In a new book, noted environmentalist Lester Brown says the shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources is not only unstoppable, but will happen much faster than anyone expected, reports Public Radio International.

Brown, founder of Worldwatch Institute and the Earth Policy Institute, has written 54 books and was called “one of the world’s most influential thinkers” by the Washington Post. PRI says that, when he speaks, people tend to pay attention. His new book is “The Great Transition: Shifting from Fossil Fuels to Solar and Wind Energy.”

“In many parts of the U.S., he says, putting solar panels on your roof now provides electricity at a lower cost than the local utility. Consequently, more and more people are putting solar panels on their roofs,” the report says.

Read the story and listen to the recorded interview.

The Texas Supreme Court has ruled that life settlements sold by Life Partners Inc. are securities under state law, breathing new life into lawsuits brought by the Texas State Securities Board and a putative class of investors, reports law360.com.

“In the Texas cases brought by the state securities regulator and a group of investors, Life Partners had won trial court dismissals. But appeals courts in Austin and Dallas revived the claims after finding the life settlements were investment contracts, not insurance contracts, making them securities under state law.” the report says.

Keith Langston of Langston Law Firm, based in Longview, Texas, represents the investors.

Read the opinion.

Read the story.

The top Texas premises liability verdict during the past 10 years is the record $27 million jury award won by the Dallas law firm Standly Hamilton, LLP, against fast food giant McDonald’s, according to the publishers ofVerdictSearch, the firm reported in a release.

Attorney Chris Hamilton of Standly Hamilton represented the families of Denton James Ward, 18, and Lauren Bailey Crisp, 19, in their claims that lax security contributed to the two teenagers’ deaths, the firm said in the release. Ward died after being severely beaten by a large group of people who had gathered in the McDonald’s parking lot in College Station during the early morning hours of Feb. 18, 2012. Crisp died shortly afterward in a car wreck while a friend attempted to rush her and Ward to the hospital.

“The jurors’ award in this case is in line with what they saw in McDonald’s complete lack of respect for customer safety,” Hamilton said. “While it is professionally gratifying to know that a verdict our firm won is ranked among the largest in Texas, the fact is that no amount of money will ever be able to reunite the victims and their families.”

Read the story.

Leading Texas-based design professionals attorney Mitchell S. Milby has joined Wilson Elser’s Dallas office as a partner.

In a release, the firm said the founder and sole shareholder of his former firm, Milby PLLC in Dallas, Milby says he has moved his practice to Wilson Elser because of its national, full-service platform and its high-caliber lawyers.

The release continues:

An accomplished trial attorney with more than 100 cases reaching verdict over his 21-year legal career, Milby focuses his practice on representing design professionals, primarily contractors, architects and engineers, as outside general counsel on matters that involve professional liability, corporate governance and all aspects of contracts and deal-making. He has represented numerous tier-one insurers, professional associations and major corporations across Texas and in other venues, including Florida, Oklahoma and California.

“We are fortunate to have such an accomplished, well-respected attorney join our ranks,” shared Stratton Horres, regional managing partner of Wilson Elser’s Dallas office and the partner in charge of lateral acquisitions. “Mitch adds depth to our growing Architects & Engineers Professional Liability practice throughout the state of Texas and nationwide. He is a tremendous asset to our firm and to our clients.”;

To stay closely aligned with the business sectors he serves, Milby is active in industry organizations; he serves as an advisory board member for the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and conducts continuing education courses designed for architects and engineers for organizations such as the AIA, the Texas Society of Professional Engineers, the University of Texas at Arlington Engineering Graduate Program, Texas Association of Paralegals and various bar associations. He also is an ongoing visiting instructor for the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington, Construction Management.

Additionally, Milby’s opinions have been published in the AIA magazine columns, the Dallas Business Journal, Texas Bar Journal, and Texas Lawyer. He also serves on the editorial board of the Journal of American Law.

Among his many accolades is his AV® Preeminent™ Rating by Martindale-Hubbell, selection for inclusion as a Texas Top Rated Lawyer, and achieving Professional Affiliate of the Year and Sustaining Partner status with the Dallas chapter of the AIA.

Milby graduated with honors with his J.D. degree from Lewis & Clark Law School (1994), where he also earned his certification in Environmental and Natural Resources Law. He graduated cum laude from Vanderbilt University with his B.A. degree (1991).

With an intense desire to win inside and out of the courtroom, Milby has finished one Ironman Triathlon and several marathons, and holds a number of awards for running races in Texas and Oregon.

Since January 1, 2015, Wilson Elser has opened its 27th U.S. office in Edwardsville, IL, and added 11 new partners nationally across practice areas including Bankruptcy, Commercial Services, Employment & Labor, and Insurance-Reinsurance Coverage. Lawrence Waks, a premier Texas-based intellectual property/entertainment attorney, joined the Dallas office in March.

Quarles & Brady LLP has announced that Mark W. Bina, a partner in the firm’s Litigation & Dispute Resolution and Health Law Practice Groups, has been elected to the board of directors of Chicago Volunteer Legal Services (CVLS).

CVLS is the oldest civil pro bono organization in Chicago, comprised of more than 3,000 attorneys who donate free legal services to thousands of low-income residents. Bina’s election to the board continues the firm’s association with the more than 50-year-old organization. CVLS operates 22 legal clinics across the Chicago area, hosted evenings and weekends at community organizations and churches.

Bina succeeds Quarles & Brady partner Christopher N. Skey on the board of directors. Firm associate Adam J. Falkof was recently elected to the CVLS Junior Board. All three practice out of the firm’s Chicago office.

“Mark is a distinguished pro bono attorney in his own right, and will be a great addition to the CVLS board of directors,” said Skey. “Quarles & Brady is extremely proud of its longtime relationship with this organization.”

Bina’s practice encompasses a variety of matters affecting businesses in state and federal trial and appellate courts across the country. In 2013, he received an award for excellence in pro bono service from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the Chicago chapter of the Federal Bar Association.

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.

Hogan Lovells has announced that , focusing on complex international disputes involving joint ventures, international investments, service agreements, construction projects, hospitality, banking and securities.

Haridi counsels corporations and financial institutions from across the globe in proceedings under the arbitration rules of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (AAA/ICDR), the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), and the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).

“We are thrilled to welcome Samaa to our global IA group and the New York office in particular. As the demand for international arbitration continues to grow, clients expect us not only to have a deep bench, but also the best lawyers with the unique set of skills, experiences, and know-how needed in different regions of the world and different industries,” said Daniel E. González, Global Head of Hogan Lovells’ International Arbitration practice. “Samaa, as a recognized international arbitrator and advocate, is exactly the kind of partner we want and clients expect.”

Haridi serves on the Board of Directors of the Arab Bankers Association of North America (ABANA) and JDRF (formerly known as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation). She is a member of the panel of arbitrators of the American Arbitration Association’s International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR), the panel of arbitrators of the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (CRCICA), and the panel of arbitrators of the Dubai International Arbitration Center (DIAC). Additionally, Haridi is qualified to practice in New York, California, and England & Wales, and is trilingual in English, French, and Arabic – routinely handling work in all three languages.

“I am excited to join Hogan Lovells and to reunite with my former colleagues and friends Ollie Armas, Luis Enrique Graham, Thomas Pieper and Carlos Martinez,” said Haridi. “We all pretty much started our international arbitration careers at Thacher Proffitt &Wood. We took circuitous paths but we’re back together now and I am very excited to plug into the phenomenal platform of Hogan Lovells. I am so pleased to join a firm with such a strong reputation in New York, and worldwide.”

Haridi joins from Weil, Gotshal & Manges where she was a partner in the International Arbitration practice in Weil’s New York office.

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.

Bridgeway Software Inc. will present a webinar titled “5 Ways Matter Management Can Transform Your Legal Department and Why e-Billing Alone is Not Enough” Wednesday, June 10, at noon CDT.

“From advanced collaboration to improved early case assessment and robust reporting to risk management, global corporations are leveraging the value of matter management beyond e-billing to gain a competitive advantage,” Bridgeway says.

Industry leaders at Mattel, MetLife and Mutual of Omaha will be presenters during this uniquely formatted Bridgeway University webcast, moderated by legal industry analyst Ari Kaplan.

Some of the topics include:

• Where matter management starts and e-billing ends
• The value of broad data and ways to apply metrics to streamline your law department
• How a centralized source of information can unify legal operations to reduce cost and increase efficiency
• Best practices for simplifying the complexities associated with running a modern legal department
• A roadmap for getting started

RSVP for the webinar.

Berkman Solutions has compiled a list of 10 techniques to enhance the value of legal services after a contract is signed.

The list of techniques expands on such points as notifying clients of expiration dates and auto-renewal termination notice dates, and monitoring contract compliance for both parties, provisions, and regulations.

It also discusses assigning contract tasks to client staff, summarizing financial structure, and identifying contract assets.

“As a lawyer, you invest time to understand your client’s objectives, risks, and opportunities. What happens to your carefully drafted contract?” Berkman Solutions asks on its website. “Your contract is filed and forgotten. Your client needs the benefit of your drafting during the entire contract term. Your client’s need is your opportunity.”

Download the list.

James S. Brady, Office Managing Member of Dykema’s Grand Rapids office, has received the Marion Hilligan Public Service Award from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School to reflect a lifetime of community service. He was honored earlier this month during the annual Law Day luncheon hosted by the law school and the Grand Rapids Bar Association.

The Marion Hilligan Public Service Award is given in recognition of “contributions by a lawyer in public service to area governmental bodies or community organizations, reflecting greater individual responsibility in promoting public health and welfare through law.” The award is named after the law school’s first Associate Dean of its Grand Rapids campus, who made profound contributions to the school’s development.

Brady’s practice focuses on business and commercial litigation, white collar investigations, criminal law, health care fraud and environmental and energy law. He is former United States Attorney for the Western District of Michigan.

Outside of his practice, Brady’s involvement in the community and his reputation as a mentor are well-known. He serves as chair of Emmanuel Hospice, as a board member and former chair of St. Ann’s Skilled Nursing Home, and as a board member of Catholic Charities West Michigan. He previously taught at Cooley Law School and has acted as the past chair of the Western Michigan University Foundation and past president of the Grand Rapids Bar Association.

Western Michigan University and Thomas M. Cooley Law School affiliated in 2014, combining the status of a nationally-ranked, public, comprehensive research university with the commitment to practical legal education of an independent, non-profit, national law school.

Brady received his J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School, a B.S. from Western Michigan University , and is a graduate of Grand Rapids Catholic Central High School.

About Dykema

Dykema serves business entities worldwide on a wide range of complex legal issues. Dykema lawyers and other professionals in 15 U.S. offices work in close partnership with clients – from start-ups to Fortune 100 companies – to deliver outstanding results, unparalleled service and exceptional value in every engagement. To learn more, visit www.dykema.com and follow Dykema on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Dykema.

Daegis Inc. presents a complimentary on-demand webinar discussing how technology can help attorneys do much more than just review and produce documents.

Technology helps attorneys understand their case, test theories and develop litigation strategies — as soon as data is collected, Daegis says on its website. By utilizing technology to its best advantage, attorneys zero in on the information they need early on, even before a review has begun

Using an eDiscovery “toolkit” enables attorneys to:

• Assess the strengths and weaknesses of a case early on
• Determine if a complaint is an isolated incident or part of a pattern or practice
• Evaluate the likelihood that a putative class action meets the requirements for class certification
• Identify potential key witnesses
• Test litigation theories by searching the data, independent of the review
• Prepare for Rule 26 conferences
• Develop proportionality and cost shifting arguments for discovery motions, and
• Monitor the review to ensure that reviewers understand the case and to identify the need for clarification or retraining quickly

Watch the on-demand webinar.

CREATE.org, the Center for Responsible Enterprise And Trade, offers a free white paper discussing how to mitigate the risks of counterfeiting, piracy and trade secret theft.

This whitepaper outlines how companies can better safeguard key corporate intellectual property assets and better mitigate risks by integrating intellectual property protection into their Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) programs.

Protecting Intellectual Property Through Enterprise Risk Management, the whitepaper outlines how companies can follow the approach of the major ERM standards and frameworks already in place to address strategic, financial, operational, compliance and reputational risks.

Download the white paper.

Dickinson Wright will present a webinar titled “Peeling Back the Curtain: Working with Your Legal Department to Optimize Your Relationship With Your Outside Law Firms” on four dates: June 2, 5, 10 and 11.

James Stapleton, Chief Business Development and Marketing Officer at Dickinson Wright, will be the presenter.

On its website, the firm says the pressure between managing external legal costs and efficient execution of your company’s legal tasks while maintaining a successful relationship with your outside law firms can be a challenge.  This webinar will examine the role that purchasing can fulfill to help satisfy your legal needs on an efficient and cost-effective basis.

The discussion will cover:

• The elements of successful RFPs
• Selection of candidate law firms
• Pricing
• Applying decision criteria and balancing workload between law firm and legal department.

Registration:

June 2, 2015 – Noon EST – Click here to register
June 5, 2015 – 1:00 EST – Click here to register
June 10, 2015 – Noon EST – Click here to register
June 11, 2015 – 4:00 P.M. EST – Click here to register

Farrell Fritz commercial litigation partner Peter B. Zlotnick has been selected to serve as a member of the Fourth cohort of the Berrie Fellows Leadership Program (BFLP) affiliated with the Hartman Institute in Jerusalem and with the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey.

The highly-selective, eighteen month Program is dedicated to developing Fellows’ leadership and organizational skills to be applied to their community, religious and professional organizations.

Zlotnick, a Tenafly, NJ, resident, earned his J.D. degree from Yeshiva University’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, his Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and his B.A. degree from Colgate College.

The First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in First State Ins. Co. v. National Casualty Co., a case involving reinsurance and retrocessional agreements, that the agreements between the parties contained an honorable engagement provision, which directs the arbitrators to consider each agreement as an honorable engagement, not merely a legal one.

A post by Baker & McKenzie and posted on Lexology discusses the case in detail.

The court hadn’t considered such a clause before, but the clause empowers arbitrators to grant forms of relief not explicitly mentioned in the underlying agreement. “Thus, because the arbitrators were authorized to grant equitable remedies, and because the reservation of rights procedure in the award was such a remedy, there was no basis to vacate the award,” the post explains.

Read the article.

In an article published on Butler Snow’s website, Lauren Patton describes a contract situation in which an executive has signed a contract “on behalf of” the company, but did not sign the contract individually. During the course of the matter, the third party brings claims in court against the executive in his individual capacity, and the executive wants to force those claims to arbitration.

She discusses whether the fact that the executive did not sign the contract containing the arbitration provision in his individual capacity is fatal to enforcement of the provision.

She cites prior cases and common law in her discussion.

Read the white paper.

A federal court has upheld a jury’s nearly $500-million award to medical device firm Masimo Corp. in a win in a long-running patent dispute, reports The Los Angeles Times.

In 2009, Masimo sued Philips Electronics North American Corp. and Philips Medizin Systeme Boblingen, both subsidiaries of Royal Philips, alleging they infringed patents for non-invasive technology that monitors oxygen in patients’ blood.

A federal judge in Delaware upheld the award and denied Philips’ request for a new trial.

Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP represents Masimo. In a release, the firm said the infringement case between Masimo and Philips remains ongoing, with more trials anticipated regarding other patents Masimo contends Philips has infringed.

Read the story.

MasterCard Inc. has reported that the proposed $19 million settlement with Target Corp. over  the retailer’s 2013 data breach fell through because not enough banks accepted the deal, Reuters reports.

The agreement, announced in April, would have provided up to $19 million to banks and credit unions that sued Target in federal court in Minnesota over the breach.

The banks had argued that the settlement with MasterCard, which was not a party to the lawsuit, was an attempt to undercut their claims for damages.

But a federal judge earlier this month rejected the banks’ attempt to block the deal, though he expressed concerns about its fairness. Reuters reports.

Read the story.

Merrill Datasite offers a free online assessment designed to give a business manager a better understanding of a company’s internal business need and help make a business case for a new contract management system.

“You know your organization needs a better contract management solution,” Merrill says on its website. “For months, maybe even years, you’ve been trying to make the case, but you’re still running in circles; the challenges and potential problems of your current system continue to mount.

“What will it take to finally convince senior management that it’s time to take action? First, you need to identify the driving business need in your organization. Then, you can use it to make the case for a new contract management system.”

Take the assessment.

Gartner’s recently published 2015 Magic Quadrant for E-Discovery Software details the results of the company’s research and analysis of 20 vendors in the e-discovery software field. Exterro has made the report available through its website.

The report analyzes the landscape of the e-discovery software market and factors driving market growth and technology advancement.

It also discusses which vendors were positioned as leaders for their completeness of vision and ability to execute.

Download the report.

The National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), in collaboration with select, leading boardroom experts, compiles its fourth annual compendium of insights and practical guidance on areas believed to be challenges for directors and boards in the coming year.

The 2015 report stresses the importance of early engagement in discussions of strategy, risks, and succession planning in the boardroom, as well as the need for proactive communication and engagement with shareholders and other key stakeholders.

Get a free copy of the report.