New Consumer Privacy Requirements Under the Indiana Consumer Data Protection Act Are Here
Although Indiana adopted the Consumer Data Protection Act (CDPA) in 2023, on January 1, 2026, the CDPA rubber officially hit the road. This data privacy law regulating how businesses must handle the personal information of their Indiana customers should be at the top of your new year’s resolutions. The Indiana Attorney General’s Office has signaled that it will be actively enforcing the CDPA on behalf of Indiana residents, so it’s important for your business to review what the law
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Medicare Outpatient Observation Notice and PEPPER Reports: Key Compliance Considerations
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) continues to scrutinize beneficiary transparency, medical necessity and data‑driven oversight of hospital billing and utilization. This scrutiny means continued compliance risk for hospitals. Two long‑standing compliance tools remain especially relevant for hospital leadership: the Medicare Outpatient Observation Notice (“MOON”) and the Program for Evaluating Payment Patterns Electronic Report (“PEPPER”). Recent CMS communications reaffirm expectations related to proper MOON delivery and highlight PEPPER as an active monitoring mechanism hospitals should be using
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Proposed Ohio Legislation Would Raise Limits on Non-Economic Damages
In September 2025, the Ohio House of Representatives introduced House Bill 447 (HB 477), which aims to increase a plaintiff’s maximum recoverable amounts of “non-economic damages” in personal injury lawsuits.
Non-economic damages typically include claims for pain and suffering or mental anguish. These types of damages are inherently subjective, hard to measure, and typically decided by a jury. If the bill is enacted, it would expand potential exposure for defendants.
Current Law and Proposed Changes
Ohio’s statutory cap currently
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Navigating the USPTO Trademark Application Process: Is It Worth the Risk?
Securing a federal trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is one of the most exciting and valuable steps a new business can take to protect its brand identity. The USPTO trademark application process is not always intuitive, especially when it comes to evaluating whether another business is already using a similar mark in commerce. It is important for prospective applicants to understand how the trademark application process works in order to prevent costly surprises down
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CMS Announces $50 Billion Rural Health Transformation Program Awards to All 50 States
On December 29, 2025, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) announced the first round of awards under the Rural Health Transformation Program (“RHTP”), a $50 billion, five-year initiative intended to strengthen and modernize health care delivery in rural communities nationwide. All 50 states will receive funding beginning in Federal Fiscal Year (“FFY”) 2026, with first-year awards averaging $200 million per state.
At the same time, CMS formally established the Office of Rural Health Transformation within the Center
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The THC Beverage Cliff is Coming: You Are Jumping – Plan Now to Avoid a Cliff Strike
BASE jumping references aside, if you produce or sell intoxicating THC beverages, now is the time to plan your off ramp.
Congress enacted changes that narrow what qualifies as federally lawful hemp starting November 12, 2026, including a 0.4 mg per container cap for final hemp-derived cannabinoid products.
Let’s tear the band-aid off now: 0.4 mg is not a meaningful replacement for the 20 mg to 50 mg cans the market sells today. So for most producers, the real
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Employer New Year’s Resolution #1: Get Your I-9s in Order
It’s January, and we all know what that means—New Year’s resolutions. While many of us will stop going to the gym by the end of the week, we’re bringing you a month of employment law resolutions that we hope you keep all year long. First up: the Form I-9.
I-9s are (or should be) completed at the time of hire and then, usually, shoved in a personnel file, never to be thought of again. And, if the form was
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Weekly Hospital Real Estate Briefing: Our 2026 Predictions
We hope everyone enjoyed some time off over the holidays. As we reflect on 2025 and head into the new year, we spent some time mapping out our hospital real estate predictions for 2026. We believe it will be a mixed bag for hospitals and health systems around the country. Most hospital systems will face financial headwinds, which will result in cost-cutting measures. Those headwinds also create opportunities for strategic growth for those with strong balance sheets or in
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The Polarizing Legacy of Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kent Kuhn
The latest episode of the Wisconsin Law in Action podcast features Elizabeth Manriquez, Head of Reference and Scholarly Communication at the UW Law Library, discussing her chapter in the book Attorneys in the Baseball Hall of Fame: A Collection of Biographical Essays.
Liz’s chapter focuses on Bowie Kent Kuhn, who served as the fifth commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1969 to 1984. As she explains in the podcast, Kuhn was “one of the most polarizing figures
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Life Insurance Policies in a Wisconsin Divorce Action
The division of life insurance policies is a topic that often does not receive enough attention in Wisconsin divorce cases. Yet depending on how a policy is owned, funded, and structured, it can raise important financial issues during a property division.
Insurable Interest Comes First
Before discussing division, it is important to understand who can legally take out a life insurance policy. A person may only insure another individual if they have what is called an insurable interest. This
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How Can a Criminal Defense Attorney Help Reduce or Dismiss Charges?
Making informed decisions starts with understanding the options available to you. This includes your options for seeking to have your charges reduced or dismissed. An experienced criminal defense attorney will be able to help, and to ensure that you do not lose any of the options you have available, you should discuss your case with an experienced attorney promptly.
5 Options for Seeking to Have Your Criminal Charge Reduced or Dismissed
When you speak with an experienced criminal defense
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Wisconsin Child Custody Evaluations: What Factors Do Judges Consider?
When parents in Sheboygan, Random Lake, or Mequon cannot agree on a parenting plan, the court often steps in to make these life-altering decisions. In many contested cases, a judge will order a custody evaluation. This process involves a neutral professional, such as a psychologist or social worker, who investigates the family dynamic and provides a recommendation to the court.
Parents often feel overwhelmed by the scrutiny of an evaluation. Understanding Wisconsin Child Custody Evaluations: What Factors Do Judges
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Installation of Solar Panels is NOT Exclusively Electrician Work under the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act – So Capitulates the Illinois Department of Labor
In the Spring of 2025, the Illinois Department of Labor filed a lawsuit against a union contractor alleging violations of the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act. The Department’s lawsuit alleged that work performed by the contractor on the Projects fell within the prevailing wage classification of Electrician, as opposed to the classification of Carpenter.
On December 18, 2025, the Department determined and agreed that the work the contractor performed on the Projects could properly be classified under the Carpenter classification.
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Illinois Prevailing Wage Act – So Capitulates the Illinois Department of
Labor
DEA and HHS Announce Fourth Extension of COVID-Era Telemedicine Flexibilities for Controlled Substance Prescribing
On Tuesday, December 30, 2025, the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) and the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS,” and together with the DEA, the “Agencies”) issued a fourth temporary rule (the “Fourth Temporary Rule”) extending the COVID-19-era telemedicine flexibilities for prescribing Schedule II–V controlled substances through December 31, 2026. The extension allows DEA-registered practitioners to continue prescribing controlled medications via telemedicine without a prior in-person visit, subject to existing safeguards and state law. The Fourth Temporary Rule
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Year End Yays!
- Did your company file its Annual Report?
- Did you corporation select its board or directors and do its annual resolutions?
- Did you come up with goals and a budget for next year?
- Did you celebrate your wins?
It’s that last one that comes hardest to many. Some people are born with confetti in their hands. Others celebrate by moving to the next thing on their To Do list. But this is the season for celebration, so let’s take a
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