July 2019

Canna Law Blog Reviews Hemp-CBD Regulations State-by-State, Week-by-Week

July 22nd, 2019|Categories: Complex Business Litigation, Corporate Compliance, HB Risk Notes, HB Tort Notes|Tags: Cannabis, Compliance, Corporate & Securities, Legal Research & Writing, Regulations|

“When it comes to hemp, few states have embraced it like Colorado,” writes Harris Bricken attorney Daniel Shortt. “If you buy a product containing hemp, in any state across the country, it likely came from Colorado.” The state has allocated more than 12,000 acres of outdoor space and 2.35 million square feet of indoor space to hemp cultivation, according to Marijuana Business Daily. Shortt and his colleagues are working their way through a state-by-state series on the Canna Law Blog™, titled Hemp-CBD Across State Lines. The Harris Bricken team has covered Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas and California, and added Colorado to the list yesterday, July 21. The firm’s series covers state regulatory activity following the enactment of the federal Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, aka “The Farm Bill,” which removed hemp and its derivatives from the definition of marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act. The bill gave the USDA regulatory authority over hemp cultivation at the federal level, but states may maintain primary regulatory authority over the crop cultivated within their borders by submitting a plan to the USDA, Shortt explains. Read the Canna Law Blog's Colorado post and follow this series, updated weekly. Related Webinar This Week The Harris Bricken law firm has been on the forefront of the law regarding cannabis and related products for years. Three Harris Bricken [...]

Setting the record straight on cyber insurance claim denials and the ‘war exclusion’

July 22nd, 2019|Categories: HB Risk Notes, Insurance, Technology Law|Tags: Cybersecurity, Data Breach, Insurance, Risk Management|

Is insurance coverage for cyber claims barred by a war exclusion? Judy Selby and Peter McLaughlin asked this question in a recent post for IAPP. Two corporate giants, Mondelez International and Merck, made the headlines recently as they sustained serious damage as a result of a NotPetya infection, an encrypting ransomware. They have each filed declaratory judgments after their carriers denied their claims. Reports of these insurance disputes have led to concerns that cyber incidents involving state actors would not be covered by cyber policies with war exclusions. The Verizon 2019 Data Breach Investigations Report attributes 23% of breaches to nation-states or state-affiliated players. "These state-sponsored attacks typically range from theft or espionage to financial gain; however, some attacks appear to have been driven by grudge or by swatting a neighbor," Selby and McLaughlin write. "[P]erhaps we are viewing this through an old lens. Insurance has often been purchased to address hazards. Specifically, an organization obtains a policy to counter the slim risk of a fire, flood or other catastrophe. Fred Kaplan wrote an article for Slate in April in which he argues the inevitability of attacks – state-sponsored or otherwise – means that we should view cyber insurance more like we do health insurance: coverage against the inevitable, rather than against a hazard risk." Read on for what else Selby [...]

PTSD in Multi-Plaintiff and Mass Tort Cases | Webinar OnDemand

July 19th, 2019|Categories: Class Actions, Complex Business Litigation, Employment, HB Risk Notes, Mass Torts|Tags: Expert Witnesses, Healthcare, Litigation & appeals, PTSD, Risk Management|

[one-fourth-first] Price: $47 When: On-demand Where: Your computer or mobile device CLE: 1 hour Speakers Mark I. Levy MD, DLFAPA Medical Director Forensic Psychiatric Associates Medical Corporation Associate Clinical Professor, Psychiatry University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine 415.388.8040 mlevy@fpamed.com Sarah A. Hall, PhD. Psychologist for Forensic & Neuropsychological Assessments Forensic Psychiatric Associates Medical Corporation shall@fpamed.com [/one-fourth-first][three-fourths] What tort attorneys need to know about PTSD claims. Mass tort claims arise most frequently in man-made and natural disaster catastrophe litigation as well as personal injury, employment, product liability and toxic tort litigation. Frequently, these lawsuits include either primary or secondary allegations of emotional distress. PTSD is one of the most common emotional distress claims alleged within mass tort litigation, as well as allegations of depression and emotional stress (anxiety). Join an experienced psychiatrist and psychologist who will cover the following topics relevant to the forensic psychiatric assessment of emotional damages within mass tort and complex litigation: + Introduction: Defining PTSD. What it is and what it is not. + The methodological approach to assessing allegations of emotional distress in mass tort & complex litigation. + The importance and the methodology of psychological testing as part of the assessment of emotional distress claims in mass tort litigation. + Claimant population screening. Using psychological test instruments to differentiate claimants who [...]