“A tax consultant should not have been found liable for misappropriating trade secrets after he used his ex-employer’s allegedly proprietary ‘tax arbitrage’ strategy in providing services to its former clients, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled,” reports Eric T. Berkman in New England In-House.

“The Puerto Rico-based plaintiff, TLS Management and Marketing Services, helped mainland U.S. clients profit by availing themselves of Puerto Rico’s lower tax rates through a series of complex transactions between TLS and the client.”

“After defendant Ricky Rodriguez, a TLS executive, left the company, TLS accused him of misappropriating trade secrets by utilizing the company’s strategy (which TLS referred to as its “U.S. Possession Strategy” or “the Strategy”) to provide tax services to former TLS clients using TLS documents with which the clients provided him. The company also accused him of misappropriating trade secrets by downloading the company’s Capital Preservation Report — or CPR — documents to analyze client tax situations.”

Read the article.

“NYSE-listed Turning Point Brands has picked Brittani Cushman to be its next general counsel,” reports Ben Maiden in Corporate Secretary’s Appointments.

“James Dobbins, who is senior vice president, general counsel and secretary with the company, will retire on October 31 after more than two decades leading Turning Point Brands’ legal and governance functions.”

“Cushman is currently senior vice president of external affairs in the company’s legal department. She becomes deputy general counsel immediately, working with Dobbins on the transition before he departs.”

Read the article.

“Social distancing and stay-at-home measures enacted in the wake of COVID-19 have forced many businesses to significantly change the way they operate and communicate. Nowhere is this change more noticeable than in the world of negotiations, which have moved almost entirely to digital platforms,” discusses a post in Davis Wright Tremaine’s Corporate and Business Transactions Blog.

“Businesses that are quick to adjust and adapt have an advantage over those which lag behind.”

This post provides “some tips on how to effectively conduct virtual negotiations—where communications involve the ability to hear and see (at least a headshot of) the other parties.”

Read the article.

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is pleased to announce that Alicia N. Netterville and Christina M. Seanor, associates in the firm’s Jackson office, have been appointed to committees of the Mississippi Bar for the 2020-2021 bar year, beginning Sept. 9.

Netterville has been appointed to the Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee, which investigates all claims concerning the unauthorized practice of law in Mississippi and makes recommendations to the Board of Bar Commissioners in regard to the unauthorized practice of law. It has the authority to take steps to prevent the unauthorized practice of law in Mississippi.

Netterville is a member of the firm’s Cybersecurity and Privacy, Litigation, and Labor and Employment Practice Groups. She assists clients with minimizing exposure under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), including helping clients analyze their data collection activities to determine whether they are subject to or exempt from CCPA compliance. She also litigates claims involving anti-trust, mass torts, Section 1983, and false claims.

Netterville received her J.D. (magna cum laude) from the University of Mississippi School of Law and her Bachelor of Science from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Seanor has been appointed to the Women in the Profession Committee. The committee assesses and identifies issues related to the status of women in the legal profession, including barriers that may prevent women attorneys from full participation in the work, responsibilities, and rewards of the profession. It also works to identify quality-of-life issues that affect all lawyers. The committee also makes recommendations to the Bar for action to create solutions to problems observed by the committee and to address issues raised by the committee.

Seanor is a member of the Litigation Practice Group. She represents corporate clients in intellectual property and competitive practices litigation, with a focus on licensing agreements, unfair competition and trademark infringement under the Lanham Act, and business torts. She also represents financial services clients against consumer claims, including RESPA, FCRA, FDCPA and TCPA. In addition, Seanor represents healthcare clients regarding state and federal regulations, and regularly represents healthcare clients in Section 1983 civil-rights suits by prison inmates.

Seanor earned her J.D. (magna cum laude) from the University of Mississippi School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Mississippi.

About Bradley
Bradley combines skilled legal counsel with exceptional client service and unwavering integrity to assist a diverse range of corporate and individual clients in achieving their business goals. With offices in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and the District of Columbia, the firm’s nearly 550 lawyers represent regional, national and international clients in various industries, including banking and financial services, construction, energy, healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing, real estate, and technology, among many others.

Newark, New Jersey, August 26, 2020 – William J. Palatucci, one of New Jersey’s most prominent and widely respected attorneys, is joining McCarter & English LLP as a partner in the firm’s Business Litigation Practice, effective August 31, where he will also be supporting the firm’s rapidly expanding Government Affairs Practice. Since working for Gov. Tom Kean in 1985 and later as a law partner with Gov. Chris Christie, Palatucci has developed a well-earned reputation for his strategic advice and pragmatic approaches to complex legal, public policy and governmental initiatives.

McCarter’s Managing Partner Joe Boccassini said, “We are honored to welcome Bill to our team. His extensive experience with legal and public policy issues that affect both private and public sector clients is unparalleled. Our national base of clients will greatly benefit from his knowledge of how major public policy decisions may impact their businesses.”

Palatucci’s legal experience is wide and diverse. He served as General Counsel to the Trump Transition Committee from June 2016 through the election in November 2016; he served as General Counsel to Governor Chris Christie’s presidential campaign, and in the private sector served as General Counsel to Community Education Centers in Roseland, New Jersey. Prior to joining McCarter, Palatucci spent almost eight years at Gibbons, P.C. in the firm’s Corporate Practice, where he handled a variety of issues for clients in a wide range of industries, often focusing on the regulatory aspects of transactions, land use matters or state licensing requirements.

Palatucci serves as the Republican National Committeeman for New Jersey, a position he has held since 2010. In addition to his work for Governor Kean, for the past nearly 40 years, he has been closely involved in many significant federal and state elections, with leadership roles in the campaigns of Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump, and served as Chairman of Governor Chris Christie’s re-election campaign in 2013.

In addition to his legal and political experience, Palatucci currently serves as a member of the Seton Hall University School of Law Board of Visitors, the National Advisory Board for the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University, and is Chair of the University of Phoenix Board of Trustees for its Jersey City, NJ, campus. Palatucci is on the Board of Trustees of Turning Point, Inc., a nonprofit drug and alcohol addiction treatment center that assists more than 3,500 New Jersey residents each year.

Palatucci has been recognized by NJBIZ on its “Law Power 50” and “100 Most Powerful People in New Jersey Business” lists as well as by ROI-NJ on its “Influencers Power List.”  Palatucci earned his B.A. from Rutgers University-New Brunswick and his J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law.

In 2014, Palatucci was presented with the Seton Hall University School of Law’s Distinguished Graduate Award. In 2014, he and Senator Cory Booker were honored with the annual “Good Guy Award” from the Women’s Political Caucus of New Jersey.

Hong Kong – Sidley is pleased to announce that Olivia Ngan has rejoined the firm in Hong Kong from Linklaters LLP and will be a partner in its China Corporate and Finance group.

Ngan represents lenders and borrowers, including listed companies, real estate companies, bond issuers, corporate borrowers, financial institutions, and asset managers on a wide range of domestic and cross-border financing transactions. She has broad experience advising on pre-IPO, structured, acquisition, real estate, and equity margin financing, as well as general corporate lending transactions, with a particular focus on mainland China-related transactions.

Sidley’s China Corporate and Finance group is a vital part of the firm’s leading global Capital Markets group, representing clients in structuring and executing securities transactions and disclosure matters across several sectors, including fintech, telecommunications, media and technology, and life sciences.

CHICAGO – The global law firm of Winston & Strawn LLP today announced the formation of a new, fully integrated Global Privacy & Data Security practice. Sheryl Falk, Steve Grimes, and Alessandra Swanson will lead a cross-disciplinary and international team with a deep bench of experience in privacy and data security issues that span employment, health care, trade secrets, breach counseling, litigation, consumer, emerging technologies, private equity and mergers and acquisitions.

The new practice is the culmination of Winston’s Global Privacy & Data Security Task Force, formed in 2017, which effectively established a suite of capabilities to serve clients across a wide range of regions and industries. Now, the team of more than 75 attorneys in 13 offices across the world can work together seamlessly to address the full spectrum of clients’ privacy and data security challenges, including:
• Privacy counseling and compliance program building
• Regulated Personal Information
• Privacy and data security litigation
• Internal forensic investigations and cybersecurity incident response
• Theft of confidential information and trade secrets
• Breach notification, response and regulatory defense
• Technology outsourcing
• Private equity and mergers and acquisitions
• Health care privacy and security
• Financial privacy
• Employee privacy
• Emerging technology
• E-commerce and consumer interaction
• Marketing and online advertising
• International trade, export controls, and sanctions

Falk draws on her deep expertise in privacy, data security, and forensic technology, as well as her strong litigation background as a former federal prosecutor, to handle complicated privacy and data protection issues. She concentrates her practice on privacy and data security counseling and diligence, providing strategic advice to mitigate privacy and data security risk in emerging technology, investigating trade secret theft, leading data security incident response, and handling privacy and trade secret litigation.

Grimes is a former federal prosecutor, an experienced trial lawyer, and a former chief compliance officer and senior litigation counsel for a global, publicly traded Fortune 500 company whose practice focuses on compliance counseling, sensitive internal investigations, and complex litigation. He works with companies across many industries to investigate highly sensitive and urgent issues related to trade secret theft, technology and security breaches, employee misconduct, conflicts of interest, financial fraud, and potential violations of anti-bribery and other laws.

Swanson is a former federal privacy regulator and leverages her unique experience to help clients understand their regulatory and compliance obligations regarding the use, disclosure, and protection of personal information. She focuses her practice in the areas of Regulated Personal Information, privacy and data security counseling, security breach response and regulatory defense, marketing and data ownership issues, corporate advisory services and outsourcing, and large-scale commercial contracting.

Brouse McDowell welcomes former Supreme Court Justice Terrence O’Donnell to the firm. Justice O’Donnell, retired from The Supreme Court of Ohio, and joined the law firm of Brouse McDowell in an Of Counsel capacity focusing on alternative dispute resolution and appellate matters.

Justice O’Donnell served on the Supreme Court of Ohio from 2003-2018, and is one of Ohio’s longest-serving justices. During his time on the Court, he led statewide efforts to promote integrity and professionalism in law, leading to the creation of a nationally recognized Lawyer-to-Lawyer Mentoring Program. Justice O’Donnell also served on the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court for 14 years and the Eighth District Court of Appeals for eight years. He previously practiced law at Marshman, Snyder & Corrigan in Cleveland.

Justice O’Donnell has dedicated significant time to non-profit causes. He served as Chairman of the Ohio Legal Rights Service Commission, an organization that advocates for the human, civil and legal rights of people with disabilities in Ohio, and as a member of the Board of Trustees of Our Lady of the Wayside, an organization dedicated to serving the needs of the mentally and physically challenged.

Justice O’Donnell has received numerous accolades, including recognition as “Person of the Year” by the Mayo Society of Greater Cleveland in 2015, and as the recipient of the Jurisprudence Award from the American ORT Cleveland Chapter in 2006. Further, he received St. Edward High School’s Alumnus of the Year Award in 2005, Kent State University’s award for outstanding graduate of the College of Arts & Sciences, and Cleveland State University’s Distinguished Alumni Award.

Justice O’Donnell received his bachelor’s degree in political science from Kent State University, and his JD from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP is pleased to announce that Micheal Binns has been named a 2020 “Rising Star” by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA). Binns and his fellow Rising Stars share “the love of law, ambition, and pursuit of excellence, while possessing a compassion for those in need and a strong desire to give back to others,” according to MCCA.

Binns serves as Parker Poe’s Atlanta Office Development Partner and is a registered patent attorney who represents Fortune 500 corporations, midsize companies, startups, and individual clients regarding global intellectual property protection. His experience spans a variety of industries and technologies, including tech, biotechnology, chemical, pharmaceutical, and telecommunications arts.

Binns serves as board chair of Page Turners Make Great Learners, a nonprofit working to improve literacy in inner-city Atlanta. He has been deeply involved with the organization since 2012 and has led Parker Poe’s partnership with Page Turners on read-a-thons across Atlanta, through which he and other volunteers have read to hundreds of students and donated thousands of books. He also serves on the boards of directors for the Georgia Wildlife Federation and the Spruill Center for the Arts in Dunwoody, Georgia.

Binns will be honored at MCCA’s Creating Pathways to Diversity® Conference, which will be held virtually on October 27. He was also recently honored as “On the Rise” by the Daily Report, the leading legal publication in metro Atlanta and the state of Georgia.

Jeffrey K. Cassin in New York; Ross J. Switkes in New Jersey

Bridgewater, NJ (August 25, 2020) – The law firm of Norris McLaughlin, P.A., is pleased to welcome Jeffrey K. Cassin and Ross J. Switkes as Members of the firm. Cassin will be the lead corporate attorney in New York as part of its larger Business Law Practice Group, while Switkes joins the growing Bankruptcy & Creditors’ Rights Practice Group in the New Jersey office.

Despite a pall of anxiety across the law firm industry regarding the economic uncertainty brought on by the pandemic, Norris McLaughlin’s Chairman John N. Vanarthos explained that these strategic additions were critical components of the firm’s strategy for emerging from the pandemic in a position of strength. He also added that it was important for the firm that both of these members reflect the dogmatic philosophy of always looking for “what’s next.”

About Jeff Cassin

Cassin represents companies at every stage of a corporate lifecycle, from start-up, investment stage, growth (through acquisition or organic), mature companies to their exit, with deep experience in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity. Cassin has led several successful acquisitions and divestitures, guiding clients on deal structuring issues, negotiation and closing, and has recently closed transactions in media, technology, human capital, insurance, entertainment, restaurant management, and represented an underwriter before FINRA in launching a SPAC. He additionally represents mid-size businesses, funds, start-ups, media and technology companies, and individual investors, among others. Cassin was Co-Section Chief of the Business Law section of his previous law firm.

Cassin has a reputation for being solutions-oriented. He has taken a special interest in helping clients face issues arising out of the pandemic, such as accessing opportunities under the CARES Act and state programs, and preparing their business structure, operation and contracts for pandemic disruption or, in some cases, pandemic-related growth opportunities.

He earned his J.D. in 2005 from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and his B.A. in 2002 from The George Washington University: Elliot School of International Affairs.

About Ross Switkes

Switkes focuses his practice on bankruptcy, debtor/creditor rights, corporate restructuring, and commercial litigation. He represents Chapter 7, 11, and 12 trustees, debtors, secured and unsecured creditors, committees, purchasers of assets and stalking horse bidders, officers and directors, non-debtor spouses, landlords, defendants in avoidance actions, insurance companies, distressed companies, and municipalities.

Switkes currently serves as the Vice-Chair of the Lawyers Advisory Committee for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of New Jersey, a committee that has served as a two-way conduit between the bankruptcy bar and the Board of Bankruptcy Judges for approximately 25 years. He also is a Trustee of the Mercer County Bar Association and Co-Chair of its Bankruptcy, Budget, and Golf Committees. In addition, Switkes is a speaker on educational panels conducted by the International Women’s Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation, International Council of Shopping Centers, Mercer County Bar Association, and Essex County Bar Association. His articles have appeared in the American Bankruptcy Institute Journal and American Bankruptcy Trustee Journal, among other publications.

In 2018, Switkes was named in the New Jersey Law Journal Professional Excellence Awards as a “New Leader of the Bar” and was also recognized by the Mercer County Bar Association as “Young Lawyer of the Year.” He has been recognized by New Jersey Super Lawyers® as a “Rising Star” in the area of Bankruptcy: Business every year since 2017. Switkes earned his J.D. in 2010 from Seton Hall University School of Law and his B.A., cum laude, in 2007 from Ramapo College of New Jersey.

Perry Law founder recognized for her work in insurance law and litigation

DALLAS – Perry Law P.C. founder Meloney Perry has earned recognition in the 2021 edition of The Best Lawyers in America, the oldest and one of the most respected peer review legal guides in the nation.

A Best Lawyers honoree since 2019, Perry is recognized in the 2021 guide for insurance law and insurance litigation.

The Best Lawyers in America listing is compiled following a rigorous selection process that includes peer nominations, a review of prior nominees, and the final selection by the Best Lawyers editors, who recognize the top 4 percent of practicing attorneys in the country.

Perry has more than 25 years of experience defending insurance companies in insurance coverage disputes, bad-faith and class-action litigation. She serves as the primary counsel for a major national insurance firm and represents business owners involved in insurance and business disputes in Texas, New Mexico and Colorado.

She has earned individual accolades by Texas Super Lawyers for her insurance practice, while Perry Law has earned placement in U.S. News – Best Lawyers/Best Law Firms.

Perry is an author and presenter, frequently conducting seminars that focus on insurance coverage issues and the law. In addition, she has held leadership positions in professional organizations including the State Bar of Texas Council of Chairs Committee and the Insurance Law Section.

Certified under the Women’s Business Enterprise National Counsel, Perry Law P.C. is a women-owned law firm focused on insurance coverage and litigation. Our group of attorneys invests in lasting relationships, takes time to understand your business, and makes you the priority. For more information, please visit our website, http://www.mperrylaw.com.

Veteran trial lawyer recognized by peers for outstanding white-collar and general criminal defense work

Dallas white-collar and criminal defense attorney Barry Sorrels has earned national recognition for his work as a trial lawyer with selection to the 2021 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.

With a distinguished reputation for representing clients in high-profile criminal matters at the state and federal levels, Sorrels has earned this distinction from peers for his work in both white-collar and general criminal defense each year since 1999.

With a background as a former high-level Dallas County prosecutor, Sorrels is Board Certified in Criminal Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. High-profile clients, including elected officials, business executives, professional athletes, doctors and other medical professionals, seek his representation to defend against fraud, corruption and other white-collar offenses. Last year, he was active in federal cases in California, Florida, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Texas.

Sorrels also frequently shares his criminal defense expertise with national news outlets, such as CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, TruTV and Dallas television news stations. In addition, as the former president of the Dallas Bar Association and the Patrick E. Higginbotham Inn of Court, he strives to advance the legal profession.

The Best Lawyers in America is the profession’s oldest U.S. peer-review guide and among the most respected. Selection is based on confidential evaluations by attorneys in the same practice area and from the same geographic region. For the full listing, visit https://www.bestlawyers.com/.

Sorrels is a longtime Dallas criminal defense attorney with a reputation for achieving success on behalf of his clients. To learn more about his work, please visit Barry Sorrels, P.C.

Media Contact:
Mark Annick
800-559-4534
mark@androvett.com

“Environmentalists have lined up behind the shift to renewable energy required by the state’s energy transition act, but some are challenging language in the law that they say derails due process and eliminates standards of regulatory review meant to protect customers,” reports Susan Montoya Bryan in KRQE’s Politics – Government.

“New Energy Economy and Citizens for Fair Rates and the Environment filed a brief this week with the state Supreme Court.”

“Legal wrangling has been ongoing since the state adopted the landmark legislation in 2019. Aside from mandating more renewable energy, the law includes a financing mechanism that supporters say is necessary for the 2022 closure of a major coal-fired power plant in northwestern New Mexico.”

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“New Jersey’s Supreme Court approved as legally binding an arbitration agreement provided to employees electronically, concluding the arbitration agreement was effectively, clearly, and unambiguously communicated to the company’s employees. The decision in Skuse v. Pfizer, Inc. … ratified a five-page Mutual Arbitration and Class Waiver Agreement rejected by the lower court. In doing so, the Supreme Court resolved years of conflict and provided employers with much needed practical steps for drafting similar agreements and communicating them to employees,” discuss Mark A. Saloman and Jeffrey A. Shooman in FordHarrison’s Employment Law.

This article provides helpful do’s and don’ts

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“Indemnification provisions are an important part of the fine print of many contracts. These clauses generally operate to protect one party against the other party’s actions or failures to act that lead to a loss claimed by a third party (not a party to the contract). A common example is the indemnification provisions (or entire agreements) used in the rental car setting. Before you drive off the lot, the rental car company will require you indemnify (or protect) it against a third party (not you) bringing a claim due to you being in an accident,” write Sean Byrne and Scott Ziance in Vorys’ Insights.

“Similarly, most incentive agreements contain one-way indemnification provisions, requiring the incentive recipient to indemnify and hold harmless the public entity against any possible risk and for any liability that could befall the public entity because of your project. The incentive provider will usually inform you that the indemnification provision cannot be mutual, is non-negotiable, and often includes provisions that go beyond traditional indemnification. Sorting through the legalese in these terms and conditions is a challenge in non-incentive contracts, and adding a public or quasi-public entity can make them more complicated. ”

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“Major, Lindsey & Africa (MLA) has placed Rod Boddie as general counsel for Congressional Federal Credit Union in Oakton, VA. The assignment was led by Deborah Ben-Canaan, partner and senior practice leader; Christie Babinski, director; and Kimberly Hulsey, director, of MLA’s in-house counsel recruiting group in Washington, D.C.,” contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor in Hunt Scanlon Media.

“Mr. Boddie is a seasoned legal professional who comes to CFCU after 17 years with Seneca One Finance, a specialty finance company, where he most recently served as general counsel and corporate secretary. During his tenure, he led Seneca’s legal activities, oversaw a 25-person legal and processing team, and managed outside counsel. He also held a senior counsel role at Winstar Communications and began his career as an associate with Miles & Stockbridge.”

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77 Charters, Inc. brought a suit against defendants Jonathan Gould, Stonemar MM Cookeville, LLC, Cookeville Corridor, LLC and Eightfold Cookeville Investor, LLC “for a series of alleged ‘wrongful acts’ in connection with the management and sale of a shopping mall”, which also implicated Stonemar Cookeville Partners, LLC
and Cookeville Retail Holdings, LLC., discuss Scott Waxman and Rich Minice in K&L Gates’ Delaware Docket.

“In delivering its opinion, which centered on the nature of Delaware limited liability companies as creatures of contract, and thus, the controlling nature of the applicable operating agreements and contracts into which the parties had entered, the Delaware Court of Chancery ruled that only Plaintiff’s claims which could be connected to an alleged wrongful amendment of the operating agreement of Cookeville Retail could survive Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss.”

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“Bayer will pay about $1.6 billion to settle nearly all of the U.S. lawsuits that, over several years, have claimed the company’s Essure birth control implant caused serious injuries,” reports Conor Hale in Fierce Biotech’s MedTech.

“The German drugmaker’s agreements with plaintiff law firms cover about 90% of nearly 39,000 filed and unfiled claims, within all of the jurisdictions with significant numbers of Essure cases, Bayer said in a statement.”

“The company is also currently in talks with lawyers representing the remaining plaintiffs. Most of the terms of the settlement agreements are confidential, but they contain no admission of wrongdoing or liability.”

Read the article.