Insights

Los Angeles – May 9, 2024: Inner City Law Center recognized Crowell & Moring with the 2024 Humanitarian Award in recognition of the firm’s exemplary pro bono efforts to address the homeless crisis in Los Angeles. The Humanitarian Award is awarded annually to an individual or entity who has demonstrated a remarkable commitment to the underprivileged men, women, and children of Los Angeles. The award was presented at Inner City Law Center’s 24 Annual Awards Luncheon on May 8 in Los Angeles.

Washington – May 9, 2024: Tracy Tolk has joined Crowell & Moring, bringing more than two decades of government affairs experience as an energy policy lobbyist and congressional staffer.

Los Angeles – May 3, 2024: Crowell & Moring LLP represents the California Chamber of Commerce in its work to make the case that California’s antitrust and competition laws do not need to be radically changed to target single firms that improve their market position through legal and naturally competitive means. Crowell Antitrust and Competition Group partner Eric Enson represents CalChamber and testified at the California Law Revision Commission hearing Thursday.

On May 14, 2024, the National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST) published the final versions of Special Publication (SP) 800-171 Revision 3, Protecting Controlled Unclassified Information in Nonfederal Systems and Organizations and its companion assessment guide, NIST SP 800-171A, Revision 3 (collectively, “Rev. 3 Final Version”).  While the Department of Defense (DoD) is not requiring contractors who handle Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) to implement Rev. 3 for now, it is expected that DoD will eventually incorporate Rev. 3 into both DFARS 252.204-7012,  Safeguarding Covered Defense Information and Cyber Incident Reporting (DFARS 7012) as well as the forthcoming Cyber Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program. 

Now more than ever, federal contractors find themselves at the intersection of innovation and regulation, particularly in the realm of Artificial Intelligence (AI).  AI is now incorporated into a broad range of business systems, including those with the potential to inform contractor employment decisions.  For that reason, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has issued new guidance entitled “Artificial Intelligence and Equal Employment Opportunity for Federal Contractors” (the “AI Guide”).  OFCCP issued the AI Guide in accordance with President Biden’s Executive Order 14110 (regarding the “Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence”), which we reported on here.  The AI Guide provides answers to commonly asked questions about the use of AI in the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) context.  The AI Guide also offers “Promising Practices,” which highlight a number of important considerations for federal contractors.  Focusing on federal contractors’ obligations and attendant risks when utilizing AI to assist in employment-related decisions, the AI Guide also provides recommendations for ensuring compliance with EEO requirements while harnessing the efficiencies of AI.

Over the past few years, the use of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) has exploded across multiple industries and many financial services institutions have come to rely on AI—or claim to rely on AI—to generate, assist, and complete business objectives.  So, too, has the regulatory scrutiny around “AI washing,” or firms’ overstating or misrepresenting their use of AI to attract investors.  Similar to "greenwashing," where regulators have scrutinized public claims by companies that they are more environmentally friendly than they actually are, the concept of AI washing has come into sharp focus for the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), evidenced by multiple public warnings and two recent enforcement actions.

Crowell attorneys prepared Lexology’s Advertising and Marketing USA reference guide enabling side-by-side comparison of a variety of countries’ advertising and marketing standards, including the legal and regulatory framework; private enforcement (litigation and administrative procedures); misleading advertising; prohibited and controlled advertising; social media advertising; and recent trends.

On Dec. 8, 2023, after lengthy and intense negotiations, European legislators reached a political agreement on the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act). The EU Parliament formally adopted its position during its plenary session of March 13, 2024, and after legal-linguistic finalization and formal adoption by the EU Council, the AI Act is expected to be published in the Official Journal of the EU before the end of Q2, 2024.

It’s fair to call 2023 the year of artificial intelligence. The 2023 AI boom was largely driven by the widespread adoption of new technologies like ChatGPT, Google Bard, and Microsoft Copilot. Alongside the excitement surrounding these new technologies, alarm over the possible consequences of increased AI use without appropriate guardrails caused both government and private entities to act. 

Join women in compliance from across industries for dynamic networking, inspirational speakers, and idea sharing that will provide you with the tools you need to build your confidence, increase your skills, and advance your career. Connect with a pioneering and diverse speaking faculty as they address current challenges in compliance and share tools to propel your career forward.

In collaboration with the IBJ

Global Trade Talks is a podcast that shares brief perspectives on key global issues on international trade, current events, business, law, and public policy as they impact our lives. In this session, hosts and International Trade Practice Leaders Nicole Simonian and Dj Wolff talk with Crowell lawyers Jeremy Iloulian and Laurel Saito about the significant new sanctions and export control authorities included in the recently enacted National Security Supplemental fiscal package. While this legislation is best known for providing U.S. foreign aid commitments for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, it also contains critical trade related provisions that (i) expand the statute of limitations for U.S. sanctions violations; (ii) give the President new authorities to coordinate sanction efforts with the US and UK; (iii) expand sanctions and export controls on Iran (with some targeting Chinese financial institutions); and (iv) provide for new sanctions authorities targeting terror groups.

This week’s episode covers a GSA Acquisition Letter on the use of upfront payments for acquisitions of cloud-based SaaS offerings, an OMB final rule that revised the Uniform Guidance for grants, cooperative agreements, and other federal financial assistance, and a DOD OIG report focusing on financial responsibility reviews, and is hosted by Peter Eyre and Yuan Zhou. Crowell & Moring's "Fastest 5 Minutes" is a biweekly podcast that provides a brief summary of significant government contracts legal and regulatory developments that no government contracts lawyer or executive should be without.

&Motion meets with Saferide's founder and CEO, Will Bright, to discuss the technology innovations that Saferide is bringing to market.