Press

In Brief: OCR’s Recommendations for HIPAA Covered Health Care Providers On August 18, 2025, the Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced a settlement with BST & Co. CPAs, LLP (“BST”) over alleged violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) Security Rule. BST, a New York public accounting and consulting firm, serves as a HIPAA business associate by receiving financial data containing protected health information (“PHI”). The enforcement action brought by OCR stemmed from a ransomware attack discovered in December 2019, which impacted the PHI of BST’s covered entity client. The HIPAA Security Rule sets forth certain...

IN BRIEF: Today’s Tariffs and the Impact on Commercial Real Estate Tariffs have become a critical concern in commercial real estate, affecting both ongoing construction projects and the long-term cost structures of ownership and leasing. Historically, tariffs on imports and exports have triggered wide reaching economic effects, and tariffs imposed in 2025 by the Trump administration on certain imports from Canada, Mexico, China and other major U.S. importers are no exception. While these tariffs aim to protect domestic industries and promote economic independence, they will also likely burden developers, landlords, tenants, and contractors through higher material costs, longer lead times, and...

LEGAL ALERT: New Texas Telemarking Law to Expand Scope and Reshape Litigation On September 1, 2025, Texas Senate Bill 140 (“SB 140”) will take affect and significantly alter telemarketing laws under the Texas Business & Commerce Code by expanding the definition of telephone solicitation and allowing consumers to bring a private right of action against businesses. These changes bring more businesses into the scope of solicitation rules and bring new challenges for businesses engaged in telemarking, making it imperative that telemarketers understand the current requirements under Texas Law. Key Changes to the Law Under SB 140, the definition of telephone solicitation is...

IP and Copyright: Who Owns What ChatGPT Writes? By Lexton Garrett With the recent rise of artificial intelligence technologies and the apparent omnipresence of ChatGPT, many questions regarding ownership have emerged like, who owns what ChatGPT writes? And perhaps more importantly: Is what ChatGPT writes copyrightable? The ownership question has quite a simple answer: The user owns ChatGPT’s output. OpenAI’s terms of use specify that the user owns whatever ChatGPT writes, so long as ownership is permitted by law. But owning ChatGPT’s output does not necessarily mean that the user holds copyright in the output. In March 2023, the United States Copyright...

How to Stay Compliant with the FTC in the Influencer Era by Lexton Garrett Imagine you’re watching a YouTube video from your favorite YouTuber. Now imagine that in the middle of the video, the YouTuber starts talking about a particular product, and thanks the brand for sponsoring the video. After hearing this, you scroll down to the description and see #sponsored and #ad. Why do YouTubers do this? Well, it might surprise you to learn it’s actually against the law for YouTubers not to disclose a sponsorship. The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) regulates how influencers may endorse a product or service. When...

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act and New Medicaid Work Requirements By Hannah Vandermeer The House Spending Bill, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (“OBBBA”), passed on May 22, 2025, and became law on July 4, 2025. This bills contains several provisions that will affect healthcare, primarily Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) in the marketplace. An analysis from the Congressional Budget Office (“CBO”) estimates that Medicaid will experience at least $700 billion in cuts which will put many at risk of losing coverage. As Medicaid serves as the financial backbone of many behavioral health centers, these...

Mission Possible – Cybersecurity in Artificial Intelligence As artificial intelligence rapidly evolves, individuals and businesses are required to continuously address how they protect and store information. AI not only offers an array of information at any user’s fingertips, but it also presents simpler ways to perform everyday commercial tasks. In fact, AI has profoundly shaped numerous industries, including cybersecurity. However, easier access to information brings with it fears about the safety and privacy of data. Just like AI helps make everyday tasks easier, it also makes it easier for hackers and shadowy figures to access private and confidential information. In response to the...

U.S. Department of Labor Announces Plan to Replace Biden-Era Worker Classification Test and Operate under more Business-Friendly Standards On May 2nd, the U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued a Field Assistance Bulletin demonstrating its intent to pause enforcement of the Biden administration’s 2024 revisions to the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (the “FLSA”) worker classification test, which ultimately made it more difficult for employers to classify workers as independent contractors (the “2024 Test”). In the interim, as the DOL reviews the 2024 Test and develops an alternative, it will rely on older guidance for FLSA classification enforcement purposes, namely Fact Sheet...

Navigating Caveat Emptor in the Context of Commercial Leasing by Max Hayashi Article in "The Network" written by Max Hayashi

Kessler Collins Recognized by Chambers Spotlight for the Third Consecutive Year Kessler Collins PC is proud to announce that, for the third year in a row, it has been recognized in Chambers Texas Spotlight for its exceptional work in both Professional Liability and Commercial Litigation. This annual list highlights the best small and mid-sized law firms, and Kessler Collins' continued inclusion underscores the firm’s excellence in delivering outstanding legal services. After being named to the inaugural Chambers Texas Spotlight list in 2023, this recognition reaffirms the firm’s ability to consistently achieve superior outcomes and demonstrate an exceptional level of expertise and skill....