A Texas jury awarded $43 million to Intellectual Ventures I LLC after finding telecom heavyweights T-Mobile and Ericsson Inc. infringed on the company’s patents used for wireless services for the LTE network. The jury awarded $34 million against T-Mobile and $9 million against Ericsson, according to a post on the website of Androvett Legal Media & Marketing.

The jury also determined T-Mobile and Ericsson failed to provide convincing evidence that Intellectual Ventures’ claims involving the patents were invalid. The case was decided on Feb. 8 following a one-week trial in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Marshall.

“We are grateful for the jurors’ attention in this case and their decision in favor of our client,” said Johnny Ward of Ward, Smith & Hill PLLC, who represented Intellectual Ventures. “This verdict shows you can’t infringe on another company’s patents and expect to get away with it.”

The patents-in-suit trial included U.S. Patent Nos. 6,628,629, 7,412,517 and RE46,206 owned by Intellectual Ventures for wireless transmissions. Bellevue, Washington-based Intellectual Ventures is a global invention and investment business that creates, incubates, and commercializes impactful inventions.

Also representing Intellectual Ventures were Ward, Smith & Hill partners Claire Abernathy Henry and Andrea Fair, along with co-counsel Martin J. Black and Kevin M. Flannery of Dechert LLP.

The case is Intellectual Ventures I LLC v. T-Mobile USA, Inc., T-Mobile US, Inc., Ericsson Inc., Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson, case number 2:17-cv-577, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

Labor Secretary Alex Acosta

Federal prosecutors, under former Miami U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta, broke the law when they concealed a plea agreement from more than 30 underage victims who had been sexually abused by wealthy New York hedge fund manager Jeffrey Epstein, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

The Miami Herald reports that the federal judge stopped short of overturning Epstein’s plea deal, or issuing an order resolving the case.

The judge said prosecutors not only violated the Crime Victims’ Rights Act by not informing the victims, they also misled the girls into believing that the FBI’s sex trafficking case against Epstein was still ongoing — when in fact, prosecutors had secretly closed it after sealing the plea bargain from the public record, according to the Herald‘s Julie K. Brown.

Acosta now serves as U.S. Labor Secretary. A White House spokeswoman said the administration is looking into the plea deal.

Read the Miami Herald article.

The discovery of hidden cameras, microphones and recording equipment in a Florida law firm has led to firings, lawsuits and the departure of a name partner, according to The Palm Beach Post.

It all started when a staffer at Steinger, Iscoe & Greene in Palm Beach County found drywall debris in her office. That discovery led to wires connected to the surveillance equipment. After police were called, it was discovered that some wires had been cut and a video recording device was missing, according to a lawyer representing the firm in an invasion of privacy lawsuit.

Two associates who were fired have sued the firm, and name partner Gary Iscoe, who reportedly received an undisclosed amount of money as part of a confidential agreement, has resigned.

“It’s very John Grisham,” said attorney Michael Pike, who is representing the firm in the lawsuit aimed at finding out who the spies were.

Read the Palm Beach Post article.

The Dallas Morning News is reporting that Dallas city and county officials are trying to block the release of investigative files related to the unsolved slaying of a prominent Dallas lawyer in 2016.

“Ira Tobolowsky, 68, was found dead inside his burning garage at his North Dallas home on May 13, 2016. The medical examiner’s office ruled his death a homicide — he died of blunt force injuries, smoke inhalation and burns,” according to the News‘ Dana Branham.

Michael Tobolowsky, the son of the victim, obtained an order from a district judge for the city to release documents from the Dallas Police Department and the Dallas County medical examiner so he can investigate the death of his father, potentially for a wrongful-death lawsuit. He claims the case has gone cold.

Dallas police are appealing the order, claiming the release would ruin any change of corroborating future witness statements.

Related:

• Family of Slain Lawyer Think They’ve Identified Murderer. So Why Can’t the Cops Solve the Case?

• Dallas Lawyer Was Spied on Before He Was Killed, Police Suspected

Read the Dallas News article.

A prominent metro Detroit attorney is facing new claims of professional misconduct for allegedly mouthing off to a young female prosecutor and then, in a Facebook rant, misrepresenting what happened, the Detroit Free Press reports.

The complaint filed by the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission accuses Clifford Woodards II of discourteous and unprofessional behavior in his March 2018 encounter with the prosecutor in Detroit’s 36th District Courthouse.

According to the complaint, Woodards challenged  the prosecutor, Heather Washington over a plea deal for his client in a traffic case. After she declined to agree to the deal without seeing the client’s driving record, Woodards acted aggressively, the complaint says.

According to the complaint:

Respondent said to Ms. Washington, something to the effect: “Little girl don’t talk to me and move out of my face” and/or “You need to back up little girl and know your place.”

Also:

Respondent told Ms. Washington that she “doesn’t know how to act like a young lady, acting immature.”

Read the Free Press article.

Hogan Lovells has published a guide to joint development and collaboration agreements and posted in on the firm’s website.

Protecting intellectual property is a challenge, especially when entering into a joint development agreement, cautions the guide.

When two or more organizations want to work together to develop or enhance their products, combine or integrate their technologies, or jointly commercialize a new product, they have many choices for documenting their relationship.

Read the article.

An Army combat veteran in Utah has filed a lawsuit against 3M, seeking damages for permanent hearing loss caused by defective earplugs and alleging that the manufacturer doctored test results to win a government contract.

The lawsuit filed by Dallas-based Fears Nachawati Law Firm on behalf of Nathan Fortie seeks economic damages for permanent hearing loss and tinnitus allegedly caused when 3M Combat Arms Earplugs failed to protect him from loud combat noises including impulse noises and gunfire, mortar and cannon explosions. The suit also contends that 3M failed to provide key safety information to the soldiers.

“This company took advantage of the U.S. government by profiting from an inferior and defective product. But more significantly, it took advantage of U.S. troops who put their lives on the line to serve their country,” said Fears Nachawati cofounder Bryan Fears.

Originally created by Aearo, which was acquired by 3M in 2008, the “selective attenuation earplugs” were issued to soldiers between 2003 and 2015. In 2018, 3M paid more than $9 million to resolve Justice Department claims that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly selling the earplugs without disclosing defects, according to a release from Fears Nachawati.

Fortie’s suit says the earplugs are too short for proper insertion. Combined with a separate defect, they are prone to loosen, making them ineffective at protecting soldiers from harmful noises.

The Hearing Health Foundation estimates that 60 percent of returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans suffer from tinnitus or hearing loss. Tinnitus is the No. 1 service-related disability, affecting more than 1.5 million veterans, according to the American Tinnitus Association.

The case is Nathan Fortie v. 3M et al., Case No. 1:19-cv-00011-EJF in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah. Similar lawsuits on behalf of injured veterans have been filed across the country. The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation is now considering a motion to transfer all related lawsuits to the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota where 3M is based.

Thompson & Knight LLP announced eight attorneys have been elected partners in the firm. They include C. Walker Brierre, Stephen W. Grant Jr., Mitchell L. Griffith, David Lawrence, Lee Meyercord, Jessica S. Morrison, Meghan Nylin, and Megan H. Schmid.

The new partners represent the firm’s Dallas, Fort Worth, and Houston offices.

“These are exceptional young attorneys and reflect the diversity and culture of our firm, as noted by half of the class being women,” says Mark M. Sloan, the firm’s managing partner. “We remain committed to offering the high-level experience, mentoring, compensation, and balance that attract and retain the very best legal minds to serve our clients.”

Walker Brierre focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions and private equity transactions, including acquisitions and divestitures, venture and growth capital financings, the formation and operation of investment partnerships and joint ventures, restructurings, distressed acquisitions, non-control investments, cross-border transactions, private securities offerings and corporate governance matters. He earned his law degree from the Tulane University Law School.

Stephen Grant focuses his practice on corporate finance, including securities offerings, private equity transactions, mergers and acquisitions and general corporate representation. His capital markets experience includes the representation of both issuers and underwriters in initial public offerings as well as public and private offerings of equity and debt securities. He also works with private equity investors, their portfolio companies and a variety of other public and private companies. He earned his law degree from the Tulane University Law School.

Mitchell Griffith focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, corporate governance, and other corporate matters. His experience includes equity financings for privately and publicly held companies, reporting obligations, stock and asset acquisitions, joint ventures, compliance with corporate governance regulations, public and private securities offerings and other securities transactions. He earned his law degree from Harvard Law School.

David Lawrence focuses his practice on real estate and real estate finance matters, representing lenders in a variety of loan origination transactions for construction, bridge loan, and permanent financing. He has also represented CMBS lenders and special servicers in a wide range of matters, as well as real estate developers in acquisitions, sales, financing and development. He earned his law degree from the SMU Dedman School of Law.

Lee Meyercord focuses her practice on federal, state, and local taxation of corporations, partnerships, and individuals. She also counsels clients on the organization, operation, and termination of nonprofit corporations and trusts, and represents taxpayers in IRS audits, appeals and litigation. Board Certified in Tax Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, she earned her law degree from The University of Texas School of Law.

Jessica Morrison focuses her practice on employee benefits and executive compensation arrangements, and counsels employers and fiduciaries on tax and ERISA issues relating to retirement, equity incentive and deferred compensation plans. She also advises on compliance with the Affordable Care Act, COBRA, and HIPAA, and counsels clients on ERISA fiduciary matters and matters before regulatory agencies. She earned her law degree from The University of Texas School of Law.

Meghan Nylin represents clients in business litigation matters, including complex commercial, employment, and oil and gas matters. She has represented clients in matters in Texas, Oklahoma, New York, California, Illinois, New Jersey, and Mississippi, and practices before federal and state trial and appellate courts and before arbitration panels. She earned her law degree from the SMU Dedman School of Law.

Megan Schmid focuses her practice on federal and state trial actions, arbitration, and dispute resolution involving real estate, commercial landlord-tenant, financial and lending institutions, partnership disputes, business torts, construction, energy and general business and commercial litigation. She earned her law degree from the Tulane University Law School.
About Thompson & Knight

J. William Manuel, a partner in Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP’s Jackson office, has been elected vice president of the Mississippi Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). He will serve a one-year term and then serve as president in 2020.

“We congratulate Will on his election as the Mississippi vice president of the American Board of Trial Advocates,” said Bradley Jackson Office Managing Partner Margaret Oertling Cupples. “We are very proud of Will’s ongoing commitment to serving our industry and profession.”

Manuel said, “I am honored to serve our chapter, which includes many celebrated Mississippi lawyers who care passionately about the American jury trial system.”

A member of Bradley’s Litigation Practice Group, Manuel focuses his practice primarily on commercial and employment litigation. He has handled various disputes for both large and small businesses in Mississippi and other jurisdictions. His clients include manufacturers and commercial interests as well as various insurance and financial services companies. He has worked to defend these clients in both MDL litigation and individual actions brought in Mississippi. His experience also includes advising businesses on issues involving age discrimination, sexual harassment and wage/overtime disputes.

In addition to his involvement with ABOTA, Manuel is president of the Capital Area Bar Association and a member of the Mississippi Board of Bar Admissions. He also has served in leadership roles with the Mississippi Bar Young Lawyers Division Board of Directors of the Fellows and Jackson Young Lawyers.

ABOTA is a national organization of trial lawyers with 97 chapters in all 50 U.S. states. Selection for membership into ABOTA carries with it considerable prestige among attorneys, judges and legislators.

Business law firm HunterMaclean announced that Randall A. Jordan has recently joined the firm as a partner in the Litigation Practice Group.

Jordan’s practice focuses mainly on business litigation pertaining to transportation and logistics. In a release, the firm said he has tried more than 100 jury cases in state and federal courts throughout the United States. Jordan has defended some of the country’s largest railroads in a wide array of business and tort matters, including the defense of hundreds of asbestos and other toxic exposure claims. He also is a frequent speaker to groups across the country on issues facing the transportation and logistics industries.

“Randy is recognized throughout the southeastern United States for his invaluable knowledge and experience,” said HunterMaclean managing partner Brad Harmon. “His addition to HunterMaclean will be an asset to our firm and clients.”

He has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America© for the past seven years and recognized as a Super Lawyer within the State of Georgia. He is also AV Rated by Martindale-Hubbell.

Jordan received a Bachelor of Arts from Duke University and graduated from Mercer University Walter F. George School of Law. He is a member of the Brunswick Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Georgia, the National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel, and the Defense Research Institute.

James Andrew “Drew” Caprile and Gene Berk have joined Buchalter as members of the Health Care Practice Group in Sacramento. Both were previously the founders and co-shareholders of Koenig, Caprile & Berk, a boutique health care law firm.

In a release, the firm said Caprile and Berk both have experience in health care business transactions, representing health care licensees in regulatory matters and analyzing health care licensing statutes and requirements. Their clients range from hospital and ambulatory surgical center syndications, to managed care organizations, IPAs, health care joint ventures, and management service organizations (MSOs). Caprile and Berk also have experience with fee-splitting, self-referral, and rebate prohibitions including, Medicare/Medicaid fraud and abuse, the Stark law and federal and state anti-referral prohibitions.

“Expanding our Health Care Practice continues to be a priority for us. Drew and Gene are not only well-known and accomplished healthcare transactional and regulatory attorneys, but also valuable assets to our Health Care Practice,” said Adam J. Bass, president and chief executive officer of Buchalter.

Caprile earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, where he was also a member of the Order of the Coif and the Thurston Honor Society. He received his B.S. in accounting, summa cum laude, at the California State University at Northridge where he was a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma honor society. He also successfully completed the California C.P.A. exam.

“We are thrilled at the opportunity to join the firm, and add our experience and expertise to the already exceptional capabilities the firm offers its clients,” said Drew. “I look forward to continuing to grow our practice with the impressive platform Buchalter provides.”

Berk earned his J.D., cum laude, from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, where he was also a member of the Order of the Coif, Thurston Honor Society, and was an Editor of the Hastings Law Journal. He earned his B.A. with Honors at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

“We are delighted to welcome the newest members of our team,” added Carol K. Lucas, Chair of Buchalter’s Health Care Practice Group. “Drew and Gene’s extensive regulatory and transactional experience builds on and expands our existing business-oriented health care practice.”

Personal injury and commercial litigation law firm Sommerman, McCaffity, Quesada & Geisler, LLP, announced the addition of new name partner Laura Benitez Geisler, current president of the Dallas Bar Association.

“Laura is an exceptional attorney whose skills complement those of our talented team of lawyers,” said firm co-founder Andrew B. Sommerman. “We share the same passion for seeking justice, and we are proud to add her name to ours.”

The new name partner has won recognition by The Best Lawyers in America and Texas Super Lawyers since 2015. She has earned a National Diversity Council listing among the Top 50 Multicultural Lawyers in Dallas and Top 50 Women Lawyers. In 2011, the Hispanic National Bar Association also honored Geisler with recognition as a Top Lawyer Under 40.

Read more about the announcement.

CNN reports that Tesla’s general counsel is leaving the company after just two months on the job — the latest in a series of executive departures at Elon Musk’s electric car company.

The company quickly announced a replacement for Dane Butswinkas, who joined Tesla in December. He will return to his legal practice at Williams & Connolly in Washington. His replacement is Jonathan Chang, who previously served as Tesla’s vice president of legal. Chang has worked at Tesla for almost eight years.

Bloomberg is reporting that Butswinkas was hired in the wake of Musk’s run-in with U.S. securities regulators. Hours before announcement of the GC’s departure, the chief executive officer was sending tweets reminiscent of those that put him and the company in legal jeopardy last year, according to the Bloomberg report.

Read the CNN article.

CNBC is reporting that a federal judge has ordered longtime Republican operative Roger Stone to court on Thursday to explain why he should not have his criminal release bond modified or even revoked because of his recent Instagram post showing the judge next to what appeared to be a rifle scope’s crosshairs.

CNBC’s Dan Mangan writes that Stone could be sent to jail if his $250,000 signature bond is yanked by the judge, Amy Berman Jackson, who is presiding over the criminal case filed against him by special counsel Robert Mueller.

Stone’s Instagram account on Monday posted and then quickly deleted a photo of Jackson that had a rifle scope’s crosshairs above her head.

Read the CNBC article.

For the second time in as many weeks, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has sided with liberal Supreme Court justices to disagree with how lower courts have interpreted Supreme Court precedent, reports The Washington Post.

“On Tuesday, Roberts was pointed in saying the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has ‘misapplied’ a 2017 ruling that instructed that court to reconsider its analysis of whether death-row inmate Bobby James Moore was intellectually disabled, and thus ineligible for execution.” writes the Post‘s Robert Barnes.

And less than two weeks ago Roberts joined in blocking a Louisiana law that tightened restrictions on abortion providers.

Read the Post article.

President Trump has declared a national emergency to finance the building of a border wall, adding fuel to the controversial issue that closed the federal government for more than three weeks.

In a post on the website of Androvett Legal Media & Marketing, Lynn Pinker Cox & Hurst constitutional law expert David Coale says Trump’s emergency declaration is similar to President Harry Truman’s takeover of the steel industry to avoid a strike during the Korean War by the United Steelworkers of America.

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the takeover in 1952’s Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co. v. Sawyer decision, largely because the president acted without congressional approval. Today’s situation, where Congress has repeatedly refused to fund the president’s border wall, has strong echoes of the Youngstown case, Coale says.

“As for defense spending, both the House and Senate, have the power to overrule a claim of emergency,” says Coale. “If the president can clear that hurdle, there probably are billions of dollars in ‘undesignated’ defense and homeland security money that he could try to access. But ‘undesignated’ does not mean ‘free to take, no strings attached,’ and defense contractors who expect to get paid from that money will likely sue from all directions, as will private landowners in the way of the wall’s path.”

A federal judge in North Dakota has dismissed a $900 million defamation and racketeering suit against Greenpeace filed by Energy Transfer Partners, operator of the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Greenpeace was represented in the matter by Lance Koonce, Laura Handman, Lisa Zycherman, and Thomas R. Burke of Davis Wright Tremaine, the law firm said in a release.

District Judge Billy Roy Wilson wrote in his order dismissing the case that, “Posting articles written by people with similar beliefs does not create a RICO enterprise,” and that, “Donating to people whose cause you support does not create a RICO enterprise.”

Last month, the same Davis Wright Tremaine team won dismissal of similar RICO claims lodged against Greenpeace by Resolute Forest Products. That case was heard in the Northern District of California.

“The dismissal of these cases is of enormous importance not just to our clients but to watchdog and advocacy groups of all stripes,” said Koonce. “Because if companies criticized by such organizations were able to bring claims under the guise of RICO, with its treble damage provision, that are really designed to chill speech, it would put critical discourse on issues of public significance at great risk.”

Frank E. Pasquesi, partner with Foley & Lardner and office managing partner of the firm’s Chicago office, was recently appointed general counsel of the Western Golf Association Evans Scholars Foundation.

Pasquesi is a former Chick Evans Scholar of Northwestern University.

Lucas Osborn has joined Michael Best’s litigation practice group as of counsel in the Raleigh office. Osborn will focus his practice on matters concerning patent law and other intellectual property matters.

“The addition of Lucas has strengthened our team,” said Anthony Biller, Managing Partner of Michael Best’s Raleigh office. “North Carolina is quickly becoming one of the largest tech hubs in the country, and Lucas’ research and expertise in the patent space will enhance how we are serving clients in that realm.”

Osborn is currently an associate professor of law in Campbell University’s Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law and will maintain this role while at Michael Best. He serves as the founder and director of Campbell Law School’s Intellectual Property Law Program and his most recent research examined how three-dimensional printing and other technology impact the legal industry, chiefly intellectual property law.

Prior to joining Campbell, Osborn was an attorney in the Intellectual Property practice group of Norton Rose Fulbright (formerly Fulbright & Jaworski), where his practice focused on patent litigation, licensing, and prosecution, as well as other intellectual property matters. He also clerked for the Judge Kenneth M. Hoyt on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Osborn received his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2004 and his B.S. from Texas A&M University in 2000.

Zapproved has published a new guide titled “The Changing Face of Legal: Preparing Your In-House Team for Tomorrow,” which includes key distillations from a PREX18 session, on how to reinvent an in-house legal team.

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

Corporate legal departments are under fire, the company says on its website. From expanding data volumes and data types to increased budget pressures and new data privacy regulations — not to mention unchecked data security risks — in-house legal teams find themselves needing to adapt to unprecedented demands.

The guide includes advice from Jen Warner, Vice President of Legal and Deputy General Counsel for Columbia Sportswear, and Brian Corbin, Executive Director, Assistant General Counsel at JPMorgan Chase.

Download the guide.