News Type: Articles

An article by Bryan Johnson titled, “Real estate wholesaling in Illinois: An investment strategy under scrutiny,” was published in RE Journals on February 12, 2020.

It has been more than a year and a half since the New York Department of Financial Services cybersecurity regulations (cyber rules) came into effect, and yet another deadline has passed.

Broadly, “covered entities,” which means you if you are an insurer, individual broker, agent or adjuster licensed by or registered with the NYDFS, were required to have implemented audit trails so security incidents can be detected and responded to quickly and material financial transactions can be reconstructed in the event that electronic data is modified or erased (for example, if ransomware encrypts all of the files on your server and you are unable to retrieve them).

It has been three decades since the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 was enacted. Since then, federal legislation has touched upon privacy issues in a piecemeal fashion, including the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act; however, Congress has not passed a major comprehensive privacy law in years. As a consequence, online retailers and others involved in e-commerce have little guidance relative to the connected marketplace, current consumer behavior and the advanced and ever-evolving capabilities of technology.

Lara Shortz’s article, “The NLRB Under President Donald J. Trump,” was published on August 22, 2017, in Hotels Magazine.

From the article . . .

“Despite recent political turmoil in the U.S., the disbanding of two of President Trump’s economic councils – the Manufacturing Jobs Initiative and Strategy & Policy Forum – and criticism of his administration by several high-profile corporate executives, there appears to be strong alignment among business leaders, including those in the hotel industry, regarding at least one politically-charged exploit: the changing face of the National Labor Relations Board.”

Lara Shortz’s article, “Salary Inquiries Becoming a Thing of the Past,” was published in October 2017 in the California Hotel & Lodging Association Newsletter.

From the article . . .

Attention employers in San Francisco, you are the latest to be prohibited from asking questions about a job applicant’s compensation history, a move designed to close the gender pay gap.

The Parity in Pay Ordinance, which takes effect next year (July 2018), will ban employers (hotel and resort owners/operators among them) in the City by the Bay from seeking such information during the hiring process. Indeed, under the new law – which defines employers to include job placement and employment agencies (e.g., recruiters and executive search firms) acting on behalf of their company clients – salary history cannot be considered or relied upon by an employer in determining whether to extend a job offer or in formulating its terms. That being said, if a prospective employee voluntarily discloses his or her salary history without prompting, an employer may take steps to confirm the information and use it when making hiring decisions.

Matthew Lasky’s article, “Post-acquisition insurance agency and brokerage compliance,” was published on November 13, 2017, in PropertyCasualty360.

From the article . . .

A few months back, PropertyCasualty360 published the article, “3 ways to turbocharge the sale of your insurance business.” Given the current hot market for independent, middle-market brokerages and agencies, our colleagues wrote that piece setting forth how best to position these assets for acquisition.

Here, we focus on the acquiring party.

On December 12, 2017, Lara Shortz and Diyari Vazquez’s article, “California employment laws to look for in 2018,” was published in Hotel News Now.

From the article . . .

Year after year, California is among the most visited places in the world. The Golden State is a mecca for tourism and a hospitality hub, with travel spending exceeding $122 billion in the 2016 calendar year—reason enough to track changes in employment law that will impact hoteliers doing business there.

Indeed, there are several new workplace requirements and restrictions that become effective in California on 1 January 2018. For hotel and resort owners and operators that double as California employers, here is a brief overview.

Your hospitality brand has real cachet.

It’s recognized worldwide, and demand at your hotel and resort properties—both domestically and overseas—is through the roof. No wonder you want to seize upon your hard-earned popularity and add locations to continue the measured expansion of your global footprint. Still, the capital outlays required for real estate acquisition and construction is neither feasible nor built into your long-term business plan, not to mention the risk and operating costs associated with property ownership.

There is no shortage of companies seeking to license software to third parties. Exhibit A: the explosive growth and popularity of software as a service (SaaS) solutions.

According to a recent report by Synergy Research Group, the enterprise SaaS market now generates quarterly revenues for software vendors in the neighborhood of $20 billion, with that figure on pace to expand annually by 32%. An optimistic outlook, to be sure, and one shared by the research and advisory firm Gartner, which estimates that SaaS companies will grow to $99.7 billion by 2020.

The recent “altcoin” hysteria that peaked at the end of 2017 and then came tumbling down in the cryptocurrency crash that followed was illustrative of the mindset of many dreaming of a quick buck. Within the sector, many crypto companies (not to mention hopeful investors) are bullish on a rebound in the wake of the turmoil of 2018.

For boxing champion Floyd Mayweather and celebrated media personality and music producer DJ Khaled, the altcoin turmoil they have endured has nothing to do with valuation. In November 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission ordered them both to pay disgorgement, penalties and interest for promoting investments in ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings), including one from cryptocurrency issuer Centra Tech, Inc.