Pietragallo partner Michael A. Morse will be participating in an American Health Law Association webinar on Wednesday, June 10th to discuss Fraud and Abuse in the Age of Coronavirus: Current and Future Federal Criminal and Civil Enforcement Actions. In this informative program, speakers will cover the potential criminal and civil exposures, the ongoing government response… Read more »
On May 6, 2020 the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) released the long-awaited final Title IX regulations. The Final Regulations provide specific guidance to colleges and universities on how they must respond to allegations of sexual misconduct and other Title IX covered conduct. The Final Rule goes into effect on August 14, 2020. The Final… Read more »
In September 2019, the Department of Justice (DOJ) charged 35 individuals, across various jurisdictions, with crimes arising from allegations that they were involved in various genetic testing fraud schemes that cost taxpayers over $2.1 billion. News Release, Dep’t of Justice, Federal Law Enforcement Action Involving Fraudulent Genetic Testing Results in Charges Against 35 Individuals Responsible… Read more »
While most compliance programs tout policies and procedures encouraging employees and contractors to internally report their concerns, the reality is that many businesses are unprepared to respond appropriately when they receive a complaint from a whistleblower. This lack of preparation often stems from a critical failure to understand the whistleblower’s concerns and to train frontline… Read more »
Unfortunately fraud, waste, abuse, and of course, criminal activity do not take a vacation during a pandemic. In fact, targets and methods of fraudsters can and will evolve much like a virus. When the normal checks and balances that have been put in place by compliance, general counsel, security, internal audit, and other mechanisms that… Read more »
Attorney Carla Schiff Donnelly appeared on KDKA radio and Facebook Live talking about divorce with Divorce Expert Nan Cohen. Periodically, Cohen calls upon Ms. Donnelly to contribute to her show and provide insight into the divorce process. Source
On Jan. 22, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion ordering the permanent sealing of a grand jury report relating to allegations of sexual abuse and a potential coverup. In the opinion, In re Grand Jury Investigation No. 18, the Supreme Court concluded that because the report did not meet the Investigating Grand Jury… Read more »
Protective orders are not enough to maintain the secrecy of sensitive information during litigation, so says the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. In complex commercial litigation and intellectual property litigation, protective orders are a common tool to prevent sensitive and competitive information from becoming public. The parties designate certain trade secrets, non-public commercial information, sensitive… Read more »
This is the second part of a two-part article. In the first of this two-part series, we discussed the success of the United States’ federal False Claims Act (FCA),[1] the rise of international whistleblowers through a study of the Michael Epp case,[2] and what global companies need to do to prepare. In this follow-up, we review exemplary… Read more »
On Nov. 20, in Commonwealth v. Davis, — A 3d. —, 56 MAP 2018, (Pa. 2019), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that compelling an individual to provide their password to an encrypted electronic device violates the Fifth Amendment. In this case of first impression, the government had moved to compel a defendant accused of distributing child… Read more »