Action-Snacked Year: Food Labeling Class Actions On The Rise

Consumer class action lawsuits targeting foods for alleged false and misleading labeling rose sharply in 2020. Although this trend may appear to threaten the food and beverage industry, courts are applying the “reasonable consumer” standard with a “real world” perspective, dismissing cases despite plaintiffs’ alleged subjective confusion about the labeling at issue because the hypothetical “reasonable consumer” would not have been misled.

Supreme Court Issues Highly Anticipated Decision in NCAA Antitrust Suit

The Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rules restricting student-athletes’ educational benefits are not entitled to deference under the antitrust laws and are subject to antitrust scrutiny under a “rule-of-reason” analysis.

Blockchain’s Promising Future in Battling Counterfeit Luxury Goods

Luxury brands spend copious amounts of time, money, and resources to protect their brands, trademarks, and intellectual property. But even so, the counterfeit market keeps growing, and annual losses from counterfeit goods reach well into the billions. Leading luxury retailers are now turning to blockchain technologies in an effort to douse the flames. By providing accurate, transparent, and verified data directly to consumers, blockchain might allow luxury brands to radically change the playing field.

The Compliance Monthly: A CONVERSATION WITH JESSICA WINCHELL, VICE PRESIDENT FOR COMPLIANCE AT BROWN BROTHERS HARRIMAN TRUSTEE SERVICES IN IRELAND

Jessica Winchell, Vice President of Compliance with Brown Brothers Harriman, describes her path to a career in compliance, skills necessary to succeed in the field, and how her time at Temple Law helped to shape her professional life.

Extension of Energy Related Tax Incentives Boosts Renewable Energy Industry

Congress signaled bipartisan support for renewable energy investment in the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Relief Act (the Act) of 2020, part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. Stradley Ronan Associate Andreas N. Andrews (LAW’14) published an article in Tax Notes and hosted a webcast with the Co-Chair of Stradley Ronan’s Environmental Group, Andrew Levine, about this development.

Recent DOJ Action in the No-Poach Arena

The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2016 published Antitrust Guidance for Human Resource Professionals warning of criminal remedies for those participating in illegal no-poach agreements. Recently, the DOJ and FTC made good on that promise by filing the first public criminal indictment alleging a conspiracy between companies in which they agreed not to poach each other’s employees. The DOJ and FTC warned they could take such actions when “naked” wage-fixing and no-poach agreements were per se illegal violations under the antitrust laws.