Insights

At a time of unprecedented energy sector bankruptcy filings and the urgent need for clarity concerning the interplay between bankruptcy and surety law, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Louisiana on September 22, 2020, issued In Re Falcon U, LLC, 2020 WL 5648733, a decision that erroneously concludes that a surety bond is not an executory contract in Chapter 11. While the decision is facially appealing, it is fundamentally flawed and misguided. Sureties should be aware of its flaws and the need for diligent, active bankruptcy representation at the very outset of a principal’s Chapter 11 Reorganization, as this decision might be one which sureties will have to confront and expose as mistaken in its analysis so as to avoid disallowance of the surety’s claims and preservation of its rights to adequate protection with respect to outstanding surety credit (bonds).  

On October 2, 2020, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (the “Board”) officially approved the application to be used for Year 2 of the Community Solar Pilot Program (the “Program"). Year 2 of the Program will consist of 150 MW of projects (40% of which must serve low and moderate income customers), which will be evaluated by the same point system used by the Board for Year 1 of the Program.  

On Tuesday, September 15, 2020, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) published a Final Rule (Fed. Reg. 2020-20325) designed to help enforce the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 by eliminating the anti-money laundering (“AML”) program exemption for private banks, credit unions that are not federally insured, some trust companies, and other institutions not supervised by federal regulators such as the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Securities and Exchange Commission.  

Melissa A. Salimbene and Lindsay A. Dischley will offer valuable insight on hot topics on the horizon for employers as they present, “Reasonable Accommodations Under The ADA And Recent Developments in Cannabis Law,” during the 2020 Garden State Council-SHRM Annual Conference & Expo on October 11 from 3:15 – 4:45 PM.  

Melissa A. Salimbene and Lindsay A. Dischley, Members of CSG's Employment Law Group, will present a Human Resource Association of Southern New Jersey roundtable on Wednesday, October 7, from 8:00 – 11:00 AM. The program, “Implementing Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace Without Creating Legal Liability,” will outline the benefits of diversity and inclusion, explain the interplay between D&I initiatives and employment laws, provide practical solutions for successfully implementing this type of program within an organization, and much more.  

Join Dennis M. Toft on Friday, October 2, at 11:20 AM as he presents, “Industrial Development, Getting a Project Completed & Financing and Future Trends,” for the Mid Atlantic Real Estate Journal's 6th Annual Industrial Real Estate Development Virtual Conference.  

With the express workplace protections afforded to medical cannabis patients under New Jersey’s Jake Honig Compassionate Use Medical Cannabis Act (“CUMCA”), which was enacted on July 2, 2019, and recreational cannabis on the November 2020 ballot, employers will inevitably face cannabis in the workplace and need to be prepared.  

Following the release of the New Jersey Law Journal's 2020 Top 40 list of law firms by revenue, Daniel A. Schwartz and Francis J. Giantomasi discussed with the publication the factors that drove CSG's remarkable 8.5% year-over-year revenue growth in 2019 and shared a positive outlook of sustained momentum for both the firm and the future of the practice of law in New Jersey in 2020 and beyond. Notably, CSG was ranked as the 8th largest law firm in the state by revenue.  

Clem G. Turner was featured on the OpportunityDb Podcast discussing the myriad of securities laws that Qualified Opportunity Fund issuers should be aware of prior to raising capital from investors, as well as the major differences between the different types of private placement offerings available to those interested in participating in the Qualified Opportunity Zone program.   

A pair of new and interesting twists in the ongoing story of lawyers resisting in-person appearances in Immigration Courts due to COVID-19 surfaced recently. First, an opinion was issued by the N.Y. State Bar Association Committee on Professional Ethics stating that an attorney could withdraw from a case if he/she had a fear of contracting COVID-19 that would interfere with effective representation. The option relied upon New York Rule of Professional Conduct 1.16 which allows withdrawal when "the lawyer's mental or physical condition renders it difficult for the lawyer to carry out the representation effectively". (This is analogous to New Jersey RPC 1.16 (a)(2) which states a lawyer "shall withdraw" from representation if "the lawyer's physical or mental condition materially impairs the lawyer's ability to represent the client.) Both provisions require an application to a tribunal, if the case is before one. Immigration Court is of course a tribunal within the meaning of the RPCs.

On August 30, 2020, the California Legislature passed AB-1281 which, if signed by Governor Newsom, will extend two key exemptions to the California Consumer Privacy Act (the "CCPA") until January 1, 2022. The extension of these exemptions, which will otherwise expire on January 1, 2021 without legislative or voter action, will come as welcome news to businesses as they continue to implement CCPA-compliant policies and procedures.

Today, July 16, 2020, the Court of Justice invalidated Privacy Shield as a means to self-certify that a business is securely and appropriately protecting personal data when transferring such data from the EU to the United States. In part, the Court found that the Privacy Shield did not adequately ensure individuals' audit rights or appropriate recourse, and therefore, the Court invalidated Privacy Shield, effective immediately. There is no grace period.