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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

'LANDMINES EVERYWHERE' - As employers across the country face increasing scrutiny of their DEI efforts following the U.S. Supreme Court's June reversal of affirmative action in college admissions, Big Law firms are stepping up to provide specialized teams to audit employers' efforts and defend them in litigation. In the past week, Davis Wright Tremaine and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett have announced new lawyer teams to address clients' DEI issues while Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher launched a task force in late July. In interviews with Law.com's Dan Roe, attorneys involved in the groups said their clients are facing scrutiny from a variety of stakeholders such as politicians, conservative think tanks, consumers and shareholders. The pushback against employers' diversity efforts has come in the form of legal threats and lawsuits targeting hiring practices, affinity groups, performance management, diversity training, vendor diversity and fiduciary duties to investors.

THEY CARE A LOT - The U.S. Department of Justice's efforts to enforce the False Claims Act in the health care industry have shifted from hospitals and brick-and-mortar medical practices to bogus reimbursement claims in telehealth, corporate lawyers told Law.com's Maydeen Merino. The FCA allows the DOJ, as well as private plaintiffs, to sue individuals, companies or other entities that may have defrauded the government. The act has been the DOJ's "most effective anti-fraud enforcement tool for many, many years. The recoveries they have got are in the billions," said Meredith Auten, a partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius. The pandemic-compelled closures of hospitals and doctors' offices in 2020 to all but emergency cases spurred the use of telehealth and a shift in DOJ's focus to illegal Medicare and Medicaid claims for medical services provided remotely.

ON THE RADAR - 3M, Chemours, Corteva Agriscience, DuPont, DuPont, Chemours Company Fc LLC and Eidp Inc. were sued Aug. 7 in South Carolina Circuit Court for Richland County. The lawsuit was brought by South Carolina Attorney General Alan M Wilson. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendants. The case is 2023CP4004111, South Carolina Attorney General Alan M Wilson vs 3M Company , defendant, et al. Stay up on the latest state and federal litigation, as well as the latest corporate deals, with Law.com Radar.   

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