Tax lawyers at Jackson Walker LLP have reduced the details of the new U.S. tax law to a one-page interactive graphic to help businesses, individuals and their accountants sort out the new law’s complexities.

The one-page interactive graphic is linked to a 233-page PowerPoint presentation for the webcast “2018 Tax Reform: What You Need to Know Now.” Dallas tax lawyer William “Willie” Hornberger of Jackson Walker and Jason B. Freeman of Freeman Law made the presentation to the State Bar of Texas.

The Jackson Walker tax lawyers studied an array of situations and options to provide guidance on the kinds of adjustments companies and certain individuals may want to make this year as they look ahead to 2019 under the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

“What will the law mean for partners in my LLC? How should I handle depreciation of equipment? What expenses can I write off? These are some of the questions we address,” said Hornberger, who advises corporations and partnerships. “Our audience is businesses, investors, individuals in partnerships, CPAs and lawyers.”

“This law has many complexities, and we will be taking deeper and deeper dives into it to advise our clients,” Hornberger said. “It will save many of our clients money, but it isn’t always simple to figure out.”

Download the graphic and slides.

Confidential sexual harassment settlements and accompanying attorney’s fees are no longer tax deductible under the new tax reform bill, according to a new post by Natalie Lynch of Lynch Law Firm in Austin.

In short, companies will no longer be able to use confidential settlements pertaining to sexual harassment as a tax-deductible settlement, she explains.

Non-confidential settlements can still be used for tax deductions. While the reform bill makes it clear that sexual harassment settlements that carry non-disclosure agreements can no longer be used as tax deductions, it stops short of making all confidential settlements non-deductible. Language that would include gender discrimination, retaliation, or Title IV is entirely absent in the bill.

Read the article.

eSignLive by Vasco has made available a new report: “Forrester Report: The State Of E-Signature Implementation: Twenty-Five E-Signature Use Cases Show Adoption Trends,” which can be downloaded from the eSignLive website at no charge.

The Forrester Report examines 25 e-signature implementations across the United States and Europe with use cases for receivables, payables, various contracts, onboarding agreements, and travel bookings – uncovering trends in adoption, authentication, and business results.

The report covers:

• The average implementation time for e signature projects
• Reported ROI metrics from each project
• Top challenges, from browser compatibility to user training
• How solution flexibility mitigates complexity
• Biometric authentication trends
• Innovation in mobile signing

Download the report.

Bloomberg is reporting that a group of Lanetix Inc. software engineers in San Francisco and Washington, D.C., were laid off for trying to join a union, according to organizers working with the group and a complaint obtained by Bloomberg Law.

“The move came less than two weeks after the workers filed a petition to join a CWA unit and days before a union election hearing scheduled for Jan 31,” according to the report by Hassan A. Kanu and Josh Eidelson. “The workers said the company told them the layoffs were due to lackluster fourth quarter performance last year, Fiedler said.”

A CWA executive director told the reporters the company said it was “looking at moving their engineering operations overseas.”

Read the Bloomberg article.

Dallas-based AriseBank — intended to be the world’s first “decentralized bank” —  saw its initial offering of a cryptocurrency it called AriseCoin shut down before it could get off the ground, reports The Dallas Morning News.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has halted the sale of AriseCoin, saying it was all part of a more straightforward, old-fashioned investment scam, according to economy writer Jill Cowan.

“Attempting to conceal what we allege to be fraudulent securities offerings under the veneer of technological terms like ‘ICO’ or ‘cryptocurrency’ will not escape the commission’s oversight or its efforts to protect investors,” Shamoil T. Shipchandler, director of the SEC’s Fort Worth Regional Office, said in a statement.

The company company had said it raised $600 million ahead of its initial offering of the new currency.

Read the Dallas News article.

Michigan State University Trustee Brian Mosallam is calling for the resignation of Bob Noto, the school’s vice president for legal affairs and general counsel, in the wake of the Larry Nassar scandal, reports The Detroit News.

The university issued two reports on the allegations of Nassar misconduct involving girls and young women he treated when he was a team physician.

Reporter Kim Kozlowski writes: “Both reports cleared Nassar, but the unabridged report that recently surfaced and was marked confidential showed that Nassar was a liability to the university and ‘is exposing patients to unnecessary trauma based on the possibility of perceived inappropriate sexual misconduct.'”

Read the Detroit News article.

Munck Wilson Mandala elected intellectual property associate Neil G. Ferrari as a new partner, effective Jan. 1, 2018. Ferrari is a member of MWM’s technology/intellectual property law group and has a broad range of legal experience in patent matters.

“Neil is one of the hardest working attorneys in our firm and I am pleased to see his commitment lead to this next phase of his legal career with us,” said William Munck, MWM’s managing partner. “He works on some of our most critical matters and brings fresh perspectives and innovation to client service.”

“We are fortunate to work with some of the most innovative clients in technology and Neil has been a big part of our responsive and expert client service,” said Austin managing partner Michael Rodriguez. “Neil’s partnership is well deserved.”

In a release, the firm said Ferrari represents clients in various intellectual property matters, including domestic and international patent preparation and prosecution, patent infringement and litigation matters, inter partes reviews, licensing, and financing/acquisitions. Ferrari’s technical experience includes electrical circuitry, semiconductor devices, telecommunication systems, software applications, computer architecture, lighting systems, control systems, aircraft components, monetary systems and medical devices.

Additionally, the firm said, Ferrari counsels companies on the identification, protection, development, and monetization of their intellectual property. Ferrari previously worked for an international law firm based in Munich, Germany, as well as a boutique intellectual property law firm in Dallas before joining MWM.

Ferrari is a member of the State Bar of Texas, the Dallas Bar Association, and the American Intellectual Property Law Association. He received his J.D. from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law and he has B.S. in electrical engineering from Louisiana State University.

Munck Wilson Mandala is a technology-focused law firm with offices in Dallas, Austin and Marshall, Texas, with an emphasis on patent, trade secret, trademark and other intellectual property disputes.

ContractWorks will present a complimentary webinar, “Surviving the NDA Nightmare: Managing Legal & Logistical Problems,” on Thursday, February 22, 2018, at 11 AM PST.

The non-disclosure agreement is among the most crucial and the riskiest of all agreements handled by general counsel and their teams, ContractWorks says on its website. Webinar presenters will discuss how to overcome common challenges when working with NDAs, minimize legal and logistical problems associated with them and save on overall time spent managing the NDA process.

The webinar will cover:

• How to identify common and unforeseen risks in your NDAs
• How to mitigate the risks your NDAs carry
• How to utilize software to improve your process, save time, and enhance security

Anyone who is unable to participate in the live webinar may register anyway, and receive a recording after the webinar.

Register for the webinar.

Jeff Gifford has been appointed to lead Dykema’s Corporate Finance Practice Group, a team involved in corporate finance matters. Gifford takes over for Will Liebmann, who was selected to serve on the firm’s Executive Board.

Based in the firm’s San Antonio office, Gifford, who also previously served as Co-Leader of both the firm’s Mergers and Acquisitions subgroup and the Family Business Transition Team, focuses his practice on counseling clients on mergers and acquisitions, public and private securities transactions, and domestic and international commercial transactions. He is experienced in the financial and healthcare industries, the firm said in a release.

“Exceptional client service has been, and will continue to be our first priority,” said Gifford. “I look forward to leading one of the firm’s premier practice groups and continuing the firm’s commitment in delivering outstanding results at every level.”

Gifford received a J.D. from University of Michigan’s School of Law and a B.A. in International Relations from Brigham Young University.

Heather Palmer has joined Sidley Austin LLP in its Houston office as a partner in its Environmental practice. She joins Sidley from Bracewell LLP.

In a release, the firm said Palmer advises clients in the energy, petrochemical, power and utility sectors. She handles a variety of regulatory counseling and enforcement matters, including onshore and offshore oil and gas regulation, solid and hazardous waste, oil and gas waste, wastewater and stormwater permitting, wetlands, water rights, Superfund litigation and compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act.

She also advises clients on environmental issues relating to shale play development, hydraulic fracturing and the permitting, construction and operation of liquefied natural gas import and export facilities in the U.S. On the transactional side, Palmer has experience identifying and managing sources of environmental risks, the firm said. This includes coordinating due diligence and advising clients on energy-related deals, M&A transactions, public offerings, financings, real estate transactions, bankruptcy and other matters where environmental issues become an important component.

“In the current regulatory environment, we are seeing an uptick in the number of challenges presented to our clients in energy-related transactions, particularly disputes over areas such as hydraulic fracturing and offshore oil and gas drilling,” said David Buente, co-leader of Sidley’s Environmental practice. “Heather’s substantial knowledge of the energy regulatory landscape, in addition to her experience working with federal and state energy and environmental agencies, will be beneficial in addressing various environmental concerns that may arise from transactions in the energy space.”

A recent research study developed by Globality in collaboration with The Lawyer found that general counsel prefer working with smaller law firms but often lack the means to find them. The survey went out to more than 300 GCs from organizations with over $1 billion in revenue to uncover the latest industry viewpoint about hiring outside counsel.

The report, “Global Trends in Hiring Outside Counsel,” is available for downloading at no charge.

Key findings:

• Almost 70% of General Counsel rely on pre-existing relationships or referrals to source new legal providers. In-house teams overwhelmingly appoint law firms based on personal connections rather than a systematic appraisal of which firms would be best for the job.
• Levels of dissatisfaction are three times higher with larger law firms than with smaller competitors. Companies find smaller firms deliver better client service, but often lack the means to source them.
• When presented with a series of new legal technologies, 86% of survey respondents were most excited by tools for sourcing and/or communicating with legal providers outside of their immediate network.

Download the Globality report.

Image by Alpha Stock Images

Employers can find good news and some bad news in Seyfarth Shaw’s 14th Annual Workplace Class Action Litigation, which analyzes 1,408 rulings.

The firm has posted the 57-page report on its website and has created a microsite that provides a brief overview of the survey’s findings.

David Shadovitz of Human Resource Executive also has written a summary of the report.

Shadovitz offers the good news for employers from the report: “Legal precedents and new defense approaches resulted in better statistical outcomes for employers in opposing class-certification requests for the second straight year. For instance, in wage-and-hour litigation—one of the more active categories of employment law—employers won 63 percent of decertification rulings, a success rate of nearly 20 percent from the year before.”

On the other side of the coin, he writes, the monetary value of the top workplace class-action settlements jumped more than $1 billion to a record high of $2.72 billion.

Read the Seyfarth report.

CloudNine has posted an on-demand webinar that covers key 2017 case law decisions covered by the company’s eDiscovery Daily blog and what the legal profession can learn from those rulings.

The presentation leader is Doug, VP of Products and Professional Services for CloudNine. And special consultant is Tom O’Connor, a nationally known consultant, speaker, and writer in the field of computerized litigation support systems.

Topics include:

• Handling objections to production requests
• Waiver of privilege and Rule 502(d)
• Case law related to subpoenaed production of international data
• Control of data stored by a third party
• Dictation of search terms and production scope by courts
• Form of production disputes and the issues involved
• Performing keyword search before Technology Assisted Review
• The state of sanctions with the new Rule 37(e)

Watch the on-demand webinar.

Charles Sartain, in a discussion involving a Texas case concerning a disagreement over the negotiation of the payment for a pipeline easement, addresses the issue of whether emails can create a contract.

Writing in the Gray Reed & McGraw Energy & the Law blog, Sartain outlines the facts in Bujnoch v. Copano. In an early email exchange, the pipeline company set the price at $70 per foot, with both sides apparently agreeing. But when the property owner receives the paperwork, the price is listed at $25.

Sartain addresses the questions of: Could the emails be read together to make a written contract? Did the emails omit essential terms? Was the description of the easement sufficient? Did “futuristic” language contemplate an agreement to be executed in the future? And, Did the parties agree to transact business electronically?

Read the article.

The Fifth Circuit en banc has handed down an historic re-working of the test for determining whether oilfield contracts are maritime or non-maritime in nature, according to a Baker Donelson post.

Christopher Hannan writes that the en banc decision in In Re Larry Doiron, Inc. simplifies decades’ worth of confusing and often inconsistent jurisprudence to give a more streamlined and hopefully predictable rule for determining whether oilfield contracts are maritime or not.

He quotes the en banc ruling:

First, is the contract one to provide services to facilitate the drilling or production of oil and gas on navigable waters? . . . Second, if the answer to the above question is “yes,” does the contract provide or do the parties expect that a vessel will play a substantial role in the completion of the contract? If so, the contract is maritime in nature.

Read the article.

Carlton Fields shareholder Eleanor M. Yost asks and answers the question: What is the difference between an employment agreement that says “I hereby assign inventions I create during my employment to my employer,” and one that says “I will assign inventions I create during my employment to my employer”?

The difference, she writes, is one word … and possibly millions of dollars.

The article on the firm’s website discusses a case from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that affirmed a decision that an employment agreement providing an employee “will assign” title to her inventions to her employer did not automatically transfer title or any related patent rights.

Read the article.

Melinda Burton, writing for Faruki Ireland Cox Rhinehart & Dusing, explains how a ruling from the Supreme Court of Ohio reaffirms and clarifies law in Ohio on breach of contract, implied duty of good faith, punitive damages, releases of liability and fraud.

In the article, she writes that Lucarell v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company covers many issues that arise often in actions involving contracts, and it should be kept as handy reference to aid in briefing of issues before trial courts or explaining the current state of the law to clients.

She discusses punitive damages and the implied duty of good faith, releases of liability, and fraud.

Read the article.

Attorney Charla D. Davies received Board Certification in Family Law by Texas Board of Legal Specialization (TBLS). Davies currently practices at Langley & Banack, Inc. where she is part of a group of 10 family law attorneys, five of whom are board certified.

Board Certification is a voluntary designation program certifying Texas attorneys in 22 specific areas of law. Board Certified attorneys must be licensed for at least five years, devote a required percentage of practice to a specialty area for at least three years, attend continuing education seminars, pass an evaluation by fellow lawyers and judges, and pass a 6-hour written examination. There are more than 100,000 attorneys licensed to practice in Texas; only 7,450 are Board Certified.

Davies received her Bachelor of Arts from The University of Texas at San Antonio and her Juris Doctorate from St. Mary’s University School of Law. Davies has represented clients in divorce, enforcement of property division, enforcement of child visitation and support, establishment of paternity, modification of custody and child support, grandparent’s rights, termination & adoption, as well as premarital and post marital agreements. She also practices Collaborative Law and is a member of both the Collaborative Law Institute of Texas and the Collaborative Professionals Association of San Antonio.

Laurie J. Rust has joined Littler as a shareholder in the firm’s Denver office. Rust, a labor and employment litigator, joins from Gordon & Rees.

“Laurie is a seasoned attorney whose client-centered approach will be an excellent addition to the firm,” said Alan McLaughlin, Denver office managing shareholder. “Her deep experience complements Littler’s singular employment law focus and we are excited to have her as part of the team in Denver.”

In a release, the firm said Rust represents employers in state and federal courts in matters involving the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and the Family Medical Leave Act, among others. She routinely defends companies against employment-related charges and claims before administrative agencies, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Colorado Civil Rights Division, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, and the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement.

The firm said Rust has achieved a number of significant victories on behalf of her clients including dismissal of whistleblower retaliation claims, securing summary judgment on Title VII, Equal Pay Act and ADEA claims, and negotiating a favorable resolution of a Department of Labor wage and hour audit. During her first week at Littler, Rust secured summary judgment on NDAA and breach of contract claims.

The release continues:

In addition, Rust counsels employers on a wide range of issues, such as hiring, employee discipline and termination, accommodating disabilities and leaves of absences, wage and hour compliance, restrictive covenants, immigration compliance, recreational and medical marijuana, social media and trade secrets. She works with companies to draft employment agreements, employee manuals, severance agreements, and other employment policies and procedures. Rust also provides training on harassment and all aspects of employment law.

“I was attracted to Littler because of its reputation for delivering the highest quality legal services combined with its deep commitment to providing clients with new and innovative approaches to the law,” Rust said. “Littler is unmatched in the labor and employment space and I am excited to be part of such a growing and evolving law firm.”

Rust has spoken and published on a wide range of labor and employment topics and has been recognized in the industry as a Rising Star by Law & Politics. She earned her J.D. from the University of Colorado Law School and her B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Christopher K. Veatch has joined Perkins Coie’s White Collar & Investigations practice group as a partner in the Chicago office. Veatch joins the firm from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), where he was most recently Chief of the National Security & Cybercrimes Section at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois.

As Section Chief, Veatch led complex investigations of cyber, national security, fraud and financial crimes

Veatch joins the firm shortly after Perkins Coie’s recent hiring of two others from government positions: Adam Schuman in New York (former Special Counsel for Public Integrity in the New York State Governor’s Office) and Kevin Feldis in Anchorage (former First Assistant United States Attorney in Alaska).

“Perkins Coie is an industry leader with a deep national bench of white collar attorneys who provide strategic counsel to our clients in highly consequential matters,” said Markus Funk, Chair of Perkins Coie’s White Collar & Investigations practice. “Chris’s distinguished career with the DOJ was notable for his exemplary track record in investigating and prosecuting national security and cybercrime enforcement matters. His confidence and superb attention to detail are an asset in advising clients on the complex, sensitive and challenging problems they face in these highly regulated sectors, and the respect he enjoys among his peers is exceptional.”

Before and during law school, Veatch spent five years as a police officer. He earned his law degree (magna cum laude and Order of the Coif) from the Indiana University Mauer School of Law and joined the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a Staff Attorney in the Enforcement Division, where he investigated violations of the federal securities laws, including insider trading, market manipulation and offering and financial fraud. In 2005, he joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, and within five years was promoted to be a Deputy Chief of the General Crimes Section. Less than a year later, he was chosen to be the Deputy Chief of the newly-created National Security Section (as it was then known), and for the past five and a half years, Chris served as the Section’s Chief.

In a release, the firm said:

During his time as a federal prosecutor, Veatch took a series of cases to trial, and successfully argued his victories and other matters on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Among the complex and sensitive matters he has investigated and prosecuted are those involving cybercrime, securities, bank and accounting fraud, international bribery and money laundering schemes, copyright infringement, theft of trade secrets and economic espionage, and export control and U.S. sanctions programs, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, Arms Export Control Act, International Emergency Economic Powers Act, Export Administration Regulations, Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations, Iranian Transactions Regulations, and other Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions programs, as well as other national security matters, including those involving international and domestic terrorism.

“Chris is a perfect fit for the Chicago Office. He is a proven first-chair trial lawyer in complex cases and is well-known and well-liked by many of our current partners already,” said Chris Wilson, Managing Partner of Perkins Coie’s Chicago office. “Chris adds even more depth to our national White Collar and Investigations practice, and he will be an important part of growing our Chicago office going forward. Most importantly, Chris provides a vital resource to our clients seeking guidance in the increasing regulatory environment surrounding cyber and securities enforcement. I’m delighted to welcome him to the firm.”