Apple Inc. has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to clear the way for the iPhone maker to secure hundreds of millions in damages from Samsung Electronics Co Ltd in a case over smartphone design patents, Reuters is reporting.

The feud over smartphone patents dates back to 2011, when Apple sued Samsung in a northern California court alleging infringement of the iPhone’s patents, designs and trademarked appearance.

“In its legal brief on Friday, Apple said Samsung had not provided evidence to support its argument that design patent damages should be decided on one component of a smartphone, rather than the entire product,” reports Dan Levine for Reuters. “Apple said there was no need for the Supreme Court to send the case back to a lower court for further proceedings.”

Samsung is facing a judgment of $548 million, of which $399 million involves design patents.

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“While each crisis is unique, proper preparation can stabilize the situation and mitigate potential liability and damages,” the firm says. “A particular area of focus should be the preparation of an incident investigation report – when to prepare a report, who should prepare a report, how the report should be prepared and what may happen with the report in subsequent litigation.”

Watch the on-demand video.

A California appellate court closely parsed the language in an arbitration clause and reversed an order compelling arbitration of a dispute between a lawyer and his client-turned-business-partner, reports Karen Rubin in Thompson Hine’s blog, The Law for Lawyers Today.

She writes that the lawyer must now defend against a $1.5 million claim based on malpractice and breach of the operating agreement that he had drafted in connection with his real estate venture with the former client.

“Of course, it is no news that a case can turn on contract interpretation,” Rubin writes. “But this one emphasizes the small drafting choices that can send a case to a full-blown jury trial or keep it in arbitration.  That’s of special concern to lawyers and their clients at the front end of a relationship — pre-dispute agreements to arbitrate are increasingly included in retainer agreements.”

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The Economist asks a straight-forward question about a new relatively contract technology: If smart contracts can be made to work, how automated should business ultimately become?

The article discusses the history of smart contracts since the term was coined in 1994, through the recent debacle of Ethereum’s “Decentralised Autonomous Organisations” venture capital fund that was hacked to the tune of $50 million.

“So far, IT has mainly replaced paper processes,”the article says. “Smart contracts mean a different order of automation: economic transactions are put on auto-pilot. True believers want them to do away entirely with intermediaries, from banks to governments. But they should be careful what they wish for. If smart contracts spread widely, you would take away much of the flexibility that smooths the economy’s functioning. Real-world institutions can adjust when things go wrong. For many years to come, and perhaps for ever, human institutions, flawed though they are, will be a smarter bet than relentless, bug-ridden code.”

Read the article.

An article written by Deborah H. Share for Porzio, Bromberg & Newman‘s Employment Law Monthly reports that employers cannot contract with employees to reduce limitations periods for discrimination claims, according to a recent New Jersey Supreme Court decision.

According to the facts of the suit as presented to the court, a job applicant signed an application form that included language that appeared to waive any statute of limitation in the filing of a lawsuit against the employer. The language limited the applicant to a deadline of six months from the date of any alleged employment action that was the subject of a suit.

Share’s article detailed the court’s reasoning and listed and discussed three recommendations for employers to consider: remove such waivers from applications, shore up all processes related to employee terminations, and consider other useful tools for employers in this area.

Read the article.

Image by Mike Mozart

Sports Authority’s creditors and the Justice Department have challenged the fading retailer’s plans to pay top executives as much as $2.85 million in bankruptcy bonuses, according to a Dow Jones Newswires report in The Denver Post.

Sports Authority once operated 460 athletic-gear but filed for bankruptcy protection and began going-out-of-business sales in an effort to pay its debts. As the liquidation entered its final weeks, Sports Authority unveiled plans for bonuses for four unnamed top executives.

“The bonus money is needed to encourage the executives to do their best in the company’s final days, according to Sports Authority’s lawyers. Confidentiality is appropriate to protect morale, and prevent competitors from using the pay data to lure Sports Authority’s leaders away, the company contends,” the report says.

Read the article.

The U.S. watchdog for consumer finances unveiled on Thursday a proposal to toughen regulation of the multibillion-dollar debt collection industry, with a focus on keeping agencies from pushing people to pay debts they do not owe, informing borrowers of their rights and cutting down on calls to debtors, according to a Reuters report.

Industry advocates expressed concerns about the costs of complying with the suggested requirements, which they warned could be passed on to borrowers or force some of the thousands of small collection firms to shutter. “Those pushing for consumer rights said the proposal left major holes in borrower protections and did not go far enough,” wrote Reuters’ Lisa Lambert.

She also reported that the proposal covers third-party collectors and debt-buyers. The CFPB will address first-party collectors and creditors, such as banks with their own collection departments, in the future.

Read the article.

A 20-year-old woman is being sued by a Houston law firm after she wrote negative reviews of the firm on Facebook and Yelp, according to a report in the Houston Chronicle.

Lan Cai, who had been injured in a serious auto accident, says the lawyers in the Law Offices of Tuan A. Khuu and Associates failed to work with her after she hired them, so she vented her frustration online which spurred the law firm to sue her.

According to the Chronicle, she posted on Facebook, “…they came to my house and into my room to talk to me when I was sleeping in my underwear. Seriously, it’s super unprofessional! After that I found someone else to switch to… I came in the office to meet with my previous attorney, but he literally ran off… So please DON’T waste your time…”

Keith Nguyen, an attorney with Tuan A. Khuu, said what Cai posted online isn’t true but wouldn’t explain what was false about it, reports Will Axford.

The firm is seeking $100,000 to $200,000 in damages, according to reports.

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Although Theranos’s history — which includes several administrative penalties for the troubled blood-testing company — has received an outsize amount of media attention, its experience with regulatory agencies highlights several important issues for start-up and emerging health care entities, writes Robert E. Wanerman in Epstein Becker & Green‘s Health Law Advisor blog.

He discusses four major questions raised in this type of case, with these headings: What Do Regulators Want?, What Do Health Care Providers and Payors Want?, Who Is Investing in the Venture?, and Who’s on Board?

On the first point, he wrote that “even in an environment that encourages innovation, health care organizations must understand the scope of regulatory oversight at the federal and state levels, and the range of remedies available to regulators for noncompliance. Every organization should also have a protocol in place for responding to regulatory inquiries or inspections.”

Read the article.

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher has posted an on-demand video discussing substantive litigation issues that tend to arise in a contentious bankruptcy, where many parties are fighting over a limited pool of assets — such as claims for breach of fiduciary duty, equitable subordination, and avoidance of fraudulent transfers, as well as litigation that arises in the context of plan confirmation.

The firm says the video covers some procedural tactics that have enabled parties to position themselves favorably among the various players in bankruptcy litigation.

“In light of the tumult in the junk bond market, the gyrations in the stock market, and other storm clouds on the global economic horizons, companies that face refinancing of their debt in 2016 and 2017 may find themselves restructuring through bankruptcy in Chapter 11,” the firm says on its website. “Creditors will face off for their respective piece of the restructured company, leading to specialized and fast-paced litigation.”

Watch the video.

Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP has been recognized with two honors recently: of the 50 best law firms for women  and one of the top Illinois law firms for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) inclusiveness and equality.

For the eighth consecutive year, the firm has been included on Working Mother and Flex-Time Lawyers’ list of the 50 best law firms for women in recognition of the firm’s commitment to retaining and promoting women lawyers.

This annual list recognizes law firms that implement family friendly policies and promote career development initiatives that help retain women attorneys and advance them into the leadership pipeline.

The firm was praised for hiring consultants that helped the firm identify and eradicate gender bias in the workplace. The firm was also commended for launching coaching and business development initiatives for female partners, and offering a flexible work schedule that permitted a third of the firm’s women attorneys to work reduced hours in 2015.

“We’re very proud to once again be recognized by Working Mother and Flex-Time Lawyers for our commitment to women,” said Patricia S. Cain, partner and co-chair of the firm’s Women’s Network. “The firm works hard to support female attorneys in what can be a difficult profession. We firmly believe that doing so not only benefits our colleagues, but significantly benefits our clients as well.”

Neal Gerber Eisenberg’s Women’s Network looks to address the unique needs of women in the workplace through a variety of venues, including lunch-and-learn programs, networking and social events, a parent mentoring program, and a policy group focused on advocacy issues important to women’s professional success. The firm encourages women to attain leadership roles at the firm and consistently seeks innovative solutions to the unique issues impacting women in the workplace.

In June of this year, Leah A. Schleicher, partner in the Real Estate practice group, represented the firm in the inaugural Women in Law Hackathon, a Shark Tank-style pitch competition aimed at generating new and effective ideas to close the gender gap in law firms.

Neal Gerber Eisenberg and other firms included on the list will be honored at the Best Law Firms for Women Gala Awards Luncheon on September 21.

LGBT Award

The firm also has again been honored as one of the top Illinois law firms for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) inclusiveness and equality by Equality Illinois. The firm has received this distinction each year since 2006.

“Neal Gerber Eisenberg is proud to once again be recognized by Equality Illinois as one of the top Illinois law firms for LGBT inclusiveness and equality,” said Scott J. Fisher, firm managing partner. “As we celebrate our 30th anniversary, I am proud that we continue to focus on maintaining a culture of equality and inclusion to support our LGBT attorneys and staff, and to promote creativity, opportunity and professional development throughout the firm to better serve our clients.”

Equality Illinois, the state’s oldest and largest organization advocating for LGBT equality, conducts an annual survey to identify the top Illinois law firms for providing a welcoming and fair work environment for LGBT employees, and engaging with the LGBT community.

The firm is a member of the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago, regularly supports various law student organizations, including OUTLaw, is an annual sponsor of Equality Illinois’ Justice for All Gala as well as various Lambda Legal events, and participates in the National LGBT Bar Association’s Lavender Law Conference and LGBT Legal Expo.

Neal Gerber Eisenberg and other recognized firms were honored at the “Raising the Bar” breakfast on July 26, which featured U.S. District Court Judge Staci M. Yandle, the first openly LGBT judge in the Seventh Circuit and the first African-American District Judge in the Southern District of Illinois. The firm was also included in the Equality Illinois publication “Raising the Bar: Law Firms Leading the Way to LGBT Equality.” This publication highlights top firms, publicizes the survey findings, and includes recommendations for firms seeking to increase their workplace diversity and equality.

Texas lawyers Andy Taylor and George Hittner have joined forces in the new Texas-based law firm TaylorHittner.

In a release, the firm said it will assist political and business clients with litigation, appeals and interactions with local, state and federal governments, including providing expertise in complex commercial litigation, election law matters and general counsel services. In addition to the firm’s Houston office, both attorneys will be available by appointment in Austin, Brenham and La Grange.

“Our firm is designed to handle litigation, appeals and the legal issues that exist at the intersection of business, public interest and government. Our varied experience in and out of government will serve our clients well,” says Taylor, a troubleshooter for Republican and business causes around the state, including several high-profile victories against the City of Houston.

Taylor is a former first assistant attorney general for the state of Texas and former partner at the firm now known as Locke Lord. Named by Texas Monthly as “one of the 25 most powerful people in Texas politics,” he is a veteran of numerous high-profile cases, including two he personally argued before the U.S. Supreme Court.

“TaylorHittner has the experience businesses need when dealing with government issues, and we also provide small and mid-sized businesses with savvy, efficiently managed general counsel services,” says Hittner, who previously worked as general counsel, corporate secretary and senior vice president for governmental relations at Arizona-based American Traffic Solutions Inc., a market leader in traffic enforcement safety equipment.

Hittner has managed hundreds of lawsuits, including several cases that were favorably resolved by state supreme courts and federal courts of appeal, the release says. He previously worked as a White House appointee to the U.S. Department of Labor and as an associate at Haynes and Boone in Houston, where he also ran for city council.

The two are joined by associate Amanda Peterson. The release says other lawyers will be added.

Image by NY Photographic

Barbara E. Hoey and Dustin E. Stark of Kelley Drye’s Labor and Employment group have a warning for New York employers – your non-compete agreements may be under attack.

In an article published on the firm’s Labor Day blog, the authors wrote that the office of the state’s attorney general recently reached settlements with two companies that require each to stop requiring incoming employees to sign non-compete agreements.

“The settlements clearly send a signal that the New York AG is critical of employers who require low-level employees to sign non-competes as a condition of employment. These agreements were never favored by New York courts, and this may be the time to re-think the broad use of such contracts,” according to the report.

“The take-away here is that if your company requires that all (or a large number of) employees sign non-compete agreements, you should re-examine this process. For one, a non-compete signed by a ‘low-level’ employee may not be enforceable anyway. Second, you do not want to wind up to be the next subject of an AG investigation,” they write.

Read the article.

The firms of Loewinsohn Flegle Deary LLP and Simon, Ray & Winikka LLP have merged to become Dallas-based Loewinsohn Flegle Deary Simon LLP. The 15-lawyer firm works in high-stakes and employment law litigation, business disputes, bankruptcy claims, and general counsel services.

“It’s not every day that you see two firms with our capabilities teaming up, which is why the media and other lawyers are taking notice,” says name partner Craig Simon.

The release from the firm continues:

In The Dallas Morning News, name partner Alan Loewinsohn is noted for his prior work in high-profile cases involving professional athletes Shaquille O’Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon and others. The complete article is available online at dallasnews.com.

Mr. Loewinsohn spoke with Texas Lawyer about how the merger discussions began in early 2016 with the goal of expanding combined services for clients in various industries.Read the full article HERE.

The Dallas Business Journal quoted Mr. Simon about the unique capabilities that Loewinsohn Flegle Deary Simon brings to every case: “There are very few, if any, firms of our size that can provide the broad and deep knowledge and track record in the courtroom and through negotiation that we bring to the table,” he told the publication in the article you can read HERE.

Loewinsohn Flegle Deary Simon LLP is a business-friendly law firm based in Dallas. The firm’s attorneys represent both plaintiff and defense clients from various industries in a wide variety of matters inside and outside the courtroom, including business disputes, employment law, bankruptcy litigation and business restructuring, product liability, and general counsel services, among others.

Exterro has published an e-book on e-discovery project management, which shows how to incorporate project management principles and tools into your legal process.

E-Discovery is often treated as a reactive activity without defined, repeatable processes, resulting in missed deadlines, lost evidence, and miscommunications which can all lead to wasted time, increased internal costs, and potential legal sanctions, Exterro says on its website. But e-discovery doesn’t have to be run this way.

The book shows how to:

• Empower your legal team to focus on the tasks that matter
• Create visibility for team members
• Collaborate effectively with other teams inside and out of the organization
• Provide the necessary predictability and accountability to ensure your project is completed in a timely, cost conscious manner

Download the e-book.

Dallas-based trial law firm Deans & Lyons, LLP, is expanding its Texas footprint with the addition of five prominent trial attorneys in the firm’s newly opened Houston office at 1001 Fannin St., Suite 1925.

Joining the firm are veteran Houston trial lawyers Tom Sartwelle, Matt Pletcher and Jeff Nobles, previously with the Houston office of Beirne, Maynard & Parsons, LLP, and Chad Castille and Matt McCracken, previously of Houston-based Serpe Jones Andrews Callender & Bell, PLLC.

According to a release published by the firm, Castille will serve as managing partner of the Houston office. His practice is concentrated on complex civil litigation, representing individuals, small businesses and Fortune 500 corporations in a diverse array of industries. His expertise includes cases involving medical and hospital negligence, oil and gas, commercial and residential construction, pharmaceutical liability, medical devices, catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death, and commercial business disputes and torts.

Read the article.

Poor IT contract management can cost your business time, money and legal fees, writes Sarah K. White for CIO.com. She offers some tips on how to minimize risk by focusing on restructuring contract management and training employees around compliance.

She talked to Russ Edelman, CEO of Corridor Company, a company dedicated to contract management technology. The article says “he’s seen a trend where businesses find themselves far behind in modernizing the contract process, but he notes that it’s a fixable problem with the right technology, budgets and staffing. It’s not only about upgrading the systems and process you have in place, but also ensuring all your employees are invested in proper contract management and understand the implications.”

“Edelman points to three common trends he sees in mismanaged contracts, the first being an overall lack of trust along with ‘disconnected and disparate systems used to house contracts.’ Typically, he will find that contracts are stored in multiple locations — both digital and physical — with a lack of consistency,” according to the report.

Read the article.

Parsons McEntire McCleary & Clark PLLC announces the opening of its new law practice focused upon trials, arbitrations, appeals, and dispute resolution nationwide and in all forums.

PMMC opens with 10 attorneys and with offices in Houston and Dallas. Name shareholders are Jeff Parsons, Sawnie McEntire, Roger McCleary, and David Clark. David Walton, Kristen McDanald, and Rob Rosen are also shareholders in the new firm. The associates are Brandon Montminy, Sarah Sparling, and Ryan Starbird.

Jeff Parsons, a former member of the Texas State Bar Association Board of Directors, is PMMC’s chair. Sawnie McEntire is manager of PMMC’s Dallas office, and Roger McCleary is PMMC’s vice-chair.

In a release, the firm said PMMC’s attorneys have experience handling complex commercial and personal injury litigation and arbitration disputes, including complex business litigation involving contract, fraud, misappropriation of trade secrets, tortious interference, unfair competition, and other business claims; energy industry litigation; major construction cases; complex insurance coverage disputes; intellectual property cases; defense of products liability and other wrongful death and bodily injury litigation; class action, banking, finance, and securities litigation; environmental and toxic tort lawsuits; fidelity and surety claims; and myriad other types of claims.

According to the release, PMMC’s clients include AIG, AWAC, Capital One, Cushman & Wakefield, CWS Capital Partners, Hallmark Financial, Hubbell, Ironshore, Level 3 Communications, Lexington, LVL Claims, Matthews International, Superior Energy, Universal Protection Services, York Risk Services, and Wood Group.

The Dallas-based law firm Standly Hamilton, LLP, announces that personal injury attorney Stephen Blackburn has joined the firm.

Blackburn is a trial lawyer who focuses his practice on cases involving serious personal injuries, wrongful death and dangerous water contamination. He previously worked with the Baron & Budd law firm in Dallas.

Blackburn also has experience representing people and communities in environmental contamination claims, in addition to working on cases involving dangerous medical devices, pharmaceutical drugs and exposure to toxic chemicals and other dangerous products.

“I am very excited about continuing my work at Standly Hamilton by helping people who often are facing life-altering injuries that were caused by a corporation or someone else’s negligence,” says Blackburn. “Chris Hamilton and I have worked together over the years, and we both are looking forward to protecting our clients’ rights and growing the firm.”

A graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, Blackburn earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Florida. He is admitted to practice law in both Texas and California, including the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas and the Northern and Central Districts of California.

Blackburn is a member of the American Bar Association, American Association for Justice and the Public Justice Foundation.

New details found in the leaked documents known as the Panama Papers indicate the magnitude of the use of shell companies in Africa to launder money, often illegally obtained from bribes, involving the sale of oil and other natural resources, according to an article published by Androvett Legal Media & Marketing. “That should prompt any oil companies doing business in Africa to quickly take stock of their contracts on that continent,” says Thomas Fox, a Houston consultant and lawyer who advises companies on international business and anti-bribery laws.

“It is imperative that any multinational company operating in Africa immediately check its contracts and payments to determine if it has been doing business with one of the shell companies listed in this most recent report,” says Fox, who is editor of the FCPA Compliance and Ethics Report. “If they fail to do that, those companies will be in a much worse position when they receive an inquiry from the U.S. Department of Justice or Securities and Exchange Commission.”

The latest revelations were published Monday by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) in collaboration with African news organizations. “These reports indicate that Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca established shell corporations for people in 44 of Africa’s 54 countries to assist in oil, gas and mining deals,” says Mr. Fox.

He notes that the first two waves of data published from the leaked documents came from politicians who used offshore tax havens to hide money and from U.S. citizens who used offshore tax havens to evade federal income taxes. “This third round of analysis puts the spotlight on those foreign officials who needed to launder money received from bribery and corruption.”

Fox, the former general counsel of an oilfield services company, has published several books on corporate compliance and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. He is the founder of Advanced Compliance Solutions.