The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) recently issued a proposed rule and a notice of future of rulemaking under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”) regarding standards for “all appropriate inquiry,” which are important to a variety of businesses, especially those engaged in real estate transactions ...
Department of Justice/Immigration and Naturalization Service: * DOJ’s Immigration and Naturalization Service becomes part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on March 1, 2003. Within the DHS, the Bureau for Citizenship & Immigration Services (BCIS) will handle the immigration benefits function, including employment-based nonimmigrant and immigrant petitions and applications for adjustment of status. The new Director of the BCIS is Eduardo Aguirre ...
Department of Homeland Security/Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Service: * Immigration benefits previously provided by the Department of Justice’s Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) are now the responsibility of the Department of Homeland Security’s Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Service (BCIS). All familiar customer services are to remain in place ...
Department of Homeland Security/Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Service: * BCIS announced plans to implement electronic filing (e-filing) as an option for two of the most commonly submitted immigration applications, the Application to Renew or Replace a “green card” and the Application for Employment Authorization. BCIS plans to launch e-filing for these applications in May 2003 and to further expand e-filing to other applications and petitions in fall 2003 ...
On April 9, 2003, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued a new rule directing the national securities exchanges and national securities associations to prohibit the listing of any security of a company that is not in compliance with the audit committee requirements mandated by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The new rule implements the requirements of Section 10A(m)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) by adding new Exchange Act Rule 10A-3 ...
Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (“BCIS”): * BCIS has announced the availability of electronic filing (e-filing) for two types of applications: Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card, and Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization Document. Although many applicants will be eligible to take advantage of the e-filing system, some applicants will still need to make paper filings. Additional e-filing information may be obtained at www.bcis.gov ...
Chemical manufacturers, processors, and distributors, petroleum refiners and distributors, and other manufacturers are potentially affected by a “policy clarification and reporting guidance” issued by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on June 3rd, 2003, relating to § 8(e) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) ...
Aspects of Application of Period of Limitation in Promissory Note and Bill of Exchange Matters In recent years, a substantial growth of the bill of exchange and promissory note circulation has been observed in Ukraine. To a considerable extent, this growth was fostered by the expansion and normalization of the regulatory framework for negotiable instruments ...
Related Practice Groups Environmental During the 78th Legislative Session, the Texas Legislature passed a massive tort reform bill, H.B. 4, that will result in sweeping changes not only to tort cases but also to litigation generally. Several changes critically impact environmental cases. The purpose of this memorandum is to alert you to some of these changes ...
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (“TCEQ”) recently published an Interoffice Memorandum (“the Memorandum”) that directs the agency’s offices how to handle reporting of spills and releases, including the discovery of historic contamination. It defines “historic contamination” as a “release” from an inactive source, whether of known or unknown quantities, citing as an example, contamination discovered during excavation activities ...
Under Section 113 of the Clean Air Act, when it finds that a regulated party is engaged in unlawful activity, EPA may, among other things, issue an administrative compliance order (ACO) that directs that party to comply, provided: (a) the ACO is based upon any information available to the Administrator; (b) the ACO is issued thirty days after the issuance of a Notice of Violation; and (c) the regulated party is given an “opportunity to confer” with the Administrator ...
Immigration
Related Practice Groups Environmental The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (“TCEQ”) recently published an Interoffice Memorandum (“the Memorandum”) that directs the agency’s offices how to handle reporting of spills and releases, including the discovery of historic contamination. It defines “historic contamination” as a “release” from an inactive source, whether of known or unknown quantities, citing as an example, contamination discovered during excavation activities ...
Authors Kenneth B ...
In response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and other threats related to hazardous materials, the U.S. Department of Transportation (“DOT”) has revised its regulations related to the transportation of hazardous materials ...
Interruption of Statute of Limitations It was interesting for the author hereof to read the article by Denis Mirgorodskiy “Application of the Civil Code in Promissory Note and Bill of Exchange Disputes” (Yuridicheskaya Praktika, #37, September 16, 2003). The author hereof appreciates Mr ...
Commonly, conflicts are settled by a judicial organ, through which a legal expert issues a resolution according to legal criteria and provisions. Nowadays, the options to resolve conflicts are not only limited to the decision of a Judge, but there are alternative means characterized for being voluntary, confidential, economical, and expedite. These means are generally known as Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), which mainly include arbitration, mediation, and conciliation ...
It has not been a secret that confidentiality and the possibility of investing less resources (time and money) in the conflict resolution are the most used strategies in the promotion and integration of the mediation process into the formal system ...
Murray Campbell Lawson Lundell Craig Ferris Lawson Lundell This is a general overview of the subject matter and should not be relied upon as legal advice or opinion. For specific legal advice on the information provided and related topics, please contact your legal counsel. Copyright © 2004, Lawson Lundell All Rights Reserved INTRODUCTION Since the mid-1980s litigation has been a fact of life for pension and employee benefit plan administrators and sponsors ...
In Denmark, Norway and Sweden, the ownership and rights to intellectual property conceived and put into to practice by researchers employed by the universities have historically rested with the researchers themselves. This system is now rapidly changing to a model more similar to the way in which US universities handle their intellectual property; universities become responsible for stakeholders in such intellectual property ...
From Land’s End to John O’Groats, roving reporters, tabloid writers and broadsheet columnists, have been riding on the wave of the new freedom of information acts. As a result of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, and its UK counterpart, the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the public now has a statutory right to recorded information held by most public sector bodies. Although the new right only came into force on 1 January 2005, its effect is retrospective ...
This article was originally written for the April 2005 issue of The Negotiator, the magazine of the Canadian Association of the Petroleum Landman. Protected by Copyright 2005 ...
Out of general interest, we are forwarding the following Informative Note with respect to the first oral trial in Mexico, something that took place in the Municipality of Montemorelos, State of Nuevo Leon, in February 2005. Oral trials have been possible since November 25 of last year when the law of Nuevo Leon changed to allow this in non-serious culpable felonies. The trial was an example of judicial speed. Within a period of five hours, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m ...
Revised Guideline on the Sharing and Use of Consumer Credit Data through a Credit Reference Agency On 18th January 2005, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (“HKMA”) issued a revised statutory guideline, namely the Supervisory Policy Manual on the Sharing and Use of Consumer Credit Data through a Credit Reference Agency (IC-6) (“CRA Guideline”) ...
The Fifth Circuit has issued an important opinion on Section 11 of the Securities Act which may limit the potential exposure of issuers and other participants for alleged misrepresentations and omissions in public offering registration statements. The Court’s opinion in Krim v. pcOrder.com, Inc ...
