Roopali Desai and Andy Gaona filed a Petition for Special Action with the Arizona Supreme Court on behalf of four political action committees (PACs) proposing ballot measures for Arizona’s General Election in November.

Law360 Covers Roopali Desai and Andy Gaona’s Legal Advocacy for Initiative PACs

Roopali Desai and Andy Gaona filed a Petition for Special Action with the Arizona Supreme Court on behalf of four political action committees (PACs) proposing ballot measures for Arizona’s General Election in November. The lawsuit asks the Court to allow the initiative proponents to collect signatures online using the same online signature gathering platform that federal and state candidates are permitted to use. Secretary of State Katie Hobbs will not oppose the lawsuit and agrees with Roopali and Andy that giving the PACs access to the online signature gathering platform makes public health sense. Law360 recently interviewed Roopali to get her take on the case. Roopali, an experienced election and political lawyer, explained why allowing PACs the same access to the E-Qual online signature gathering system that political candidates have is the only...

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Roopali represents four initiative campaigns who filed a Petition for Special Action with the Arizona Supreme Court to seek an order permitting them to use the E-Qual system to obtain online signatures

Roopali Desai Calls for Arizona Courts to Allow Online Petition Signatures

Although social distancing practices and stay-at-home orders are necessary, they have hindered the ability for groups seeking to put measures on the November ballot to collect petition signatures from individuals. Roopali Desai recently sat down with KJZZ, Arizona Daily Star and Arizona Capitol Times to discuss the breadth of the issue and how to solve it. An experienced election and political lawyer, Roopali represents four initiative campaigns who filed a Petition for Special Action with the Arizona Supreme Court to seek an order permitting them to use the E-Qual system to obtain online signatures. She shared that political candidates already have access to the same system to get the signatures they need and argued the court should uphold the constitutional right of citizens to initiate laws by allowing the use of the...

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Roopali represents four initiative campaigns who filed a Petition for Special Action with the Arizona Supreme Court to seek an order permitting them to use the E-Qual system to obtain online signatures

Arizona Capitol Times Gets Roopali Desai’s Take on Legislative Proposals

When covering three legislative proposals (HCR2032, HCR2046 and SCR1020) that could scale back Arizona voters’ lawmaking powers and upend Arizona’s ballot initiative and referral system, Arizona Capitol Times turned to Coppersmith Brockelman’s Roopali Desai for expert commentary. A highly regarded election and political lawyer, Roopali highlighted how the proposed laws are an attempt to undermine voters’ constitutional rights to legislate co-equally with the legislative branch. Moreover, she says, these changes could result in lengthy ballots and costly elections, ultimately leading to voter disengagement.  Roopali, who is a partner in the firm’s litigation group, advises clients on all aspects of election law, including campaign finance compliance, disclosure and reporting requirements, and bringing and defending election challenges. She is especially known for her experience representing initiative, referendum, and recall campaigns, and...

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Roopali represents four initiative campaigns who filed a Petition for Special Action with the Arizona Supreme Court to seek an order permitting them to use the E-Qual system to obtain online signatures

Roopali Desai Sheds Light on Arizona’s Second Chance Act in Local Media

Arizona has the fourth-highest prison population in the United States, but the new Second Chances, Rehabilitation and Public Safety Act could change that. Coppersmith Brockelman’s Roopali Desai, who serves as legal counsel for the initiative and helped to craft the measure, was featured on KJZZ and in articles for the Arizona Republic and Daily Independent sharing insights on the legislation. The Second Chances Act is an opportunity for non-dangerous offenders to shorten their prison sentences through “earned release credits,” based on good behavior and participation in rehabilitation programs. It would also give judges discretion in sentencing non-dangerous offenders in the interest of justice based on the facts and circumstances of the case, including victims’ statements. Finally, it establishes a fund for first responders and victims of violent crimes. According to Roopali,...

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Jill Chasson Highlights Need for Anti-Harassment, Conflict of Interest Policies in Arizona Capitol Times

Jill Chasson Highlights Need for Anti-Harassment, Conflict of Interest Policies in Arizona Capitol Times

Arizona Capitol Times recently turned to Coppersmith Brockelman’s Jill Chasson for insight into the Arizona Legislature’s murky workplace standards.Jill, who has 25 years of experience practicing employment law, was quoted extensively throughout the article. With the current situations in the Legislature as the backdrop, she addressed the importance of establishing a workplace culture based on respect and professionalism, and of having robust sexual harassment and conflict of interest policies that set boundaries for personal relationships with coworkers and non-employees. She also reviewed steps for effectively investigating complaints under such policies. Well versed in the many federal and state laws that govern the workplace, Jill regularly conducts internal investigations and works with employers to resolve difficult workplace issues. When disputes arise, she represents employers before administrative agencies, in arbitration proceedings, and in...

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Scott Bennett Informs Healthcare Risk Management Readers About Compensation Compliance

AHLA Calls on Scott Bennett to Discuss Big Data, Artificial Intelligence Impact on Patient Privacy with Connections Magazine

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) with big data is raising serious questions about privacy, such as whether the legal standards for deidentifying health information need updating.  Attorney Scott Bennett discussed this issue in a recent article for the American Health Lawyers Association’s Connectionsmagazine, “Patient Privacy in an Era of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence.” The article was part of the magazine’s feature on the top 10 issues in health law for 2020. In the article, Scott explained when personal information is deidentified, it is no longer protected by HIPAA and other privacy laws. AI technologies – combined with the vast amounts of data now available about nearly every aspect of people’s lives – are making it increasingly easy to identify individuals from supposedly deidentified data. That is raising questions...

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