The Security Rule of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) was enacted more than two decades ago, and technology has changed dramatically since then. Healthcare organizations now face increasingly sophisticated cyber threats, as evidenced by the fact that over 700 healthcare data breaches have occurred each year in recent years. Many of these breaches have been traced to business associates of HIPAA-covered entities, underscoring the urgent need to modernize the Security Rule’s protections. This article provides an overview of the proposed updates to HIPAA’s Security Rule and discusses the implications and compliance timeline for regulated entities.
National Family Owned & Operated Businesses Day provides an opportunity to recognize the lasting impact family-run ventures have on their communities, industries, and local economies.Through strategic estate planning, lifetime gifting, and business succession strategies, owners can position both their business and their families for continued success.
On April 7, 2026, Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (“NFED”) in response to the Trump Administration’s Executive Order.
Cline Williams is pleased to welcome its 2026 class of Summer Associates. Each year, Cline Williams selects a group of talented law students to join the firm as Summer Associates. Through the program, Summer Associates have the opportunity to work with our attorneys in a wide variety of practice areas, providing valuable insight into the firm's work and the legal profession.
Microsoft's migration of Teams private channel data to a new storage model has stalled for some organizations, and affected private channels will be permanently deleted if IT administrators do not act by the end of July 2026. There is no warning within Teams or Microsoft Purview alerting organizations to the problem. Organizations that use Teams private channels should review their migration status now and update their eDiscovery, legal hold, and retention policies to account for the new storage model.
Cline Williams has been ranked in the 2026 edition of its Chambers USA Guide, with three of the firm's practice groups and nine attorneys recognized across six practice areas.
Chambers USA is a leading legal research and analytics guide that identifies and ranks top lawyers and law firms across the United States. Its rankings are based on independent research and in-depth analysis, including client feedback, and are widely regarded as a trusted resource for evaluating legal talent and client service.
On July 18, 2026, the Nebraska Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (“Nebraska WARN Act” or “Act”) will become effective. The Act was signed into law on April 14, 2026, and will heighten the requirements for notifying employees of layoffs or closures beyond what federal law requires. Employers should be aware of the increased requirements created by the Nebraska WARN Act.
In short, the Act requires that employers give at least ninety days’ notice before a business closing or mass layoff. The Act specifies which employers are covered by this Act, which closures or layoffs trigger the notice requirement, who must be sent notice, how notice must be sent, and what employers must include in the notice.
Super Lawyers annually recognizes the top attorneys in each state through a trusted selection process. In the 2026 Super Lawyers Edition, 13 Cline Williams attorneys were honored – 11 were named Nebraska Lawyers and two were recognized as Rising Stars.
On May 15, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (DOL) published a technical amendment to update the salary level regulations for the “white-collar” exemptions to overtime requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
U.S. Supreme Court Reject’s Internet Service Provider Liability for Downstream Piracy
On March 25, 2026, the United States Supreme Court published a 9-0 opinion reversing the Fourth Circuit’s decision Cox Communications v. Sony Music Entertainment, authored by Justice Thomas, with Justice Sotomayor, joined by Justice Jackson, concurring in the judgment. The Fourth Circuit affirmed in part a jury verdict in favor of Sony, based on a claim of contributory liability for copyright infringement. The Supreme Court rejected the Fourth Circuit’s interpretation of contributory liability and held that a service provider must intend that their services be used to infringe on copyrighted works to be contributorily liable for copyright infringement.
