 2019, Covington Alert

This e-alert is part of a series of e-alerts summarizing publicly available FDA enforcement letters (i.e., warning letters and untitled letters) relating to the advertising and promotion of prescription drugs, medical devices, and biologics. In July and August, the Office of Prescription Drug Promotion (OPDP) posted enforcement letters on FDA’s website.

September 11, 2019, Gov Info Security

Susan Cassidy, Samantha Clark, Ryan Burnette, and Ian Brekke are mentioned in Gov Info Security regarding their blog post analyzing the CMMC draft. "The guidance offers no insight into how DOD will determine the CMMC certification level required for each contract solicitation or whether it intends to standardize a process for making such determinations across ...

September 11, 2019, Legaltech News

Lindsey Tonsager is quoted in Legaltech News regarding Google’s settlement with the FTC involving violations of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. Ms. Tonsager says, “This is the first FTC settlement that dealt with behavioral advertisements against a platform that just hosts third-party content.” She noted FTC Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter’s ...

September 11, 2019, Law360

Amanda Kramer spoke with the New York Law Journal about her recent move to Covington and her experience as a prosecutor in New York. Ms. Kramer says, “I’m really excited for this change and thrilled to be here.” On one occasion, she prosecuted a case involving underpaid employees, saying “One of the big benefits of that case was that it brought attention to the ...

September 11, 2019, New York Law Journal

Amanda Kramer spoke with the New York Law Journal about her recent move to Covington and her experience as a prosecutor in New York. Ms. Kramer says, “I’m really excited for this change and thrilled to be here.” On one occasion, she prosecuted a case involving underpaid employees, saying “One of the big benefits of that case was that it brought attention to the ...

September 11, 2019, Reuters

Reuters covered Amanda Kramer’s onboarding as a partner to Covington. Ms. Kramer said the firm’s “track record of bringing in former prosecutors and giving them a place where they can thrive and have really robust practices.”  

September 10, 2019, The Recorder

September 10, 2019

The U.S. Department of the Treasury is expected to issue soon proposed regulations implementing the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (“FIRRMA”), legislation enacted in August 2018 that reformed the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS” or the “Committee”). FIRRMA transformed CFIUS’s authorities, but many of the most ...

September 9, 2019, JAMA Internal Medicine

September 9, 2019, Law360

Covington successfully represented Celtic Bank in an arbitration proceeding contending that Celtic Bank was not the “true lender” on loans made to a small business, which culminated in the arbitrator rejecting eight-figure damages claims and awarding Celtic Bank $3.2 million on counterclaims. 

September 9, 2019, Marketplace

John Veroneau spoke with Marketplace about the President’s economic power and tariff law. According to Mr. Veroneau, the President could invoke Section 338 which gives the president broad authority to impose or raise tariffs if U.S. companies or interests are being discriminated against. He says that if Section 301 is used to address unfair trade practices, then ...

September 9, 2019, Am Law Litigation Daily

John Hall was featured in Am Law Litigation Daily's Litigation Leaders series. Mr. Hall spoke about the firm's recent litigation highlights.  

September 9, 2019

WASHINGTON, September 9, 2019—Law360 named Covington partners Andrew Soukup and David Zionts to its list of “2019 Rising Stars.” This annual recognition honors top lawyers under 40 “whose legal accomplishments transcend their age.” Mr. Soukup's Law360 Class Action profile can be found here. Andrew Soukup is a litigator and co-chair of the firm’s Class Action ...

September 5, 2019, Law360

September 3, 2019

WASHINGTON—The Diversity Lab, an incubator for ideas and solutions that boost diversity and inclusion in law, has certified Covington as having achieved the “Mansfield Rule Certification 2.0 Plus” after completing the twelve-month certification program. The "Mansfield Rule Certification 2.0" measures whether law firms have affirmatively considered at least 30 ...

September 3, 2019, Covington Alert

The Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (the 2018 Farm Bill) has created a rapidly-expanding market for hemp-derived products by legalizing the cultivation of hemp, which can be processed to make a variety of goods, including cannabidiol (“CBD”) products.

September 2019, Briefing Paper

September-October 2019, The Journal of Robotics, Artificial Intelligence & Law

August 30, 2019, Covington Alert

On August 27 and 29, 2019, the U.S. Administration released notices concerning increases in certain tariffs on Chinese imports, marking the latest escalation in bilateral trade frictions.

August 28, 2019, Covington Alert

On August 23, 2019, President Donald J. Trump tweeted: "Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing . . . your companies HOME and making your products in the USA."

August 27, 2019, Global Arbitration Review

Marney Cheek is quoted in Global Arbitration Review regarding Eli Lilly & Company’s victory over a French biotech company that alleged it had misused trade secrets and confidential information. Ms. Cheek says, “We are very pleased that the tribunal acknowledged the innovative and independent work of Lilly scientists. We are delighted with the outcome.”

August 27, 2019, Covington Alert

On August 20, 2019, the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”) approved a final rule (the “final rule”)1 that will significantly revise existing regulations implementing the Volcker Rule – a statutory provision that generally prohibits banking entities from engaging in proprietary trading or taking an ownership interest in, ...

August 26, 2019, The National Law Journal

Beth Brinkmann spoke with the National Law Journal and discussed her recent win at the Supreme Court, her former national appellate practice for the federal government, and the role of other women Supreme Court clerks as leaders at Covington.   Ms. Brinkmann marked her 25th argument before the Supreme Court with a win in a major patent case against the federal ...

August 26, 2019, Litigation Daily

Marney Cheek is quoted in Litigation Daily regarding the firm’s win for Eli Lilly & Company against a French biotech company regarding alleged misappropriation of trade secrets. Ms. Cheek says, “We are very pleased that the tribunal acknowledged the innovative and independent work of Lilly scientists. We are delighted with the outcome.”  

August 23, 2019

WASHINGTON—Covington has secured a complete victory for our client Eli Lilly & Company against French biotech company Adocia S.A., defeating Adocia’s claims of $1.39 billion for alleged misappropriation of trade secrets in an arbitration before a three-member panel at the American Arbitration Association (AAA).  After extensive written submissions and a lengthy ...

August 23, 2019, Law360

August 23, 2019, Natural Products Insider

Peter Hutt spoke with the Natural Products Insider podcast in the second part of a discussion about the FDA’s role over the decades in regulating dietary supplements and efforts to impose restrictions that were stymied time and again. Mr. Hutt says, “FDA has not done adequate enforcement against [companies that put prescription drug ingredients in dietary ...

August 22, 2019

WASHINGTON—Covington announced that the firm will be serving as part of an international team of lawyers representing media pioneer Maria Ressa, CEO, Cofounder and Executive Editor of Rappler, one of the leading online news platforms in the Philippines, as well as representing Rappler itself. Covington will be serving as U.S. counsel and will coordinate as ...

August 20, 2019, Covington Alert

On August 19, 2019, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) issued a Final Rule adding 46 non-U.S. affiliates of Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (“Huawei”) to the Entity List and extended, through November 18, 2019, a revised Temporary General License (“TGL”) authorizing certain transactions with Huawei and listed Huawei entities.

August 20, 2019, Law360

Michael Nonaka is quoted in Law360 regarding Madden v. Midland Funding, a case that called into question the validity of interest rates on bank-originated debt that is later transferred to nonbank partners, such as fintech firms. The decision largely rejected the "valid-when-made" doctrine stating that a loan's interest rate remains legal as long as it was legal ...

August 20, 2019, Law360

August 16, 2019, The National Law Journal

Jason Raofield is quoted in the National Law Journal regarding the firm’s representation of the Hanover County Unit of the NAACP in a case involving a Richmond high school’s use of a Confederate nickname. Mr. Raofield says, “Hanover County is spending taxpayer funds on litigation to preserve its ability to force African-American students to literally label ...

August 15, 2019, Computer Law Review International

August 15, 2019, Natural Products Insider

Peter Hutt spoke with the Natural Products Insider podcast about the FDA’s role over the decades in regulating dietary supplements and efforts to impose restrictions that were stymied time and again.

August 14, 2019, National Law Journal

Mark Mosier spoke with the National Law Journal about his career in professional baseball and the influence it has had on his legal career. Mr. Mosier, a San Francisco Giants draftee who played two seasons in the minor leagues, says, "It was a great experience, but with a demanding lifestyle and a high stress level." The “do the best you can” attitude he learned ...

August 14, 2019, The Information

Anne Termine spoke with The Information about the issues cryptocurrency exchange companies face with U.S. regulation. Some exchange companies have resulted to forbidding U.S. customers from using their services. Ms. Termine said that to avoid regulatory scrutiny and possible fines, crypto exchanges should make a “reasonable effort” to prevent U.S. residents from ...

August 12, 2019, Law360

August 8, 2019, Covington Alert

On August 5, 2019, President Trump issued Executive Order 13884 imposing comprehensive sanctions against the Government of Venezuela. Specifically, the Executive Order blocks all property and interests in property of the Government of Venezuela that are in or that come into the United States or the possession or control of a U.S. person.

August 8, 2019, Tax Notes

Kandyce Korotky is quoted in Tax Notes regarding the retroactive status of temporary regulations under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Ms. Korotky says, “There’s kind of an open question about whether retroactivity and temporary regulations can go hand in hand.” She notes that under section 7805(b)(2), the IRS can enact retroactive regulations that take effect when a ...

August 7, 2019, Wall Street Journal

David Martin is quoted in The Wall Street Journal regarding gun violence’s effect on corporate disclosures. Mr. Martin says, “People are legitimately trying to think through whether it’s responsible to put a risk factor like this in the document.” Deciding what to disclose, and which risks count as material, is more art than science. Figuring out whether a ...

August 7, 2019

WASHINGTON—Covington’s Government Contracts and Communications regulatory practices are representing Communications & Power Industries LLC (CPI) in its recently announced deal to acquire SATCOM Technologies, the antenna systems business of General Dynamics Mission Systems, Inc., a business unit of General Dynamics. SATCOM Technologies designs, manufactures and ...

August 4, 2019, CoinTelegraph

Michael Nonaka spoke with CoinTelegraph to discuss cryptocurrency regulation in the U.S.   Mr. Nonaka says, "The U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued its first guidance addressing cryptocurrency companies in 2013, and since then regulatory action for digital assets has been slow to develop but has picked up in the past few years as an increasing ...