Zapproved has published a new guide that outlines the five best practices for conducting fast, defensible internal investigations.

The guide can be downloaded from Zapproved website at no charge.

An internal investigation is exactly what it sounds like: an inquiry into an organization’s internal operations, Zapproved says on its website. Internal investigations frequently involve allegations of wrongdoing, such as embezzlement, sexual harassment, discrimination, or wrongful termination. However, an internal investigation may also be conducted in response to a regulatory compliance concern initiated by agencies like the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or as part of a due diligence process before a merger or acquisition.

The goal of an internal investigation is to either detect and respond to wrongdoing or dispel suspicions. Organizations should respond to investigations in a way that curtails any specific incident of wrongdoing and discourages similar future violations. The overarching goal is to create an open, productive work environment that is neither distracting nor discriminatory.

Download the guide.

General Data Protection Regulation requirements might look like a new bureaucratic threshold for doing business in the European Union. But sooner or later, a strict regulation in this area is likely to occur in every country, points out Vladislav Nekrutenko in an article for IoT Evolution.

The acceptance of the California Consumer Privacy Act 2018 and the Brazil Personal Data Protection Law are good examples in this regard, he explains.

His article details some steps that can help a company fulfill its obligations in contracts with third parties and mitigate risks regarding third parties’ data misuse.

Read the article.

Image by Nick Youngson

Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster, Kantor & Reed takes a look at commercial leases that provide a right of termination to only one of the parties to the lease. such agreements raise the question: “Is this really a contract if one party can walk away at any time?”

The author, James E. Walson, provides a short answer: Unilateral termination rights without any limitation or condition render a contract illusory and make that contract terminable by either party. If, however, the contract places minimal limitations on the unilateral termination, even if not rigorous or burdensome, the contract is not illusory and will be upheld.

“When drafting unilateral termination provisions that require minimal conditions to their being triggered, one should be cognizant that some condition or burden must be placed on the terminating party so as not to void the entire agreement,” Walson writes.

Read the article.

Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta is out of the running to be President Donald Trump’s attorney general following a Miami Herald report that he oversaw a sweetheart deal for a wealthy financier accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls, according to two people close to the president.

Acosta was a federal prosecutor in Florida before going to Washington, the two advisers said.

Herald report Anita Kumar explains:

The investigation, which reported that Acosta, then U.S. attorney, cut a secret deal to allow billionaire Jeffrey Epstein to serve only 13 months in a county jail, is “clearly something” that is being widely circulated among Trump aides, one of the people said. The agreement “essentially shut down an ongoing FBI probe” and granted immunity to “any potential co-conspirators,” according to the story.

Read the Miami Herald article.

Image by Montgomery County Planning Commission

Reuters is reporting that a federal judge on Thursday raised the prospect of not approving CVS Health Corp’s deal to buy insurer Aetna Inc, which closed earlier this week, during a routine portion of the legal process.

“I was reviewing your motion, which, of course is not opposed. And I kind of got this uneasy feeling that I was being kept in the dark, kind of like a mushroom,” Judge Richard Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia told lawyers for the Justice Department and the two companies, noting that the American Medical Association, among others, had objected to the deal.

“I’m very concerned, very concerned that you all are proceeding on a rubber-stamp approach to this,” he told them, according to a transcript of the hearing.

Read the Reuters article.

A Louisville lawyer with a history of drug and alcohol abuse has been charged with threatening to kill two attorneys involved with his child custody case, reports the Louisville Courier Journal.

Brendan McLeod, who advertises himself as an “aggressive criminal attorney” on his Facebook page, was charged with retaliating against participants in a legal process, for allegedly threatening attorneys Mark Dobbins and Forrest Kuhn, according to the report by Andrew Wolfson.

“In the criminal case against McLeod, Louisville Metro Police Lt. Mike O’Neil said McLeod told a third party he would kill both Dobbins, who represents McLeod’s ex-wife, and Kuhn, a lawyer appointed as guardian ad litem for his children,” writes Wolfson.

Read the Courier Journal article.

Global law company Elevate announced that Steve Harmon has joined as general counsel.

The company said Harmon currently leads multiple practice areas in the Cisco law department, where he has worked with Cisco’s Chief Legal Officer Mark Chandler for 19 years. He will divide his time going forward, continuing to lead non-Elevate portions of the Legal Operations portfolio at Cisco while serving at Elevate. Harmon is also a co-founder and board member of the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium (CLOC) whose broad mission is to promote collaboration among in-house legal operations professionals.

“Steve’s experience will help Elevate scale our own legal infrastructure as we continue to grow quickly,” says Lokendra Tomar, CEO of Elevate. “Having developed a long‑term relationship with Steve as a customer of M&A support and AI development, we saw a unique complementary opportunity to channel Steve’s deep understanding of in-house needs into the services we provide to our customers.”

“Steve has been a tremendous leader at Cisco as we’ve transformed the delivery of legal services and commenced a broader transformation of the company,” says Mark Chandler, Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer at Cisco. “I’m glad to have Steve continue to provide vision and leadership for our internal legal operations while providing the legal services and leadership that Elevate needs to move to the next stage of its growth.”

“I am passionate about helping the legal sector evolve in critical ways,” says Harmon, “I look forward to bringing my experience to bear at Elevate while remaining an active part of the in‑house feedback loop and maintaining my direct ties to one of the most progressive thinking companies in America.”

Harmon assumes the Elevate general counsel role from Nicole Nehama Auerbach, co-founder of ElevateNext, who has served as acting GC for Elevate since June. ElevateNext is a new model law firm closely aligned with Elevate.

NBC News is reporting that a controversial judicial nominee is in danger of being derailed in the U.S. Senate because of objections over his past work defending state laws viewed as discriminatory and senate leadership’s refusal to vote on legislation aimed at protecting special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.

NBC reporters Leigh Ann Caldwell and Frank Thorp V explain: “Thomas Farr, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be a U.S. District Court judge for the Eastern District of North Carolina, has come under fire because of his work on cases that Democrats say have disenfranchised African Americans from voting. That issue has at least one GOP senator, Tim Scott of South Carolina, undecided on whether to support Farr’s confirmation.”

And Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona is blocking all judicial nominees, including Farr’s, until GOP leaders agree to hold a vote on a bill to put up guardrails against any threat of Trump firing special counsel Robert Mueller.

Read the NBC News article.

Former Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane must report to jail by Thursday morning to begin serving her sentence for convictions on perjury and other charges, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer.

She also was convicted of abusing the power of her office in an attempt to smear a perceived political enemy, according to Inquirer reporter Angela Couloumbis. She faces a 10-to-23-month sentence.

Kane, 52, was in the spotlight when she was elected in 2012. At the time, she was considered the Democratic Party’s rising star, and her name was often floated for higher office.

Read the Inquirer article.

The family of a man who died from severe burns he suffered in 2015 while working at a paper plant in North Charleston has settled the wrongful death suit filed in his case after jury selection in the U.S. District Court in South Carolina.

Terms of the settlement, filed in U.S. District Court Judge David C. Norton’s court, are confidential.

According to a release from the firms representing the plaintiffs, Brian Allen, 43, of Summerville, was on a lift at the plant performing welding work above several tanks of solution. The tanks should have contained non-flammable sodium hydrosulfide used in paper manufacturing. However, later analysis by the plaintiffs’ experts would show one or more of the tanks actually contained gasoline, which ignited and severely burned Allen. He suffered for eight months before succumbing to his injuries.

Allen’s family filed suit against the companies that supplied the sodium hydrosulfide and the companies that transported it. The paper manufacturer was not a defendant in the case.

“An intense three-year litigation battle can be very difficult emotionally for a family which has already experienced a traumatic workplace injury and death,”  said James E. Payne,  partner at Provost Umphrey, who represented Kristie Allen, Allen’s widow. “This resolution will allow Kristie and the rest of the family to put the litigation behind them and try to focus on the positive memories of Brian as best as they can.”

The case required the taking of over 40 depositions and the production of over 45,000 pages of documents. There were more than 200 exhibits.

“Kristie Allen and the Allen family suffered a great loss,” said Provost Umphrey attorney Matthew Matheny, who also represented Mrs. Allen. “We are very pleased that the settlement will financially serve Mrs. Allen and her family for many years to come. After a long and contentious litigation, a degree of justice has been served.”

“To my knowledge, this was the largest post-jury selection settlement of a plaintiff’s wrongful death and survival action in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina in recent memory. I was honored to serve as lead local counsel on behalf of the Allen family,” said Motley Rice LLC lawyer Marlon Kimpson who along with attorney W. Taylor Lacy also represented Mrs. Allen.

Gail Serota, a partner in Florida’s Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman, died Sunday in a snorkeling accident in Biscayne Bay. She was 65.

The Miami Herald reported that her husband Joseph, one of the founders of the firm, said he and his wife loved to be on their boat and often spent days in the Ragged Keys. His wife, who loved the water, went snorkeling Sunday afternoon and got caught in a current, Serota said.

He said the two met while students at Princeton. Gail Serota turned down going to law school at Stanford to attend the University of Miami, where he was studying. The two married in 1980.

Read the Miami Herald article.

Roetzel & Andress LPA announced that it represented C.S.I. Enterprises, Inc., a leading global corporate payments technology company based in Bonita Springs, Florida, in its agreement with Edenred, a Malakoff, France-based company. Edenred will acquire CSI in the $600 million transaction.

Inn a release, the firm said the transaction allows CSI to accelerate its growth strategies and leverage Edenred’s world leadership in transactional solutions, as well as help Edenred enhance its digital payment technology platform and significantly increase its North American presence. The transaction furthers a partnership between CSI and Edenred formed nearly two years ago, according to the law firm.

The deal is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in early 2019.

The Roetzel team representing CSI was led by firm shareholder Christopher P. Reuscher, chair of the Corporate, Tax and Transactional practice group, along with the following Roetzel attorneys:

– Karen D. Adinolfi (shareholder)
– Lindsie Everett (associate)
– Laura (Megan) Faust (shareholder)
– Terrence S. Finn (shareholder)
– James D. Fox (shareholder)
– Paul A. Giordano (shareholder and Business Litigation practice group manager)
– Paul Heuerman (shareholder)
– Paul L. Jackson (shareholder and Roetzel president)
– Suzanne K. Ketler, Ph.D. (shareholder)
– Ronald S. Kopp (shareholder)
– Terrence H. Link III (shareholder)
– Lisa H. Lipman (shareholder)
– Jessica Lopez (associate)
– J. Breton McNab (associate)
– Chad L. Mowery (shareholder)
– Stephanie Y. Olivera (associate)
– Joseph M. Ruscak (shareholder)
– James K. Shaw (counsel)
– John B. Waters (counsel)

LawGeex, in association with the Association of Corporate Counsel, has published an in-depth audit of the general counsel position — looking at more than 34,000 GCs, providing insights into the position and those that occupy it.

The publication, “The 2019 General Counsel Landscape,” can be downloaded from the LawGeex website at no charge.

The guide reveals insights from GCs at hundreds of companies across the United States, including Uber, PayPal, NetApp Amazon, Macy’s and Caterpillar.

Information includes:

• Compensation based on age, gender, state, sector, and more
• Industry standards for bonuses and perks
• The road to becoming the modern GC
• The Fortune 500 GC – what sets them apart

Download the guide.

Emily Weber has joined Foley & Lardner LLP’s Health Care Practice as a partner in its Denver office.

In a release, the firm said Weber brings more than a decade of experience in the health care industry, both in private practice and as in-house counsel for major academic medical centers and teaching hospitals. She has experience advising health systems, medical centers, schools of medicine, community hospitals, and physician groups on a wide range of matters, including complex health care and clinical research regulations and transactions, HIPAA and Affordable Care Act compliance, health care fraud and abuse, and data privacy issues. In addition, Weber has experience with joint ventures, affiliations, practice acquisitions, provider agreements, compliance programs, and governance documents.

The firm said Weber has advised some of the nation’s largest academic health systems on data and innovation matters and has successfully handled data security compliance and governance for personalized medical programs. Her experience includes setting up a sophisticated, multi-institutional enterprise data warehouse and complementary biobank for a precision medicine program.

Weber joins Foley from Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, where she was a shareholder in the firm’s Denver office. Before entering private practice, she served as associate general counsel at the University of Colorado Health and, previously, as associate counsel at Temple University Health System Inc. and as associate counsel and compliance officer at Vail Valley Medical Center.

“Emily’s considerable industry knowledge and hands-on regulatory and compliance experience adds significant depth to our growing national health care practice,” said Judith Waltz, co-chair of Foley’s Health Care Practice Group. “With the addition of Emily, our team continues its client-driven growth in the areas where clients need us most, particularly as the regulatory landscape for the U.S. health care sector continues to shift.”

“We are pleased to welcome Emily to the firm,” said Geoffrey Bracken, managing partner of Foley’s Denver office. “She will be a remarkable asset to our clients and an important resource in enhancing our presence, both in the Colorado market and nationally, as we continue to grow our Denver office.”

Erin Jane Illman and Steven T. Snyder, attorneys in Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP’s Charlotte office, are among the first North Carolina lawyers to earn the new Privacy and Information Security Law Specialty certification through the State Bar Board of Legal Specialization.

“We congratulate Erin and Steve on earning distinction as North Carolina board-certified Privacy and Information Security Law attorneys,” said Bradley Charlotte Office Managing Partner Christopher C. Lam. “Erin’s and Steve’s leadership in this emerging industry has established Bradley as the go-to firm for advice and counsel on the ever-evolving complex issues of privacy and data security. Our clients greatly benefit from Erin’s and Steve’s deep knowledge and experience for helping businesses address growing privacy threats and deal with data loss or misuse of information assets. This certification is a confirmation of their demonstrated skill and highest standards of commitment to this critical area of importance to businesses.”

Created by the North Carolina State Bar, the Board of Legal Specialization certifies qualified North Carolina lawyers as specialists in designated areas of law. The new specialty certification focuses on North Carolina, as well as federal and international law, and is based upon the Certified Information Privacy Professional-US (CIPP/US) national certificate issued through the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).

Illman and Snyder both hold CIPP/US status, accredited by the American National Standards Institute. Snyder also holds the IAPP-issued Certified Information Privacy Technologist (CIPT) credential. Illman and Snyder also serve on the North Carolina Bar Association’s Privacy and Security Committee.

A partner and co-chair of Bradley’s Cybersecurity and Privacy Practice Group, Illman regularly advises clients on state and federal privacy and data security requirements, global data protection laws, and guides clients on risks and potential liabilities associated with inadequate privacy and data security practices. She also manages privacy-related enforcement actions and litigation. Her practice includes representing companies in reactive incident response situations, including insider cybersecurity threats, electronic and physical theft of trade secrets, and investigation, analysis, and notification efforts with respect to security incidents and breaches. In addition, Illman counsels clients on a variety of e-commerce, electronic marketing, digital contracts, and emerging technologies such as blockchain. She also has broad experience in complex loan transactions, including trade finance, capital-backed subscription lines, and multi-bank, multi-state and international lending arrangements.

Barnes & Thornburg has added Bradley J. Walz as a partner in the Corporate Department in Minneapolis, where he works on business and transactional issues. Previously, Walz was a shareholder at Winthrop & Weinstine.

The firm said Walz has experience in helping companies monetize and protect their assets. He has advised on the buying, selling and licensing of IP assets, trademark agreements, software development agreements, compliance matters, cloud computing, and data privacy matters. He has managed global trademark portfolios for companies in the fast food, beer and hops, esports, jewelry, software, and aftermarket engine parts industries. He is also experienced in transferring global trademark portfolios as part of international acquisitions, and resolving trademark, copyright, false advertising, and cybersquatting disputes through district court litigation and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.

Walz’s addition is the ninth to the firm’s Minneapolis office in 2018.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Bradley,” said Connie Lahn, Barnes & Thornburg’s Minneapolis office managing partner. “His experience assisting emerging companies in the early stages of their life cycle and his understanding of their unique financial needs is a perfect complement to Barnes & Thornburg’s entrepreneurial spirit and dedication to providing exceptional value to our clients.”

Walz is an adjunct professor in the University of St. Thomas School of Law’s trademark clinic. In addition, he serves on the board of directors at the Little Free Library. Walz earned his J.D. from the University of St. Thomas School of Law and his B.S. in business economics from the University of St. Thomas.

Ian J. Block has joined Neal Gerber Eisenberg as a partner in the Intellectual Property practice group. Block joined the firm from Kirkland & Ellis LLP, where he was a partner.

The firm said Block has experience in intellectual property with an emphasis on trademark and trade dress issues. He focuses his practice on litigating disputes concerning trademark, trade dress, utility and design patent, copyright, and advertising. Block’s trademark practice includes clearance, prosecution, and enforcement. He also advises clients on IP issues associated with corporate transactions, such as IP licenses and assignments, and on advertising clearance.

“We are thrilled to have Ian join our growing group of more than 40 intellectual property professionals,” said Michael Kelber, co-chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property practice group. “His presence deepens our litigation bench and further strengthens our ability to serve the IP needs of our clients through the United States and around the world.”

Block has been recognized as an “Illinois Rising Star” in intellectual property litigation by Super Lawyers magazine every year since 2014. He received his J.D. from The University of Chicago Law School and his B.A. from Georgetown University.

Peter N. Cubita has joined Davis Wright Tremaine as counsel in its New York office.

Cubita joins the firm from Ballard Spahr, where he was of counsel.

“Peter is widely and rightly regarded as one of the ‘deans’ of the closed-end bar, and we’re thrilled that he’s chosen to join our team,” said Claude Goetz, chair of DWT’s consumer finance practice.

Three months ago, DWT added Bradford Hardin, also a practitioner in fair-lending and closed-end credit matters. Hardin joined the practice from WilmerHale in Washington, D.C.

“The additions of Peter and Bradford over the past few months have significantly broadened and deepened our capabilities in fair-lending and closed-end credit matters, both in counseling and advocacy contexts. These additions were driven largely by the expressed needs of our market-leading clients,” noted Goetz.

The firm said Cubita’s experience includes regulatory compliance, transactional, governmental enforcement, and class action matters, with experience in the motor vehicle retail finance and leasing areas.

Previously, Cubita worked as an in-house attorney at Ally Financial Inc., and was at Weil, Gotshal & Manges.

TechCrunch reports that Facebook has recruited Kate Patchen, a veteran of the U.S. Department of Justice who led its antitrust office in Silicon Valley, to be a director and associate general counsel of litigation.

Patchen spent 16 years at the DoJ, where she began as a trial attorney before becoming an assistant chief in the antitrust division in 2014, and two years later she was made chief.

TechCrunch reporter Natasha Lomas writes that Patchen takes up her post amid ongoing scandals and reputation crises for her new employer, joining Facebook this month, according to her LinkedIn profile.

“Patchen, meanwhile, joins Facebook at the same time as some long-serving veterans are headed out the door — including public policy chief Elliot Schrage,” according to Lomas.

Read the TechCrunch article.

Lenovo Group Ltd. can move ahead with an $8.3 million settlement to end a class action that its ad software exposed customer laptops to performance, privacy, and security problems, reports Bloomberg Law.

The federal court’s initial approval of the settlement comes four months after Lenovo and the consumer class filed with the court to end the spyware action. The SuperFish software, which Lenovo began installing in 2014, could access customer Social Security numbers, financial data, and sensitive heath information, the court said.

“Lenovo is set to pay $7.3 million to the settlement fund, and SuperFish will kick in another $1 million from a prior deal with consumers over the spyware issue,” according to Bloomberg’s Daniel R. Stoller.

Read the Bloomberg Law article.