The Corporate Lawyer

The newsletter of the ISBA’s Corporate Law Departments Section

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2024 Articles

AI and Law: An Opportunity to Improve Legal Practice By Damien Riehl May 2024 Recent exponential leaps in advanced large language models have presented both opportunities and challenges that have the capacity to reshape the legal landscape.
AI Information for In-House Counsel By Margo Lynn Hablutzel May 2024 An overview of the three CLE programs on artificial intelligence sponsored by the Corporate Law Departments Section.
All the Latest Developments in Health Care Law By W. Eugene Basanta & Michael Lee January 2024 Summaries of recent Illinois health care law cases.
Amendments to Illinois Human Rights Act to Take Effect in 2025 By Michelle Olson & Fernanda Contreras November 2024 New amendments to the Illinois Human Rights Act will take effect on January 1, 2025, which will prohibit discrimination against employees based on their reproductive health decisions and family responsibilities and expand the time in which to bring a claim. 
Ban on Employment Non-Competes Fails in New York, But Federal Threat Looms By Troy Sphar & Jay Schleppenbach March 2024 Although non-competes have narrowly survived in New York, at least for now, their continued viability for business is likely to continue to be under fire.
Bankruptcy Sale or Termination of Copyrights. Which One Rules? By Beverly A. Berneman & Victoria R. Lieberman June 2024 A battle between a record company and the members and heirs of a famous rap group is brewing in the Southern District of Florida. The primary issue is whether an author’s ability to terminate a transfer of rights under the Copyright Act is negated by a bankruptcy court order permitting a sale of the author’s works.
Become an Illinois Bar Foundation Champion By Jessica R. Durkin November 2024 At least twice a year at ISBA Annual and Midyear Meetings, we are pitched by colleagues and the Illinois Bar Foundation to become a “Champion.” But what is a Champion really, and what’s in it for us?
Clean Water Act Jurisdiction: A Review of Sackett Cases One Year Later By Lisle A. Stalter & William J. Anaya June 2024 One year post Sackett et ux. v. Environmental Protection Agency, there were several significant decisions analyzing its applicability with differing interpretations.
Compliance With the Beneficial Ownership Rule By Kevin J. Stine February 2024 Although the Beneficial Ownership Rule requiring banks to identify and verify beneficial owners of legal entity customers went into effect in 2018, many bank customers are not aware of the rule and resist assembling the information required for the bank to comply with the rule.
The Corporate Transparency Act: A New Era of Business Accountability By Nikhil A. Mehta October 2024 The Corporate Transparency Act, which aims to enhance transparency among business entities by combating illicit financial activities and bolstering efforts by the federal government to prevent money laundering and other financial crimes, went into effect on January 1.
The DOL Issues Its Final Independent Contractor Rule By Ellen M. Hemminger & Peter Walrod February 2024 The Department of Labor sets new multi-factor test for determining whether worker is employee or independent contractor under Fair Labor Standards Act. 
E-Tailer Beware: The Seventh Circuit Clarifies the Framework for Enforceability of Digital E-Commerce Agreements By Daniel H. Shulman & Krishna Akarapu November 2024 The Seventh Circuit engages in an in-depth analysis of online agreements, providing specific guidelines for what makes an online agreement enforceable.
Editor’s Note By Bernard G. Peter July 2024 An introduction to the issue from the editor.
Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits Fallout After Sweeping FTC Ban on Noncompetes: Part 2—Prohibited vs. Permissible Compensation Arrangements By Mims Maynard Zabriskie, Gina L. Lauriero, Timothy J. Durbin, & Emily Jordan May 2024 An analysis of the implications and fallout from the final rule recently adopted by the Federal Trade Commission banning the enforcement of almost all noncompete agreements with workers.
Federal Jurisdiction and the Clean Water Act: Can We Expect Anything From Congress? By William J. Anaya January 2024 With the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Sacket et ux. v. Environmental Protection Agency et al., it seems that the definition of "waters of the United States" has been resolved—unless, of course, Congress decides to modify the Clean Water Act.
Federal Trade Commission: Non-Compete Rule By Bernard G. Peter October 2024 On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission issued a Final Rule banning Non-Compete Clauses in employee agreements nationwide with an exception for “senior executives” who have a Non-Compete which is in place prior to the effective date of the Rule.
Food and Our Laboratories of Democracy By A. Bryan Endres & Jessica L. Guarino January 2024 One of the more recent state food regulatory developments is California Assembly Bill 418. Effective January 1, 2027, California will prohibit individuals or entities from engaging in the manufacturing, selling, delivering, distributing, holding, or offering for sale of a food product for human consumption in commerce if it contains brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, or red dye 3 (erythrosine).
The H-1B Visa and the Employment Based Green Card: Explaining the Difference By Mohammad Syed June 2024 The H-1B non-immigrant visa and employment-based green card are two similar but distinct pathways for foreign nationals to enter and legally work in the United States.
HHS’s CARES Act Final Rule Better Aligns Part 2 Substance Use Disorder Patient Records Confidentiality Regulations With HIPAA By Jennifer S. Geetter, Daniel F. Gottlieb, Alya Sulaiman, Li Wang, Edward G. Zacharias, & Kyle E. Hafkey April 2024 On February 8, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration jointly issued a final rule to amend the Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder Patient Records regulations under 42 C.F.R. Part 2.
IDOL’s October 18, 2023 FAQs Provide Additional Guidance on How Employers’ Existing Paid Time Off Policies Can Satisfy the Illinois Paid Leave for All Workers Act’s Requirements By Leigh Jeter & Joelle Juárez March 2024 The Illinois Paid Leave for All Workers Act went into effect on January 1, requiring covered employers to provide eligible Illinois employees with up to 40 hours of paid leave each year.
Illinois Freedom to Work Act By Bernard G. Peters April 2024 A number of states including Illinois have enacted legislation to restrict the ability of an employer to enforce non-compete agreements.
Legal Issues that Corporate Law Departments Should Monitor During the Remainder of 2024 By Michelle Olson, Bryan Clark, & Mark Quade July 2024 The first six months of 2024 saw several important legal developments in the areas of employment law, data privacy, artificial intelligence, and securities regulation.
New York Governor Vetoes Bill Banning Non-Compete Agreements By Jonathan A. Wexler February 2024 New York’s Governor Hochul vetoed Senate Bill S3100A, which would have prohibited all non-competition agreements in the state. If passed, New York would have joined a growing number of states to pass laws barring such agreements.
OSHA Final Rule Impacting Employee and Union Rights During Inspections By Charles Palmer & Corissa Pennow October 2024 On April 1, 2024, the Department of Labor published its final rule regarding worker walkaround representative designation during an Occupational Health and Safety Administration inspection.
Post-Election Privacy Priorities; What’s Next? By Kelly V. Carter, CIPP November 2024 While Democrat and Republican legislators often spar over the economy, racial justice, immigration reform, climate change, law enforcement, international engagement, and a long list of other critical issues, this article explores some of the most impactful bipartisan bills federal legislators have worked together on to protect American’s human right to personal privacy.
A Q&A and More Delay: IRS Begins to Issue Clarifying Guidance on SECURE 2.0 Provisions By Jeffrey M. Holdvogt, Lisa K. Loesel, & Teal N. Trujillo April 2024 In late December 2023, the Internal Revenue Service issued Notice 2024-2, providing guidance on key provisions of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022, which includes more than 90 provisions affecting U.S. retirement plans, many of which are specifically aimed at enhancing savings opportunities for workers.
Seventh Circuit Grants Stay and Expedited Appeal of Order Requiring Samsung to Pay Initial Arbitration Fees for 36,000 Claimants By Allen Garrett March 2024 In the wake of a series of U.S. Supreme Court decisions upholding individual arbitration agreements with class action waivers, numerous companies have included such arbitration agreements as part of their terms and conditions.