“COVID-19, an enduring public health challenge that stretches across the world, raises interesting legal ethics issues for lawyers. Ethical considerations while practicing law during the COVID-19 epidemic have been written about at length during the past few months, but one question has received relatively little attention: What ethical issues arise when attorneys or their clients contract COVID-19?” asks Esquire Deposition Solutions.

“With more than 6.9 million reported COVID-19 cases in the United States (as of Sept. 22, 2020), the question is not trivial. The likelihood that attorneys and their clients will contract the disease is high. This post looks at the ethical issues that arise in both scenarios.”

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Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C., is pleased to announce that its Chicago Officer Beata Krakus has been named by Who’s Who Legal: Franchise as one of the world’s top franchise lawyers for 2020. She is included among only 18 U.S. lawyers on the Global Elite Thought Leaders list.

Announced earlier this year by Who’s Who Legal: Franchise, Krakus also is included among the top U.S. franchise attorneys for 2020, along with Greensfelder Officers Dawn M. Johnson, Susan Meyer, and Leonard D. Vines. All are members of the firm’s Franchising & Distribution practice group.

Who’s Who Legal: Franchise describes Krakus as “a highly recommendable franchise lawyer” whom clients turn to as “our first choice in the USA.” Also ranked by Chambers USA for Franchising, Krakus works with clients across the United States and around the globe, preparing franchise programs for concepts including real estate brokerages, hotels, restaurants, and fitness and personal health systems. Her practice also encompasses other distribution models, and she assists clients in managing their distribution networks. In addition, she is a frequent writer and speaker on franchise topics pertaining to national and global audiences, including for organizations such as the International Distribution Institute, ABA Forum on Franchising, International Franchise Association, and many others.

Published by London-based Law Business Research Limited, Who’s Who Legal: Franchise seeks to identify the top lawyers in franchise law with experience assisting clients in the establishment, maintenance and growth of their franchise businesses. Only lawyers who receive the highest number of recommendations from peers and clients as determined through independent research are listed in the publication. The Who’s Who Legal guides serve as reference sources for companies seeking to corroborate the reputations of lawyers recommended by another party.

Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C., founded in 1895, is a full-service law firm with offices in St. Louis, Chicago and Southern Illinois. Greensfelder offers comprehensive legal solutions for clients locally, nationally and internationally. Areas of practice include business services; communications and media; construction; educational, religious and tax-exempt organizations; employee benefits; employment and labor; energy; franchising and distribution; health care; intellectual property; litigation; real estate; securities and financial services; and trusts and estates. Find out more at www.greensfelder.com.

“Fuel Tech, Inc. (NASDAQ: FTEK), a technology company providing advanced engineering solutions for the optimization of combustion systems, emissions control and water treatment in utility and industrial applications, today announced that Bradley W. Johnson, 55, formerly Assistant General Counsel of Fuel Tech, has been elected Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Fuel Tech effective October 1, 2020. Mr. Johnson succeeds Albert G. Grigonis, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, who is retiring on September 30, 2020 after 17 years of service to the Company,” as posted on BusinessWire’s News.

“Mr. Johnson joined Fuel Tech in 2008, serving as Corporate Counsel until December 2009, and thereafter as Assistant General Counsel. Prior to joining Fuel Tech, Mr. Johnson counseled clients in private practice where he gained extensive experience representing companies in a variety of matters including securities law, intellectual property, and mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Johnson received his B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley and his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law.”

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“It has been six months since the initial wave of government mandated ‘stay-at-home’ orders due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, we have seen at least four important litigation trends emerge,” writes Tiffany Caterina in Frankfurt Kurnit Klein + Selz’ News & Press.

The four trends discussed are:

1. Force Majeure
2. Deceptive Trade Practices
3. Business Interruption
4. Workplace Safety

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“Southern California Edison will pay over $1 billion to settle litigation over the 2017 Thomas and Koenigstein fires and subsequent mudslides that followed in the community of Montecito, the utility giant announced Wednesday,” reports Nathan Solis in Courthouse News Service.

“SCE did not acknowledge liability in the settlement, although its equipment sparked the massive wildfire.”

“The Thomas Fire burned nearly 282,000 acres across multiple counties in late 2017, killing two people and destroying over 1,000 structures. Heavy rain the following year on the fire scar led to a mudslide above the community of Montecito in Ventura County that killed 21 people when debris flowed over homes.”

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“JPMorgan is set to pay nearly $1 billion to settle with US authorities investigating whether the bank manipulated the metals and Treasury markets, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday,” writes Ben Winck in Business Insider’s Markets.

“The sum would set a record for spoofing-related settlements and could be announced as soon as this week, sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. The payment would be in line with other market-manipulation sanctions but surpass previous spoofing fines.”

“The payment would resolve investigations by the Justice Department, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to the report. The agencies have been looking into whether traders on JPMorgan’s metals-futures and Treasury desks interfered with the respective markets.”

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The International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC) has announced that E. Kenly Ames, a partner at English, Lucas, Priest & Owsley, LLP in Bowling Green, Kentucky, has accepted an invitation to join the IADC, the preeminent invitation-only global legal organization for attorneys who represent corporate and insurance interests.

Ames focuses her practice on resolving business disputes – both in court and out. Her practice has a particular emphasis on matters that involve trade secrets, non-competition/non-solicitation contracts, trademark and copyright infringement, licensing, the internet, and unfair competition issues. She also has experience in litigation involving construction, securities fraud, class actions, complex insurance coverage, and reinsurance disputes.

Ames is a member of the Civil Rules Committee and chair of the E-Rules Subcommittee of the Kentucky Supreme Court, a member of the Civil Justice Reform Commission established by the Kentucky Supreme Court, and a member of the Kentucky Bar Association’s Board for the Civil Litigation Section. In addition, she is a former president of the Federal Bar Association’s Kentucky chapter.

Ames received her J.D. from Columbia Law School and her Bachelor of Arts (summa cum laude) from the University of Pennsylvania.

About the International Association of Defense Counsel
The IADC is the preeminent invitation-only global legal organization for attorneys who represent corporate and insurance interests. Founded in 1920, the IADC has members who hail from six continents, 51 countries and territories, and all 50 U.S. states. The core purposes of the IADC are to enhance the development of skills, promote professionalism, and facilitate camaraderie among its members and their clients, as well as the broader civil justice community. For more information, visit www.iadclaw.org.

“Nasdaq-listed Barrett Business Services (BBSI) has appointed James Potts to the newly created position of executive vice president and general counsel. He reports to CEO Gary Kramer,” report Ben Maiden in Corporate Secretary’s Appointments.

“Potts previously co-chaired the insurance corporate and regulatory practice at law firm Cozen O’Connor. He has worked for more than 25 years as an attorney representing clients across a range of industries. In his new role, he is responsible for overseeing BBSI’s legal, governance and compliance functions and is part of the senior management team.”

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“Attorney General Kathy Jennings announced Monday that Delaware has joined the United States, twenty-seven other states, and the District of Columbia to settle allegations against Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation. Delaware’s settlement amount of $94,450.99 will go to the Division of Medicaid and Medicaid Assistance within the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services.” was reported on Delaware.gov’s Department of Justice Press Releases.

“The settlement resolves allegations that from January 2002 to November 2011, Novartis paid kickbacks to doctors to prescribe Lotrel, Valturna, Starlix, Tekamlo, Diovan HCT, Tekturna HCT, and Exforge HCT, and that between January 2010 and November 2011, Novartis did so for Exforge, Diovan, Tekturna. It was alleged in court documents that Novartis systemically paid doctors to speak about certain drugs at sham events, with a veneer of education applied in an attempt to avoid the law, and covered the costs of lavish meals and entertainment for attendee doctors, to induce doctors to write prescriptions for these Novartis drugs. Novartis admitted aspects of the scheme in a stipulation filed in federal court in connection with the settlement, to include admissions concerning excessive meal and alcohol spending, minimal medical discussions at Novartis’s events, and repeat attendance. This conduct violated the Federal False Claims Act, the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute, the Delaware False Claims and Reporting Act, and the Delaware Anti-Kickback Statute resulting in the submission of false claims to DMMA within DHSS.”

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“For years, class action settlements typically have included incentive payments to named plaintiffs. The payments usually represent a very small percentage of the overall settlement payout, and are designed to compensate named plaintiffs for their time and trouble in service to the class,” writes Donald R. Frederico in Pierce Atwood’s Class Action Settlements and Mediation.

“Unless, that is, you practice in the 11th Circuit. On September 17th, a divided panel of that court held that incentive payments in class action settlements are unlawful in light of two Supreme Court decisions from the 1880s … involving common funds. In those cases, the Court held that creditors who successfully pursued claims benefiting other creditors could recover from the common funds amounts to reimburse them for the legal fees and litigation expenses they incurred, but not for their “personal services and private expenses,” such as travel and hotel expenses. Finding a close resemblance between the disallowed fees in the Supreme Court cases and incentive fees in class action settlements, the majority held that it was constrained to disallow the incentive payments.”

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“The Arizona lawyer who helped an ex-mobster orchestrate the failure of a nationwide chain of Toby Keith restaurants was sentenced Monday to six months in prison,” reports Robert Anglen in azcentral’s Investigations.
“Gregory McClure also must repay $1.3 million he admitted stealing, as part of his deal to cooperate with federal prosecutors. They are going after his former employer on fraud charges.”

“McClure, during the hour-long court hearing, told Arizona U.S. District Court Judge G. Murray Snow he was ‘ashamed and embarrassed’ by his conduct.”

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Rusty Hardin has been named a Texas Legal Legend by the Litigation Section of the State Bar of Texas. This honor is reserved for those attorneys who, after decades of practice, have shown a commitment not only for their profession, but also for giving back to their local communities.

Mr. Hardin began his career more than 45 years ago, serving as a high-level prosecutor in the Harris County District Attorney’s office. He entered private practice in 1991, and since then has tried over 100 jury trials in areas ranging from Commercial Litigation to Criminal Defense. He’s previously held several leadership positions on committees for the State Bar of Texas as well as on the faculty of numerous public and professional organizations and is frequently invited to speak to national and regional bar associations and business groups.

In receiving this honor, Mr. Hardin joins a long list of distinguished attorneys, including James “Jim” Coleman, Joe Jamail, Carolyn Wright-Sanders, and Lloyd P. Lockridge.

Learn more

Orlando, Florida — For the second year in a row, RumbergerKirk will host a series of workshops for Florida A&M University (FAMU) College of Law students during the 2020-2021 academic year. The RumbergerKirk Professional Development Series will move to a virtual format and will feature five workshops designed to help prepare the next generation of leaders for the ever-changing legal industry.

The workshop series kicks off Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020 with a presentation on “Taking the Bar Exam and Bar Admissions Process,” presented by Richard Greenberg, Partner; Michaela Kim, Associate; and Sara Lewis, Associate.

RumbergerKirk has assembled a group of presenters for the workshops that will be conducted via Zoom, including partners, associates and professionals from the firm, as well as local judges and other legal experts. Several of the workshops will feature breakout sessions and polling questions to ensure a more interactive and engaging experience for the law students.

The additional RumbergerKirk Professional Development Series workshop topics are:
• October 22, 2020 – Associate Life: What to Expect Your First Three Years, presented by Jason Bullinger, Associate; Vaughn Glinton, Associate; and Christian Tiblier, Associate.
• November 5, 2020 – Courtroom Etiquette and Professionalism, presented by Suzanne Hill, Partner; Judge Bob LeBlanc, Ninth Judicial Circuit; and Judge Margie Schreiber, Ninth Judicial Circuit.
• January 7, 2021 – Interviewing Skills, presented by Angela Sterley, Human Resources Director
• February 4, 2021 – Taking Depositions, presented by Skip Eubanks, Partner; Darryl Gavin, Partner; and Shenele Pettis Bright, Associate.

For more information email Hammond.

Sidley Austin LLP is pleased to announce that Eric Winwood has joined the firm as a partner in its Dallas office. He will be a member of Sidley’s Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation practice and the leader of the firm’s Dallas Tax, Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation group. Previously, Winwood was an employee benefits and executive compensation partner with Baker Botts LLP and a member of its Oil and Gas M&A team.

Winwood is a Chambers-ranked practitioner who advises clients on compensation and benefits matters, including those associated with domestic and international M&A and private equity transactions, spinoffs, and joint ventures. He has significant experience in the energy sector. Winwood also frequently advises on fiduciary, prohibited transactions, and plan assets matters in connection with establishing, operating, and investing in private equity funds, joint ventures, and other investments.

Winwood’s arrival follows closely that of notable airline and aviation partner Bart Biggers, and continues the expansion of the firm’s corporate capabilities in Texas.

Akerman LLP, a top 100 U.S. law firm serving clients across the Americas, is growing its national Litigation Practice Group with partners Sarah Kroll-Rosenbaum and Sayaka Karitani in Los Angeles.

Sarah Kroll-Rosenbaum
Kroll-Rosenbaum’s practice focuses on defending companies in complex litigation. Over the last four years, she has led the defense of nearly a dozen temporary healthcare staffing companies in class, collective, and representative actions attacking the industry’s business model. In these cases, and others, Kroll-Rosenbaum has argued extensively in California state and federal courts, including the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Kroll-Rosenbaum has also contributed to significant sports litigation cases, including the defense of several antitrust and FLSA cases on behalf of the NCAA and the Pac-12 challenging bylaws that prevent college athletes from being paid to play. She has also represented Major League Baseball, including defense of its antitrust exemption through the Ninth Circuit.

Sayaka Karitani
Karitani represents companies in all aspects of litigation in state and federal courts, and in arbitration. She has a significant focus in complex class, collective, and representative actions including consumer class actions. Karitani’s practice also encompasses various other types of litigation, including misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair competition, franchise disputes under the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act, and other franchisor/franchisee, real estate, and commercial contractual disputes. She has represented clients in a wide range of industries, including health care staffing, logistics, telecommunications, oil & gas, healthcare, higher education, construction, manufacturing, technology and entrepreneurial ventures, transportation, and hospitality.

“Bayer AG has settled thousands of U.S. Roundup weed killer lawsuits as part of an $11 billion settlement, reaching deals with the only lawyers who took cases to trial over allegations the herbicide caused cancer,” reports Tom Hals in Insurance Journal.

“In letters filed with U.S. District Court in San Francisco late on Monday, three lawyers said they had reached binding settlements.”

“The agreements covered 15,000 lawsuits, according to attorneys familiar with the talks, bringing the resolved cases to about 45,000. Bayer has estimated it faces 125,000 filed and un-filed claims over Roundup.”

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“The changes brought about by evolutions in renewable energy technologies, and in some cases aggravated by the impacts of COVID-19, are likely to up-end traditional relationships between different forms of energy and the customers that use them. These changes are significantly impacting not just competitors, but their contract counter-parties, the risks they face, their credit-worthiness and their customers,” posts Mark Sundback in SheppardMullin’s Electrical Power.

“Renewable generation equipment’s cost continues to decline. Output from solar and wind is available at $0 short-term incremental dispatch cost. Battery research is identifying ways to lengthen the duration of output from that form of storage, and to lower its cost. But the location of renewable assets is not necessarily the same as the location of conventional thermal generation facilities, which typically have been located adjacent to sources of large amounts of water.”

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“A former district attorney in Mississippi’s largest county is now representing some people he once prosecuted, court documents show,” reports Beaumont Enterprise’s News.

“Robert Shuler Smith did not seek reelection last year in Hinds County. He told WLBT-TV that he sees no conflict of interest. But the current district attorney, Jody Owens, is seeking to have Smith removed from one case.”

“Smith represents Prince Johnson, who was indicted by Hinds County grand jury in 2017 on eight counts of prescription fraud.”

“Owens recently filed a motion seeking to disqualify Smith from the Johnson case, saying state law and Mississippi Ethics Commission opinions show Smith should not represent people he once tried.”

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“Five former Nixon Peabody partners allege that their former law firm tried to punish them for jumping to DLA Piper by trying to claw back bonuses and withholding money in support of the effort,” summarizes Debra Cassens Weiss in ABA Journal’s Law Firms.

“Their mediation petition, filed Tuesday in New York state court, claims that Nixon Peabody’s bonus clawback provision restricts partners from practicing law where they choose. As a result, the provision is unenforceable under New York law, the petition says.”

“The partners resigned from Nixon Peabody in June 2019, the same month their bonuses for fiscal year 2018 were paid in full, the petition says. The partners each were awarded a bonus of $100,000 or more for fiscal year 2018, which ended Jan. 31, 2019. Nixon Peabody did not allow the partners to begin work at their new firm until July 16, 2019, according to the petition.”

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“The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company (Penn Mutual), a Fortune 1000 company, announced the promotion of Frank Best to General Counsel, Insurance and Corporate Secretary and the promotion of Ann-Marie Mason to General Counsel, Asset Management and Broker/Dealer. These newly-created positions provide increased focus on specific areas of the organization and strengthen the company’s approach to providing legal guidance and support to corporate and field offices,” posts Penn Mutual in their press releases.

“Best will be responsible for all legal matters associated with the Penn Mutual family of insurance companies. Throughout his 46-year career with the Penn Mutual Law Department, Best has been recognized as a true subject matter expert.”

“Mason will be responsible for all legal matters related to wholly-owned subsidiaries Penn Mutual Asset Management and HTK. Mason joined Penn Mutual in 2019 as Vice President and Head of Shared Services—Enterprise Compliance after 11 years with FINRA where she rose to the role of Vice President and Counsel. At FINRA she served as a key source of legal and regulatory expertise on subject matters affecting Registered Investment Advisers and Broker Dealers. She also exclusively handled all of FINRA’s high impact, expedited litigation matters.”

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