Blogs

Baker Hostetler prides itself on providing clients and other interested parties with timely updates on developing issues in law. The following legal and industry blogs are written and maintained by the lawyers of Baker Hostetler and report on changes to the law, recent court decisions and other issues affecting businesses.
 

• China-U.S. Trade Law: http://www.ChinaUSTradeLawBlog.com/
  Baker Hostetler’s China-U.S. Trade Law blog provides insights and commentary on active trade disputes between China & the U.S.
  • Recent Posts: China-U.S. Trade Law
     
• Class Action Lawsuit Defense: http://www.ClassActionLawsuitDefense.com/
  The Class Action Lawsuit Defense blog is designed to provide news and commentary on recent class actions, trends and issues of interest.
  • Recent Posts: Class Action Lawsuit Defense
     
• Data Privacy Monitor: http://www.DataPrivacyMonitor.com/
  Protecting information is a growing concern for companies of every size, across all industries. Baker Hostetler’s lawyers report on the topics of data privacy, security and social media subjects via Data Privacy Monitor
  • Recent Posts: Data Privacy Monitor
     
• Discovery Advocate: http://www.DiscoveryAdvocate.com/
  Baker Hostetler's E-Discovery and Technology team and takes a practical look at modern discovery practice and the developments and trends that impact today’s litigants in the trenches of litigation.
  • Recent Posts: Discovery Advocate
     
• Employment Class Action Blog: http://www.EmploymentClassActionReport.com/
  Baker Hostetler’s Employment Class Action blog acquaints management and employers with developing issues that impact class actions, including employment discrimination, wage and hour, civil rights and benefits matters.
  • Recent Posts: Employment Class Action Blog
     
• HospitalityLawg®: http://www.HospitalityLawg.com/
  Through HospitalityLawg®, Baker Hostetler’s lawyers identify the business dynamics and legal issues that have the potential for shaping the hospitality industry and offer useful commentary and insight into these matters of importance.
  • Recent Posts: Hospitality Lawg
     
• Utica Marcellus Shale Monitor: http://www.UticaMarcellusShaleMonitor.com/
  This blog is designed to provide the latest legal news and information regarding shale plays in the Utica and Marcellus regions.
  • Recent Posts: Utica Marcellus Shale Monitor
     
• Tax Controversy: http://www.IssuesInTaxControversy.com/
  Baker Hostetler’s Tax lawyers, present commentary on tax enforcement, news and developments on the team’s blog, Issues in Tax Controversy.
  • Recent Posts: Issues In Tax Controversy

 

China-U.S. Trade Law Recent Posts

Driving Over The Brink
Posted February 17, 2012 by Dr. Elliot Feldman

Two years ago, we reported that China was initiating an investigation, based on dumping and subsidy allegations, into imports of U.S. automobiles. We warned that the published petition was more a political than a legal document, telling a peculiar and nationalistic version of industrial history and concentrating on alleged subsidies, particularly for the development of electric cars, that had nothing to do with the subject merchandise. MORE>
 

The Sun Does Not Shine on Trade Policy: Hypocrisy in Technological Green
Posted January 18, 2012 by Dr. Elliot Feldman

The Plan To Make The Planet Green In Cooperation With China
President Barack Obama committed his Administration soon after his election in November 2008 to the development of green technologies. He posited that investment in the creation of systems and equipment that would roll back climate change would create jobs while saving the planet, and as everyone in every country ultimately would share the mission of saving the planet, an American lead in green technologies would fuel exports. President Obama decided in the depths of the Great Recession that doubling American exports in five years was a key to recovery. He could see before him a coherent agenda: saving the planet and the economy at the same time by creating new jobs in new industries. MORE>

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Class Action Lawsuit Defense Recent Posts

Madoff Trustee Victorious in Enjoining Competing Class Actions
Posted March 27, 2012 by Deborah Renner

Baker Hostetler serves as Court-appointed counsel to Irving H. Picard, SIPA Trustee for the liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (“BLMIS”). In December 2010, the Trustee obtained a $5 billion settlement for BLMIS customers with allowed claims. MORE>
 

Class and Collective Actions in the Age of Globalization
Posted March 17, 2012 by Paul Karlsgodt

Globalization has brought with it the growing problem of how to deal with mass disputes that transcend jurisdictional boundaries, as well as ever-increasing creativity among the members of the plaintiffs’ bar in bringing ever-larger class and mass actions. MORE>

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Data Privacy Monitor Recent Posts

European Commission Proposes Reform to Data Protection Rules
Posted March 16, 2012 by Erica Gann Kitaev

Earlier this year, the European Commission proposed a comprehensive reform to the EU's 1995 data protection rules, with the stated purposes of strengthening online privacy rights and boosting Europe's “digital economy.” MORE>
 

HHS Settles HIPAA Violations Related to a Breach for $1.5M
Posted March 15, 2012 by Theodore J. Kobus III

BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee (BCBST) was the victim of a theft in 2009 when an intruder stole 57 hard drives which contained protected health information (PHI) of more than 1 million customers. The information on the hard drives included names, Social Security Numbers, diagnosis codes, dates of birth, and health plan identification numbers. MORE>

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Discovery Advocate Recent Posts

 
Is Social Media Discoverable? Stick to the Basics (Part 1)
Posted March 26, 2012 by Jennifer Walwrath

Is social media relevant to the claims or defenses at issue in your litigation? If so, is it within your possession, custody, or control? And, if so, is there anything else that may preclude or limit discovery of social media content? MORE>
 
 

Sedona Conference Issues Draft Guidance on Ethics and Metadata
Posted March 20, 2012 by Gil Keteltas

The Sedona Conference’s recently published draft Commentary on Ethics & Metadata is a practical guide to the different and sometimes conflicting duties a lawyer faces in two very different contexts: every day communications with third parties and discovery. In short - context is everything when it comes to metadata. MORE>

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Employment Class Action Blog Recent Posts

Plaintiffs Swallow Bitter Pill With Dismissal of Class Breach of ERISA Fiduciary Duty Claim for Alleged Wage and Hour Violations
Posted March 19, 2012 by Jeffrey Vlasek

The case of DeSilva v. North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Inc., Case No. 10-CV-1341-JFB-ETB (E.D.N.Y. March 7, 2012), began small, like a lone cough one winter’s morning, before escalating into a full-blown cold, complete with hacking and wheezing. At first there were six plaintiffs working as nurses. MORE>

 
Court Decertifies FLSA Collective Action Against IBM
Posted March 13, 2012 by Greg Mersol

We've commented before that employers defending collective actions under the FLSA generally fare far better on a motion to decertify than one for conditional certification, and a recent case reflects that fact. In Seward v. International Business Machine Corp, Case No. 08-CV-3976 (S.D. N.Y., March 9, 2012), the plaintiffs sought to represent a class of IBM call center workers. MORE>

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Hospitality Lawg® Recent Posts

Deadline for Compliance with ADA Pool Lift Requirements Extended
Posted March 19, 2012 by Amy Bellman

As we reported previously, new ADA accessibility construction standards and reservation requirements took effect last week on Thursday, March 15, 2012. One of the primary issues of concern with these new regulations is the requirement for all swimming pools, wading pools and spas to have an accessible means of entry and exit. MORE>
 

No Day at the Beach: New Jersey Court Rules on Misclassification of Employees
Posted February 27, 2012 by Chirag B. Kabrawala

We previously reported on Whitehead v. Vacation Charters, Ltd., where Vacation Charters, the owner and operator of the Split Rock timeshare resort, was found liable for a class action judgment in excess of $2.2 million for misclassifying sales employees as independent contractors during a three-year period. MORE>

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Utica Marcellus Shale Monitor Recent Posts

Kasich To Fund Ohio Income Tax Cut with Tax Increase on Oil & Gas
Posted March 14, 2012 by Lori Herf

Ohio Governor John Kasich announced today that he plans to “change Ohio’s severance tax for oil and gas production” in his Midterm Budget Review Bill and use the additional revenue to fund an across-the-board income tax cut. MORE>
 

Ohio DNR Report: Youngstown Quakes Linked to Injection Well; Revised Regulations for Brine Disposal Forthcoming
Posted March 12, 2012 by Jason Yearout

On March 9, 2012, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (DNR) issued a preliminary report summarizing its findings as to the relationship between a series of low-magnitude earthquakes near Youngstown, Ohio (that culminated in a December 31, 2011 4.0-magnitude seismic event) and the operation since late 2010 of a class II deep injection well near a fault line in the area. In the report DNR clearly noted that such a direct link is very rare and that a number of separate circumstances must coincide for an injection well to induce an earthquake. MORE>

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Issues In Tax Controversy Recent Posts

New Foreign Asset Reporting Requirements for 2011 Returns
Posted March 3, 2012 by Jennifer Benda

The HIRE Act of 2010 enacted Section 6038D which requires single taxpayers to report ownership of specified foreign financial assets which in aggregate exceed $50,000 on new Form 8938, which is filed with an individual’s Form 1040. Various dollar thresholds apply to individuals who do not file single taxpayer returns. Individuals required to file Form 8938 are still required to comply separately with Treasury rules for filing FBARs, or Form T.D. 90-22.1, to report foreign bank and financial accounts. MORE>
 

Careful Attention to Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Cases
Posted January 19, 2012 by Allen Littman

Baker Hostetler’s lawyers have handled hundreds of voluntary disclosures through the 2009 and 2011 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Programs (OVDI). Recently, the IRS has announced a third OVDI, this time with no defined termination date. MORE>

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