The Fourth Circuit affirmed this week that Travelers Insurance (“Travelers”) must defend Portal, a medical records company, against a class action suit stemming from an alleged cyber “publication” of its customers’ personal...more
On March 21, 2016, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) launched the long-awaited Phase 2 of the audit program that is intended to assess compliance with the Privacy, Security, and...more
The heightened pleading requirements of the Private Litigation Securities Reform Act (PSLRA) remain strong in the 5th Circuit. On January 13, 2016, the 5th Circuit in Local 731 I.B. of T. Excavators and Pavers Pension Trust...more
In its first published opinion applying the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Omnicare, Inc. v. Laborers District Council Construction Industry Pension Fund, 135 S. Ct. 1318 (2015), the 2nd Circuit has offered relief to...more
Germany has enacted a new data protection statute, which came into force on February 24, 2016, and enables business associations and consumer groups to enforce violations of German data protection laws against businesses....more
The president’s FY 2017 budget, released today, includes cybersecurity as a national priority. The budget would invest $19 billion in overall federal resources for cybersecurity that are intended to support a broad-based...more
Wednesday, February 3, brought additional developments pertaining to the transfer of personal data from the EU to the U.S. consistent with EU privacy law. Just one day prior, we reported on the announcement by the EU and U.S....more
Proxy Access -
2015 was a turning point for shareholder proposals seeking to implement proxy access, which gives certain shareholders the ability to nominate directors and include those nominees in a company’s proxy...more
Executive and Director Compensation -
Perennially in the spotlight, executive compensation will continue to be a hot topic for directors in 2016. But this year, due to the SEC’s active rulemaking in 2015, directors will...more
Audit Committees -
Averaging 8.8 meetings a year, audit continues to be the most time-consuming committee.i Audit committees are burdened not only with overseeing a company’s risks, but also a host of other...more
Risk Management -
Risk management goes hand in hand with strategic planning — it is impossible to make informed decisions about a company’s strategic direction without a comprehensive understanding of the risks involved....more
Cybersecurity -
Nearly 90 percent of CEOs worry that cyber threats could adversely impact growth prospects, up from nearly 70 percent the previous year. Yet, in a recent survey, nearly 80 percent of the more than 1,000...more
M&A Developments -
M&A activity has been robust in 2015 and is on track for another record year. According to Thomson Reuters, global M&A activity exceeded $3.2 trillion, with almost 32,000 deals during the first three...more
Board Composition and Succession Planning -
Boards have to look at their composition and make an honest assessment of whether they collectively have the necessary experience and expertise to oversee the new opportunities...more
Social Media -
Companies that ignore the significant influence that social media has on existing and potential customers, employees and investors do so at their own peril. Last quarter, Facebook reported daily active...more
Top 10 Topics for Directors in 2016 U.S. public companies face a host of challenges as they enter 2016. Here is our annual list of hot topics for the boardroom in the coming year...
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If you read one thing...
- The omnibus appropriations package includes legislation that provides liability protection to companies who voluntarily engage in cybersecurity information sharing.
- The...more
Shareholder Activism -
Shareholder activism and “suggestivism” continue to gain traction. With the success that activists have experienced throughout 2015, coupled with significant new money being allocated to activist...more
On December 15, 2015, European Union (“EU”) politicians and officials reached a political agreement on a new EU-wide legal framework to govern data sharing and collection and related consumer privacy rights. It is called the...more
Strategic Planning Considerations -
Strategic planning continues to be a high priority for directors and one to which they want to devote more time.i Figuring out where the company wants to — and where it should want to...more
The Target data breach has been the source of countless discussions of what to do and what not to do following a data breach. A recent ruling from the federal district court overseeing the consumer class action provides...more
On November 13, 2015, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chief Administrative Law Judge Michael Chappell dismissed a suit brought by the FTC alleging that LabMD’s failure to implement reasonable and appropriate data security...more
Article III of the U.S. Constitution extends the federal judicial power only to “Cases” and “Controversies.” The Supreme Court has long held that no case or controversy exists unless the party invoking federal jurisdiction...more
During Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP’s most recent cybersecurity event, “Tackling Cybersecurity in the Boardroom,” hosted on November 12, 2015, our panels discussed a number of issues facing directors....more
In the wake of the European Court of Justice’s (“CJEU”) landmark decision of Schrems v. Data Protection Authority earlier this month, the EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova announced this week that the EU has “agreed in...more
11/2/2015
/ Article 29 Working Group ,
Binding Corporate Rules ,
Data Protection Authority ,
EU Data Protection Laws ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
International Data Transfers ,
Model Contracts ,
National Security Agency (NSA) ,
Schrems I & Schrems II ,
US-EU Safe Harbor Framework