Chapter News

EU Commission makes additional proposals to fight high energy prices and ensure security of supply

The Commission is today proposing a new emergency regulation to address high gas prices in the EU and ensure security of supply this winter. This will be done through joint gas purchasing, price limiting mechanisms on the TTF gas exchange, new measures on transparent infrastructure use and solidarity between Member States, and continuous efforts to reduce gas demand. The regulation contains the following main elements: Aggregation of EU demand and joint gas purchasing to negotiate better prices and reduce...

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Member News

Faegre Drinker | First Biometric Information Privacy Act Trial Results in $228M Verdict

Last week, the first jury trial under the Illinois Biometric Privacy Act (BIPA) resulted in a $228 million verdict in favor of the plaintiff and the class. The case, Rogers v. BNSF Railway Co., was filed in May 2019 and was pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. A class was certified in March 2022. Plaintiff alleged that BNSF unlawfully scanned his and other truck drivers’ fingerprints for identity verification when he and they visited...

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Member News

WSGR | Cryptocurrency Exchange Platform Agrees to Pay over $53 Million for Anti-Money Laundering and Sanctions Violations

On October 11, 2022, the U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced settlements with Bittrex Inc. (Bittrex). The settlements arise from violations of the Bank Secrecy Act—the federal law that imposes anti-money laundering (AML) requirements on financial institutions—and violations of OFAC's sanctions regimes. This matter represents the first time that FinCEN and OFAC jointly have penalized a money services business (MSB) for inadequately monitoring virtual currency transactions for suspicious and illegal activity....

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Member News

Loyens & Loeff | Alternating weekly working regime in Belgium

Amongst the various measures provided by the so-called Labour Deal to improve employees’ work-life balance, is the alternating weekly working regime. In short, this system allows full-time employees to work more one week and less the following week. Part-time employees are excluded since the existing legal framework already allows them to organise their working regime in cycles that extend over more than one week in which periods with longer and shorter working hours alternate in a fixed order. Employer’s choice The draft Act...

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Chapter News

ECB | Which workers are most affected by changes in the policy rate?

The ECB Blog investigates how change in the policy rate affects wages very differently depending on characteristics of employees and firms, such as firms’ size and their access to credit. Results show that the effects are symmetric during times of easing and tightening. The ECB uses its policy rates to achieve price stability. But its decisions also have side effects on labour markets. To better understand how interest rate cuts and hikes affect labour market outcomes we look at workers,...

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Chapter News

Interview with Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the ECB, conducted by Dalius Simenas on 10 October 2022

Some experts are sceptical whether monetary tightening and rapid raising of interest rates are an effective tool to tame inflation, which in the euro area is driven mainly by extremely high energy prices, by Russia's energy blackmail towards those European countries supporting Ukraine against Russian aggression. Are you confident that the European Central Bank (ECB) will manage to curb the record high inflation that reached 10% in September and to get it back to the ECB’s target of 2%...

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Member News

Reavis Page Jump | Introducing our newest Senior Associate, Daniel Jason Ain

We are thrilled to welcome our newest Senior Associate: Daniel Jason Ain. We are thrilled to welcome Daniel Jason Ain as the newest member of our Media and Entertainment and Employment Departments. Dan counsels production companies, independent producers, and talent on a broad range of projects across all stages of development and production. He brings to our firm years of experience representing talent in entertainment transactions, including in film, television, digital media, theater, live music, podcasts, literary publishing, and endorsements....

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Member News

Cozen O’Connor | Investindustrial’s Agreement to Purchase Majority Stake of Eataly S.p.A

Cozen O’Connor served as U.S. and Canadian counsel in Investindustrial’s acquisition of a majority stake in Eataly S.p.A., the global chain of upscale Italian marketplaces. A team led by M&A attorney and Italy Practice Chair Christian Moretti conducted significant due diligence of more than 20 Eataly businesses in the United States and Canada, in collaboration with Deloitte Legal Italy and Studio Legale Chiomenti. For nearly two decades, Eataly has been operating high-quality Italian food markets and restaurant concepts in prestigious locations...

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Chapter News

Keynote Address by Executive Dombrovskis at Harvard Law School Event on “Power and Alliances: The Transatlantic Partnership in a Changing World”

Ladies and gentlemen, It is truly an honour to be here in Harvard Law School. I am coming directly from Washington, where I represented the European Union at meetings of the IMF and World Bank. I had the chance to meet my American counterparts and ministers from around the world. At these global gatherings, and others I have attended recently, notably the G20 in Indonesia, there is a sense of upheaval in the air. The world is clearly changing. Today I want to share...

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Member News

Troutman Pepper | More Privacy, Please: October 2022

Editor's Note: In the U.S. laws and regulation space, the White House is focusing on privacy, evident through its session on accountability for big tech and the recent executive order highlighting cybersecurity risks. Meanwhile, the governor of California signed into law the Age-Appropriate Design Code Act and the New York legislature is considering a similar bill titled the Child Data Privacy and Protection Act. In U.S. litigation, a former security chief was convicted of obstructing justice in relation to...

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