Andy Gordon discussed the potential outcomes of a lawsuit challenging President Trump’s border wall project with Fox News. The state of California filed the suit, claiming that the border wall would cause significant harm to the state, noting that the administration must follow up to 30 different regulations before constructing the wall. The Trump administration argues that a 1996 law allows the federal government complete authority to install border barriers as necessary. Andy notes that while Judge Gonzalo Curiel’s decision could be a major victory for either side of the issue, it will not end the whole debate on the wall. It will determine how broad the federal government’s authority is in relation to the 1996 law. Andy served as counsel to the general counsel at the U.S....

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Scott Bennett shared his expertise in cybersecurity, data breaches, and legal ethics in a presentation at the American Health Lawyers Association’s Physicians & Hospitals Law Institute in New Orleans. Scott, along with co-presenter Seth Wolf of University Hospitals Health System, discussed lawyers’ ethical obligations to understand the technology used in their practices, and to safeguard client information. The presentation included practical tips on keeping information secure. Scott has considerable experience representing hospitals and other health care providers. A substantial part of his work involves assisting clients with issues relating to information privacy and security.  He works with clients in health care and in other industries to help them prevent, prepare for, and respond to data breaches.  Scott is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US) through the International...

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Scott Bennett shared his expertise in health care law and artificial intelligence in an email alert to members of the American Health Lawyers Association (AHLA). In the alert, Scott discusses a recent report from JASON, an advisory group of independent scientists, that identified opportunities and drawbacks for the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into health care. Scott is a member of AHLA’s Health Information and Technology practice group and serves as the Vice Chair of Publications for the Digital Health affinity group. Read the full alert below. Implications of Artificial Intelligence in Health Care JASON, an advisory group of independent scientists, has released a report that analyzes the potential and implications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in health care. The report was commissioned by the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC)...

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Coppersmith Brockelman’s Andy Gordon shared insight on a high-profile case dealing with the environmental implications of President Trump’s planned border wall in a story for McClatchy’s DC Bureau. A lawsuit claims Congress issued waivers in 1996 and 2005 that allowed the federal branch of government to bypass environmental statutes and other federal and state laws for border security projects. The suit challenges the Trump administration’s use of these waivers to construct the border wall. Andy provided background into the issue and detailed what could happen if U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel rules in favor of or against the Trump administration. Andy served as counsel to the general counsel at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from April 2009 to October 2010, where he worked on national security issues...

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Roopali represents four initiative campaigns who filed a Petition for Special Action with the Arizona Supreme Court to seek an order permitting them to use the E-Qual system to obtain online signatures

A Maricopa County Superior Court judge threw out a lawsuit challenging a citizens’ referendum on Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program and ruled that the referendum – now known as Proposition 305 – may go to the voters at the November 2018 election. Coppersmith Brockelman’s Roopali Desai and the firm’s election law group worked with Save Our Schools Arizona to fight for Arizonans’ right to refer Senate Bill 1431, which expands Arizona’s ESA program to all public-school students who want to apply for public money to pay for private and religious school tuition and educational therapies. Under the original ESA program, only special needs students, students at low-performing schools, and students in foster care or military families were eligible.  Thousands of Arizonans signed Save Our Schools...

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On January 3, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) issued a Supplemental Final Rule (SFR), which amended the federal Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder Patient Records regulations at 42 C.F.R. Part 2. These revisions will make it easier for general hospitals, primary care providers and other non-Part 2 Programs that hold protected substance use disorder information to share that information with their contractors, subcontractors, legal representatives, and auditors for payment and health care operations activities. The SFR goes into effect on February 2, 2018, with the exception of new contract requirements that must be implemented by February 2, 2020. Coppersmith Brockelman’s Melissa Soliz (with the assistance of Kristen Rosati and affiliated attorney Erin Dunlap) summarizes those changes and provides a chart comparing the...

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