Dallas Austin

On September 9, 2021, President Biden ramped up COVID-related safety protocol in two areas by requesting that: 1.   The Safer Federal Workforce Task Force (“Task Force”) prepare increased safety protocols for federal contractors which should include mandatory vaccinations; and 2.   The Department of Labor issue temporary rules that will require employers of 100 or more employees to require vaccinations. The Task Force was created in July 2021 to provide oversight to the development and implementation of COVID-19 workplace safety plans across the federal government.  In the brief time si

With start-up businesses or any endeavor in its beginning phases, the phrase “fake it till you make it” is often used as a phrase of encouragement. This phrase is taking on a new meaning as the trial begins of Elizabeth Holmes, a person at the center of Silicon Valley’s biggest scandal in recent history. Holmes, once the world’s youngest, self-made, female billionaire and former CEO of Theranos, faces charges for ten counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, up to twenty years in prison, and payment of potential fines and restitution. The charges are based

In July, President Biden issued Executive Order 13991, creating the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force to oversee the development and implementation of agency COVID-19 workplace safety plans across the federal government. The Task Force has created protocol for federal employees, contractors and visitors working inside federal buildings or on federal lands or controlled areas that seemingly implicate construction contractors and subcontractors. After the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave full approval of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, President Biden’s administration took additional step

Recently, an attorney in South Texas voluntarily resigned from the practice of law rather than face a disciplinary hearing alleging his criminal conduct violated the laws he was sworn to protect. The former lawyer plead guilty to bribing a Texas state district court judge to make favorable rulings in court. The attorney pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery, obstruction of justice, three counts of Travel Act violations, and three counts of federal-program bribery. Bribing or attempting to bribe an official in any capacity is a bad idea. The gravity of the situation is exacerbated if a

On June 24, 2021, a portion of the Champlain Towers South in Sunrise, Florida collapsed, trapping and killing scores of residents. While it will take many months to determine the causes of the collapse or who was responsible for it, several of likely many more lawsuits have already been filed.  Those lawsuits provide an early glimpse of liability theories and potentially responsible parties. What happened? In October 2018, the Condominium Board for the Champlain Towers South received a structural engineering report from Morabito Consultants. The report was prepared to fulfill the 40-year insp