Micah Q. Carlson

McGrath North is excited to announce the hiring of new associates Micah Q. Carlson, Jeanne J. Kelley and Avram N. Tynes. All three clerked with the firm during their law school careers and will join the Business and Corporate, Intellectual Property, and Labor, Employment and Benefits teams.  

Last week, McGrath North’s Intellectual Property group hosted a CLE seminar titled “Intellectual Property Basics for Non-IP Practitioners" in Sioux City, IA. This educational event helped attendees gain a comprehensive understanding of IP rights.  

On December 6, 2022, McGrath North held its Privacy & Data Protection Summit at the Scott Conference Center in Omaha, Nebraska. The over 100 attendees from almost 70 companies at the half-day event had the opportunity to hear speakers and panelists, including guest experts from the industry, share insights on key topics including:  

On April 11, 2024, the Nebraska Legislature unanimously passed the Nebraska Data Privacy Act (LB 1074). LB 1074 is an omnibus bill that establishes a range of new state laws, including a proposed comprehensive privacy statute.  

On April 1, 2024, the United States (U.S.) and United Kingdom (UK) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to form a partnership for the purpose of working collaboratively in testing and researching artificial intelligence (AI) models. The MOU represents an evolution of the commitments made by both the U.S. and the UK at the AI Safety Summit in November of 2023. As AI is developing rapidly, both governments recognize the need to act now to ensure a shared approach to AI safety which can keep pace with the technology’s emerging risks. This partnership will accelerate the two countries’ work to address national security risks, as well as the broader concerns and risks AI has on society.  

2023 has already become a landmark year for data privacy developments. On January 1 of this year, the California Privacy Rights Act and the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act entered into force. Additionally, the Human Resources (HR) and Business-to-Business (B2B) exemptions under California law expired on January 1, which has drastically shifted businesses’ obligations in the state. Other states have also gotten in on the action, with Iowa passing a comprehensive privacy law, set to go into effect in 2025. Before that, however, the Colorado Privacy Act, the Connecticut Data Privacy Act, and the Utah Consumer Privacy Act will all enter into force before the end of this calendar year.  

On March 28, 2023, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed the sixth state comprehensive privacy statute into law. Iowa now joins California, Connecticut, Virginia, Utah and Colorado in the group of ever-expanding states that have enacted such laws. Iowa’s law is similar to both the California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”) and the Utah Consumer Privacy Act (“UCPA”), although CPRA continues to have a broader reach than that of Iowa’s new law.