OnAir with Akin

In this special episode, Akin Gump labor and employment partners Bob Lian and Lauren Leyden welcome noted epidemiologist Dr. Stephen Ostroff to update listeners on workplace issues related to COVID-19. Among the topics covered: The nature and impact of the Delta variant. Employer vaccine mandates following the FDA's vaccine approval. Employer obligations regarding vaccinations. Workplace considera...

In this new episode of  OnAir: Health Care , Akin Gump health care senior policy advisor Matthew Hittle and consultant Dr. Mario Ramirez welcome Akin Gump public law and policy partner Clete Willems and Centrient Pharmaceuticals chief legal and compliance officer Jim DeYonker. Among the topics covered: ·         The TRIPS waiver and vaccines. ·         Global supply chains. ·         Onshoring dru...

In this episode, Akin Gump labor and employment practice head Bob Lian and partner Lauren Leyden discuss employer vaccine mandates related to coronavirus. Among the topics covered: ·         Challenges and complications in managing the pandemic in the workplace. ·         What employers can require of employees. ·         Should employers be mandating the vaccine? ·         Who is exempt from vacc...

In this episode, which concludes our three-part EU ESG Considerations for Beginners miniseries, Akin Gump financial regulatory partner Ezra Zahabi looks at EU ESG developments and risks and what business should know about them. Among the topics covered: ·         How the SFDR and the Taxonomy Regulation interact. ·         EU legislative developments on the ESG front. ·         Emergent risks and...

In this episode, the second in our three-part EU ESG Considerations for Beginners miniseries, Akin Gump financial regulatory partner Ezra Zahabi looks at the EU's Taxonomy Regulation and what it means for business. Among the topics covered: ·         What is the Taxonomy Regulation's purpose? ·         To whom does it apply? ·         How does environmental sustainability inform the Regulation? · ...

In this new episode of  OnAir: Health Care , Akin Gump health care senior policy advisor Matthew Hittle and consultant Dr. Mario Ramirez welcome House Ways and Means Committee health counsel Orriel Richardson and National Minority Quality Forum CEO Dr. Gary Puckrein. Among the topics covered: ·         Health equity – the view from Capitol Hill and beyond. ·         CMS update. ·         Race and...

In this episode, the first in our three-part EU ESG Considerations for Beginners miniseries, Akin Gump financial regulatory partner Ezra Zahabi looks at the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and what it means for business. Among the topics covered: ·       Where did SFDR start? ·       To whom does it apply? ·       Which funds are covered? ·       What are the disclosure requiremen...

In this episode, Akin Gump corporate partners Wesley Williams and Jessica Hammons take a wide-ranging look at the oil and gas industry in the U.S. and discuss the investment and transaction present and future in that industry. Among the topics covered: ·         Trends in energy transactions. ·         Oil and gas industry consolidation. ·         Private equity funds, SPACs and capital deployment...

This special episode features "Emergence of ESG Transparency," a webinar featuring two heads of Akin Gump's ESG group—partners Stacey Mitchell in D.C. and Amy Kennedy in London—along with London partner Ezra Zahabi. Among the topics covered: ·         EU plans on ESG and sustainable finance. ·         An overview of U.S. climate and ESG developments. ·         EU sustainable finance transparency r...

In this new episode of  OnAir: Health Care , Akin Gump health care senior policy advisor Matthew Hittle and consultant Dr. Mario Ramirez welcome public law and policy partners Ed Pagano and Clete Willems to talk federal health care policy and legislation. Among the topics covered: ·         What is infrastructure, and how are votes lining up in Congress? ·         COVID variants, new CDC guideline...

In this episode, Akin Gump cybersecurity, privacy, and data protection practice co-heads Natasha Kohne and Michelle Reed, and counsel Molly Whitman discuss the firm's new 2020 CCPA Litigation Annual Report  and its sometimes-surprising findings. Among the topics covered: ·         Class actions under the California Consumer Privacy Act in 2020. ·         CCPA statutory overview. ·         The priv...

In this debut episode of  OnAir: Health Care , Akin Gump health care senior policy advisor Matthew Hittle and consultant Dr. Mario Ramirez welcome partner Kelly Cleary to discuss health policy, medical science, and Washington politics. Among the topics covered: ·         The science behind CDC guidance. ·         HHS appointments: the state of play. ·         The Biden-Harris administration and th...

In this special episode, Akin Gump investment management partner and Women Firmwide Resource Group co-head Barbara Niederkofler moderates a panel featuring labor and employment partner Esther Lander, public law and policy partner Arshi Siddiqui and senior advisor and former Congresswowan Ileana Ros-Lehtinen as they discuss the Biden-Harris administration's agenda and how issues impacting women may...

In this episode, Akin Gump financial restructuring partner Lois Deasey and practice co-head Liz Osborne offer an overview of creditors' fees related to English law schemes of arrangement. Among the topics covered: ·         Determining creditor classes under English law. ·         Lockup fees and what to look for. ·         How courts analyze work fees. ·         Backstop fees in restructurings. T...

In this episode, Akin Gump's Amy Kennedy and Stacey Mitchell, two of the firm's ESG group co-heads, walk listeners through environmental, social and governance considerations for business. Among the topics covered: ·         U.S. and international perspectives on ESG. ·         Why ESG is a hot topic in 2021. ·         The disclosure alphabet soup, from GRI to UNPRI. ·         Corporate ESG risks....

In this episode, Akin Gump public law and policy partner Ed Pagano, senior policy advisor Casey Higgins and international trade counsel Maka Hutson discuss the Biden comprehensive immigration bill currently on Capitol Hill. Among the topics covered: ·         Can a comprehensive bill make it through Congress? ·         What business listeners should know about the bill's provisions. ·         H-1B...

In this episode, Akin Gump government contracts partner Angela Styles discusses the origins, workings, track record and future of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Among the topics covered: ·         Self-certification, eligibility and fraud. ·         Acquiring companies with PPP loans. ·         The Treasury Department and PPP. To learn more, visit akingump.com and search for "Paycheck Prot...

In this episode, Akin Gump pro bono partner Steven Schulman; Rick McMurtry, senior VP and associate GC at WarnerMedia; and Jay Reidy, assistant VP and senior legal counsel at AT&T discuss pro bono partnerships between law firms and in-house legal departments. Among the topics covered: ·         AT&T's and WarnerMedia's pro bono programs. ·         The history and development of corporate pro bono....

In this episode, Akin Gump public law and policy partner and former U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly and senior advisor and former U.S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen discuss the 2020 U.S. elections and their significance for business. Among the topics covered: Issues firing up each candidate's base. The candidates on trade, immigration, taxation. The significance of the "Biden Republican." Flipping...

In this episode, recorded on Sept. 14, Akin Gump Supreme Court and appellate practice co-head Pratik Shah returns to review the 2019 Supreme Court Term and preview the big cases and topics in the October 2020 Term. Among the topics covered: Chief Justice Roberts' influence. Justice Gorsuch as maverick and textualist. COVID-19 and telephonic arguments. What to look for in the October 2020 Term. The...

In this episode, Akin Gump health care partners Kelly Cleary and Robert Salcido discuss the health care industry and how COVID-19 has impacted the industry and affected or driven legislative and regulatory activity. Among the topics covered: The Stark Law and conflicts of interest. Oversight of the CARES Act. The False Claims Act and its current and future enforcement. Drug pricing models. Takeawa...

In this episode, Akin Gump entertainment practice head Chris Spicer and partner Alissa Miller talk about the entertainment industry in the U.S. and overseas and the impact that COVID-19 has had on production and financing. Among the topics covered: ·       U.S. vs. international productions. ·       The rise of the streaming services. ·       Insurance and COVID. ·       Representing independent c...

In this episode, Akin Gump antitrust partners Gorav Jindal and Corey Roush, fresh off a two-week trial, discuss the nuts and bolts of litigating during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the topics covered: ·         Antitrust litigation in the COVID context. ·         The challenges of remote trial preparation. ·         Technology: its advantages and disadvantages in the new normal. ·         Trial be...

In this episode, Akin Gump intellectual property partners Cono Carrano and David Vondle discuss IP disputes at the U.S. International Trade Commission. Among the topics covered: ·         What is Section 337 and what does it mean for business? ·         ITC or district court: Which gets the job done? ·         The ITC and standard essential patents. ·         Filing complaints at the ITC against C...

In this episode, Akin Gump litigation partner Hyongsoon Kim and counsel Molly Whitman discuss class actions against colleges and universities that have moved to remote teaching due to the pandemic. Among the topics covered: ·         Who comprises these plaintiff classes? ·         What is the nature of these suits? ·         The role of the plaintiff's bar. ·         Early warnings that litigatio...