CMM Legal Blog

Almost daily, the headlines report new cybersecurity attacks, each more brazen and far-reaching than the last. Businesses may think their general commercial liability policy will cover their losses in the event of a cybersecurity attack, but often learn the hard way that insurance companies frequently deny coverage for these losses. Electronic data is not considered […]

Another year has come and gone. As we usher in 2019, business owners should know that New York State has also ushered in changes to the minimum wage and the overtime exempt salary threshold effective December 31, 2018. Minimum Wage Increase Employers generally must pay nonexempt employees at least the minimum wage.  Minimum wage throughout […]

As of January 1, 2019, the length of paid leave and amount of weekly benefits under the New York Paid Family Leave Act (“PFLA”) increased, the first of three yearly increases.  The PFLA, which took effect in 2018, provides eligible employees with job-protected, paid time off to (1) bond with a child, (2) care for […]

Suffolk County employers, take note: effective June 30, 2019, employers in the county will be barred from asking about a job applicant’s salary history during the hiring process or relying on any such information to determine compensation. The change is the result of the recently passed Restricting Information on Salaries and Earnings (“RISE”) Act, which […]

Amicus curiae briefs, also known as “friend of the court” briefs, are often filed in appellate cases heard by the United States Supreme Court (as well as state appellate courts and intermediate federal courts of appeal). Amicus briefs provide non-parties who have a strong interest in the subject matter of a case – sometimes referred […]

The political drama surrounding Justice Kavanaugh’s confirmation captivated the public this fall. Across the country, people were glued to their screens watching the proceedings. But why? Fierce ideological debates and even allegations of sexual assault are not new to confirmation hearings. Throughout history, confirmation hearings have involved sexual assault allegations (Justice Thomas) and ideological disagreements […]

With major data and security breaches consistently making headlines, a thorough investigation of a target company’s security practices is critical to a buyer’s decision to purchase a company. Areas of examination include operational assets, financial data, legal matters, strategic planning, and employee information. Such assessments help potential buyers manage and alleviate risk, liability, and exposure […]

In the world of M&A, each party to a purchase agreement makes certain representations and warranties that serve to allocate risk between the parties and provide a basis for post-closing indemnification obligations. Although often used interchangeably, there are functional differences between a representation and a warranty. A representation is an assertion of past or existing […]

“Choice-of-law” provisions, identifying which state’s laws a contract will be interpreted under, are almost universally found in contract “boilerplate.” Businesspeople anxious to get deals done typically focus their attention on the up-front-and-center contractual provisions detailing the terms of the deal, not the boilerplate language concerning jurisdiction, venue, choice-of-law, and other unexciting provisions stuck in at […]

In a recent decision with implications for the extraterritorial reach of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held in United States v. Hoskins that foreign nationals who cannot be convicted as principals under the FCPA cannot be held liable for conspiring to violate, or aiding and […]