“Steve Wozniak will soon face the courts for a copyright lawsuit due to a technology school venture initially called ‘Woz Institute of Technology’ but was scrapped and did not push through,” reports Isaiah Richard in Tech Times.

“Instead of being board members or chairpersons of what is supposed to be a technology school that would focus on engineering and pushing forth the development of modern gadgets, both parties are square one in court. According to Business Insider, Wozniak is facing the claims of allegedly “stealing” the idea to a tech school despite having the name ‘Woz’ to it.”

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Renowned corporate energy lawyer appointed to spearhead legal strategy for industry-leading e-commerce platform

HOUSTON, May 25, 2021— GoExpedi, an innovative e-commerce, supply chain and analytics company that is reinventing procurement for industrial and energy MRO (maintenance, repair and operations), today announced that it has appointed Julie Gremillion as General Counsel.

Gremillion is a corporate attorney with more than 10 years of experience in working with energy companies. She will be responsible for leading all aspects of GoExpedi’s legal strategy, managing compliance and risk throughout the organization; working closely with senior leadership and the Board of Directors as a strategic advisor on legal and business matters affecting the company; and providing legal support for transactional matters, strategic opportunities and day-to-day operations.

Gremillion spent nearly a decade at two preeminent international law firms, Jones Day and Sidley Austin, working on a variety of public and private transactions and negotiating numerous commercial agreements for her clients. Following her law firm work, she joined the corporate development team at Anadarko where she managed the execution of a strategic divestment plan involving 12 transactions totaling more than $8 billion and served as a strategic advisor to senior leadership on related compliance and risk management matters. She also played a key role in negotiating strategic agreements for the company’s highest profile assets and helped develop creative funding solutions to solve capital budget constraints.

Gremillion graduated from The Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia with a Bachelor of Science in Economics as well as The University of Texas School of Law with high honors.

Arent Fox LLP is pleased to announce the expansion of its International Trade & Investment practice, with the addition of one of Canada’s top international trade and investment lawyers, Riyaz Dattu. Riyaz will be joining as the firm’s Canada Legal Practice Leader.

Riyaz has previously founded and led the International Trade and Investment Law practices at two of Canada’s most preeminent law firms. At Arent Fox, Riyaz will continue to represent and advise from New York City and Washington DC multinationals with a Canadian presence and some of Canada’s most prominent companies on their operations in the United States and around the world.

Over his more than 35 years of practice, Riyaz has developed considerable, sophisticated, and wide-ranging experience in international trade and investment law. This includes international investment arbitrations, international trade disputes (including before binational panels, the WTO, and domestic courts), trade remedies, international trade regulations (economic sanctions, export controls, customs), trade policy and market access, government procurement and contracting, national security, corporate investigations, corporate social responsibility, and anti-corruption.

The Government of Canada has appointed Riyaz for a 10-year term on the roster of panelists for the NAFTA Chapter 19 bi-national dispute resolution process, now Chapter 10 of the USMCA.

Arent Fox’s International Trade & Investment practice has a strong track record of successfully representing leading Canadian businesses. With the addition of Riyaz, the group will continue to provide advice and find solutions that consider the implications of both Canadian and US law in a timely and cost-efficient basis by offering innovative and forward-thinking counseling.

Riyaz joins nine Partners and two Counsel that Arent Fox that has added already this year, including top public international law partner David Tafuri in Washington, DC.

Riyaz’s Experience
• Riyaz has acted as counsel in some of the most consequential and precedent-setting international investment arbitrations, international trade disputes, trade remedies disputes, and government procurement complaints.

• Riyaz’s legal representation in investment dispute cases and arbitrations, administered by the London Court of International Arbitration and UNCITRAL ad-hoc tribunals, has been on behalf of several leading Canadian companies in the financial, energy, and mining sectors.

• His current international arbitration representations include acting for a Canadian mining company in relation to an ICSID claim against the Government of Mexico pursuant to NAFTA and another Canadian mining company in relation to a claim against a European country under a bilateral investment for discriminatory and unlawful cancellation of valuable mining concessions.

• He also advises clients on trade policy and market access, international trade regulations (economic sanctions, export controls, customs), national security, anti-corruption, and government contracting.

• Throughout his career, Riyaz has been ranked at the highest level in all leading publications, including Chambers Global, International Who’s Who of Customs and Trade Lawyers, Acritas Stars (Star Lawyer), Best Lawyers, and many other leading international publications.

• He is also listed in the Canadian Who’s Who, for his reputation and achievements in his profession.

As banks, FinTech companies, and others providing financial services navigate a complex regulatory landscape, Davis Wright Tremaine has added a former Federal Trade Commission enforcement attorney to its enforcement & investigations practice within the banking and financial services group. Thomas Kost joins DWT’s Seattle office as counsel, strengthening the firm’s growing regulatory practice area.

Prior to joining the firm, Kost served as a staff attorney with the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, where he played a leading role in handling all aspects of investigations and litigation to enforce the FTC Act’s prohibition on deceptive or unfair conduct, as well as a range of other consumer financial laws. He also helped develop the agency’s enforcement strategy relating to small business financing. Before joining the FTC, Kost practiced at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, where he represented banks, card issuers, and non-bank financial services providers in high-stakes matters involving retail deposit products, overdraft services, mortgage lending and servicing, credit cards, and prepaid cards.

Kost began his career as a law clerk in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. He received his B.A. in politics from Whitman College and his J.D. from Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law.

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Washington, D.C., May 24, 2021 – Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP is pleased to announce that Tom Healey has joined the firm as a partner in its Aviation Finance Group. Healey, a leader in aircraft finance, will be based in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office.

Healey’s practice focuses on representing financial institutions, airlines, manufacturers and lessors in the largest and most innovative transactions. He advises creditors in Chapter 11 proceedings, restructuring financings for aircraft in North America and South America, and works with lessors, finance parties, operators and governments on export credit financings.

Healey regularly works on pre-delivery payment facilities and asset and credit support agreements and advises buyers and sellers of business aircraft as well as participants in fractional programs. His work has garnered numerous awards from aviation industry publications.

Healey received his JD from the University of Michigan Law School and his BA from Cornell University.

Dallas – Sidley Austin LLP is pleased to announce that Holt Foster has joined the firm as a partner in the Dallas office. Foster will be a member of the global Energy and Infrastructure group and a practice area team co-leader of the Energy practice. He joins Sidley from Thompson Knight where he has served on the firm’s Management Committee and as head of the Dallas office.

As one of the leading energy transactional lawyers in Dallas, Foster represents private equity funds and their portfolio companies in buying and selling energy assets. He represents some of the industry’s largest funds, focusing on mergers and acquisitions, financings, and formation of private equity funds. In addition to energy transactions, Foster has expertise in a broad range of industries including high-tech and software. He works with public and private companies, both domestically and internationally, on structuring and negotiating transactions.

International law firm Brown Rudnick LLP announced the addition of Julia Bennett as Chief Marketing Officer, resident in the Firm’s Washington, D.C. office. She heads the Firm’s business development, marketing, public relations, and communications strategy and initiatives for Brown Rudnick’s offices worldwide.

Bennett joins the Firm from Venable LLP, where she was Senior Director of Business Development. She served as a senior leader of Venable’s Marketing Department, including the oversight of the business development, research, and competitive intelligence teams.

At Brown Rudnick, Bennett is responsible for leading all marketing and business development functions and projects with responsibility for global client development, business strategy, public relations, and marketing and communications.

Bennett holds a J.D. from The University of Chicago Law School, an M.A. from The George Washington University, and an A.B. from Duke University. Prior to a career in legal marketing, Bennett practiced as a corporate lawyer at other prominent international law firms. She handled corporate matters in the commercial and mergers and acquisitions contexts for both private and public companies. Bennett is admitted in New York and Washington, D.C. She is a member also of the Board of Advisors of ActLocal360, a nonprofit organization committed to bringing about systemic change through local community action.

Additional biographical information and credentials are available at brownrudnick.com.

“As a dispatchable renewable energy technology, hydropower has a significant role to play in the energy transition. The growing penetration of intermittent renewable energy on many grids has increased the need for ancillary services such as frequency regulation. The fast response times and high ramp rates of hydropower make it well suited to provide these services, enabling further penetration by other renewable energy resources. Although relatively few hydroelectric projects have been developed as independent power projects (“IPPs”), the growing value of hydroelectric resources in facilitating the energy transition is likely to change that,” writes Ryan T. Ketchum in Hunton Andrews Kurth Insights.

“The structure of tariffs for large scale hydroelectric IPPs has a significant impact on the bankability of these projects. This article examines the principal options for structuring tariffs for both storage and run of river hydroelectric projects.”

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“Commercial contracts allow you to include a variety of clauses, including one that dictates where disputes will be litigated. Even if you agreed to this kind of forum selection clause, you may still desire to litigate your case somewhere other than the forum required in your contract. If that’s you, it is important to recognize that you potentially may be able to get this done. Successfully doing this requires many things, and those things often include representation from a skilled Atlanta commercial contracts lawyer.” writes Poole Huffman in Poole Huffman’s Blog.

“One way you can succeed in litigating outside the forum required by your contract is if the other side waives its right to demand enforcement of the forum selection clause.”

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“Earlier this year, President Biden announced that all adult Americans would be eligible to get one of the Covid-19 vaccines approved for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the FDA no later than May 1, 2021. Given that vaccines are now widely available, employers are grappling with various issues, including bringing employees back into the workplace,” writes Ellis L. Bennett in Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig’s Blog.

“Various issues associated with employer-imposed vaccine requirements are almost certain to be litigated in courts around the country over the coming months and year, and the results of the litigation may change the landscape. However, the current prevailing view is that employers may impose vaccine requirements upon employees.”

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“A Cohabitation Agreement is a legal agreement put in place by a couple who have chosen to live together but are not married. The agreement allows the couple to enter into a legally binding contract that can help them safeguard their rights as a couple, while at the same time protecting their individual interest and assets. As the lives of cohabiting partners become more intertwined, it can be complicated to resolve issues if they split up or if one of the partners passes away,” posts The Law Offices of Roger W. Stelk in their blog.

“In Illinois, unmarried couples do not have legal rights to each other’s assets just because they’ve lived together for many years. A cohabitation agreement details mutually agreed upon decisions regarding such things as ownership of property, household costs, inheritance, debts, spousal support, health care decisions, and allocation of shared assets if the relationship ends.”

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“Kirkland & Ellis LLP is pleased to announce that John Kaercher has joined the Firm as a partner in the Corporate Practice Group to help launch its Austin office,” posted Kirkland & Ellis in their Press Releases.

“Mr. Kaercher counsels clients on complex transactions, including domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, SPACs, private equity and public and private securities offerings, with a particular focus on the technology, media, telecommunications and energy sectors.”

“Mr. Kaercher was co-chair of his prior firm’s private equity pillar and was recognized as a Texas Super Lawyers – Rising Star in 2018, 2019 and 2020.”

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“This year’s Chambers USA 2021 features over 8,000 firm and almost 22,000 individual rankings in more than 2,000 practice areas, across all 50 states and nationally. Leading the charge, having amassed the most firm and individual rankings in the Guide for the second year in a row, is industry titan Latham & Watkins. With 351 ranked attorneys and 131 ranked practices, Latham continues to showcase its credentials as one of the United States’, and indeed the world’s, most successful and well-rounded full service firms,” reports Kushraj Cheema in Chambers and Partners.

“Latham’s position comes as little surprise, with its 11 US offices consistently attracting praise from clients and fellow practitioners alike in Chambers USA research. An elite pedigree, full service capabilities and extensive geographic coverage are common features of top performing firms in the Chambers USA 2021 Guide, as the chart above shows. Firms which accrue the most rankings in the latest edition of the USA Guide are united in the breadth of their expertise, their bicoastal office networks and their sizeable contingent of partners.”

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“Cybersecurity wasn’t necessarily a significant issue for in-house counsel 10-15 years ago. But now, companies have so many more obligations regarding information security and data privacy than they did even a decade ago,” writes Theodore F. Claypoole in The National Law Review.

“Initially, cybersecurity was an issue primarily for regulated companies. Then, companies with widespread consumer contact found themselves having to meet greater regulatory burdens. Today, though, cybersecurity is an issue for virtually every company, and it is important those efforts fit into a corporate compliance and ethics program.”

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“The Hershey Company … announced that James Turoff has been promoted to Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, effective immediately. Turoff has served as Acting General Counsel since December 2020,” posted Hershey in their Press Releases.

“The Hershey Company announced that James Turoff has been promoted to Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary.”

“Turoff will lead the company’s global legal, compliance and ethics, government relations, corporate security, and corporate secretary teams. He will report directly to Chairman and CEO Michele Buck.”

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“Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has brought on Adam Golden to serve as head of U.S. life sciences transactions, further expanding on the London-founded firm’s recent growth in the U.S. legal market,” reports Sara Merken in Reuters Legal.

“Golden, who advises pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device companies and investors, joins as a partner in New York from Hogan Lovells, where he was head of the New York corporate practice group.”

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“Takeda subsidiary Baxalta has spent more than two years pushing back against the $173 million in damages it was ordered to pay as a result of Bayer’s hemophilia patent infringement lawsuit. But after an appeals win for Bayer in March, the companies are putting the case to rest,” reports Noah Higgins-Dunn in Fierce Pharma’s Pharma.

“The two drugmakers, along with Nektar Therapeutics, have entered into a settlement agreement over the patent infringement case, a court filing shows. Bayer will not seek claims for the many millions in damages it was owed under a 2019 verdict and a subsequent appeals ruling.”

“Under the latest settlement, each drugmaker will cover their own legal expenses and Baxalta will give up its right to appeal the 2019 verdict any further. The filings didn’t provide other details on the terms of the settlement.”

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“Slone Partners, a nationwide executive search firm for life science, biotechnology, and diagnostics companies, has announced the placement of Stephana Patton, Ph.D., J.D. as Chief Legal Officer (CLO) at InterVenn Biosciences,” posted Slone Partners on their Latest News.

“Patton brings more than 20 years of legal experience to InterVenn. She most recently served as General Counsel, Corporate Secretary, and Chief Compliance Officer at Eiger Biopharmaceuticals, where she was responsible for all legal and compliance matters. Previously, Patton served as General Counsel, Corporate Secretary, and Chief Compliance Officer at BioTime, Inc., and as Vice President, General Counsel, and Commercial Compliance Officer at BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. Patton began her pharmaceutical industry career at Salix Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where she was Vice President of Intellectual Property and Licensing until the company was acquired by Valeant, Inc. in 2015.

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“AT&T overcharged the District of Columbia government for more than five years and has ‘agreed to pay $1.5 million for its failure to comply with its long-term contract with the District for cell phone and Internet services,’ … The settlement doesn’t recoup the full amount of overcharges alleged by Washington, DC, which says AT&T ‘overcharg[ed] District taxpayers by millions of dollars,'” reports Jon Brodkin in ARS Technica.

“AT&T did not admit to any wrongdoing in the settlement.”

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