If you are thinking about signing any agreement with a non-disparagement clause, ask questions about it, understand it and get competent legal advice, especially if you are the one who is, let’s say, more likely to disparage the other party to the contract, advises David Farren of Phoenix-based Jaburg Wilk in a white paper.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and other government agencies “have recently voiced concerns about whether some disparagement clauses may go too far by illegally prohibiting employees or former employees from filing legitimate, but “disparaging,” charges with those agencies,” he writes. “As a result, many disparagement clauses today carve out an exception for filing such charges, and you should ask for that and any other exception that might apply to you if you sign one.”

Read the white paper.

Agiloft Inc., a leading provider of Contract Management services, has been named the Most Popular Contract Management Software by Capterra, an online service that connects buyers and sellers of business software.

The rankings for Capterra’s Top Contract Management Software infographic are based on a combination of total number of customers, number of active users, and online presence, the company said in a release.

“Agiloft’s Contract Management application has skyrocketed in popularity thanks to its comprehensive feature set, which includes everything needed to manage the complete contract lifecycle right out of the box,” the release said.

“Available as a SaaS application or in-house deployment, Agiloft’s 100% web-based Contract Management solution is accessible anytime, anywhere, so users can manage contracts with vendors, partners, and customers on the go.”

Read the story.

Chesapeake Energy has agreed to a $25 million civil settlement with Michigan to settle claims by the state that the Oklahoma City-based producer conspired with another exploration-and-production company to fix bids in oil and gas lease sales in the state in 2010, according to a report in Platts.

The settlement resolves allegations that Chesapeake “had conspired with Calgary-based Encana Oil & Gas to avoid bidding wars against each other in Michigan public auctions for oil and gas leases that caused lease prices to plummet in October 2010,” Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said in a statement announcing the settlement.

Platts says the settlement also addresses complaints that Chesapeake defrauded hundreds of private citizens by fraudulently canceling their oil and gas leases in 2010.

Read the story.

Civil settlements recently have exceeded $260 million in federal litigation stemming from the ongoing U.S. criminal antitrust investigation into auto parts supplier price fixing, reports Automotive News.

U.S. District Judge Marianne Battani gave preliminary approval to a deal for TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. and German affiliate TRW Deutschland Holding GmbH to settle for $8 million with direct purchaser plaintiffs, which are other auto companies who allegedly bought components at colluded prices, the report says.

Since February, Hitachi Automotive Systems Ltd. and Panasonic Corp. have also agreed to pay nearly $83 million combined to settle with dealership and consumer plaintiffs.

Read the story.

Hogan Lovells has elected new partners to its Board.

Ruth Grant takes on the role of London representative, Craig Hoover has been re-elected to one of the “at large” seats, and Cate Stetson has been elected as the representative for the Washington, D.C. area.

Grant replaces Emily Reid, who has stepped down. Hoover, a Litigation partner in the Washington, D.C. office, will rejoin Daniel González and Michael Silver as the other at large representatives. Stetson takes over the Washington, D.C. area post from Helen Trilling. All begin or continue their roles as of 1 May 2015.

The Hogan Lovells Board comprises 12 members in total and has supervisory responsibility for overseeing the affairs of the firm, but without executive responsibility for strategy, management, and operating decisions. It provides input to the CEO and Hogan Lovells’ International Management Committee. Membership of the Board is designed to reflect the broad scope of the business, with members representing a combination of geographic and other backgrounds.

Biographical details on the new Board members:

Ruth Grant is a Litigation partner specializing in dispute resolution work, particularly in the fields of product liability and professional negligence. She has a broad litigation background based on more than 30 years’ experience handling disputes for a variety of commercial clients in the High Court in London and working with U.S. lawyers in proceedings in the United States for UK clients. Ruth is a former London Managing Partner (2005-2009) and firm People Development Partner (2009-2015). She is co-chair of Hogan Lovells Global Diversity Committee and chair of the London Committee. Ruth is also a member of the Solicitors Regulation Authority Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee and the City of London Law Society Training Committee.

Cate Stetson is co-head of the firm’s U.S. Supreme Court and Appellate practice group. She has more than 50 arguments to her name, including in the Supreme Court, nearly all federal courts of appeals, and multiple state appellate courts. Her experience spans appeals presenting questions of administrative law and procedure, antitrust law, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the False Claims Act, class certification, civil procedure, and constitutional, contract, copyright, employment, energy, environmental, food and drug, health care, insurance, patent, telecommunications, and tort law. Before joining Hogan Lovells, Stetson served as a judicial clerk to The Honorable Stanley S. Harris of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and The Honorable David S. Tatel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

“I am proud to welcome Cate and Ruth to the Board and look forward to continuing to work with Craig,” said Hogan Lovells Chair Nicholas Cheffings. “The Board plays an important role in the governance of Hogan Lovells, in its relationship with our management team, and in listening to, and representing, the views of partners. The high level of participation in this election process is testament to that.”

From 1 May 2015, the Board will comprise:

Chair (and “at large”): Nicholas Cheffings
CEO: Steve Immelt
Asia/Middle East: Jun Wei
Continental Europe: Leopold von Gerlach
Washington, D.C. area: Cate Stetson
London: Ruth Grant
The Americas: Bill Curtin
The Americas (except D.C.): Miguel Zaldivar
45 and under: Ben Higson
“At large” representatives: Daniel González, Craig Hoover, and Michael Silver

About Hogan Lovells

Hogan Lovells is a leading global legal practice providing business-oriented legal advice and high-quality service across its exceptional breadth of practices to clients around the world.

“Hogan Lovells” or the “firm” is an international legal practice that includes Hogan Lovells US LLP and Hogan Lovells International LLP. For more information, see www.hoganlovells.com.

Women Accessing Capital and Give Me 5 will present a free webinar addressing the administrative requirements associated with managing a cost type contract, compared to those required for straightforward labor hour contracts.

The webinar will be Tuesday, May 19, at 11 a.m. Eastern time.

“Many government service contractors successfully enter the government market with relatively straightforward T&M (Labor Hour) contracts.” the webinar organizers report. “The skills required to manage T&M contracts differ markedly from the skills required to manage a cost type contract. While the statements of work may be very similar, the administrative requirements associated with managing a cost type contract greatly exceed those required for T&M work. Failure to comply with these requirements can have serious ramifications. An understanding of your obligations is essential to mitigating your risks, maximizing your cost recovery and maintaining your bottom line.”

Register for the webinar.

The U.S. Supreme Court on April 21 ruled that state law antitrust claims brought against interstate pipeline companies by a group of manufacturers and other retail buyers of natural gas are not pre-empted by the Natural Gas Act, according to a report from Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo.

The court considered whether the Natural Gas Act pre-empts state law antitrust claims when the challenged conduct affects both federally regulated wholesale natural gas prices and non-federally regulated retail natural gas prices, explained author Dionne Lomax.

“According to the majority, the state law price-manipulation claims were not pre-empted because they were directed at practices affecting retail rates, which falls squarely on the states’ side of the dividing line,” she wrote. “Justice Scalia and Chief Justice Roberts strongly dissented.”

Read the report.

This 2015 update of Pepper Hamilton’s white paper on independent contractor misclassification details three ways companies that use independent contractors can minimize or avoid future independent contractor misclassification exposure.

The white paper, an update from the firm’s original 2012 version, is available at the Pepper Hamilton site.

The three methods mentioned in the paper are:

• bona fide restructuring and re-documentation, using IC Diagnostics™
• reclassification, either under a government program or voluntarily
• redistribution of independent contractors, using a workforce management or staffing company.

“These alternatives work for virtually all companies that use independent contractors – whether to supplement their workforce or to refer or offer qualified service providers to customers or clients as part of their business model.” the paper says.

Read the white paper.

The Coats Rose Affordable Housing Group served as counsel to the Housing Authority of the City of El Paso for the closing on the redevelopment of 13 properties totaling 1,590 units which were converted from public housing to project based Section 8 under HUD’s Rental Assistance Demonstration Program, the firm reports in a release.

The project was closed as one 4 percent tax credit/bond transaction with $125,000,000 of tax exempt bonds and $80,000,000 of tax credit equity.

The release says this represents the largest single issuance of housing tax credits ever approved by the Texas Department Housing and Community Affairs and the largest RAD conversion closing to date in the country. The total development cost was approximately $250,000,000.

“This deal means more working El Paso families will have the opportunity to provide their children with a safe, stable environment,’ says Coats Rose Affordable Housing Director Barry Palmer. “We are proud to have worked with HACEP to make this possible and want to thank the staff at HUD and TDHCA who worked so hard to help expedite the necessary approvals. The Housing Authority of the City of El Paso is a national leader in this innovative program to bring substantial private capital to help develop affordable housing for those most in need”

Coats Rose attorneys Barry Palmer and Bill Walter have been at the forefront of the RAD program, having closed the first three RAD transactions in the State of Texas in 2014 and now following up with these 13 properties.

Gerry Cichon, Executive Director of HACEP stated, “We have been working on this transaction for over a year now. When HUD made this program available as a demonstration program in 2013 we recognized immediately that this is the future of public housing. This allows the Housing Authority to do renovations of over $65,000 a unit on these 13 properties. It results in a substantial investment in the El Paso community with the creation of countless construction jobs and vastly improved housing conditions for 1,590 families.”

Also playing key roles in the transaction were attorneys from Reno & Cavanaugh PLLC, Ballard Spahr LLP, Nixon Peabody LLP and Bracewell & Giuliani LLP.

The federal Housing Tax Credit Program is the state’s primary means of incentivizing the investment of private capital in the development of affordable rental housing. Developers and their investment partners use the credits to offset their federal tax liability on a dollar-for-dollar basis in exchange for the construction or rehabilitation of rental units offering a reduced rent over an extended period of time.

Coats Rose is a business transaction and litigation law firm based in Houston, Texas. For more than 25 years, Coats Rose attorneys have worked with clients in construction/surety law, real estate law, commercial litigation of all types, municipal law, public finance, affordable housing, insurance law, labor and employment law, and governmental relations. Coats Rose is comprised of over 90 attorneys, with offices in Houston, Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, and New Orleans.

A recent settlement under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Extraction Enforcement Initiative provides insight into EPA’s approach under the Clean Air Act and highlights the type of “beyond compliance” requirements on which industry should focus, reports King & Spalding in a white paper.

“Given its patchwork of regulatory authority over operations in the oil and natural gas industry, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has adopted a national enforcement initiative to focus its efforts,” the paper says. “Through its Energy Extraction Enforcement Initiative, EPA has been steadily targeting the energy industry.”

Advanced air emissions monitoring tools that EPA pursues in its settlements may expose settling companies to future litigation based not on the compliance demonstration method of the applicable air rule, but rather on broader Next Generation technology, the authors write.

Read the white paper.

Rachel A. Scelfo, counsel with Farrell Fritz

Farrell Fritz announces that Rachel A. Scelfo, counsel in the firm’s land use and municipal department, has recently been elected to the West Babylon Public Library’s board of trustees. She will serve a five-year term.

Rachel, a Babylon, NY, resident, also serves on The Art League of Long Island’s board of directors. She is a frequent contributor to the firm’s Long Island Land Use & Zoning blog. She earned her J.D. degree from Hofstra University School of Law and her M.P.P. and B.A. degrees from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

The Obama Administration’s first comprehensive survey and analysis of the nation’s basic energy infrastructure needs for the 21st century provide a critical analysis of vulnerabilities in the energy transmission, storage, and distribution systems in the United States, according to a white paper published by Morgan Lewis & Bockius.

The report includes specific recommendations for investments in energy infrastructure upgrades and new policies designed to promote responsible development of domestic energy sources and to facilitate more timely environmental review and permitting decisions, the paper says. “Priorities outlined in the report will likely shape legislative and administrative actions that could affect markets and shape commercial opportunities in the energy sector.”

Read the white paper.

Hatmaker Law Group will present a complimentary one-hour webinar on the latest developments this year in labor and employment law, including updating your employee handbook and preparing for new legislation going into effect on July 1, 2015.

The webinar will be Wednesday, June 17, beginning at 2 p.m. Central time.

Hatmaker Law Group conducts a monthly webinar series on various employment and labor law topics to provide up-to-date information to California employers, business owners, managers, accountants, attorneys and human resource professionals. The webinars are provided free of charge. HRCI and State Bar of California continuing education credit is pending on all programs.

Register for the webinar.

The national law firm of Quarles & Brady LLP has announced that the firm has been ranked by Law360 among the top U.S. law firms for women.

This is the first ranking of its kind from Law360. The ranking is based on the firm’s female representation at the partner and nonpartner levels and its total number of female attorneys. “We are truly humbled that we have been named a best law firm for female attorneys,” said firm chair Kimberly Leach Johnson. “Being ranked in the very first such list by Law360 is an honor, especially being ranked 12th nationally.”

About Quarles & Brady LLP
Quarles & Brady is a full-service law firm with more than 475 attorneys offering an array of legal services to corporate and individual clients that range from small entrepreneurial businesses to Fortune 100 companies, with practice focuses in health care and life sciences, business law, data privacy and security, and complex litigation. The firm has offices in Chicago; Indianapolis; Madison; Milwaukee; Naples, Florida; Phoenix; Scottsdale; Tampa; Tucson; and Washington, D.C. Additional information can be found online at quarles.com, as well as on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

D4, LLC , a national in eDiscovery managed services, litigation support, computer forensics and deposition solutions to law firms and corporations, will host a complimentary webinar on April 30 at 1 p.m. EDT. Attendees will learn how to justify an eDiscovery managed services agreement for law firms or corporations, and best practices for achieving stakeholder buy-in.

Panelists include Stuart B. Claire, J.D., Manager of Litigation Technology Support at Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney (an AMLAW 200 Firm); Jennifer Lemire, Senior Litigation Paralegal with The RiverStone Group (A Fairfax Company); and Elissa Livingston, J.D., Director of Project Management, D4. The event is part of D4’s webinar series aimed at educating legal and technology professionals on key topics around managed data and eDiscovery.

Panelists will share unique insights and advice based on their experience with the RFP process, different actions they may have taken had they known what to expect, and how they obtained approval from their stakeholders. The main goal is to impart relevant knowledge that can be applied in preparation for a managed services journey. Attendees will learn:

• Things to consider during the RFP process
• Potential pitfalls and how to avoid them
• How to justify a managed services model

“Finding an eDiscovery managed services vendor may not be a quick or easy process, but it doesn’t need to be painful,” said Martha MacPherson, Vice President of Marketing at D4. “Our experienced panelists will help answer questions about their journeys and offer advice on how to justify a managed services agreement.”

The webinar will take place on Thursday, April 30, 2015, 1-2 p.m. EDT.

Register for the webinar.

Public policy justifications for refusing trademark registration is a common aspect of most trade mark regimes. But balancing the interests of potential trademark owners who wish to market their goods and services under vulgar signs and those who might be offended by such marks, has raised wider concerns about unnecessary restrictions on free speech, according to a white paper published by Primary Opinion.

The paper points to an opinion from the Court of Appeal for the Federal Circuit that upheld a refusal to register the mark THE SLANTS for “entertainment in the nature of live performances by a musical band,” finding that the mark “… would be perceived as disparaging to a substantial composite of the referenced group, namely persons of Asian descent.”

The paper considers some other U.S. cases, such as the case of the name of the Washington Redskins, as well as similar cases in Australia and Europe.

Read the white paper.

Hatmaker Law Group will present a one-hour webinar designed to teach supervisors how to recognize the signs of drug and alcohol abuse in the workplace.

The event is hosted by Susan K. Hatmaker, Esq. with guest speaker Eric Andersen, CSM SH&E Professional, with L.L. Andersen Consulting.

The webinar will be Wednesday, May  20, at 2 p.m. Central time.

Hatmaker Law Group conducts a monthly webinar series on various employment and labor law topics to provide up-to-date information to California employers, owners, managers, accountants, attorneys, and human resource professionals. The webinars are provided free of charge. HRCI and State Bar of California continuing education credit available.

Register for the webinar.

Willbros, McCarthy Tétrault and Duff & Phelps will present a free webinar on April 28 to discuss the 2015 oil and gas outlook in the midstream and downstream markets.

The webinar will begin at 11 a.m. Eastern time.

Panelists will discuss North American and European M&A activity and industry trends.

Topics will include:

• Oil prices and geopolitics
• Commodity price impact on M&A activity
• Long-term outlook in midstream and downstream markets

Register for the webinar.

Energy reform in Mexico means a new era of partnerships, foreign direct investment, and future success stories in the country, write Edward H. Warner and Daniela Suarez de los Santos of Kean Miller in a new article.

The recent announcement of a $900 million transaction to send U.S. natural gas to central Mexico represents the first large scale infrastructure investment in Mexico since its energy sector was opened to foreign investors in 2013. is only the beginning.

On its website, the firm says, “The questions to consider are: what are the opportunities, what are the challenges, and how can U.S. companies make this groundbreaking change work for them?”

Read the article.

Guilford F. Thornton, Jr. of Adams and Reese

Adams and Reese announces that governmental relations and legislative counsel Guilford F. “Gif” Thornton, Jr., a partner in the firm’s Nashville office, has been elected Managing Partner.

Thornton, who has previously served as Chairman of the firm’s Executive Committee and held numerous management roles, joined the firm in 2005 when then Nashville’s Stokes Bartholomew merged with larger regional firm, Adams and Reese.

Thornton succeeds Charles P. Adams, Jr., who held the role of managing partner since 2001 until his term ended recently. Adams led the 300 lawyer firm through a volatile period in the economy and the legal industry, through natural catastrophes like Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, as well as the firm’s successful expansion into Birmingham, Alabama, three offices in Tennessee, five offices in Florida, and the firm’s newest office in Columbia, South Carolina

Read details about the appointment.