Business Update: How will the CTA affect your business?

This article is an update regarding a law that may impact your business: The Corporate Transparency Act. The text below continues a series of notices, alerts, and analysis that you may have seen from us on this issue.

The Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) was enacted as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 and became effective on January 1, 2024. It is intended to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, corruption, tax fraud, and other illicit activity. 

Below we briefly answer central questions about the CTA and how it may affect you.

The Importance of Adopting an E-Signature Policy for Your Business

Amanda J. Dernovshek, Lindsey M. Mead and Charlie Sarchet (Law Clerk)

Given the ever-changing landscape and increasing popularity of remote work, the use electronic signatures (“e-signatures”) is on the rise. Business in general is going virtual, causing electronic transactions and online interactions to become more common. To accommodate this new digital environment, legislators have passed laws to permit the use of e-signatures to bind individuals to electronic agreements.

In addition to keeping up with the evolution of online business, providing your organization with a reliable e-signature policy is pivotal to ensure clear reliance on and expectations for e-signatures...

Cyber Insurance:
Is it right for you?

Amanda J. Dernovshek and Taylor A. Gast

With the topic of cyber insurance currently trending, we thought this would be a good opportunity to share this previous article.

We are frequently asked about insurance policies that cover internet-based risks like those involving network security like data breaches and ransomware, as well as data privacy related risks like class action lawsuits for privacy violations and costs related to the increasingly complex landscape of privacy rules.

In particular, cyber insurance often mitigates the costs and consequences of a data security incident or data breach and the potential liability that may result from it...

Michigan Court of Appeals Ruling Adds Challenges for Premises Owners and Their Insurers as to Premises Liability Cases

Litigation Team

A recent Michigan Court of Appeals decision in a premises liability case will have major implications for premises owners and possessors in Michigan as well as their liability insurers. In a recently issued published opinion, the Court confirmed that the earlier Michigan Supreme Court ruling in Kandil-Elsayed v. F&E Oil (rendered in 2023) is to be applied retroactively to all pending premises liability cases.

Questions arose after that case was issued as to whether it was to be applied retroactively to pending cases or prospectively...

As Attacks on DEI Programs Continue, Employers Should Review and Revise Diversity Initiatives

Cliff Hammond and Ray Littleton

Since our last update on emerging legal challenges to workplace Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, the drumbeat of DEI criticism has grown louder with an accompanying increase in the number of official complaints and lawsuits being voiced or filed by a range of anti-DEI actors...