News & Press Releases

An article published by Law360 reported that Mintz successfully defended the Wychmere Beach Club, a small Massachusetts resort property, in a lawsuit brought by the Conservation Law Foundation alleging that the Beach Club’s wastewater treatment facility needs a federal permit under the Clean Water Act in addition to the state permit it already has under the Massachusetts Clean Waters Act because the treated effluent from the wastewater treatment facility percolates through soil to groundwater that is connected to Wychmere Harbor. In the ruling, U.S. District Judge William Young agreed that the Beach Club’s discharges were not covered by the federal law.

The Mintz team representing the Wychmere Beach Club includes Mintz Member and Chair of the firm's Environmental Law Practice Jeffrey R. Porter, and Co-Chairs of the firm's Appellate Practice Andrew N. Nathanson (Special Counsel) and Emily Kanstroom Musgrave (Member).

Mintz Member Jason P.W. Halperin and Associate Amanda B. Asaro co-authored an article published by the New York Law Journal examining the significance of the New York Court of Appeals’  opinion in People v. Neulander, which issues a direct warning shot at jurors. Specifically, juror conduct as it relates to social media and digital communication usage.

In Law360, Mintz Member Douglas Hauer commented on the upcoming increases to the EB-5 visa program's minimum investment amounts and how it is affecting investors, immigration lawyers, and EB-5 petitioners.

Mintz Member Daniel Weinger and Associates Vincent Ferraro and Chris Duerden co-authored a recent Law360 expert analysis article that examined how the Federal Circuit’s en banc ruling in Aqua Products Inc. v. Matal has affected the motion to amend practice at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, as well as other favorable trends for patent owners.

Mintz Member Dianne Bourque appeared on Bloomberg Television’s “Bloomberg Technology” news program to discuss Google’s partnership with Ascension, the nation’s second-largest health system, which includes sharing the personal health data of tens of millions of patients. Ms. Bourque addressed the legality of the arrangement under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), compliance under the federal privacy law, and legal limitations for using the health data.

The full show is available here, and the segment featuring Ms. Bourque runs from 29:47 - 35:15.

In this Q&A published by Legaltech News, Vice President of ML Strategies Christian Fjeld—former lead Democratic Senate staffer tasked with shepherding the American Vision for Safer Transportation through Advancement of Revolutionary Technologies Act (AV START Act) through the Senate—discussed why Congress failed to pass the AV START Act, how autonomous vehicles’ complexity isn’t lawmakers’ largest hurdle, and why the data privacy debate may factor into the next autonomous vehicle bill.