Ogletree Deakins, one of the largest labor and employment law firms representing management, is pleased to announce that the firm has named Lisa Ellis-James as its Chief Operating Officer. Ellis-James, who will be based in Ogletree Deakins’ Greenville administrative office, joins the firm from The Boston Consulting Group, where she served as Senior Director, Global Operational Innovations, and was the Chief of Staff for the Global Operations Leadership Team. As Ogletree Deakins’ Chief Operating Officer, Ellis-James will lead the firm’s...

On January 6, 2020, the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) released an interim final rule controlling the export of certain artificial intelligence software relating to geospatial imagery analysis (Geospatial AI software). The rule adds Geospatial AI software to the Export Administration Regulations' (EAR) Commerce Control List (CCL) and imposes a license requirement for the export, reexport (shipment from one foreign country to another foreign country), or transfer in-country (collectively "export") of the Geospatial AI software...

Trepp, a leading provider of information analytics and technology to the structured finance, commercial real estate, and banking markets announced today that it has been selected to be the exclusive manager and administrator of the life insurance commercial mortgage whole loan index known as LifeComps™. LifeComps provides a quantifiable investment performance index and serves as a benchmark for privately held commercial real estate mortgages. Going forward, Trepp will generate the LifeComps Index, all underlying reports, and analytics for each of...

Key Events This Week   Brexit: Phase 2 begins  On Wednesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen took a trip to London to meet with Boris Johnson, their first face-to-face encounter as the new leaders of their respective blocs. In a speech to the London School of Economics, von der Leyen said the EU would “go as far as we can” on a deal of “unprecedented scale”. Keep reading Digital tax dispute rumbles on France and the United States have agreed to “double their...

Richards Kibbe & Orbe LLP is pleased to announce that Jamie A. Schafer has been named a partner in the firm and Emily Kelley has been elevated to counsel. Both attorneys are based in the Washington, D.C. office.   “The firm is excited to promote these highly deserving women to their new roles,” said Jennifer Grady, managing partner of the firm. “Jamie has demonstrated an impressive talent for navigating multi-jurisdictional investigations and other sensitive engagements. Our clients have come to recognize...

 Troutman Sanders and Pepper Hamilton, a founding member of the EACCNY, have agreed to merge effective April 1, 2020. The new law firm, Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP, or “Troutman Pepper,” will have 1,100 attorneys in 23 offices across the country. Troutman Pepper will offer its clients greater resources and bench strength, enhanced practices and expanded geographical reach. The announcement follows a vote by both firms’ partnerships earlier this week. Each firm brings a breadth and depth of experience serving...

    On December 13, 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) released a revised policy for companies regarding voluntary self-disclosures of export control and sanctions violations. The revised policy was effective on the date of its release and will be formally incorporated into the Justice Manual. In releasing the revised Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy (VSD Policy), Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers stated, “Protecting our nation’s sensitive technologies and preventing transactions with sanctioned entities are DOJ priorities, but we cannot...

2020 will likely revolve around the question whether competition rules should yield to globalisation and digitisation, with suggestions ranging from mere tweaks to competition rules to complementary regulation. Greater cooperation across data protection, consumer protection and competition law appears inevitable. Speedier solutions in more informal settings may become a reality, alongside more frequent use of behavioural remedies. Additional tools to supplement existing EU competition rules may lead to stricter regulation of non-EU state-supported companies. It remains to be seen precisely...