In this episode of the Family Office Services Podcast Series, Choate Investment Advisors’ Erin Kerr and Alison Svizzero discuss how environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria are used by investors in evaluating companies, in addition to traditional fundamental analysis, to determine long-term performance. ESG has increased as an area of interest for investors over the past decade. Erin, who is a ChoateIA Chief Compliance Officer and the Chief Investment Officer, and Alison, a Portfolio Manager and the Head of Private Equity Investing, provide a comprehensive overview and debunk myths related to utilizing ESG as investment criteria.

In this episode of Choate’s Enforcement & Investigations Updates Podcast Series, Emily Hodge and Kristen Perriello discuss recent significant cases and decisions surrounding the False Claims Act - including legal and practical takeaways arising from the Supreme Court’s decisions in the SuperValu case and the Polansky qui tam case, as well as the string of differing decisions in the circuit courts relating to the causation element in False Claims Act cases premised on Anti-Kickback Statute violations.

In this episode of Choate’s Life Sciences Insights Podcast Series, Sophie Wang, Stephanie Schonewald and Peter Flynn discuss the US Supreme Court’s opinion in Amgen v. Sanofi, one of this term’s most highly-watched cases for our clients concerning the law of enablement as it applies to patents directed to antibody therapeutics. Choate submitted an amicus brief in this case on behalf of Nobel Laureate and distinguished immunologist, Sir Gregory Winter, and a collection of other notable scientists, in support of Sanofi and Regeneron.

In this episode of the Family Office Services podcast, Tamer Alamuddin and Christine Wright of Choate Investment Advisors discuss the current U.S. debt ceiling, related political gridlock and fears about financial instability. In addition to giving an overall understanding of the debt ceiling and its historical framework, Tamer and Christine will share the potential investment implications related to the current situation in the U.S.

In this episode of our AdTech podcast series, Adam Bookbinder and Christine Savage of Choate and Jim Vint of Secretariat discuss how companies and other institutions can reduce legal risks surrounding the use of AdTech tools. Please join us for a comprehensive live webinar discussing “Managing AdTech Risk When Capturing Sensitive Information” on Wednesday, April 12th at 12:00 p.m. Register here.

In the second episode of our AdTech Podcast Series, Adam Bookbinder and Christine Savage of Choate, and Jim Vint of Secretariat, discuss why AdTech risk should be on your priority list. This conversation will help listeners understand the actions being taken by the various regulators and class action attorneys around AdTech use by healthcare entities and others. Please join us for a comprehensive live webinar discussing “Managing AdTech Risk When Capturing Sensitive Information” on Wednesday, April 12th at 12:00 p.m. Register here.

In this episode of our Enforcement & Investigations Podcast Series, Julia Hesse, Sara Frank and Lauren Swidler discuss the Department of Justice’s first settlement under the new Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative. Based a novel use of the False Claims Act, website developer Jelly Bean Communications LLC, and its owner and sole employee agreed to pay almost $300,000 to resolve allegations that Jelly Bean failed to provide secure hosting services for a government funded Florida children’s health insurance website. Jelly Bean was required to maintain and update software to ensure that the site’s cybersecurity controls were compliant with HIPAA; its failure to do resulted in a half million applications hacked, leaving personal identifying information on the site vulnerable.

In this episode of the Family Office Podcast Series, Managing Director, Tamer Alamuddin, and Senior Portfolio Manager, Henry Dormitzer, of Choate Investment Advisors discuss safe assets in light of the recent volatility in the banking sector. The Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapse has generated unease around the safety of bank-based savings and checking accounts. This conversation explains how to best protect and invest your money through a cash-equivalent Money Market account, which can provide safety as well as a greater investment yield.

The use of AdTech tools is facing increasing legal and ethical scrutiny from the government, plaintiffs’ law firms and the public. In the first episode of our three-part AdTech podcast series, Christine Savage of Choate and Jim Vint of Secretariat provide a short primer on what AdTech is, what it is used for, and the terminology surrounding some of these web tools. In future sessions we’ll talk about legal and regulatory risks associated with the use of AdTech and steps businesses can take now to manage risks. Please join us for a comprehensive live webinar discussing “Managing AdTech Risk When Capturing Sensitive Information” on Wednesday, April 12th at 12:00 p.m. Register here.

In this episode of our intellectual property insights podcast series, we discuss best practices for identifying and retaining expert witnesses for use in proceedings before the PTAB. Choate attorneys, Bryana McGillycuddy and Dr. Mandeep Kaur, are joined by Drew Winship, CEO and co-founder of Juristat, a patent analytics and work flow automation provider. They discuss key considerations in finding and vetting experts who will testify in PTAB and IPR proceedings – as opposed to testifying in court.

Businesses encounter many issues in cross-border intellectual property transactions. In part 2 of the first episode of the Cross-Border IP Issues podcast series, Choate attorneys Brian Reese and John Rearick discuss patent ownership, licensing and transactional issues when commercial ventures come into or go outside the US.

In this episode of Choate’s Intellectual Property podcast series, Eric Marandett and Michael Shinall discuss the nuances and challenges related to using experts to perform experiments when proving inherency during PTAB proceedings. The conversation highlights two recent PTAB cases that illustrate avoidable pitfalls when using an expert to recreate an experiment and then serve as a witness when establishing this kind of evidence.

Businesses encounter many issues in cross-border intellectual property transactions. In part 1 of the first episode of the Cross-Border IP Issues podcast series, Choate attorneys Brian Reese and John Rearick discuss territorial and timing considerations related to patent rights when commercial ventures come into or go outside the US.

On this episode of Choate’s Business Insights Podcast Series, members of the Data Privacy and Security team - Elizabeth Powers, Preston Bruno and Graham Louis - discuss the landscape of comprehensive data privacy laws governing the collection, analysis, use, and sale of personal information in the United States, and what to expect from future legislation.

In the first episode of our podcast series focusing on issues relating to practice in the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), Steph Schonewald, Sophie Wang and Emily Miller discuss the recent memo issued by USPTO Director Vidal concerning an interim procedure for discretionary denials in AIA post-grant proceedings with parallel proceedings, which focuses on the PTAB’s application of the Fintiv factors in AIA post-grant proceedings.

In light of the recent Dobbs decision and the overturn of Roe v. Wade and Casey, how will colleges, universities, and medical education be impacted in states that restrict abortion? In this episode, Christine Savage and Joan Lukey discuss the potential operational impacts and litigation risks - as well as risk mitigation strategies - that colleges, universities, and medical schools and residency programs may face in the future.

In this episode, Christine Savage, Adam Bookbinder, and Mark McPherson discuss the legal and operational data privacy and cybersecurity issues facing businesses that collect, store, sell or purchase data that may relate to women’s reproductive health and health care services given the dramatic shift in state laws - including the risks associated with utilizing geo-fencing or location tracking data.

For years, the NCAA prohibited student-athletes from receiving compensation in exchange for the use of their name, image, or likeness (NIL).  That changed roughly one year ago, and NIL deals have quickly become commonplace in college sports.  Over the last two few months, however, the NCAA has suggested that it is investigating whether NIL deals have, in some cases, been used as improper recruiting inducements.  In this podcast, Sam Rudman and Yani Ngo discuss (i) the current state of the NIL landscape, and (ii) key issues that remain unresolved, and what may be coming next.

Mark Cahill, Macey Russell and Justin Wolosz discuss the potential civil and criminal litigation risks for employers if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade in the Dobbs case. This episode explores the obligations and considerations for companies, and their directors and officers, operating in restrictive states.

In our fifth episode of this series, Alison Reif and Wells Miller discuss the legal impact on company employee benefit plans if the leaked Dobbs decision is upheld and Roe v. Wade is overturned. Most notably, they highlight some of the key considerations for employers with multi-state locations if the legality of abortion becomes a state-by-state decision.