Tech & Sourcing @ Morgan Lewis

As part of our Spotlight series, we welcome David McManus, a partner in our New York office and the deputy leader of Morgan Lewis’s labor and employment practice, and Emily DeSmedt, a partner in our Princeton office, who represents employers in a wide variety of employment-related matters. David frequently works with our team on the employment aspects inherent in outsourcings and other technology and commercial transactions, and Emily provides counseling on complex issues such as leaves of absence, disability, pregnancy, and religious accommodation requests. We have invited David and Emily to discuss employment topics related to remote work.

Although data security concerns may have held back early adoption, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated cloud usage and digital transformation within public service organizations in many countries around the world. In a recent study, Accenture surveyed 364 public service executives at both the local and federal levels in six countries—Australia, Canada, Germany, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States—to learn about the public sector’s cloud adoptions strategies.

On November 18, days before the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 was due to start, Anheuser-Busch InBev (the owner of Budweiser, a World Cup sponsor since 1985) was dealt an unexpected yellow card: FIFA issued a statement that appeared to renege on certain terms of their $75 million (£63 million) commercial sponsorship agreement.

The US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security released an interim final rule (IFR) on October 7 imposing new export controls on certain advanced computing and semiconductor manufacturing destined for the People’s Republic of China (PRC). In their LawFlash, partners Giovanna Cinelli, Kenneth Nunnenkamp, and Carl Valenstein; of counsel Heather Sears; and associates Katelyn Hilferty, Christian Kozlowski, Patricia Cave, and Jiazhen Guo discuss the scope of the new export controls, open issues and questions regarding the regulation, and potential courses of action to consider.

Despite general awareness regarding phishing (we have written about phishing in a prior post), it still remains one of the most common ways to accomplish cyberattacks. It should be no surprise that cybercriminals are constantly coming up with more elaborate and sophisticated ways to gain access to sensitive systems and data. A recent CIO.com article lists three measures designed to deter phishing and related attacks, which we have summarized below.

The US Treasury Department has issued a request for public comment on a federal cyberinsurance program that would aim to cover the costs associated with severe cyberattacks. The Federal Insurance Office (FIO) and the US Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) are currently conducting a joint assessment for Congress. Because cyberattacks are occurring at such frequent rates, rates for cyberinsurance coverage have soared, making it difficult for businesses to afford coverage if it is even available. The proposed federal program would focus on critical infrastructure and be used as a backstop.

In a recent LawFlash, a team of Morgan Lewis lawyers reviewed the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposal for a new rule and rule amendments that, if adopted as proposed, would require registered investment advisers to meet certain requirements when outsourcing “Covered Services.” The rule includes heightened requirements for due diligence, monitoring, and reporting, including amendments to Form ADV.

The White House Office of Science and Technology recently published The Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights: Making Automated Systems Work for the American People (the Blueprint), a set of five principles to help guide designers, developers, and deployers of AI in the design, use, and deployment of automated systems with the goal of protecting the public’s rights.

In any service relationship, continuity of service provider personnel often impacts service quality. Excessive personnel turnover on an account can negatively impact day-to-day operations and the ability to respond to issues. Assignment and management of personnel are primarily business issues that are the responsibility of the service provider. However, there are important provisions that can be included in service agreements that can help address these issues.

US President Joseph Biden issued an Executive Order On Enhancing Safeguards for United States Signals Intelligence Activities on October 7, which establishes safeguards relating to the handling of personal information in the course of signals intelligence activities. In this edition of our Spotlight Series, we welcome Morgan Lewis special legal consultant Dr. Axel Spies, based in Washington, DC, to discuss the scope of this Executive Order and its implications.