05/10/2013 - Dallas Business Journal Guest Article: Cyber Attacks Pose Serious Threat. Be Prepared.
The Director of National Intelligence recently reported that cyber attacks are the No. 1 threat to our national security. But cyber crime is not just a threat to our national security; it is a threat to many of the organizations we represent.

04/25/2013 - California Man Convicted of Hacking into Former Employer’s Computer Network
A jury in the Northern District of California has convicted David Nosal of violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”) by accessing his former employer’s computer network without authorization to obtain confidential information for use in a competing business.

04/17/2013 - California Computer Hacking Case Highlights Important Circuit Split on the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
The computer hacking trial of David Nosal is under way in federal district court in California. The trial is being followed with interest in the business community because it is the latest development in a case that highlights an important split in the interpretation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”) that has far-reaching ramifications with respect to liability–and protection for companies’ proprietary information.

04/09/2013 - Dallas Association of Young Lawyers Dicta Guest Article: Understanding Cyber Risks
The Director of National Intelligence recently reported that cyber attacks are the number one threat to our national security. But cybercrime is not just a threat to our national security; it is a threat to many of the organizations we represent.

03/14/2013 - Cyber Attacks are the Number One Threat to National Security
The U.S. Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, advised the Senate Intelligence Committee this week that cyber attacks are the number one threat to national security.

03/12/2013 - Public Companies Increasingly Disclosing Cybersecurity Risks
An increasing number of public companies - particularly banks and financial institutions - are disclosing cybersecurity incidents in their filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

02/19/2013 - President Obama Signs Cybersecurity Executive Order
President Obama recently signed an executive order focused on improving the security of the nation’s infrastructure from cyber attack.

01/31/2013 - PCAOB Auditing Standard No. 16 Outlines Requirements for Communications between Audit Committees and Auditors
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”) recently issued Auditing Standard No. 16, Communications with Audit Committees (“Standard 16”), to provide a framework for the discussions that an auditor must undertake with the audit committee of its public company clients.

09/17/2012 - Law360 Guest Article: Fraley V. Facebook: Impact On Class Action Litigation
It is not uncommon in class actions for parties to reach a settlement that provides nonmonetary relief to the plaintiffs and a payment of attorneys’ fees to class counsel. In August, however, a California federal court denied preliminary approval of such a settlement.

09/13/2012 - Not So Fast: Recovering Plaintiff Attorneys’ Fees in Non-Monetary Class Action Settlements Just Got Harder
It is not uncommon in class actions for parties to reach a settlement that provides non-monetary relief to the plaintiffs and a payment of attorneys’ fees to class counsel. In August, however, a California federal court denied preliminary approval of such a settlement.

05/31/2012 - Information Sharing: Still Risky After All These Years
Two recent antitrust matters serve as reminders that exchanging sensitive information with business competitors can pose significant antitrust risks – particularly when companies stray from the “safety zones” established by the federal antitrust enforcement authorities.

05/24/2012 - Information Sharing: Still Risky After All These Years
Two recent antitrust matters serve as reminders that exchanging sensitive information with business competitors can pose significant antitrust risks – particularly when companies stray from the “safety zones” established by the federal antitrust enforcement authorities.

03/22/2012 - The Antitrust Implications of Health Care Reform
The current hot topic among health care providers is whether to join an accountable care organization (“ACO”). With this interest in consolidation comes the latest round of antitrust scrutiny.

07/21/2011 - Armor Holdings, Inc., Settles Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Claims with SEC, DOJ
Armor Holdings, Inc., recently resolved allegations that it violated both the anti-bribery and accounting provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Because of Armor’s extensive cooperation with the government, it was able to obtain a non-prosecution agreement from the Department of Justice and a settlement from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

07/19/2011 - Tax-Exempt Hospitals Face New Reporting Requirement of Community Health Needs Assessment
The Internal Revenue Service has proposed guidelines detailing how tax-exempt hospitals can conduct a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), as required in the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).

07/11/2011 - Company Settles with State Attorney General Over Failure to Disclose Data Breach
WellPoint, Inc. recently reached a settlement with the Indiana Attorney General following its failure to disclose a security breach involving consumers’ personal information.

07/06/2011 - Texas Legislation Further Limits Ban on Corporate Practice of Medicine
During the 2011 legislative session that just ended, Texas Governor Rick Perry signed into law a bill that allows rural hospitals to employ physicians, known as the “corporate practice of medicine,” despite the state’s long-standing ban on such practices.

06/27/2011 - U.S. Senate Conducts Further Inquiry into Relationships Between Medical Device Manufacturers and Physicians
Earlier this week, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee requested documents and information from a medical device manufacturer related to the financial relationship between the manufacturer and physicians who conducted clinical trials of one of its devices.

05/19/2011 - SEC Announces First-Ever Deferred Prosecution Agreement
The Securities and Exchange Commission has reached its first-ever deferred prosecution agreement (“DPA”) with Tenaris, S.A., a global supplier of steel pipe products to the oil and gas industry. Tenaris disclosed to the Commission that its employees had engaged in conduct that potentially violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”).

05/13/2011 - FTC Orders Texas Doctors' Group to Cease Joint Price Negotiations with Insurers
Southwest Health Alliance (“Southwest”), an independent practice association with approximately 900 member-physicians, has agreed to a proposed order recently entered by the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) settling charges that it engaged in anticompetitive conduct in its dealings with insurers and other payors for the provision of physician services (collectively, “insurers” or “payors”).

05/09/2011 - SEC Needs more than Transaction-Based Compensation to Prove Broker Activity
A Florida court has rejected the Securities and Exchange Commission’s single-factor transaction-based compensation test for broker activity, perhaps signaling a more favorable view toward “finders” in the future. The court held that an array of non-exclusive factors should be evaluated to determine whether a finder engaged in broker activity.