S&C Critical Insights Sullivan & Cromwell

In this episode of S&C’s Critical Insights, Bill Monahan, Head of S&C’s Products Liability & Mass Torts Group, and Shane Palmer, an associate in the Firm’s Litigation Group, examine the new proposed Rule 16.1 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which the Judicial Conference of the United States’ Advisory Committee on Civil Rules recently voted to adopt as the first rule governing multidistrict litigation. They discuss the original proposal for Rule 16.1 that was published last year, the defense and plaintiffs bars’ reaction to the proposed rule, and the final proposed rule that was adopted last month and its implications for MDLs. 
Since Congress passed the Multidistrict Litigation Act in 1968 and created the MDL process, there have been no specific rules dictating how judges should manage MDLs, beyond the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure that apply in every federal civil case.
In 2017, the Advisory Committee established an MDL Subcommittee to consider whether new rules should be added to address the unique challenges of MDLs. Rule 16.1, which is designed to guide MDL courts in addressing the various and complex issues unique to MDL proceedings, is the first proposed rule to come out of the MDL Subcommittee’s efforts.

In this episode of S&C’s Critical Insights, Annie Ostrager, Co-Head of S&C’s Labor & Employment Group, and Jeannette Bander, a partner in S&C’s Executive Compensation Group, provide an update on the FTC’s final rule containing a sweeping ban on non-compete agreements.

In this episode of S&C’s Critical Insights, Annie Ostrager, Co-Head of S&C’s Labor & Employment Group, and Jeannette Bander, a partner in S&C’s Executive Compensation Group, discussed non-compete agreements and the evolving nature of their enforceability, including developments at the federal and state level.

In this episode of S&C’s Critical Insights, Sharon Cohen Levin, Craig Jones and Eric Kadel, Co-Heads of S&C’s National Security Practice, Adam Szubin, Of Counsel in S&C’s National Security Practice, and Andrew DeFilippis, Special Counsel in S&C’s National Security Practice, continue their discussion of significant developments in national security enforcement.

In this episode of S&C’s Critical Insights, Sharon Cohen Levin, Tony Lewis and Eric Kadel, Co-Heads of S&C’s National Security Practice, Adam Szubin, Of Counsel in S&C’s National Security Practice, and Andrew DeFilippis, Special Counsel in S&C’s National Security Practice, continue their discussion of significant developments in national security enforcement.

In this episode of S&C’s Critical Insights, Annie Ostrager, Co-Head of S&C’s Labor & Employment Group, and Kamil Shields, a partner in S&C’s Litigation Group, discussed recent developments in whistleblower enforcement investigations and new whistleblower programs.
Annie and Kamil cover the increase in enforcement actions and investigations into employment and other agreements that the SEC and other regulators view as potentially impeding, preventing or discouraging whistleblower activity. They also discuss new programs aimed at further incentivizing whistleblower reporting to the government, such as the Whistleblower Pilot Program created by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.