(June 8, 2023) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has been named the Top Firm for Diversity in the Yale Law Women+ (YLW+) Top Firms Report 2023. Through the report, YLW+ aims to raise awareness of inequities within the legal profession and highlight the progress being made in the industry. YLW+ honors individual firms for excelling in categories that relate to overall workplace equity. Littler also received an honorable mention in the Advancement category.

“We take great pride in our culture that prioritizes inclusion, equity and diversity (IE&D), and we are thrilled to receive this recognition from YLW+ for our ongoing efforts,” said Erin Webber, Littler’s managing director and president, and Paul Bateman, Chief Inclusion, Equity & Diversity Officer, in a joint statement. “This recognition underscores the importance of cultivating a workplace where individuals are empowered to succeed. Through our intentional IE&D initiatives, we strive to provide an environment where attorneys can achieve their careers goals, from leadership to partnership and everything in between.”

Littler was selected for the Diversity award based on an assessment of the firm’s overall attorney diversity, hiring and retention outcomes and initiatives (such as summer diversity programs), and diverse representation in firm leadership.

The report noted that “Littler excels in attracting and, more importantly, retaining diverse attorney. The firm is also a leader when it comes to promoting diverse attorneys to leadership positions.”

In the Advancement category, Littler was rated based on training, mentorship, and review policies, with a focus on how the firm creates equitable opportunities for associates to interact with supervisors and shareholders. Additionally, how Littler facilitates advancement opportunities for diverse attorneys, such as through affinity networks and promotion outcomes, was also considered.

Littler supports the development and advancement of women and diverse attorneys at every level of the firm through several innovative and meaningful IE&D initiatives, including its award-winning Career Advocacy Program, SOAR Program, Women’s Leadership Initiative and affinity groups, among others. As a result, numerous attorneys serving in firm leadership positions – including on the firm’s board of directors, as office managing shareholders and as practice and industry group chairs – identify as women or diverse. Additionally, 100% of the members serving on Littler’s Management Committee, the firm’s highest governing body, are women or diverse.

Over the past year, Littler has received several other recognitions for its diversity efforts, including recently being named one of the top five best law firms for women and diversity by Seramount. A full list of the firm’s accolades, as well as a comprehensive overview of Littler’s ongoing IE&D programming and initiatives can be found in the firm’s 2022 Inclusion, Equity and Diversity Annual Report and on Littler.com.

About Littler

With more than 1,700 labor and employment attorneys in offices around the world, Littler provides workplace solutions that are local, everywhere. Our diverse global team and proprietary technology foster a culture that celebrates original thinking, delivering groundbreaking innovation that prepares employers for what’s happening today, and what’s likely to happen tomorrow. For more information, visit www.littler.com.

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Tampa, Fla., June 2, 2023 –RumbergerKirk partner Rob Blank has been selected to join the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), a national organization of experienced trial lawyers and judges. The organization and its members are dedicated to protecting and promoting the right to a civil jury trial as provided by the Seventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and preserving the independence of the judiciary.

Blank joins fellow RumbergerKirk partners Bud Kirk, Dan Gerber and Scott Sarason as members of this distinguished, invitation-only organization. Members must have a minimum of five years of active experience as a trial lawyer, tried at least 10 civil jury trials to conclusion and practice with civility, integrity and professionalism.

“I am deeply honored to be invited into ABOTA. This is an organization which shares the exact same values I have always strived to achieve as a trial lawyer,” said Blank. “I have admired the local ABOTA lawyers and judges throughout my career and am thrilled to now be a part of this select group of professionals,” he added.

Blank, a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer, concentrates his practice in the defense of product liability and casualty cases. He defends automobile manufacturers, industrial equipment manufacturers, power tool manufacturers, commercial food equipment manufacturers and beverage companies against claims of alleged product defect resulting in catastrophic injury and/or wrongful death. He also defends theme parks, water parks, trucking companies, beverage companies, retailers and other businesses against various tort claims.

“In an era when civil trials are becoming less frequent, Rob continues to take cases to trial with excellent results for his clients. He has built a robust trial practice over the last 30 years and his amazing success is a result of his extraordinary work ethic and dedication to his clients,” said Frank Sheppard, managing partner at RumbergerKirk.

Learn more about ABOTA

RumbergerKirk provides litigation and counseling services in a wide range of civil practice areas including product liability, commercial litigation, construction, real estate, intellectual property litigation, securities litigation, labor and employment law, bankruptcy, insurance coverage, professional liability and administrative law. Offices are located in Orlando, Tampa, Miami, Tallahassee and Birmingham, Alabama.

“One question I’ve asked lawyers is whether Big Law’s outstanding financial performance in 2021 was a historical anomaly or the result of a secular shift that bolstered large law firm business prospects. Most people I’ve spoken to believe the former. The typical story is Big Law benefited from,” reports Roy Strom in Bloomberg Law.

“Unprecedented financial conditions caused by the response to the pandemic. The industry’s biggest profit machine teams of lawyers working on M&A and capital markets transactions went into hyperdrive. As that machine winds down, Big Law will go back to its more routine, longer-term trajectory. That camp will likely see Big Law’s first half.”

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“Latham & Watkins LLP¹ is pleased to announce that Colin Stretch, Facebook Inc.’s now Meta Platforms, Inc. General Counsel from 2013-2019, has joined the firm’s Washington, D.C. office as Of Counsel, with a focus on the Public Company Representation and Emerging Companies Practices. He will,” reports PR Newswire in their blog.

“We are honored to welcome such a distinguished and outstanding talent to the firm, said Daniel Lennon, Office Managing Partner of Latham & Watkins’ Washington, D.C. office. Colin is a superb strategist with exceptional regulatory, litigation, and corporate governance experience, and he will prove an asset to clients addressing.”

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“Brad Pitt and his Make It Right Foundation, who were sued in 2018 over shoddy homes they built in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, settled their lawsuit for $20.5 million. The preliminary settlement, which still needs to be approved by a judge, will be funded by Global Green, an environmental non,” reports Jessica Bennett in Page Six.

“Has agreed to cover the settlement which will rectify the defects on the homes. According to The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate, the program’s 107 homeowners will be eligible to receive $25,000 each as reimbursement for previous repairs. I am incredibly grateful for Global Green’s willingness to step up and provide.”

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“Capital One’s infamous 2019 data breach exposed the personal information of more than 100 million people and resulted in a class-action lawsuit that’s been tentatively settled to the tune of $190 million. Plaintiffs in the case claim a hacker never would have been able to break into Capital One’s cloud computing,” reports Dan Avery in CNET.

“Which were hosted on Amazon Web Services, if the company had taken adequate cybersecurity measures. In their complaint, they allege Capital One “knew of the particular security vulnerabilities that permitted the data breach, but still failed” to protect customers, putting millions at risk for fraud and identity theft. Neither Capitol One.”

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“Here at Above the Law, we’ve spent the past week or two discussing what makes Biglaw associates satisfied with their jobs. From their compensation to their firm’s commitment to their career development to their interaction with partners, there’s a whole lot at play when it comes to keeping associates,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above The Law.

“As part of the American Lawyer’s Midlevel Associates Survey, firms were assessed on several aspects of job satisfaction and graded on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest score. For the city-by-city satisfaction ranking, firms were rated by location listing which associates are most satisfied across a particular city. As noted by Am Law.”

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“NYSE-listed RE/MAX Holdings, parent company of RE/MAX and Motto Mortgage, has promoted Susie Winders to become general counsel, chief compliance officer and corporate secretary. Winders most recently was vice president, assistant general counsel for RE/MAX, managing its legal department,” reports Ben Maiden in Corporate Secretary.

“Litigation teams and overseeing elements of the compliance program. In her new role, she leads the legal and contracts departments, which handle corporate governance and compliance, trademark and advertising, franchising, M&A contracts and licensing litigation privacy and employment matters. RE/MAX is one the largest US franchisor.”

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“A California Superior Court judge recently preliminarily approved a $100 million settlement in connection with a class action brought on behalf of a class of current and former female employees at video game studio Riot Games. The lawsuit, filed in 2018 after an expose into so called bro culture at Riot,” reports Aimee Bierman in JD Supra.

“Asserted that the company discriminated against female employees when it promoted men more than women and demoted women who were similarly qualified to their male counterparts, and subjected women to a hostile work environment. The named plaintiffs, Melanie McCracken a then-current employee and Jessica Negron a former.”

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“Last year, Apple agreed to pay retail workers in California $30 million to settle a lawsuit over its bag check policy. That settlement has now been approved by a US District Court judge and will see workers receive an average payment of $1,328 while the lawyers in the case will rake in $10 million,” reports Chance Miller in 9 To 5 Mac.

“This has been an incredibly long-running lawsuit, with employees first filing the class action suit against Apple in 2013. According to the employees, Apple forced retail employees to search before leaving for the day, including searches of their bags, purses, backpacks, brief cases, and personal Apple devices. Apple claimed that the searches.”

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“Fuel is not energy. Fuel is a valuable material. Energy is an abstract concept (the ability to do work) until it is combined with time. Then energy becomes valuable power. It is possible to generate power by burning fuel, but it’s becoming more affordable to generate power from sunlight, wind, water and other,” reports Fred Horch in Barrons.

“As the owner of a mechanical contracting firm, I’m seeing a growing number of companies get on the pathway to 100% clean energy, transitioning from thermal engines and furnaces that burn fuel to electric motors and heat pumps powered by renewable energy. This has implications for long-term investors, because many people.”

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“Barcelona midfield prodigy Gavi will celebrate his 18th birthday tomorrow, August 5. The teenage sensation has enjoyed a memorable past twelve months, having been plucked out of La Masia and pushed into the first-team setup at Camp Nou and he has made the most of his opportunity, establishing,” reports Michel Durant in Barca Universal.

“Himself as one of the most exciting young prospects in the game of football currently. Not only is Gavi a mainstay in the Barcelona midfield, but he has also established a foothold in the Spanish national team. Rated as one of the brightest prospects to have come through the ranks at Barça in recent years, Gavi is in the final year of his contract.”

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“Last week we went through the league’s best and worst contracts, but that was only the tip of the iceberg a sneak peek toward a much larger outlook. It’s now time to look at every contract through the same lens. The best and worst contracts are usually the most interesting especially the worst, but those,” reports  Dom Luszczyszyn in The Athletic.

“Teasers for a grander scale project where the league is graded on a whole according to their contract efficiency. It follows the same criteria as the best and worst contracts: How much surplus value will the deal provide and what’s the likelihood of providing positive value? That likelihood is important as nothing is a guarantee in this sport.”

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“Graduating From Petsmart’s Grooming Academy early last year should have been a proud day for animal lover BreAnn Scally. It offered a path into full-time work with animals and brought her a step closer to her dream of opening her own animal sanctuary. It also propelled her into a protracted,” reports Caitlin Harrington in Wired.

“On its website and in job postings and tweets, PetSmart promoted the training as a perk of employment that provided close supervision working with 200 different dogs in its FREE, paid Grooming Academy an exclusive 4 week, 160-hour-long program that is valued up to $6,000! But according to a lawsuit filed against PetSmart.”

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“The dog days of summer are here, and for those who are working at Biglaw firms that adopted a “remote August” plan, the clock is ticking on their full-time work-from-home flexibility. Earlier this week, one of the top firms in the nation emailed all of its associates to let them know just how little time,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above The Law.

“Skadden Arps a firm that came in at No. 5 on the most recent Am Law 100 ranking after bringing in $3,022,380,000 gross revenue in 2021 has permitted all of its attorneys to work remotely this month, but once September rolls around, things will look a little different for the firm. Executive partner Eric Friedman noted.”

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“The University of Iowa is bringing back to campus a former deputy general counsel who for the last year has been advising colleges, including the UI, on issues like sexual misconduct policies and Title IX-related internal investigations to succeed Carroll Reasoner as vice president for legal affairs,” reports Vanessa Millers in The Gazette.

“James D. Jorgensen, who served as UI associate counsel and deputy general counsel from 2006 to 2018, will start as UI general counsel Sept. 30. He’ll earn an annual salary of $385,000. Having earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from Iowa State University, a Juris Doctor from University of Michigan Law School.”

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“A federal judge in California has preliminarily approved a $24 million settlement between the U.S. women’s national soccer team (USWNT) and governing body U.S. Soccer in a years-long dispute over equal pay for female athletes. U.S. Central District of California Judge Gary Klausner granted a motion,” reports Reuters in their blog.

“Approve the landmark settlement filed by the players on Thursday and scheduled a hearing on Dec. 5 when he is expected to give final approval to the settlement. The unopposed settlement agreement accomplishes the plaintiffs goal for litigation equal pay he wrote in his order. The court is satisfied that the settlement is a fair and reasonable.”

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“Las Vegas City Councilwoman Victoria Seaman must be crestfallen. Her best efforts to hand a local developer and political benefactor a bale of money to call off the dogs of litigation over the fate of the former Badlands Golf Course busted out just a day before delivery. Seaman didn’t exactly,” reports John L. Smith in The Nevada Independent.

“In the name of fiscal responsibility, she had what she described as a negotiation with EHB Companies to dismiss with prejudice a series of lawsuits, one of which has gone against the city and is on appeal at the Nevada Supreme Court, in exchange for a package worth at least $64 million. That includes a $49 million. settlement and another.”

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“Earlier this week, we provided special coverage of what we believe was the first firm to hand out special bonuses to associates this summer. Littler, an Am Law 100 firm, handed out special bonuses that averaged $10,000 to eligible associates who were on a 2,100-hour pace at the end of June. It’s been,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above The Law.

“A source at a top Am Law firm reached out to us to let us know why they think this could be. Firms continue to crush associates our tipster said. They want us to feel grateful And what should associates be grateful for? That they’re still employed at the firm, of course. Our informant thinks that Biglaw partners are socking away cash.”

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“James D. Jorgensen, senior counsel at Husch Blackwell LLP in Denver, Colorado, has been named the new vice president for legal affairs and general counsel at the University of Iowa. He is scheduled to begin on Sept. 30. Jorgensen succeeds Carroll Reasoner, who announced in March she would retire,” reports IOWA Now in their blog.

“Jorgensen has been at Husch Blackwell since 2021, where he advises colleges and universities on numerous issues, including workplace and academic accommodations, accreditation, student conduct and faculty discipline, negotiation of real estate transfers and academic programming partnerships. Jorgensen served as associate counsel.”

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