Blog
Unpacking New York’s Cannabis Program Challenges and Future Outlook
Explore New York State’s journey in legalizing recreational marijuana with a focus on equity. Learn about the impact of past cannabis policies, the challenges faced in licensing, and the ongoing legal battles affecting the distribution of benefits to minority communities. Discover the efforts to address inequities through the allocation of licenses and tax revenues in New York’s evolving cannabis landscape.
Navigating the Future of Non-Compete Agreements: What Employers Need to Know
Explore the shifting landscape of non-compete agreements in New York and their broader impact on employers, with insights into future legal trends.
HIVE is Ranked Number One in the Technology Category of the 2024 TSX Venture 50 list
We congratulate our client, HIVE Digital Technologies LTD (TSX.V: HIVE) (Nasdaq: HIVE) (FSE: Y00.F) on being ranked Number One in the technology category of the 2024 TSX Venture 50 list. https://money.tmx.com/en/venture50 HIVE specializes in building and operating...
The 2022 Canadian Listed Issuer Private Placement Exemption
Based ten minutes from the U.S. – Canadian border, we do a significant amount of cross-border work. From time to time we will release updates on developments in Canadian law affecting our business clients in both countries. Canadian securities regulations are moving...
New Federal Requirements for Disclosing Beneficial Ownership of Business Entities
On January 1, 2024, the Corporate Transparency Act (the “CTA”), codified at 31 U.S.C. 5336[i] and the final rule (the “Final Rule”)[ii] promulgated thereunder, will become fully effective. Passed in 2021, the CTA creates a new beneficial ownership information...
What You Need to Know About New York’s New Ban on Non-Competes
On June 7, 2023, the New York Senate passed a bill that would ban on non-compete agreements with individuals in New York. Later in June, 2023, the New York State Assembly passed a companion bill and sent it to Governor Hochul’s desk, where it awaits her signature and...
Maintaining Confidentiality during Medical Leaves: FMLA and ADA Compliance
In today’s post-pandemic world, employee leave is an issue at the forefront for large and small businesses alike. Whether an employee is on continuous or intermittent leave to care for themselves or a family member, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and...
Energy Provisions of New York’s 2023-24 Budget Explained
In May of 2023, Governor Kathy Hochul announced New York’s FY 2024 budget, including investments in sustainable buildings, affordability, and clean energy development. This represents an extensive climate package and makes transformative investments in clean energy. ...
What the Warhol Decision Means for Fair Use
On May 23, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith. This case marked the Court’s second recent decision regarding the Copyright Act and helps clarify the current state of play regarding the fair...
Complying with the Drug-Free Workplace Act
All employers have a vested interest in maintaining workplaces free from substance abuse and can use their employment policies to achieve this. Often, these policies invoke state or federal laws. However, only a fraction of U.S. employers are actually required to...
Winter Storm Impacts on Wage and Hour Issues
Regardless of what the groundhog sees on February 2nd, the impacts of winter on employers across the Northeast will be felt well into the spring. And to the surprise of some lawyers, the biggest legal questions regarding winter weather have more to do with how winter...
When to Register in a State – What Is the Definition of “Doing Business” in a State?
Even before the global pandemic forced unprecedented levels of work from home, companies around the U.S. had begun to reevaluate where their employees could best do their work. Their newfound flexibility brings new complexity as employers buy into the concept that...
First Shiloh Baptist Church Development – $73 Million Financing
We congratulate our client, First Shiloh Baptist Church, on the successful closing of $73 million dollars in financing for the renovation of the 281-unit Ellicott Town Center affordable housing development. Kavinoky Cook represented the First Shiloh housing ...
How the Valuation of Crypto-Based Startups is Impacted by Network Effects
While some investors chose to invest in cryptocurrencies based upon an understanding of the underlying technology and potential of their blockchain, others invest in crypto because they are following a trend and may not understand what drives the valuation of...
Exclusion of “Consequential Damages” – It’s Not a “Standard” Clause, and It Should Not Be Ignored
It is common in agreements of all kinds to see a clause where a party that is providing a product or service disclaims any liability for “consequential damages.” These clauses frequently are glossed over. They may be passed off as “standard” and part of “our normal...
Department of Labor’s Proposed New Rule on Independent Contractors
In late 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) proposed to reinstate its multi-factor "economic reality" test to determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In doing so, the DOL proposed...
Proposed U.S. Ban on Non-Compete Clauses: What Are the Implications?
On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a proposed regulation that, if adopted, could potentially invalidate and largely prohibit the use of employee non-competes in the U.S. Currently, some estimate that non-compete agreements bar about 30...
Unpacking New SEC Insider Trading Rules for 2023
On December 14, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments to Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Rule 10b5-1 provides an affirmative defense to insider trading liability for individuals...
Maintaining FCRA Compliance When Running Background Checks on Employees
To ensure workforce safety and security, many employers routinely conduct background checks on candidates for employment. However, these seemingly protective actions can expose employers to significant litigation risk if done incorrectly. In fact, if you are thinking...
What Businesses Need to Know About the Safeguards Rule
When it was first established in 2003, the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Standards for Safeguarding Customer Information — the Safeguards Rule — set out to ensure that covered entities maintained the security of customer information. As part of the larger 1999...
An Overview: NYS Data Security Breach Laws
In 2019, the New York Legislature strengthened its commitment to keeping New Yorkers’ personal information safe and secure. That year, the Stop Hacks and Improve Electronic Data Security (SHIELD) Act became law. This new consumer privacy law was put in place to...
Security Breach Liabilities: What to Do When You Get Hacked?
You have been hacked. Those are four words no business owner wants to hear. Whether hackers stole personal information from a server, an employee copied information from a drive, or customer information was inadvertently exposed on the internet, you need to know how...
Vetoed By the Governor – New York’s Independent Contractor Law
The Freelance Isn’t Free Act (the “Act”) was passed by the Legislature in June of 2022 and vetoed by the Governor in December of 2022. We have deleted the balance of this post.
What to Do When You Get a Letter From a Copyright Troll
We thought it might make sense to take a minute and talk about the phenomenon knowns as “copyright trolls.” Persons or companies looking for copyright infringement, sometimes known as “copyright trolls,” can be an unexpected and expensive problem. Similar to what has...