All Articles

Waste Not, Want Not: The EPA has revised the definition of solid waste and its recycling exemptions

On January 13, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published its final rule revising the definition of solid waste under Subtitle C of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). (80 Fed. Reg. 1694.) This rule revises the EPA’s previous 2008 definition of the...

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Healthcare

Deals with a Difference: Three key factors distinguish the red hot senior care M&A market

The senior care and housing merger and acquisition market – which includes skilled nursing, assisted living and independent living – has been red hot throughout 2014 and 2015. According to Irving Levin Associates, Inc., senior care M&A set a record in 2014; and for the first half of...

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Cannabis

Weed & Work: Blaze up on a vacation and you may be ganja

In August 2013, the Department of Justice updated its enforcement policy to proclaim that, while marijuana was still a dangerous drug under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), it was "not an efficient use of federal resources to focus enforcement efforts" on "possession of small...

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Energy

Smaller Businesses Reaping Bigger Gains: As options increase, so does the role of counsel in crafting smart energy strategies

Every company uses utility services such as electricity and natural gas. The current economy has increased the pressure to examine cost reduction strategies, with utility services being a prime target for many businesses. Many organizations also have sustainability and environmental...

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On The GC's Red-Hot Crisis Management To-Do List: Review that employee handbook – and soon!

Employee handbooks and personnel policy manuals have been evolving over the past two decades. The evolution may be most visible in the modern-day format of the handbook: what once was a collection of policies in a three-ring binder now may be a link on an intranet, where single policies can be...

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Intellectual Property

Welcome Fallout from the Smartphone Wars: Federal Circuit embraces strong protection of design patents

Yet another battle in the long-running war over smartphones between industry and cultural titans, Apple and Samsung, has been decided, with Apple once again getting the better of its nemesis. This particular battle, however, has also given rise to an important decision clarifying and reinforcing...

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Energy

Demand-Side Energy Economics: An evolving firm confronts an evolving market

MCC: Can you give us an update on significant developments in the energy industry and their impact on the firm’s practice in this area? Kleppinger: Restructuring and deregulation activity in the energy industry have added to the complexity of our practice, expanding it from strictly...

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