Latest news with #Holland&Knight
Politico
5 days ago
- Business
- Politico
How Trump's AI orders could throw states for a loop
EXAM ROOM A day after President Donald Trump unveiled plans to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence in health care, one expert warns that some aspects of the initiative could complicate state laws aimed at preventing discrimination in health care. Dan Silverboard, a health care attorney at Holland & Knight, says the White House AI Action Plan's requirement that the National Institute of Standards and Technology remove references to diversity, equity and inclusion could create significant challenges for state regulations. As the nation's primary technology standards body, NIST suggests standards and guidance on AI development and implementation. Within the health care sector, there's considerable concern that AI could make decisions that discriminate against certain patients. In 2022, NIST addressed the concerns by releasing recommended practices for managing bias and discrimination in AI — which Silverboard says may soon disappear. To understand the implications of the upcoming changes to NIST, Ruth sat down with Silverboard to discuss the potential impact on patient care and state regulations. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. How do states use the NIST AI framework? The NIST framework is basically a compliance plan for addressing risk posed by AI, including discrimination. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners came out with a model bulletin that will require insurance companies to have programs to mitigate risk caused by AI, things like unfair claims practices, unfair business practices and also algorithmic discrimination. And that bulletin has been adopted, I think, in 24 states, red and blue. If you have the NIST framework in place that would satisfy this requirement. And if the NIST framework no longer specifies how to mitigate discrimination risk? It bungles that. You also have specific state laws which prohibit insurance companies from using AI in such a way that results in algorithmic discrimination, Colorado, for example, California. The NIST changes complicate the enforcement of these laws. How else might removing DEI from NIST's AI framework impact how companies and developers are designing their technology? Multinational companies have to comply with more than just U.S. law. There is EU law out there. So, how the EU requirements might conflict with the requirements that come at a federal level is anybody's guess, but a multinational company would have no choice but to comply with other standards in place on the international level. MORNING MONEY: CAPITAL RISK — POLITICO's flagship financial newsletter has a new Friday edition built for the economic era we're living in: one shaped by political volatility, disruption and a wave of policy decisions with sector-wide consequences. Each week, Morning Money: Capital Risk brings sharp reporting and analysis on how political risk is moving markets and how investors are adapting. Want to know how health care regulation, tariffs or court rulings could ripple through the economy? Start here. WELCOME TO FUTURE PULSE This is where we explore the ideas and innovators shaping health care. Silverboard isn't the only one raising concerns about the AI Action Plan. Brenda Leong, director of the AI division at legal firm ZwillGen, says the call to remove references to 'misinformation' from NIST's risk frameworks is misguided. 'AI systems' tendency to generate factually inaccurate, misleading, or confidently wrong outputs — hallucinations — is a well-documented challenge,' she said. 'The plan shifts away from acknowledging this fundamental technical and safety hazard.' Share any thoughts, news, tips and feedback with Carmen Paun at cpaun@ Ruth Reader at rreader@ or Erin Schumaker at eschumaker@ Want to share a tip securely? Message us on Signal: CarmenP.82, RuthReader.02 or ErinSchumaker.01. WORLD VIEW Hackers love Europe's hospitals, our colleague in Europe, Giedrė Peseckytė, reports. The European Union's health care sector was targeted in 309 cybersecurity incidents in 2023 — more than in any other critical sector. The cost of a major incident typically reached €300,000 or approximately $350,000. For cybercriminals, targeting health data 'is a perfect business plan,' according to Christos Xenakis, professor at the department of digital systems at the University of Piraeus, Greece. 'It's easy to steal data, and what you steal, you can sell it at a high price.' Ransomware attacks — where hackers lock data and demand a ransom — dominate the sector, an EU Agency for Cybersecurity report showed. 'They achieve two targets: One is to get the data and sell [it], and the other is to encrypt the whole system, disrupt the whole system and ask for money,' Xenakis said. Stolen data can be sold on the dark web to criminals who use it to commit identity theft, insurance fraud or blackmail. To restore disrupted systems, criminals can demand millions of euros — hackers, for instance, wanted $4.5 million for the return of the stolen data after a cyberattack on Hospital Clínic in Barcelona. The hospital refused to pay. Why it matters: Beyond the financial impact, cyberattacks pose a threat to patients' lives. The stakes became clear in a recent case in the U.K., where a patient's death was linked — among other contributing factors — to a delayed blood test result caused by a cyberattack that disrupted pathology services last summer. A critical investment: Despite the risks, only 27 percent of health care organizations in the EU have a dedicated ransomware defense program, and 40 percent don't offer any security awareness training for non-IT staff, a separate EU Agency for Cybersecurity report found. Xenakis believes the health care sector sees cybersecurity as a 'luxury,' not an essential. Health care staff are unaware of the risks, he believes, resulting in poor 'cyber hygiene.' Findings from the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, an independent public foundation supervised by the Finnish Parliament, back this up. While many health care organizations have cybersecurity policies in place, they're often not 'clearly communicated or consistently understood by their staff.' High personnel turnover — not just among medics but also among cybersecurity officers — further 'exacerbates training gaps and the ability to enforce cybersecurity policies.' Europe mounts a response: In response to increasing cyberattacks on health care systems, the European Commission unveiled an 'action plan' for cybersecurity in hospitals and the health care sector in January. The plan proposes establishing a European Cybersecurity Support Center for the health care sector within the EU cybersecurity agency and a specific rapid-response service. The plan also introduces 'cybersecurity vouchers,' which will enable EU countries to provide financial support to smaller health care providers for enhancing their cyber resilience. 'It's good,' said Markus Kalliola, Sitra's program director. But it 'could be stronger.' Kalliola is one of the authors of the Commission's evaluation report by Sitra, which points to murky EU governance, a lack of clear targets or budgets and a missed opportunity to establish a single functioning market for cybersecurity solutions. What's next: Whether Europe's security will feature in the commission's final hospital cybersecurity plan remains to be seen; the EU executive has just concluded a consultation and promised to put forward a refined plan by the end of the year. SMALL BYTES The Food and Drug Administration is adding more AI talent to its roster. The agency has brought on radiologist Rick Abramson to help support the agency's AI efforts, according to two current FDA staffers granted anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel matters. Abramson previously served as Vanderbilt University's first vice chair for innovation in its Department of Radiology. He also briefly served as an adviser to the Office of Management and Budget under former President Bill Clinton. The Department of Health and Human Services did not return a request for comment as of press time.
Politico
6 days ago
- Business
- Politico
K Street rakes in record cash thanks to Trump
But the gusher has benefited the entire lobbying industry, new firms and old, the analysis shows. Of the top 20 firms by revenue, only two saw their lobbying revenues decline last quarter compared to the same time a year ago. The lobbying figures reported this week don't include revenue from public affairs or consulting work, or foreign agent work. 'The number of people who feel they need representation at this point is huge, and we're really just getting into sort of the day-to-day of governing,' said Rich Gold, who heads up the public policy and regulation group at law and lobbying firm Holland & Knight. Gold's firm, which ranked fifth among the top earners on K Street last quarter with $13.8 million in revenue, signed 57 new clients during the first half of the year, a record intake for the firm. 'The largest driver of business right now is the overarching trend of uncertainty and the need for C-suites to try to minimize uncertainty and political risk as much as possible,' he said. While specific legislation like the recently signed One Big Beautiful Bill Act has certainly drummed up lobbying business, 'the number of people who needed political intelligence work and advocacy' in D.C. this year stretches far beyond that one law, Gold said. As for Ballard, its blowout earnings were enough to dethrone Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, which has topped the quarterly revenue rankings since 2021. Brownstein reported $18.5 million in lobbying revenues during Q2, setting the firm's own quarterly record. Ballard's Trump-linked competitors are also cashing in. Miller Strategies, which is run by top GOP fundraiser Jeff Miller and employs several former Trump administration alumni, brought in nearly $13 million during the second quarter from clients like Zoom, OpenAI, Apple, Softbank, and Blackstone. That's up almost 80 percent from the beginning of the year, and four times what it brought in during the second quarter of 2024. Continental Strategy, whose staff includes former Trump appointee Carlos Trujillo as well as a former top aide to then Sen. Marco Rubio, reported $6.5 million in lobbying revenues last quarter, making it the 15th biggest firm by lobbying revenue in Q2. During the same time last year, Continental reported just $292,000 in lobbying fees.
Axios
02-07-2025
- Business
- Axios
Scoop: Parker administration taps high-powered law firm to lobby Trump
The Parker administration is tapping a high-powered national law firm to lobby the Trump administration to support the mayor's "safer, greener, cleaner" agenda. Why it matters: Lobbying is a part of most cities' playbook, but maintaining working relationships with the president and federal lawmakers could prove especially crucial for Philadelphia, which relied on $2.2 billion in federal aid last year. Driving the news: Holland & Knight, a Florida-based law firm with a big footprint in Washington, D.C., has secured a new one-year, $150,000 contract with the city, city spokesperson Joe Grace tells Axios. The mayor's office publicly bid the contract earlier this year, saying it needs support and funding increases from the federal government to "assist the city in being the safest, cleanest, greenest city with economic opportunity for all." The contract description on the city's website stressed the need to foster "positive relationships with members of Congress and the president's administration, regardless of political affiliation." The big picture: Unlike her predecessor, Mayor Cherelle Parker has avoided publicly clashing with President Trump — a cautious strategy that has caused consternation among some advocates and residents who want the mayor to forcefully denounce Trump's policies. Between the lines: Parker doesn't appear to want to risk the city's overall future by criticizing the president on issues she can't directly influence, longtime political analyst Larry Ceisler tells Axios. Parker — who last month secured a $6.8 billion budget, raising city spending by nearly 7.5% from last year — "understands her lane as a mayor of Philadelphia," Ceisler says. "She is not getting distracted by all these other things that are going on around her." State of play: Holland & Knight has served as a consultant for several Philadelphiaadministrations over more than a decade, Grace says. The firm has already tallied at least $30,000 in the first quarter of 2025 to lobby for the city on issues ranging from affordable housing and homelessness to city waterregulation, per OpenSecrets. Philly spent $240,000 on lobbying under the Biden administration last year, with half of that amount going to Holland & Knight. What they're saying: Holland & Knight has been instrumental in facilitating conversations with "key contacts within federal government or other cities or municipalities," Grace says.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Algeria Launches Program to Grow Oil, Gas Production
Algeria's National Agency for the Valorization of Hydrocarbon Resources (ALNAFT) is launching a program to revitalize its upstream hydrocarbon sector. Last year, the agency unveiled six new onshore licensing opportunities for conventional oil and gas exploration. It's part of a five-year licensing plan designed to attract global investors, according to a note from the Holland & Knight law firm, which has assisted several companies in previous calls for tenders. ALNAFT has extended bid submissions to July. The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that Algeria, an OPEC member country, has about 100 undeveloped discoveries, and two-thirds of the nation's territory remains underexplored or underdeveloped. Recent licensing rounds are expected to unlock about 20 Bcm of gas production each year during the next five- to 10 years. And, Algeria may have much as 121 Bbbl of shale oil, the firm said. The country holds about 12.2 Bbbl of proven crude oil reserves and an estimated 159 Tcf of proven natural gas reserves. Sonatrach is currently the largest oil and gas producer in the African nation. Algerian leadership recognized that global demand for energy is rising and that technological advances will make it easier to tap into reserves once thought inaccessible. Moreover, the government is 'committed to attracting foreign investment,' according to Holland & Knight. Sign in to access your portfolio
Bloomberg
01-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Bloomberg
Bloomberg Law: Visas Revoked & Dua Lipa Wins Twice
Immigration law expert Leon Fresco, a partner at Holland & Knight, discusses the latest in immigration issues from the revocation of visas to deportation flights to El Salvador. Entertainment law attorney Ronald Bienstock, a partner at Scarinci Hollenbeck, discusses Dua Lipa winning two copyright lawsuits over her hit "Levitating." June Grasso hosts.
