“Edgewise Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing small molecule therapies for musculoskeletal diseases, today announced the appointment of John Moore to the newly created position of General Counsel. Mr. Moore has many years of experience as General Counsel for small molecule biopharmaceutical companies working in a range of therapeutic areas. This comes at an important time as Edgewise advances EDG-5506, the company’s lead product candidate, in clinical development for Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy (DMD and BMD),” posts Edgewise Therapeutics in News.

“Prior to joining Edgewise, Mr. Moore was General Counsel and Secretary at Peloton Therapeutics, where he led the legal aspects of the company’s initial public offering (IPO) efforts and was a key advisor on its acquisition by Merck on the eve of its planned IPO. Previously, Mr. Moore served for 15 years as General Counsel and Secretary at Array BioPharma Inc., and for 5 years on the board of directors of Nivalis Therapeutics. Mr. Moore began his legal career as an attorney in private practice. Mr. Moore holds a B.S. in chemistry from the University of North Carolina, an M.S. in biochemistry from the University of Illinois and a J.D. from the University of North Carolina.”

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“Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton announces a $1,498,750 settlement against New Jersey-based Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. (‘Bed Bath & Beyond’) as part of a settlement of a civil environmental prosecution,” was posted in East County Today’s California.

“The judgment is the culmination of a civil enforcement lawsuit filed last month in Ventura County Superior Court claiming that more than 200 Bed Bath & Beyond stores throughout the state (including Cost Plus, buybuy BABY, Harmon, Harmon Face Values, World Market, and Cost Plus World Market stores) unlawfully handled, transported and disposed of batteries, electronic devices, ignitable liquids, aerosol products, cleaning agents, and other flammable, reactive, toxic, and corrosive materials, at local landfills that were not permitted to receive those wastes.”

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“Anthem is paying a substantial portion of Blues plans’ tentative antitrust settlement, which is estimated to be nearly $3 billion, executives said on a call with investors on Wednesday morning,” reports Paige Minemyer in Fierce Healthcare’s Payer.

“Anthem has penciled in $594 million for its contribution to the $2.7 billion settlement. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association reportedly agreed to the settlement in a lengthy class action suit late last month.”

“Anthem chief financial officer John Gallina called the settlement ‘pending’ during the earnings call, and said having a deal in the works ‘removes an uncertainty’ for the business around the ongoing litigation.”

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“Herbalife Nutrition Ltd.’s (‘Herbalife’) recent settlement of bribery allegations demonstrates the U.S. government’s continuing focus on China and the critical role that board members and senior management of multinationals play in overseeing compliance globally. On August 28, 2020, Herbalife Nutrition Ltd. (‘Herbalife’) agreed to pay the Securities and Exchange Commission (‘SEC’) and the Department of Justice (‘DOJ’) more than $123 million in penalties and disgorgement to resolve bribery allegations in China. The settlement resolves a long-running probe in which two former executives of Herbalife’s Chinese subsidiary were indicted on criminal charges in November 2019. The resolution is one of many recent noteworthy enforcement resolutions targeting the operations of multinationals in China,” writes Geoffrey M. Atkins, Carissa Yuk and Viacheslav (Slava) Iavorskyi in Ropes & Gray’s Alerts.

“The Order indicates that Herbalife China’s then-Managing Director and Director of External Affairs, along with other Herbalife China employees, provided lavish meals, gifts and other benefits to Chinese government officials in order to obtain its first direct selling license in March 2007. The SEC further stated that Herbalife China employees funded the meals and gifts through falsified expense reimbursements until 2016.”

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Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is pleased to announce that nine attorneys in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office were named to the 2019 Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll. Lee-Ann Brown, Greg Marshall, Patrick Quigley and Jessica Zurlo each received High Honors for performing 100 or more hours of pro bono service. In addition, Joshua Dhyani, Anna Lashley, Marc Nardone, Andrew Narod and John Parker Sweeney received Honors for completing 50 or more hours of pro bono service.

The Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll recognizes honorees who donated 50 hours or more of pro bono service during the last calendar year to those who cannot afford legal counsel. The 2019 Honor Roll recognizes all sectors of Washington’s diverse legal community, including honorees from 176 law firms and individual practices, as well as federal and local government agencies, corporations, associations, law schools and public interest organizations.

Through Bradley’s pro bono program, the firm’s attorneys across all 10 of its offices devote a significant amount of time each year to pro bono work and community service. In 2019, the firm’s attorneys and staff performed more than 15,400 hours of pro bono service valued at more than $5 million.

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.

Arent Fox Government Enforcement & White Collar Partner Michelle J. Shapiro was named Global Vice-Chair of the Women’s White Collar Defense Association (WWCDA), a worldwide organization that promotes diversity, provides training, and creates networking opportunities for its more than 2,200 members across 42 chapters.

Shapiro new position expands upon on her role as Global Chair of the Development Committee, which is responsible for promoting the WWCDA, its chapters and members through the work of seven subcommittees. This year, a top priority has been pioneering new ways for members to connect and collaborate.

In May, Shapiro spearheaded the launch of the WWCDA Watercooler, an online virtual forum for members to share ideas, ask questions, brainstorm, vent, laugh, and connect with trusted WWCDA peers and friends. Building on the success of the Watercooler’s informal gatherings, under Shapiro leadership, in October, the WWCDA launched the WatercoolerPLUS, an online virtual forum to present substantive topics of interest to the WWCDA’s members, beginning with a series of discussions regarding the challenges of returning to the Federal Courts in the Time of Covid.

Based in Arent Fox’s New York and Boston offices, Shapiro is a white collar criminal defense attorney who advises companies and individuals in connection with all phases of government and internal investigations, prosecutions, enforcement actions, and remediation efforts. Another key component of Shapiro practice is helping global companies design, enhance and implement customized compliance programs, with a particular focus on preventing and detecting corruption. Among Shapiro proudest achievements are pre-indictment resolutions of government allegations without media coverage or significant business disruption for her clients, including last month’s deferred prosecution agreement on behalf of an individual accused of engaging in a multi-million dollar money laundering transaction in bitcoin.

The Women’s White Collar Defense Association

Founded in 1999, the WWCDA is a coalition of women attorneys and other professionals who specialize in the white collar criminal defense field. These women are members of WWCDA chapters around the world and focus their practices on representing corporations, other organizations and individuals facing government enforcement actions (criminal, civil, regulatory, and administrative), and in internal investigations, compliance and ethics matters. Many of the WWCDA chapter members previously served in government positions and in corporate roles. Notable members include former corporate General Counsels and Chief Compliance Officers, as well as former prosecutors and high ranking government officials. More information can be found at http://wwcda.org.

First National Realty Partners, a leading private equity real estate firm, is pleased to announce that Zain A. Naqvi has joined the team as General Counsel and Head of Legal, announced First National Realty Partners.

“Zain A. Naqvi will be overseeing all legal matters as it relates to sales, acquisitions, leasing and financing of FNRP’s portfolio of office and retail properties. Mr. Naqvi brings over a decade of varied and diversified commercial real estate experience, with a focus on acquisitions, sales, investment, commercial financing and leasing transactions, and related litigation. He spent several years practicing in Manhattan at one of New York City’s most prestigious commercial real estate law firms, where he represented some of New York City’s most prominent real estate developers and landlords, including both privately held and publicly traded REITs, in complex real estate transactions and litigations. He furthered his practice in the real estate group of one of New Jersey’s largest law firms, where he concentrated on acquisitions and sales, leasing, and commercial lending.”

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“A Middletown, R.I., man currently serving a term of federal supervised release having been convicted and incarcerated for robbing four banks, admitted in federal court in Providence today to fraudulently seeking more than $4.7 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) forgivable loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act,” released the District of Rhode Island U.S. Attorney’s Office.

“Michael C. Moller, 41, admitted that he applied for and received nearly $600,000 in PPP loans he claimed were to be used to pay employees for a Fall River, MA, businesses he operated, ‘Top Notch Tile.’ FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation agents determined that ‘Top Notch Tile’ was not incorporated with the Massachusetts Secretary of State, nor could investigators locate any tax or bank records for the company.”

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“On Tuesday the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that it fined Affordable Enterprises of Arizona $37.5 million for making at least 2.3 million illegal spoofed telemarketing calls in a 14-month period starting in 2016 in violation of the Truth in Caller ID Act,” reports Kirsten Errick in Law Street Media’s Tech News.

“According to the FCC, the company either used unassigned phone numbers or phone numbers that in most cases ‘belonged to innocent Arizona consumers and placed them in the caller ID of their telemarketing calls.’ As a result of this purported conduct, Affordable Enterprises of Arizona ‘was able to appear to be calling from local phone numbers and to avoid receiving angry callbacks when making spoofed telemarketing calls to sell home improvement and remodeling services.’ Moreover, the FCC stated that the caller ID was manipulated to appear to come from a number not connected to the company. Additionally, calls also came from pre-paid ‘burner phones’. Regardless, Affordable Enterprises of Arizona allegedly spoofed the caller ID, so consumers were not able to correctly identify the caller.”

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“The settlement resolves allegations that Merit Medical Systems engaged in a kickback scheme lasting more than six years to pay healthcare providers to induce use of its products in medical procedures performed on Medicare, Medicaid, and Tricare beneficiaries,” reports Clare Goldsberry in Plastics Today’s Medical News.

“Medical device maker Merit Medical Systems Inc. (MMSI) has agreed to pay $18 million to resolve allegations that it caused the submission of false claims to the Medicare, Medicaid, and Tricare programs by paying kickbacks to physicians and hospitals to induce the use of MMSI products.”

“The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits offering or paying anything of value to induce the referral of items or services covered by Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare, and other federal healthcare programs.”

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Akerman LLP, a top 100 U.S. law firm serving clients across the Americas, welcomes Russell Marcus to the firm’s Corporate Practice Group in Fort Lauderdale. Marcus further strengthens Akerman’s strengths in corporate, M&A, and private equity with experience representing entities in regulated industries, including healthcare organizations, financial services institutions, and governmental agencies.

Marcus’ practice is focused on M&A and private equity transactions with a concentration on transactions involving regulated industries. He has represented public and private companies and private equity funds in numerous transactions. His experience includes mergers, stock and asset acquisitions, and joint ventures. Marcus also regularly advises boards regarding governance and fiduciary duties and consults with governmental agencies. He represents clients in a variety of industries, including healthcare, life sciences, insurance, banking, technology, energy, and manufacturing.

Prior to private practice, Marcus led a career in public economic development and venture capital. As chief of business development for the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, he assisted the Governor of Florida in the advancement of the state’s economic development by administering state and federal programs for local businesses and communities. Marcus later served as president and executive director of Florida Opportunity Fund, Inc., which provides venture capital to emerging Florida companies and entrepreneurs in the early-stage finance ecosystem.

Michael Best is pleased to announce that Leigh Jeter has joined the firm’s Labor and Employment Relations Practice as senior counsel in Chicago. She is the latest hire to the practice coming on the heels of recent addition, Emily Hobbs, as partner in Denver.

Jeter’s litigation experience includes representing public and private sector clients in state and federal courts and administrative agencies across the nation. She has advised on all matters of employment law including investigations involving harassment and violations of company policy, Title VII, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), age discrimination, Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) matters, and related state laws. Her work also includes providing employer trainings on employment issues including the prevention of discrimination and harassment, supervisor best practices, and ADA/FMLA issues.

After working in private practice at Seyfarth Shaw and Clark Baird Smith for nearly a combined two decades, Jeter founded and acted as principal attorney at the Jeter Law Office, where she practiced for nearly three years before moving to LaPointe Law. Additionally, Jeter served as the Director of the Sexual Harassment Prevention Office at Northwestern University, where she investigated harassment complaints across the university and trained staff on issues related to the prevention of harassment and discrimination.

Jeter earned her J.D. from the University of South Carolina School of Law and her B.S. and B.A. from the University of South Carolina-Columbia.

Barnes & Thornburg has added Matthew S. Gibson as a partner in the Intellectual Property Department in its Dallas office. He is the seventh addition to the Intellectual Property Department this year, and his move follows on the heels of Jerry Harris’ addition to the group in Dallas in August.

Gibson is a patent attorney who serves clients in the life science industry pursuing technologies such as gene therapies, cell therapies, immunotherapies, next generation DNA sequencing, and traditional small molecule pharmaceuticals. Gibson’s practice spans the entire life cycle of a patent, from procurement to licensing to defending against validity challenges at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, including inter partes review proceedings.

Gibson also assists clients during the product development or acquisition process by assessing risk associated with competitor IP and analyzing strength of target IP assets. On the enforcement side, Gibson works with his clients to assess the merits of a potential lawsuit and to develop the litigation strategy.

In addition to his patent practice, Gibson also counsels higher education institutions and for-profit companies on their intellectual property policies and routinely provides counsel on trademark-related matters.

Gibson earned his J.D. from the University of Oklahoma College of Law, his Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma, and his B.S. from Oklahoma Christian University.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and just a year after tempering expectations for deal-making, respondents to Dykema’s 16th Annual M&A Outlook Survey are the most optimistic they have been in the 16-year history of the survey.

Seventy-one percent of respondents expect the M&A market to strengthen over the next 12 months, up from 33 percent in 2019, and 87 percent believe M&A activity will increase in the same time frame. The rise in optimism reflects market conditions and a belief from respondents that the worst is behind them – with both financial and strategic buyers seeing opportunity in a hobbled economy. Further, 60 percent of respondents say their outlook for the U.S. economy is positive over the next 12 months

The survey polled senior executives and advisers across the nation, CEOs, CFOs, owners, managing directors and other professionals involved in M&A activity. When asked about the impact this year’s election could have on deal-making, nearly twice as many respondents felt Donald Trump’s reelection would be positive for M&A (61 percent) compared to a Joe Biden victory (34 percent). Sixty-four percent see Republican control of both houses of Congress as the most favorable outcome for M&A; half as many (32 percent) view Democratic control of both houses as positive.

Despite their optimism, deal-makers agreed about several looming issues. Nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of respondents ranked COVID-19 among the three greatest threats; Democrat wins in the presidency (48 percent) and Congress (46 percent) followed in second and third place among top concerns.

The survey yielded several additional significant findings, including:

• Respondents were divided on what would be the single greatest driver of U.S. M&A activity over the next 12 months, with U.S. economic conditions (22 percent), favorable interest rates (22 percent) and availability of capital (20 percent) all vying for the top spot.
• Strategic U.S. buyers saw a resurgence in this year’s survey, ranking atop our list of most influential buyers for the first time since 2017, likely a reflection of our unique economic conditions. Financial U.S. buyers followed closely behind and remain flush with deployable capital.
• Respondents embraced government programs to help businesses survive COVID-19 restrictions and their fallout. The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) proved most popular; 73 percent of respondents say they accepted those loans. Just 8 percent of respondents who worked on deals involving PPP reported failing to close the deal due to the loan – a sign deal-makers were able to navigate potential hurdles involving the outstanding loans.
• Respondents predict the following sectors will see the most M&A activity in the next 12 months: 1) Automotive; 2) Health Care; 3) Technology; 4) Consumer Products; 5) Financial Services. Notably, education jumped to number six in this year’s survey, up nine spots from 2019. Energy dropped from third in 2019 to eighth.
• Europe ranked as the top destination for both inbound and outbound U.S. M&A activity. Central/South America and China ranked second and third for inbound activity, with those two options flipped for outbound.

Survey results are being released at Dykema’s exclusive annual M&A Outlook event on October 27. Get the full report.

“Johnna Spera was appointed senior vice president and general counsel, a position she has held on an interim basis since February,” posts Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority in AviationPros.

“Spera, who served as deputy vice president and deputy general counsel before stepping into the acting general counsel position, brings more than 30 years of experience to her new role as chief legal officer for the Airports Authority. Her selection follows an extensive nationwide search process.”

“After joining the Airports Authority in 2009 as associate general counsel, Spera focused on Phase one of the Silver Line Metrorail construction project. In the 11 years since, she has led the legal efforts for Project Journey, the $1 billion capital improvement project at Reagan National, revised the Airports Authority’s contracting manual, negotiated numerous revenue-producing easements and licenses at both Reagan National and Dulles International airports and handled legal aspects of the Airports Authority’s $236.5 million sale of its western lands parcel at Dulles International.”

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“A judge in Durham County, North Carolina has handed down what may be the nation’s first dispositive ruling in favor of policyholders in a COVID-19 business-interruption lawsuit,” reports Jim Sams in Claims Journal.

“Superior Court Judge Orlando F. Hudson Jr. ruled on Oct. 7 that closure orders that restricted the use of a group of 16 restaurants in the Raleigh-Durham area constituted a ‘direct physical loss’ that was covered by the policy.”

“According to a litigation tracker maintained by the University of Pennsylvania law school, as of Thursday 1,183 lawsuits have been filed seeking coverage from insurers for business income losses caused by coronavirus closure orders. Judges have granted insurers’ motions to dismiss in 26 cases, but have denied dismissal motions in 12 cases, including the Durham County lawsuit, according to the university’s data.”

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“Former Portsmouth, Ohio, city council member and attorney Michael Mearan was arrested today on human trafficking, racketeering and related charges,” reports staff in Cincinnati.com The Enquirer.

“Mearan, 74, is charged with nine counts of promoting prostitution, five counts of compelling prostitution, three counts of trafficking in person and one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activities.”

“All the charges are felonies … Mearan faces more than 70 years in prison if convicted.”

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“The international investment bank Goldman Sachs agreed to pay $2.9 billion and admit wrongdoing for its involvement in the plundering of an economic development fund meant to benefit Malaysia, under the terms of a settlement announced Thursday by the U.S. Justice Department,” reports Pete Williams in NBC News’ U.S. News.

“Instead of helping develop Malaysia’s economy, the fund’s overseers embezzled roughly $4 billion and bought real estate in Beverly Hills and New York, yachts, a jet and works by Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet, prosecutors said. Some of the money, they said, was used to cover gambling debts at Las Vegas casinos and to help finance the hit movie, ‘The Wolf of Wall Street.'”

“Goldman agreed to pay a penalty and to give back the millions in fees it earned from its work in arranging bonds for the fund managers. Goldman admitted that two former executives participated in an agreement to pay $1.6 billion in bribes to help secure the business.”

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“Remote work is here to stay. The shift from in-person office work to working from home has been dramatic, and the data and commentators suggest it may be permanent. Employers, therefore, need to develop thoughtful telecommuting options and employment policies to go with them,” write Jeff MacHarg and Beau Howard, Partners at Fox Rothschild in HR Daily Advisor.

“For companies with workers in other states, the work-from-home (WFH) scenario creates a risk of defending lawsuits in unfamiliar and distant courts. To prevent this, employers must understand the legal concept of ‘personal jurisdiction’ and the specific steps they can take to avoid litigating in an employee’s home court.”

Read these strategies to help establish and maintain a home court advantage.

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“The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently released updated guidance for both employers and employees addressing common questions related to COVID-19 and the federal employment laws. The update pulled together information from other agency resources, modified two existing questions and answers, and added 18 new ones,” reports Samuel Jackson of Perkins Coie LLP in HR Daily Advisor.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted employers’ normal operations in virtually every way, but it’s important for you to stay abreast of the EEOC’s guidance on employment laws during this challenging time. The agency’s recent update clarified:

• You may conduct coronavirus screening tests and inquiries to all employees returning to the workplace, but you must have a reasonable belief that an individual has COVID-19 or its symptoms if you wish to conduct a test or make inquiries to the person.
• To the extent possible, you must keep confidential all medical information about employees, including COVID-19 details.
• Finally, if employees request a reasonable accommodation, you must engage in the interactive process by discussing what they need and the reasons why.”

Learn the key takeaways for employers and HR pros.

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