When a client wants to pursue a lawsuit or arbitration, one of the first things an attorney should do is determine whether the statute of limitations has run on the client’s claim, advise Darren Rowles and Scott Cahalan in a post for  Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP’s Construction Law blog.

“Many people are not aware, however, that parties to contracts, including construction contracts, may have the ability to increase the statute of limitations for a written contract by a factor of more than three hundred percent just by adding a few words to make their contracts ‘under seal.’ As a result, these people may increase their exposure to breach of contract/warranty claims without knowing they are doing so,” according to their post.

They explain that, in Georgia, for example, a written contract that is not for the sale of goods would normally have a six-year statute of limitations measured from the date of breach, But a contract signed “under seal,” has a statute of limitations of 20 years from the date of breach.

Read the article.

Fort Worth lawyer Steve Laird has once again been recognized by his peers and independent researchers, who have named him to the Top 100 Super Lawyers in Texas and Best Lawyers in America.

On his website, Laird has published articles with headlines such as “Study Shows Incredible Benefits of Collision Avoidance Systems,” “Texting and Driving Accidents on the Rise,” “Speed Limiter Delay Raises Danger on Highways,” “Questions Created by Catastrophic Injury, Wrongful Death,” “New Highway Law Allows Too-Low Insurance, Hides Safety Scores” and “Tractor-Trailer Cameras Benefit Safety.”

His firm, the Law Offices of Steven C. Laird, P.C., is located at 1119 Pennsylvania Ave., Fort Worth, Texas 76104.

Read more.

The chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, Roy S. Moore, was suspended on Friday for the remainder of his term in office for ordering the state’s probate judges to defy federal court orders on same-sex marriage, reports The New York Times.

The Alabama Court of the Judiciary did not remove Moore from the bench entirely, as it did in 2003 after he defied orders to remove a giant monument of the Ten Commandments from the state judicial building, but the order effectively ends his career as a Supreme Court justice. His term ends in 2019, and Chief Justice Moore, 69, will be barred by law from running again at that time because of his age, reports The Times‘ Campbell Robertson.

The unanimous nine-member court cited Moore’s “disregard for binding federal law,” exhibited in a January order to the state’s 68 probate judges to refuse marriage licenses to same-sex couples, and “his history with this court.”

Read the article.

Salesforce once enjoyed a cozy relationship with Microsoft, now it’s urging regulators to kill Microsoft’s deal to buy LinkedIn as “anticompetitive,” according to the company’s chief legal officer.

CNN Money is reporting that Salesforce also bid for LinkedIn, but lost out to Microsoft’s $26.2 billion bid for the professional social network.

“Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of LinkedIn threatens the future of innovation and competition,” Burke Norton, chief legal officer at Salesforce, said in a statement. “By gaining ownership of LinkedIn’s unique dataset of over 450 million professionals in more than 200 countries, Microsoft will be able to deny competitors access to that data, and in doing so obtain an unfair competitive advantage.”

“The combative remarks hint at a renewed chill in the relationship between Salesforce and Microsoft,” writes CNN’s Seth Fiegerman. “The two companies entered into a global strategic partnership in 2014, heaping praise on one another after years of fierce competition. It was unclear how Salesforce’s comments would impact the partnership.”

Read the article.

A California man, described as a Harvard-educated lawyer who was later disbarred, pleaded guilty Thursday in a federal court to an elaborate kidnapping that law enforcement had initially branded a hoax, reports NPR.

Reporter Merrit Kennedy writes that defendant Matthew Muller, 39, is identified in court documents as a former Marine who suffers from bipolar disorder. The Associated Press reports he calmly told U.S. District Judge Troy Nunley that he was taking antidepressant, mood-stabilizing and anti-psychotic drugs.

The AP reports that Muller “could face life in prison when he is sentenced, though prosecutors have agreed as part of his guilty plea to recommend a maximum term of 40 years.”

Read the article.

The Washington Post is reporting that the charitable Donald J. Trump Foundation — which has been sustained for years by donors outside the Trump family — has never obtained the certification that New York requires before charities can solicit money from the public, according to the state attorney general’s office.

New York state law requires any charity that solicits more than $25,000 a year from the public to obtain a special kind of registration before collecting contributions, reports The Post‘s David A. Fahrenthold. The law also requires large charaties to submit to a rigorous annual audit that asks — among other things — whether the charity spent any money for the personal benefit of its officers.

“If New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (D) finds that Trump’s foundation raised money in violation of the law, he could order the charity to stop raising money immediately,” writes Farenthold. “With a court’s permission, Schneiderman could also force Trump to return money that his foundation has already raised.”

Read the article.

Jackson Lewis reports that, prior to entering into a first contract, an employer has a statutory obligation to bargain with the union that represents its employees before imposing discretionary “serious discipline” (such as suspension, demotion, or discharge) on any of those employees, the National Labor Relations Board again has held.

In its ruling in Total Security Management Illinois 1, LLC, 364 NLRB No. 106, the board found that discretionary discipline, like pay rates and benefits, is a term and condition of employment, and, thus, a mandatory subject of bargaining. The board also held bargaining is required about less serious degrees of discipline, such as oral or written warnings, but may occur after the discipline is imposed, write Philip B. Rosen and Howard M. Bloom.

“Despite this decision, employers and unions in the midst of first contract bargaining may continue to agree on the employer’s unilateral right to impose discipline or on a procedure for bargaining over discipline that is less cumbersome than that imposed by the Board,” they conclude.

Read the article.

The term of a contract is one of the most basic questions with regard to any agreement, but drafting provisions regarding the “Term” raises multiple issues, both legal and practical, write Peter M. Watt-Morse and Cindy L. Dole in the Sourcing blog at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP.

In their article, they review some important considerations to keep in mind when drafting this common contract provision.

They start by discussing the effective date, then the end date, and conclude with a section on length of the agreement.

The post  is part of the firm’s recurring “Contract Corner” series, which provides analysis of specific contract provisions.

Read the article.

Arbitration clauses seriously harm many consumers. Yet it is nearly impossible to avoid signing them, if a person wants or needs to use the internet, phone, credit cards, loans, medical or long-term care services, and so on, according to an article posted by Newsome Melton on its Arbitration Law blog.

But lately, many state and federal government representatives, judges, politicians, and interest groups have been speaking up about arbitration, the article adds. Some have publicly pulled away from upholding universal “forced arbitration.”

“Individual arbitration clauses are now on the radar of many attorneys, judges, politicians, regulators, journalists, and consumers. It is too soon to tell whether the new or proposed regulations and rules preserving court trials and permitting class actions for consumers will be upheld or overturned,” the article says.

Read the article.

Commercial construction projects necessarily involve many moving parts, including multiple parties from the owners to the construction managers to the project financiers to the contractors and to the sub-contractors, points out Larry P. Schiffer in Squire Patton Boggs’ Insurance and Reinsurance Disputes blog.

“These moving parts generally result in a web of interrelated insurance policies covering the project. Typically, when there is no controlled insurance program, contractors and sub-contractors are required to obtain liability insurance covering their potential negligence and very often are also required to add others, like the property owner or construction manager, as additional insureds onto those insurance policies,” Schiffer writes.

In his post, he discusses what a New York appellate court recently called an “additional insured by written contract” clause. The language of an additional insured clause may make all the difference as to whether a party is covered as an additional insured or not.

Read the article.

Constant vigilance, skilled lawyering and good deal-making skills remain critical to the proper drafting of contractual arrangements, points out Glenn West in a post on Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP’s Global Private Equity Watch.

He discusses the seriousness of drafting and interpreting contracts, and the care required in doing so, in light of the recent decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Chesapeake Energy Corp. v. Bank of N.Y. Mellon Tr. Co., No. 15-2366-cv (7th Cir. Sept. 15, 2016). The appellate court affirmed the judgment of the district court awarding damages in favor of the noteholders against Chesapeake Energy for $438,717,561.67 for redeeming notes at par after the period specified for redemption at par, the second time the Second Circuit has addressed Chesapeake’s of its $1.3 billion in notes based on the company’s interpretation of the Notes’ Supplemental Indenture.

The actual subjective intent of an  agreement “may well have been to provide Chesapeake a four month period in which to provide the required 30-60 days’ notice of redemption rather that to complete the actual redemption, but the Second Circuit, reading the actual words used to convey that intent, concluded that the words unambiguously conveyed a contrary meaning,” according to West.

Read the article.

BTI Consulting Group has published the results of its 2017 “Fearsome Foursome” survey, in which 300 general counsel named which law firms they would least like to see as opposing counsel.

Michael Rynowecer, CEO of BTI Consulting Group, described what it takes to make the list:

General counsels who responded to the survey pointed to a few things that the four firms named most-feared in the courtroom have in common, the first of which is an unrelenting approach, Rynowecer said.

“They have several strategies in place at once and keep coming at the issue,” he said. “Not only do they overturn every rock, but they find new rocks to overturn and keep coming up with new ways to act in their clients’ interests.”

The firms on the list are Dentons, Jones Day, Kirkland & Ellis, and Skadden.

The survey also includes 11 firms that made the “Awesome Opponents” list and 55 firms named to the honor roll of most-feared law firms.

Read the list.

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As John G. Stumpf, the chief executive of Wells Fargo, prepares to face a congressional tribunal on Thursday for the second time in two weeks, questions are intensifying about the bank’s sham accounts scandal and its lethargic response to it, reports The New York Times.

The company announced late Tuesday that Stumpf would forfeit approximately $41 million worth of stock awards, forgo his salary during the inquiry and receive no bonus for 2016.

“The Wells Fargo board also announced the immediate retirement of Carrie L. Tolstedt, the former senior executive vice president of community banking, who ran the unit where the fake accounts were created,” writes Gretchen Morgenson of The Times. “She will forfeit $19 million in stock grants, will receive neither a bonus for this year nor a severance, and will be denied certain enhancements in retirement pay, the board said.”

Read the article.

Practical Law will present a webinar titled “Ethics Issues in International Arbitration” on Thursday, Oct. 6, at 1-2:30 p.m. EDT.

In a release, the company said the seemingly straightforward process of appointing a neutral tribunal of three arbitrators and conducting the hearings may, in fact, give rise to a multitude of issues counsel and their clients must be aware of. How extensively may the parties communicate with their prospective arbitrator? How must the prospective arbitrator comport himself while being interviewed for the appointment? What are the rules regarding counsel’s interactions with witnesses? Are the rules different depending upon the jurisdiction?

Practical Law, the International Institute on Conflict Prevention & Resolution (CPR), and Jenner & Block will present international arbitration experts Richard Ziegler and Noah Hanft discussing ethics in international arbitration.

During this webinar, attendees will be walked through a hypothetical international arbitration, in which the presenters will consider:

• The parameters of party communications with a party-appointed arbitrator.
• The prospective arbitrator’s duties to maintain neutrality.
• Counsel’s duties in dealing with witnesses, including:
  • preparing witnesses for the hearing; and
  • communicating with witnesses after the hearings have started.
• The power of the tribunal to determine and redress ethical violations.
• The same ethical issues if the events occurred in the US.

A short Q&A will follow.

Ethics credit are available in multiple states.

Presenters:

Richard F. Ziegler, Partner, Jenner & Block LLP
Richard F. Ziegler is Co-Chair of Jenner & Block’s International Arbitration practice and a former Managing Partner of the firm’s New York Office. He is a former Chairman of the New York State Bar Association Committee on Professional Ethics, and served as Senior Vice President, Legal Affairs, and General Counsel of the 3M Company in St. Paul, Minnesota from 2003-07. Mr. Ziegler is also a member of CPR’s Board of Directors.

Noah J. Hanft, President and CEO, International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution
Noah J. Hanft is the President and CEO of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution. Prior to joining CPR, Mr. Hanft was General Counsel and Chief Franchise Officer for MasterCard, where he was responsible for overseeing legal and regulatory affairs, public policy, compliance and many business functions. Mr. Hanft currently serves on the boards of the Legal Aid Society and the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Victoria Kummer, Senior Legal Editor, Practical Law Arbitration (Moderator)

Register for the event.

The Houston lawyer shot and killed by police after he began firing at cars from a Houston strip mall was identified by his former law partner as a hard worker and a good lawyer, reports Florian Martin of Houston Public Media.

The Washington Post reports that Nathan DeSai was was wearing military clothes and Nazi emblems during the attack, and was carrying nearly 2,600 rounds of ammunition inside a Porsche convertible parked at the scene.

“He was always at work every day, we always went to court, (he) did his work,” former partner Kenneth McDaniel said in the Houston Public Radio report. “No, I mean he was a good lawyer, good standing with the bar. I’m at a loss for words for what has happened. It’s horrible.” The two agreed to go their separate ways because business had been slower than expected, he added.

Authorities said they found a Thompson submachine gun in DeSai’s car at the scene of the shootings.

Read the reports in:
Houston Public Media
The Washington Post

WB Mills, PLLC, announces the expansion of the practice with a new office located in North Dallas, starting operations on Oct. 1.

WB Mills, PLLC, was created based on the principle of giving small and mid-sized businesses excellent quality and cost-effective representation. The firm is dedicated to protecting its clients’ copyright, trademark, patent and other valuable business assets.

Wendy B. Mills, managing attorney, said she is thrilled the company is growing.

In a release, the firm said:

“We are excited to join the wave of explosive growth in the North Texas business community. By adding a North Dallas office, we are answering the demands of our many North Dallas clients to provide them with easier access to our one-on-one personalized legal services. For those North Dallas businesses that have yet to find the right law firm to bridge the gap between the legal, and the business world, our presence in the area will provide small and mid-sized business owners with the option of a smaller, more individualized firm to protect their business assets, including intellectual property through business litigation and representation before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.”

WB Mills, PLLC, has directed focus to serving a relatively under-served market in the Dallas, Texas area. The new North Dallas office, is the first expansion of WB Mills, PLLC,—located just off the North Dallas Toll way and George Bush Turnpike. The current office in Uptown, Dallas will continue to serve clients as always.

Office Address:
14275 Midway Rd
Suite 130
Addison, Texas 75001

Foley & Lardner LLP announced  that Kim Ashby has joined the firm’s Construction Litigation Practice as partner in the Orlando office. Ashby work in complex construction law includes a focus on appellate work.

In a release, the firm said Ashby represents developers, contractors and governmental entities on a range of complex litigation matters, including lenders and special servicers in commercial mortgage-backed securities foreclosures and workouts. She has experience in construction lien disputes, defect litigation, workouts & restructurings, construction contract formation and tax exemption issues.

The release continues:

“Kim has substantial experience successfully litigating matters in the construction industry, which aligns perfectly with our recognized national practice. Her experience and in-depth understanding of the industry will be a valuable asset as we continue to handle and attract some of the most complex construction cases,” said Jeff Blease, chair of Foley’s Construction Litigation Practice.

In addition, Ashby has represented public- and private-sector appellants across an array of appeals, including judgments for lender liability, review of non-compete clauses, review of construction conditional payment bond issues and the first conditional payment bond case.

“Kim’s arrival will further expand our existing construction practice in Florida and adds significant bench strength to our appellate practice,” said Michael Okaty, managing partner of Foley’s Orlando office.

Prior to joining Foley, Ashby was a partner at Akerman.

Bloomberg Law will hold the Big Law Business Summit – West, convening the future leaders of Big Law, chief legal officers, outside counsel, and those serving legal departments around the world to discuss challenges and share ideas about the legal industry.

The event will be Oct. 27, 2016, from 1:30 to 6 p.m. Pacific time, with a networking reception to follow. The location will be The Standard Hotel, 550 S. Flower Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071.

Featured panelists will be:

• Elizabeth Baker, General Counsel, Twitch Interactive
• Brad Butwin, Chair, O’Melveny & Myers LLP
• Sharon Tomkins, Vice President & General Counsel, Southern California Gas Company

Register for the event.

NBC News reports that a class-action lawsuit filed against Wells Fargo might be hamstrung at the starting line, legal experts say.

Martha C. White writes that mandatory arbitration contract clauses may protect the bank from class-action suits brought by customers who had bank or credit card accounts opened in their names without their knowledge.

“Five years ago, a Supreme Court ruling said it was legal for companies to shield themselves from lawsuits by requiring that customers address grievances through a private arbitration system. Since then, consumers seeking redress from banks, even earlier cases against Wells Fargo in California, have been effectively stopped at the courthouse door,” according to the report.

“There’s no question that it’s very difficult to overturn an arbitration clause, although the facts in this case are pretty damning,” said Ed Mierzwinski, consumer program director for U.S. PIRG.

Read the article.

Frank Holleman never thought he’d become a nationally recognized authority on coal ash, a toxin-riddled waste that has power companies under scrutiny across the country, but five years after taking a job with a regional conservation group, Holleman is perhaps the one person utilities hate to see coming, writes Sammy Fretwell for The State of Columbia, S.C.

He has taken on such big foes as Duke Energy, Santee Cooper and SCE&G, successfully brokering agreements to clean out coal ash waste ponds along South Carolina rivers. And he has obtained legislative help for people who had to fight for the right to sue companies that pollute rivers with coal ash waste.

He is an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center.

Holleman says working full-time as an environmental lawyer resulted from his long-time interest in conservation and public service.

Read the article.