Thought Leadership - Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP

Bots Beware: Website Chat Bots Become Latest Target for California Class Actions

California class action lawyers have turned their sights on a new target: websites that employ “chat bots,” digital assistants that allow companies to communicate with customers without employing live website customer service representatives.

Health Care Providers’ Role in Energy Conservation and Sustainability: A Guide to Driving Change

Health care leaders are operating in an environment of seismic change.

New DC Law Bans Non-Compete Agreements for Employees Making Below $150,000 Per Year

A new D.C. law that takes effect on October 1, 2022, will significantly limit the ability of employers to tie their District of Columbia-based employees to noncompetition agreements.

Post-Dobbs Considerations for Provider Organizations: Navigating State Restrictions on Abortion

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s June 24 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, more than a dozen states have enacted new laws—or begun to enforce old ones—that prohibit all or most abortions

SEC Investigates Possible Brokerage Activities Linked to Token Listings

Following the recent filing of the SEC’s insider trading complaint against a former manager of Coinbase Global, Inc. (“Coinbase”), the SEC is now investigating Coinbase.

SEC Enforcement Case Labels Some Cryptocurrency Tokens as Securities

In the long running question of whether cryptocurrency tokens are securities, the Securities and Exchange Commission has volleyed new claims against a former employee of Coinbase Global, Inc., alleging insider trading of securities listed on the exchange.

CARU Determines Primark’s Advertising Furthers Negative Gender Stereotypes

The Children’s Advertising Review Unit of BBB National Programs has recommended that Primark US Corp. modify its children’s products and their associated advertising messages to not violate CARU’s recently revised Advertising Guidelines, which provide that “[a]dvertising should not portray or encourage negative social stereotyping, prejudice, or discrimination.”

Telehealth Model Legislation—A Comparison of AMA, FSMB and ULC Model Bills and Guidelines

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic spurred a drastic increase in telehealth utilization across the country, which meaningfully changed the way providers deliver care and illuminated novel state telehealth policy design challenges.

Navigating the Virtual Care Explosion: Mapping the Shifting Policy, Payment and Strategy Landscape

By March of this year, more than 61% of Americans had experienced a telehealth visit—and almost 88% want to continue using telehealth for nonurgent consultations, even after the pandemic passes, according to findings reported in Healthcare Finance.

2022–2023 State Budget Update

California legislators have passed a 2022–23 spending proposal. This year’s budget measure, Senate Bill 154, totals over 1,000 pages.