Foley & Lardner LLP today released a guide for employers entitled, Best Practices for Returning to Work in a Vaccinated World.

For more than a year, the world has reacted to and adjusted for COVID-19. Now, with the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines, there is light at the end of the tunnel and individuals and companies can start moving forward and planning for a new normal. As companies in all industries have undoubtedly been affected, employers must remain cognizant of various issues as offices and facilities reopen and employees return to work.

Foley’s guide covers the following key issues for employers to consider as they create or update their policies and practices in conjunction with a thorough analysis of all applicable laws, ordinances, and guidance.

• A Revised Understanding of COVID-19: One Year Later
• Considerations for Reopening
• Preparing for Reopening a Facility
• Working with Employees
• Vaccinations
• Indemnification Laws/Developments
• Operating in a Changing Regulatory Environment

The report was prepared by attorneys in Foley’s Labor & Employment practice, including Krista Cabrera, Sarah Guo, Carrie Hoffman, Daniel Kaplan, Jeffrey Kopp, John Litchfield, John Lord Jr., Jessica Glatzer Mason, Mark Neuberger and Rachel Powitzky Steely.

Read the report.

ORLANDO, Fla. – March 31, 2021 – Top 100 U.S. law firm Akerman LLP today announced Litigation Partner Carrie Ann Wozniak has been appointed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to serve as Judge on Florida’s Fifth District Court of Appeal. She fills the judicial vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Richard Orfinger.

After a clerkship with the Florida Supreme Court, Wozniak began her legal career at Akerman in 2007 and has been an integral part of the firm’s national Litigation Practice Group ever since. Board certified by the Florida Bar in Appellate Practice, she is also a member of Akerman’s Appellate Practice, where she represents clients in appellate litigation at the state and federal levels, as well as in commercial litigation in the trial courts. She also serves as general counsel to the Florida Bankers Association, where she assists with drafting, revising, and commenting on myriad banking legislation and issues.

Wozniak has served as Vice Chair of the Fifth District Court of Appeal Judicial Nominating Commission via nomination by the Florida Bar and appointment by previous Governor Rick Scott, and as a member of the Florida Bar’s Appellate Practice Section Executive Council, Appellate Rules Committee, and Appellate Practice Board Certification Committee. A fierce advocate in the community as well, Wozniak is past chair of Akerman’s Community Impact Team in Orlando, and her work on behalf of abused and neglected children earned her the Orange County Bar Association’s Elizabeth Susan Khoury Guardian Ad Litem Award of Excellence in 2016.

Wozniak received her B.A. with honors from the University of Michigan in 2002 and a J.D. cum laude from Stetson University College of Law in 2004.

Brightflag, the A.I.-powered legal spend management and matter management platform, today announced the hiring of John Joyce as Vice President of Alliances. This appointment will accelerate the company’s plans to strengthen its partner community and present in-house legal teams with comprehensive solutions to their evolving business needs.

Having most recently led business development for document management and e-signature provider PandaDoc, Joyce brings more than 20 years of experience building strategic alliances with leading companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Salesforce, and Intuit. He will now lead Brightflag’s global alliances strategy, simultaneously advancing existing relationships and driving new partner development.

Brightflag partners with a wide variety of strategic experts, such as UpLevel Ops, Mosaic Consulting, and Norton Rose Fulbright, and software providers, such as Coupa and Okta, to build compelling, fully-integrated customer experiences that deliver more value to all parties.

Raleigh, N.C. – Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP is pleased to announce that Michael Goldsticker has joined the firm’s Raleigh office as counsel. Goldsticker is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney with significant experience in large-scale investigations, and he strengthens Parker Poe’s Business Litigation Team.

Goldsticker concentrates his practice on business litigation, white collar criminal defense, and government and internal investigations. He has tried numerous cases as a prosecutor and on behalf of businesses and individuals before juries and arbitration panels throughout the country.

Prior to joining Parker Poe, Goldsticker served as a federal prosecutor in the District of Maryland, overseeing sweeping investigations into violations of federal criminal laws, including those involving corruption and money laundering. Earlier in his career, Goldsticker was a litigator at Williams & Connolly in Washington, D.C., where he focused on complex civil litigation and criminal defense.

Goldsticker joins Parker Poe’s Business Litigation Team, which has extensive experience representing clients before state and federal courts, governmental agencies, and national and international arbitration panels. The firm’s trial attorneys have decades of first-chair experience and a proven track record of resolving disputes across a broad array of industries, including energy, financial services, health care, insurance, life sciences, manufacturing, real estate, and technology. Goldsticker is licensed to practice law in the District of Columbia.

“… a trend that was started by Willkie on Friday, March 19, 2021 (offering between $7,500 and $40,000), and quickly one-upped by Davis Polk on Monday, March 22, 2021 (offering between $12,000 and $64,000) — many firms quickly fell in line and matched the generous scale,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above the Law’s Biglaw.

Above the Law has compiled a comparison table of “special bonus scale, the minimum hours required to receive those bonuses (if available), and the date those bonuses will be paid.

Read the article.

“Global law firm Hogan Lovells has opened a Legal Service Center (LSC) in the firm’s Louisville office. The LSC provides dedicated services to the Corporate & Finance practice with an initial focus on due diligence analysis and review services. The LSC is co-located with the firm’s existing Global Business Service team,” reports Hogan Lovells in their Press Releases.

“The LSC currently has a team of five dedicated to providing legal services related to corporate and finance matters. The team is led by Robert Fleu, who joined the firm in May 2020, and has 20 years of combined experience in-house and at an Am Law 200 law firm. Hogan Lovells expects to grow the team at the LSC over time to meet increasing client needs.”

“Currently focused on providing due diligence support for M&A, capital markets, and other transactional matters, the team plans to add additional capabilities to support all of the core practices of the firm’s Corporate & Finance practice. These will include areas such as fund formation, finance, bankruptcy, private equity, and venture capital.”

Read the article.

“A new pair of bonuses recently introduced by Big Law to reward and retain associates may not be enough to keep them in their seats in a hot job market and amid what recruiters call increasing lawyer burnout,” reports Meghan Tribe in Bloomberg Law’s US Law Week.

“Willkie Farr & Gallagher and Davis Polk & Wardwell kicked off the new bonus race earlier this month, offering up to $64,000 per attorney.”

“Through March 29, more than 20 Big Law firms have matched this “special bonus” scale, including Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Cooley, Fenwick & West, Latham & Watkins, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, and Cravath, Swaine & Moore. Kirkland & Ellis is among a number of Big Law firms that have yet to announce a match.”

“The case for bonuses is simple: Big Law business is booming, particularly in the corporate space, and extra cash could help recruit and retain associates. On the other side of the equation is the lure of a hot job market and burnout from the heaviest workloads firms have faced in recent memory, along with personal pressures caused by Covid-19.”

Read the article.

“McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) announced today that Desiree Ralls-Morrison has been named the company’s General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, overseeing global legal operations and corporate governance. Ralls-Morrison will start on April 26, 2021 and will be based at the company’s Chicago headquarters in the West Loop,” announced McDonald’s in their press releases.

“Ralls-Morrison most recently served as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Boston Scientific Corporation, a world leader of innovative medical solutions.”

“Prior to Boston Scientific Corporation, Ralls-Morrison served as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Boehringer Ingelheim USA, Inc., and General Counsel of the Consumer Group at Johnson & Johnson. Ralls-Morrison currently serves on the Board of Directors for DICK’S Sporting Goods, Inc. and was previously a Director for The Partnership, Inc., whose mission is to ensure the economic competitiveness of the Boston area by attracting, retaining and convening professionals of color. Desiree was also a Founding Member of The New Commonwealth Racial Equity and Social Justice Fund in Massachusetts.”

Read the release.

New York (March 29, 2021) – Barnes & Thornburg is pleased to announce the arrival of Catherine Turgeon as a partner in the firm’s Private Investment Funds and Asset Management practice in New York.

Turgeon advises private investment funds and other financial investors in a broad range of U.S. and offshore investment and financing transactions, including private equity transactions, venture capital and growth equity investments, mergers and acquisitions, convertible instruments, private investments in public equity (PIPEs), special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), joint ventures and other specialized investment structures. She also counsels clients on general corporate and regulatory matters.

Before joining the firm, Turgeon practiced for 18 years at the financial services boutique Richards Kibbe & Orbe LLP (now known as Kibbe & Orbe LLP).

Turgeon has advised clients on investments and transactions in a wide range of industries, including life sciences, biotechnology, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, automotive technology, data technology, energy, finance, online platforms, insurance solutions, social media and software.

Turgeon earned her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School, magna cum laude, and her B.S. from Penn State University.

Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery LLP will present a free webinar, “Using Persuasion Techniques to Achieve Litigation Success: Part Two,” featuring Fitch Even partners Karl R. Fink, Nikki Little, and Timothy P. Maloney.

The webinar will take place on Thursday, April 22, 2021, at 9:00 am PDT / 10:00 am MDT / 11:00 am CDT / 12 noon EDT. Register.

During this webinar, we continue our discussion of how the persuasion techniques ethos, pathos, and logos can be effectively used during intellectual property litigation. In Part One, we explored how these persuasion concepts can be applied when developing case themes, building a litigation team, and selecting and preparing fact witnesses.

In Part Two, we’ll explore compelling ways to leverage the concepts of ethos, pathos, and logos in other aspects of litigation, including these:
• Expert witness selection and reports
• Written and oral communications with the court
• Trial

CLE credit has been approved for California, Illinois, and Nebraska. Other states may also award CLE credit upon attendee request.

Following the live event, a recording of the webinar will be available to view for one year at www.fitcheven.com.

Blank Rome Formally Announces Its National Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) Team

Blank Rome LLP is pleased to formally announce its national Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) Team. This multi-disciplinary group is comprised of more than 25 attorneys from across the firm’s offices and practices who have been advising clients for decades in the areas of environmental compliance and management; natural resources and responsible energy development; human capital management; socially responsible, sustainable, and impact investing; capital markets; and governance best practices. The collective ESG Team officially launched last year and has been helping clients navigate emerging ESG issues, identify ESG risks and opportunities, and develop ESG strategies and programs.

Blank Rome’s multi-service ESG Team practices in the corporate and securities, mergers and acquisitions, investment management, energy, environmental, labor and employment, maritime, privacy and data security, real estate, and regulatory and litigation areas, and advises clients on a broad range of ESG matters, including:

• Program strategy, design, and implementation
• Investor engagement, shareholder communications, and reporting
• Corporate governance best practices, board of directors’ agenda, and oversight of risk management
• Disclosures and enforcement actions
• Environmental management and compliance
• Climate change, including regulations, disclosures, protocols, and insurance coverage
• Renewable energy, including energy consumption, power purchase agreements, and leases
• Investment management and ESG, sustainable and impact investing
• Considerations for specific industries, including oil and gas, chemicals, financial services, and life sciences
• Creation and operation of ESG funds and special purpose acquisition companies (“SPACs”)
• Mergers and acquisitions, including environmental compliance and liability and transactional due diligence
• Human capital management
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion leadership and competency
• Remote workplace considerations

About Blank Rome

Blank Rome is an Am Law 100 firm with 14 offices and more than 600 attorneys and principals who provide comprehensive legal and advocacy services to clients operating in the United States and around the world. Our professionals have built a reputation for their leading knowledge and experience across a spectrum of industries, and are recognized for their commitment to pro bono work in their communities. Since our inception in 1946, Blank Rome’s culture has been dedicated to providing top-level service to all of our clients, and has been rooted in the strength of our diversity and inclusion initiatives. For more information, please visit blankrome.com.

Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has released the Inaugural Report of Littler’s Global Workplace Transformation Initiative. The report provides a detailed analysis of how the workplace is changing and addresses the litany of novel issues created for employers worldwide.

This is the first report from Littler’s newly formalized Global Workplace Transformation Initiative, which enables employers to capture the benefits of the technological revolution sweeping through today’s workplaces while mitigating the risks. The initiative, which evolved from Littler’s Robotics, AI and Automation practice group, integrates the full range of the firm’s global capabilities to provide the resources employers need to manage complex workforce issues and thrive in a rapidly changing landscape.

The report serves a critical resource for organizations as they develop policies and best practices to succeed in this new landscape, including examining:

• The technology-induced displacement of employment (TIDE™) and the need to provide workers with the skills, training and resources to adapt, which is an area where Littler has long been a thought leader through its role as co-founder of the Emma Coalition.

• The wide-ranging legal and operational impacts of the move to more permanent remote work, such as deploying AI to augment recruiting, complying with state and local employment laws and tax-related issues when employees work from a state where the company does not do business, and data-security challenges.

• The integration of robotics and automation technologies in the workplace and the associated legal issues, such as health and safety standards and employee privacy.

• How businesses are restructuring in the wake of workforce transformation.

• The evolution of litigation trends in an increasingly digital workplace.

• The importance of evolving approaches to improving inclusion, equity and diversity.

• The global implications of these significant changes.

Littler’s Global Workplace Transformation Initiative brings together the insight of the more than 1,600 attorneys across the firm’s global platform. In addition to building on the firm’s Robotics, AI and Automation practice, the initiative integrates numerous practice areas and capabilities involved in the transformation of the workplace, including:

• Business Restructuring and M&A
• COVID-19 Task Force
• Data Analytics
• Discrimination and Harassment
• Inclusion, Equity and Diversity Consulting
• Labor Management Relations
• Leaves of Absence and Disability Accommodation
• Staffing, Independent Contractors and Contingent Workers
• Wage and Hour
• Workplace Policy Institute
• Workplace Privacy and Data Security
• Workplace Safety and Health

Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C., is pleased to announce that Kathy H. Butler, an Officer and leader of the firm’s Health Care practice and industry groups, has been named to the leadership group for a new women’s initiative launched by global law firms network Meritas.

Greensfelder President and Chief Executive Officer Kevin T. McLaughlin said, “We congratulate Kathy on her new leadership role and her continued support of the mission of Meritas and its commitment to diverse representation in the legal community.”

Butler is one of 10 members of the Meritas Women’s Leadership Congress Leadership Council whose mission is to create a path to leadership for the women of Meritas by providing more visibility and engagement opportunities through knowledge-sharing, mentoring and skills-building. The group will boost interactions among member firms to promote diversity and inclusion as an important part of recruiting and retention, business development, and the elevation of women leaders.

Butler has been an active leader within Meritas for many years, most recently serving as chair of the organization’s U.S. Leadership Committee. She also has served on the network’s board of directors and the board’s executive committee.

Butler is one of Greensfelder’s primary liaisons to Meritas, of which the firm is a longtime member and the exclusive Meritas law firm in the St. Louis metropolitan area. Greensfelder’s membership offers the firm’s clients access to the experience and legal knowledge of the nearly 200 business law firms in 90 countries worldwide that belong to Meritas.

Butler is the second Greensfelder attorney this year to be selected to help lead new Meritas initiatives on diversity and inclusion. Greensfelder Chief Diversity Officer Christopher A. Pickett recently was named to the Leadership Council for the newly formed Meritas Black Lawyers Forum.

Venable LLP is pleased to announce that Virgil R. Montgomery has joined the firm as a partner in the Construction Law Group in the Chicago office. Montgomery was part of the initial group of attorneys from Schiff Hardin who joined Venable in December 2020. Montgomery draws on a lifetime of experience in construction. His practice is divided between project development, procurement, project controls, project monitoring and evaluation, and dispute resolution through mediation, arbitration, and litigation.

Montgomery has drafted and provided key assistance in the preparation of contracts ranging in value up to several billion dollars for construction projects on behalf of owners, contractors, energy, and infrastructure clients. He has advised clients during the development and negotiation phase and works closely with project participants to develop detailed evaluations of scope, bidding, and schedule issues. His vast experience includes projects involving major urban developments, light rail, transportation, breweries, selective catalytic reduction systems, flue gas desulfurization systems, nuclear facilities, heat recovery steam generators, alternative energy projects, sewage treatment facilities, steam and gas turbines, and other new and emerging technologies. Montgomery regularly mediates, arbitrates, and litigates matters concerning a variety of construction disputes, including performance issues, delays, scope of work issues, and rate disputes. He also utilizes his considerable experience to assist clients in developing project analysis, project controls and risk mitigation strategies.

Montgomery received his J.D. from Harvard Law School and his B.A. in History and Political Science from the University of Colorado.

MILWAUKEE – Foley & Lardner LLP announced that Matthew Krueger has joined the firm’s Government Enforcement Defense & Investigations Practice Group as a partner in its Milwaukee and Washington, D.C. offices. Krueger is a former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin with an extensive background in prosecuting health care fraud and other government enforcement matters, the primary focus of his practice.

As the former chief federal law enforcement official for 28 Wisconsin counties, Krueger supervised all criminal and civil litigation involving the United States in that district. Under his leadership, the office successfully prosecuted high-profile cases involving national security, cybercrime, public corruption, health care fraud, financial crime, PPP fraud and other offenses. As U.S. Attorney, Krueger formed a dedicated health care fraud unit and increased its focus on data analytics, leading to a rise in enforcement matters. Krueger also led efforts with the FBI to advise businesses on how to mitigate the risk of and respond to cyber intrusions.

Krueger previously worked as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the same district in both the criminal and civil divisions. While in the criminal division, he prosecuted cases from investigation through trial and appeal involving health care fraud, tax offenses, investment fraud and government program fraud. Krueger handled multiple jury trials, argued numerous appeals in the Seventh Circuit, and led the investigation and prosecution of a $9 million green energy investment fraud. While in the civil division, he handled the investigation and litigation of various False Claims Act matters.

Prior to his time with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Krueger was a litigation and appellate associate at Sidley Austin LLP in Washington, D.C.

State previously denied subsurface mining in the area

RAPID CITY, S.D. – Historic photographs from the 1960s provide evidence the state of South Dakota operated a second mine beneath portions of the Black Hawk area that began to collapse in April 2020, leaving homes in the Hideaway Hills subdivision worthless.

The photos, taken by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other agencies, contradict state claims it conducted surface mining only. They also demonstrate that the whole neighborhood may be in danger of collapse, not just the portion that has done so already.

“We have been digging to find these pictures, and what they show is the state was doing plenty of digging too – underground, in the northwest part of the subdivision” says Kathleen Barrow of Fox Rothschild, who is seeking class action status in a lawsuit on behalf of 300 homeowners against the state. “This is further proof that the state of South Dakota is responsible for the danger my clients are facing and the damage to their homes and neighborhood.”

The photos show a mine entrance in the side of a cliff not far from where the state was also conducting surface mining.

“It’s pretty obvious it’s some kind of entrance to underground workings,” says Nick Anderson, a geologist in Rapid City. “What we can see in the photos matches testing we’ve done with electric conductivity and resistivity and other technology indicating voids beneath the surface.”

The photos also corroborate anecdotal evidence collected from older residents, who remember exploring the mine entrance in the northwest portion of Hideaway Hills when they were children.

For generations, the state operated gypsum mines throughout the region and still owns the subsurface and mineral rights. The lawsuit charges the state failed to properly remediate and maintain unstable land after the mining operation was shuttered in the early 1990s and surface property was sold to builders who developed Hideaway Hills. Homeowners were not informed of the hidden dangers to the land and their homes caused by the state’s mining activity and neglect, Ms. Barrow said.

Large sinkholes – collapsing mine cavities – that opened last year forced some Hideaway Hills homeowners to evacuate. Houses in the neighborhood cannot be sold as values have dropped to zero.

The state contends it is not responsible for the destruction, even though a trust fund created with revenue generated from the mining operation is now valued at over $330 million.

The case is Andrew Morse and John and Emily Clarke et al. v. State of South Dakota et al., No. 46CIV-20-000295 in the Circuit Court, 4^th Judicial District, County of Meade, South Dakota.

For more information on Fox Rothschild, visit foxrothschild.com.

“Day Pitney LLP announced that it will expand its East Coast presence through a merger with Rhode Island-based law firm Howland Evangelista Kohlenberg LLP, a dedicated trusts and estates boutique handling complex and sophisticated planning, probate and trust matters for high net worth individuals and families. Nine attorneys, including name partners Renée A. R. Evangelista and A. Max Kohlenberg, will join the firm’s Individual Clients department, growing its ranks to nearly 80 attorneys, once the merger is completed effective July 1, 2021,” announced Day Pitney in their Press Releases.

“The combined firm will retain the Providence office and all personnel of Howland Evangelista Kohlenberg. The attorneys joining Day Pitney have experience in estate planning, estate settlement and trusteeship. Evangelista, admitted in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island, handles sophisticated estate planning and implements estate settlement techniques to save clients gift, estate and income taxes, while ensuring that their property passes according to their wishes. Kohlenberg, admitted in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, focuses on complex estate and trust planning, with particular emphasis on representing multigenerational family groups, professionals, executives and owners of closely held businesses.”

Read the announcement.

“Famed plaintiffs attorney Tom Girardi is on the hook for at least $56.8 million, according to the Chapter 7 trustee overseeing his estate,” reports David Thomas in Thomson Reuters Westlaw Today.

“In a 64-page report filed in Los Angeles bankruptcy court on Wednesday, Chapter 7 trustee Jason Rund of Sheridan & Rund, detailed the parties that have claims against the attorney, who was stripped of his law license earlier this month after a state court appointed his brother to manage his legal and financial affairs.”

“Girardi’s creditors include other law firms and litigation funders. The report doesn’t detail the circumstances surrounding the alleged debts. Rund and Robert Girardi’s attorney in the proceedings, Leonard Penda, did not respond to requests for comment.”

Read the article.

“Way back in September 2020, when Biglaw firms were busy rolling back their COVID austerity measures, one firm decided to offer a sign of hope for all associates. After surviving salary cuts, furloughs, and sometimes even layoffs, their firms really did appreciate all of the hard work they were putting in during the pandemic,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above the Law’s Biglaw.

“Cooley — a firm that hadn’t announced any compensation cuts — stepped up and offered special bonuses ranging from $2,500 to $7,500 for all associates and counsel. Of course, Davis Polk upped the ante (just like the firm did this spring), but Cooley deserves all the credit in the world. Now, the firm is here to match Davis Polk once again.”

Read the article.

“Fox Corporation … announced the appointment of Jeff A. Taylor as General Counsel. Taylor, who joined FOX in 2019 as Executive Vice President and Chief Litigation Counsel, will oversee the Company’s legal function. Claudia Teran will remain Executive Vice President and Corporate General Counsel, as well as General Counsel of FOX Sports. Both Taylor and Teran will continue to report to Chief Legal and Policy Officer Viet D. Dinh,” announced Fox Corporation in their corporate press releases.

“Before joining FOX, Taylor served as Deputy General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer for General Motors Co., and as the General Counsel of Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems. Taylor served more than 15 years in the federal government, including as the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia from 2006 to 2009, Counselor to the Attorney General, Counsel to the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, and Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of California. Taylor holds a B.A. in history from Stanford University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He currently serves on the Board of the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles.”

Read the announcement.