Kang Haggerty News

Firm FinCEN’s Customer Due Diligence Rule and Implementation

September 21, 2018 | Jacklyn Fetbroyt

In the September 2018 edition of the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms (“NAMWOLF”) Newsletter, Jacklyn Fetbroyt, Member of Kang Haggerty, writes Firm FinCEN’s Customer Due Diligence Rule and Implementation.

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In 2016, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued its final rule on customer due diligence and beneficial ownership requirements (the “CDD Rule,” 31 CFR Parts 1010, 1020, 1023, et al.), promulgated under the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended by the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 and other legislation, which legislative framework is commonly referred to as the ‘‘Bank Secrecy Act.” Notably, the Bank Secrecy Act lacks a requirement that financial institutions know the identity of the beneficial owners of their accounts – i.e., the individuals who control legal entity customers – which therefore allow a shield of anonymity for the beneficial owners. To address this perceived weakness and the limit the money laundering that it enabled, FinCEN issued the CDD Rule on May 11, 2016, and it became effective on July 11, 2016; however, covered financial institutions—including federally regulated banks, federally insured credit unions, mutual funds, brokers and dealers in securities, futures commission merchants, and introducing brokers in commodities—had until May 11, 2018, to come into full compliance with the CDD Rule. Continue reading ›

Kalogerakis Elected President of the Barristers’ Association

September 12, 2018 | Kang Haggerty LLC

Philadelphia, PA (September 12, 2018): Kang Haggerty LLC is pleased to announce that attorney Tianna K. Kalogerakis was installed today as President of the Barristers’ Association of Philadelphia, Inc. The installation ceremony was held at Philadelphia City Hall and presided over by the President Judge of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.

TKK-Head-Shot-2018-e1525812187807-300x300 “It is an honor to serve as President of this important organization,” said Ms. Kalogerakis. “This is a critical time to ensure that our members are not only properly represented in the legal community, but also to ensure that the Barristers’ Association is able to provide the resources, services and networks to our members and to the greater Philadelphia community. As a lawyer of color and a woman in the profession, I believe that the organization helps us be the best attorneys possible and amplifies our positive impact.”

Ms. Kalogerakis has been an active member of the Barristers’ Association since 2013, previously holding positions as President-Elect, Vice President of Administration, Chair of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Annual Memorial Breakfast, Corresponding Secretary, and Young Lawyers’ Division Executive Committee Liaison.

Legal Intelligencer: Borrowing Statute: NY’s Bar to the Unsuspecting, Out-of-State Investor

September 7, 2018 | Edward T. Kang

In the September 6, 2018 edition of The Legal Intelligencer, Edward Kang, Managing Member of Kang Haggerty, and Tianna Kalogerakis, Associate of Kang Haggerty, co-authored “Borrowing Statute: NY’s Bar to the Unsuspecting, Out-of-State Investor.”

Despite the plaintiff-friendly pleading standards for securities fraud outlined by the Supreme Court in Merck & Co. v. Reynolds, 130 S. Ct. 1784 (2010), out-of-state investors need to be particularly vigilant in pursuing fraud-related common law claims in New York, being careful not to become blocked by the borrowing statute.

New York City is home to the world’s largest stock exchange, the New York Stock Exchange, and is host to financial service providers. This concentration of wealth and financial expertise has enticed many out-of-state investors to place their money in securities with New York-based financial institutions in the prospect of riches; however, coupled with the influx of these out-of-state investments is the potential for legal action by each dissatisfied or defrauded investor. New York developed the “borrowing statute” to protect its residents and deter actions by nonresidents including out-of-state investors in securities and commodities. Despite the plaintiff-friendly pleading standards for securities fraud outlined by the Supreme Court in Merck & Co. v. Reynolds, 130 S. Ct. 1784 (2010), out-of-state investors need to be particularly vigilant in pursuing fraud-related common law claims in New York, being careful not to become blocked by the borrowing statute.

Jacklyn Fetbroyt on “Negotiating Business Contracts”

August 29, 2018 | Kang Haggerty LLC

Kang Haggerty is proud to share that Jacklyn Fetbroyt will be presenting at the National Business Institute (NBI) seminar “Negotiating Business Contracts” on September 21, 2018. Jacklyn Fetbroyt will speak on the following topics and more:

Contract Risk Allocation Secrets: Safeguard Clients and Preserve Business Relationships

How Key Risk-Shifting Provisions Interrelate

Kang Haggerty’s Greg Mathews and Henry Donner Named to Best Lawyers in America© 2019; Donner is Lawyer of the Year for Construction Law in Philadelphia

August 22, 2018 | Kang Haggerty LLC

Gregory H. Mathews

Henry J. Donner

Legal Intelligencer: Should an Arbitrator Determine Arbitrability Where a Claim Is ‘Wholly Groundless’?

July 26, 2018 | Edward T. Kang and Kandis Kovalsky

In the July 26, 2018 edition of The Legal Intelligencer, Edward Kang, Managing Member of Kang Haggerty, and Kandis Kovalsky, Associate of Kang Haggerty, co-authored “Should an Arbitrator Determine Arbitrability Where a Claim Is ‘Wholly Groundless’?”

While arbitration clauses are often a topic of concern in the consumer context, they can also be a major issue in sophisticated party transactions as well—the agreements where the arbitration clause is the least of everyone’s worries.

While arbitration clauses are often a topic of concern in the consumer context, they can also be a major issue in sophisticated party transactions as well—the agreements where the arbitration clause is the least of everyone’s worries. In these transactions, whether they be in the employment context or otherwise, arbitration clauses are often treated as a throwaway for which a simple copy-and-paste will do. At that forward-looking time, arbitration seems like a sensible method of dispute resolution between two like-minded people, and it is given little emphasis. When the relationships break down later, as they often do, arbitration clauses become a major issue. Too often, one side wants to be in court while the other does not. They argue whether their dispute is subject to arbitration.

Legal Intelligencer: Planning for Summer Vacations or Time Off as a Young Lawyer

July 18, 2018 | Kandis Kovalsky

by The YL Editorial Board

Edward Kang Featured in ABA’s Meet the Managing Partner Column

July 16, 2018 | Kang Haggerty LLC

In the July 2018 edition of the American Bar Association’s Law Practice Today (LPT), Kang Haggerty managing member Edward T. Kang is featured in the Meet the Managing Partner column. LPT, a monthly publication of the ABA’s Law Practice Division, is distributed to nearly 500,000 lawyers and law students across the globe each month, including all members of the ABA. This month’s issue is devoted to the theme of diversity and inclusion. Learn more at www.lawpracticetoday.com.

Legal Intelligencer: Self-Authentication of ESI Under Federal Rule of Evidence 902

June 27, 2018 | Edward T. Kang and Kandis Kovalsky

In the June 21, 2018 edition of The Legal Intelligencer, Edward Kang, Managing Member of Kang Haggerty, and Kandis Kovalsky, Associate of Kang Haggerty, co-authored “Self-Authentication of ESI Under Federal Rule of Evidence 902.”

In a recent annual Federal Bench Bar Conference in Philadelphia, a U.S. District Court judge warned of the perils of allowing clients to perform their own data and document collection.

In a recent annual Federal Bench Bar Conference in Philadelphia, a U.S. District Court judge warned of the perils of allowing clients to perform their own data and document collection. As the judge wisely pointed out, this can be problematic as the lawyers owe a duty to the court to represent truthfully and accurately. If, for example, a client performed the data collection without proper supervision, the lawyer could not accurately represent that all responsive documents have been collected and produced. The 2015 amendments to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37 provide dire consequences for failing to preserve electronically stored information (ESI), including monetary sanctions, dismissal of a claim, judgment in favor of the prejudiced party, suppression of evidence and adverse inference instructions. The recent changes to Federal Rule of Evidence 902, which addresses self-authenticating evidence, and is routinely relied on by civil trial lawyers, raises additional concerns with clients performing their own data collection.

Self-authenticating evidence under Rule 902 is evidence that requires no extrinsic evidence to prove that it is what it purports to be. Common examples of self-authenticating evidence include newspapers, periodicals, signed and sealed public documents, and official publications. While the amendments to Rule 902 were created to address the unnecessary expense and inconvenience associated with having live testimony from multiple witnesses solely to authenticate electronic evidence, they also provide guidance on ESI collection and resolving authentication issues relating to ESI before trial.

Associates Tianna Kalogerakis and Kandis Kovalsky Participate in Law Week 2018

June 21, 2018 | Kandis Kovalsky

Law Day, as officially recognized by the President of the United States on the first of May each year, is a day to reflect on the importance of law in our society and its role in our country’s foundation. In particular, it is a celebration of the rights and benefits afforded to United States citizens under the Constitution.

This year, the American Bar Association Law Day Theme was “Separation of Powers: Framework for Freedom.” The ABA described this year’s theme as follows:

The U.S. Constitution sets out a system of government with distinct and independent branches—Congress, the Presidency, and a Supreme Court. It also defines legislative, executive, and judicial powers and outlines how they interact. These three separate branches share power, and each branch serves as a check on the power of the others. “Ambition must be made to counteract ambition,” James Madison explained in Federalist 51. Why? Madison believed that the Constitution’s principles of separation of powers and checks and balances preserve political liberty. They provide a framework for freedom. Yet, this framework is not self-executing. We the people must continually act to ensure that our constitutional democracy endures, preserving our liberties and advancing our rights. The Law Day 2018 theme enables us to reflect on the separation of powers as fundamental to our constitutional purpose and to consider how our governmental system is working for ourselves and our posterity.

The Philadelphia Bar Association extends the celebration of Law Day to encompass an entire week. The Young Lawyers Division coordinates programs throughout the city with various schools and communities. These programs include Lawyer for a Day, Fairy-tale Mock Trials, Legal Advice Live, and Lawyers in the Classroom. Continue reading ›

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