News

On March 13, 2015, the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council (one of the configurations of the Council of the European Union) made some progress on the EU data protection framework and the Proposal for a European Regulation on data protection. The EU Council agreed on a partial general approach (7178/15) on the “One Stop Shop” mechanism and the principles for […]

On March 18, 2015, the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade of the US House of Representatives will review a recently proposed draft legislation that aims to tackle data security threats at a national level. The “Data Security and Breach Notification Act,” is a bipartisan bill authored by full committee Vice Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) […]

On March 12, 2015, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released an order detailing how it would regulate network neutrality. According to the statement by the Chairman Tom Wheeler, by reclassifying broadband Internet access service as a public utility, the FCC aims, among others, at ensuring incentives for private investment and fast, fair, and open […]

On March 6, 2015, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Dutch Data Protection Authority (College bescherming persoonsgegevens, see here) to “enhance information sharing and enforcement cooperation on privacy-related matters”. The MOU is similar to agreements the FTC has signed with with the data protection authorities of Ireland and the […]

On February 5, 2015, Article 29 Working Party (“WP29″) clarified the scope of the definition of data concerning health in relation to lifestyle and wellbeing apps. The Data Protection Directive (95/46/EC) establishes that health data are a special category of data, to which a higher level of data protection applies. According to the letter, the […]

Ethics Opinion 368 – Lawyer Employment Agreements—Restrictions on Departing Lawyer Who Competes with Former Firm “A law firm may not provide for or impose liquidated damages on a lawyer who, after departure, competes with the firm. A firm and a departing lawyer may have liability to one another, though, for work done before the lawyer’s departure. Also, a […]

On February 25, 2015, the Second Judicial Department, Appellate Division of New York Supreme Court, publicly censured a New York lawyer for not disclosing on her bar application a teen charge for petit larceny and criminal possession of stolen property. The lawyer falsely answered “No” to Question 12 on her application for admission to the […]

The ABA Journal and the National Law Journal report that a Pennsylvania boutique firm sued 14 lawyers for stealing laptops pertaining to the departed law firm. After the suit was filed, the departing lawyers erased the laptops to preserve what they say were their clients’ sensitive data, and returned the computers. Now the law firm […]

During a plenary meeting on January 13, 2015, the MEPs at the EU Parliament discussed whether a “structural” surveillance justified by “national security” would excuse tapping conversations between lawyers and their clients. The MEPs debated on how to balance national security needs and the right to confidentiality of communications between lawyers and suspects or accused […]

On January 29, 2015, the EU Court of Human Rights released its Annual 2014 Report. The report includes an overview of the Court’s case law, some statistical information, and – among other things –a list by country of violations classified according to the subject matter. The documents attests that 2014 saw an impressive decline in […]