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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

ROUGH JUSTICE - The U.S. Department of Justice appears to no longer be fooling around. As Law.com's Nate Robson writes in this week's Law.com Barometer newsletter, the DOJ is making critical policy changes for white-collar enforcement, including reinstating the so-called "Yates Memo" from 2015. These newly instituted policies require companies seeking cooperation credit to divulge all relevant facts about individuals involved in any misconduct, and the DOJ is taking a holistic approach when looking at companies' prior misconduct when deciding on potential charges or dispositions. "The private sector is waiting to see how these new rules are implemented, and is watching to see if the policies disincentivize them from self-reporting violations out of fear of facing additional sanctions if DOJ has issues with a company's history of compliance," Robson writes. "The private sector is beefing up its compliance programs, including adding staff and ensuring they are doing comprehensive risk assessments that mirror what the government is focusing on." To receive the Law.com Barometer directly to your inbox each week, click here.

ARE YOU IN GOOD HANDS? - Go ask the plaintiffs in COVID-19 business interruption cases what happens when worse literally comes to worst: insurance coverage becomes more essential to have and way harder to get. And, with all due respect to the coronavirus, risks don't get much riskier than cybersecurity. As Law.com's Victoria Hudgins reports, small law firms are facing insurance carriers that are placing a heavier emphasis on proactive cybersecurity measures, dropping clients, and even exiting the cyber insurance space when the risk outweighs the premium. In the last eight months, insurers have increasingly dropped policyholders that don't have multifactor authentication in place, which typically includes small law firm clients, noted Amy Landefeld, cyber product lead and digital underwriting manager at insurance provider Beazley. But its not all the firms' fault. The past approximately two years of increased ransomware attacks has taught insurers an expensive lesson regarding cyber insurance, noted Kevin Novak, cybersecurity managing director of information governance and data risk management provider Breakwater Solutions. "It's a result, not necessarily because of [small law firms], but the insurance firms are beginning to readjust, better understand what the market is relative to cyber breaches," Novak said. "They're starting to recognize they can't carry the same policies for everyone. It's becoming a big problem in the market."

ARBITRATION LIMITATION - IBM was sued Thursday in New York Southern District Court over a provision in its arbitration agreement that tightly limits the time window for plaintiffs to pursue discrimination claims. The lawsuit was brought by Lichten & Liss-Riordan on behalf of Sharon Gilmore, a former IBM employee who contends that she was pushed out as part of a campaign to replace older workers. The suit is part of a string of filings related to an arbitration provision that bars claimants from extending the statute of limitations for discrimination claims by 'piggybacking' on earlier filings. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendant. The case is 1:21-cv-09574, Gilmore v. International Business Machines Corp. Stay up on the latest deals and litigation with the new Law.com Radar.  

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EDITOR'S PICKS

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WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

DO NOT DISTURB - As Law.com International's Anne Bagamery reports, new proposed legislation in Portugal would widen protections for remote workers, including expanded coverage for expenses incurred and greater flexibility for workers with small children who want to work from home. The new law, if enacted, would also enshrine the "right to disconnect" for remote workers, prohibiting employers from requiring employees to respond to messages or phone calls outside of agreed-upon business hours—similar to a French law enacted several years ago. "The law is evolving along with the work landscape," said Rui Valente, a partner and head of the employment law practice in Portugal for the Spanish firm Garrigues. "The home office will, from this moment on, be with us forever." However, the extent of the proposed law's potential impact on lawyers themselves remains unclear, as so many of them are classified in Portugal as independent contractors rather than employees.

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WHAT YOU SAID

"Plaintiffs didn't sue all the people who came here to march and to speak and have a rally. We did not do that. We sued the people who are responsible, the leaders, the promoters, the group leaders, the people who brought the army, the people who were the most violent members of the army. Those are the people who we asked you to hold accountable today."