“Liability shield laws take different forms, but typically, they raise the threshold for anyone who wants to bring a lawsuit in connection with the COVID-19 outbreak, or eliminate the ability to bring a suit entirely. Although no state has provided total immunity to businesses facing claims related to COVID-19, these laws generally make it much more difficult for employees or patrons to bring a lawsuit based on harm that allegedly stems from a business’s handling of COVID-19 matters,” post Locke Lord in their News & Events.

“Notably, many of the laws apply retroactively to a date at or before the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. For example, West Virginia’s COVID-19 Jobs Protection Act dates back to January 1, 2020.”

Read the article.

“The Jones Act dates back to 1920 and governs the rules around shipping and trade in the U.S. and its island territories, with an aim of protecting American business from foreign competition,” report Joy Wiltermuth and Myra P. Saefong in MarketWatch’s Market Extra.

“The law has been waived several times in the past, specifically in response to crises like hurricanes along the Gulf Coast and other events, said Jason Bordoff, co-founding dean of the Columbia Climate School.”

“The U.S. government waived it in November 2012, after Hurricane Sandy slammed the East Coast, causing power outages and fuel shortages.”

Read the article.

DALLAS – Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann, one of the most recognized and respected trial boutiques in Texas, has announced that experienced trial attorney Mary Goodrich Nix has joined the firm as a partner. 

Nix has tried and arbitrated cases throughout Texas and across the United States and has managed nationwide legal teams for corporate clients with multistate operations. She also has frequently worked with international organizations to oversee the pursuit or defense of domestic disputes.

Nix has extensive experience in a wide variety of litigation matters affecting the employer-employee relationship and disputes between competitors. She also has experience managing corporate investigations. Her work frequently involves assisting companies in identifying protectable intellectual property and pursuing litigation to safeguard proprietary and trade secret information from theft and disclosure. She also frequently defends companies accused of violating non-compete, non-solicit, or non-disclosure agreements, or of stealing confidential information. 

Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, Nix joins the firm from Holland & Knight, where she served as co-chair of the firm’s Trade Secrets and Restrictive Covenants Team. 

Nix earned her law degree from the University of Houston Law Center, and her undergraduate degree from Baylor University. For her complex commercial and employment litigation work, she was awarded the prestigious BTI Client Service All-Star Award in 2020, a distinction awarded by in-house counsel to less than 500 attorneys worldwide. Nix was one of only 11 attorneys in Dallas and 19 attorneys statewide who received this distinction.  

She was named a Best Lawyer in America in Employment Litigation in 2020 and 2021, and a Texas Super Lawyer every year since 2012. She was selected to serve on Sedona Conference’s Working Group 12 on Trade Secrets, and the 2021 Sedona Conference on Remote Case Management of IP Proceedings. She has held numerous professional leadership positions in her career, including with the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers, the Dallas Bar Association, the Dallas Women Lawyers Association, and the Patrick E. Higginbotham American Inn of Court.  

“Approved by Congress in January 2021, the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) is a new federal law requiring many business entities to identify to the Treasury Department the individuals who own a 25 percent or greater interest in the entity or who otherwise exercise substantial control over the entity. The CTA seeks to identify entities used for money laundering and other criminal activities by requiring entities to disclose their ownership and control,” write Melissa W. Bailey and Mark Davidson in Brooks Pierce Client Alerts.

“While further guidance on how the CTA will be enforced has not yet been issued by the Treasury, there are several things businesses owners and their advisors should know now.”

Read the article.

“Associate compensation is once again a hot topic in the highest echelons of the legal profession, and young lawyers at some firms are finally reaping the benefits of the 2018 salary hike that brought starting salaries to $190,000. By the time this wave of salary increases is over, we may finally see a somewhat uniform salary scale across the majority of large law firms, all across the country,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above the Law’s Biglaw.

“The firm announcing salary increases this time around is Holland & Knight, ranked 38th on the Am Law 100 with $1,044,337,000 in 2020 gross revenue. The firm has been in the news recently for its potential merger with Thompson & Knight, but now, the firm is making news by offering lockstep salaries in each and every one of its U.S. offices.”

Read the article.

“Altus Power America, Inc. (“Altus” or the “Company”) today announced the appointment of Sophia Lee as Chief Legal Officer. In this role, Ms. Lee will oversee all legal and compliance matters for the Company. Ms. Lee brings twenty-five years of legal experience to the position, having guided strategic business initiatives for public and high-growth private companies while also managing corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, complex commercial transactions, intellectual property, litigation, and regulatory matters,” posted Altus Power in their News.

Read the announcement.

Michael Best is pleased to announce that Andrea Riccio has joined Michael Best Strategies as a Principal in the Washington, D.C. office. Riccio will be a member of the Government Relations Group. Prior to joining Michael Best Strategies, Riccio served as a Vice President at S-3 Group, a full-service policy and government relations firm.

At S-3 Group, Riccio counseled a variety of trade associations, corporations, and nonprofits, utilizing over a decade of experience in government, public affairs, and consulting. While on Capitol Hill, she served as Deputy Director to the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, under then-Chairman, and current member of the Board of Advisors at Michael Best Strategies, Steve Israel, and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. As Deputy Director, Riccio headed House Democratic messaging during the 2016 election cycle and led multiple targeted campaigns using parliamentary tactics available to the minority.

Prior to that, Riccio was the Director of Member Services and principal leadership staffer for then Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD). In this role she advised Congressional offices on best practices, led Caucus-wide programs for Chiefs of Staff, Press Secretaries, and District Directors, and served as floor staff.

Riccio’s addition to the firm comes just weeks after Michael Best Strategies announced the addition of Steven Rowe to the Government Relations group in Salt Lake City. Ranked among the top lobbying firms by Bloomberg Government this month, Michael Best Strategies has recruited Riccio during a period of progress and growth.

Riccio received her B.A., summa cum laude, in Political Science and Government from the University of New Hampshire.

Jeffrey Greene has rejoined the firm’s Trademark Copyright & Advertising Practice Group as a partner in its New York office. Greene, who was previously a partner at Foley from 2007-2017, joins the firm from Cooley LLP, where he had chaired its Trademark & Advertising Practice.

Greene’s practice focuses on strategic foreign and domestic brand counseling and protection, including the creation, development, expansion and management of global trademark portfolios, creative brand enforcement strategies, the licensing of brand assets and advertising. He also advises clients on the trademark and intellectual property aspects of mergers and acquisitions and other business transactions, as well as agreement/contract drafting, licensing and negotiation and transfer issues.

Greene has extensive experience representing both startups and established companies across a variety of industries, including financial services, technology, fintech, media, consumer products, retail and fashion. He also has specialized experience helping pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device and other life sciences companies obtain and enforce foreign and domestic trademark rights for drug and device names.

Greene is routinely recognized as a top trademark and advertising attorney by leading outlets, such as World Trademark Review 1000 (WTR), Managing Intellectual Property and The Legal 500. He is a member of the International Trademark Association (INTA), where he currently serves on the U.S. Roundtables Project Team and the Law Firm Committee. Greene previously co-chaired the Leadership Labs Subcommittee and served on the Leadership Development Committee, the U.S. Programs Committee for INTA annual meetings, and the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee. He has also served on the Trademarks and Unfair Competition Committee of the New York City Bar Association.

Michael Best is pleased to announce that Courtney Tedrowe has joined the firm’s Labor & Employment practice group as a Partner in the Chicago office. Prior to joining Michael Best, Tedrowe spent nearly two decades with Novack and Macey LLP as a commercial, business and employment litigator.

Before his move to Michael Best, Tedrowe served as a partner at Novack and Macey where his clients included hedge funds, private equity firms, major food production manufacturers, and retailers, among others. He has represented clients that span different sectors, including labor and employment, real estate, corporate governance, energy, and trade secrets. Prior to his time at Novack and Macey, Tedrowe worked as an associate attorney at one of the top law firms in New York, where among his many accomplishments, was a member of a team who litigated a large case against Big Tobacco in the Eastern District of New York.

Tedrowe received his J.D., cum laude, from Cornell Law School, where he also served as the symposium editor of the Cornell Law Review. He also earned a B.A., cum laude, from Vassar College.

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is pleased to announce that Lauren B. Jacques has been named managing partner of the firm’s Nashville office. She succeeds Lela M. Hollabaugh, who has served as the Nashville office managing partner since 2015. Hollabaugh will continue as a litigation partner in the Nashville office.

Bradley Chairman of the Board and Managing Partner Jonathan M. Skeeters said, “Lauren is a highly esteemed lawyer and colleague and has the skill, enthusiasm and leadership to help us maintain the highest standard of client service and execute on our vision for growth. We look forward to the contributions she will make to the Nashville office and the firm in her new position.”

Jacques is a member of Bradley’s Healthcare and Corporate Practice Groups and focuses her practice on healthcare transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and joint ventures, and the regulatory and operational issues that affect healthcare providers. She has experience handling transactions involving hospitals, home health agencies, hospices, cancer centers, physician practices and cardiac catheterization and office-based laboratories. Jacques has a particular breadth and depth of experience handling transactions in the ambulatory surgery center and outpatient provider space. In addition to transactional work, she routinely counsels clients regarding healthcare regulatory and operational issues and assists on matters related to compliance with federal and state anti-kickback and self-referral laws, corporate practice of medicine and fee-splitting laws, and issues with licensing, certificate of need and provider enrollment.

Jacques is also active in professional organizations and her community. She served on the planning committee for the Nashville Council of Health Care Attorneys for five years and is an active author and speaker for the American Health Law Association. She previously served on the board of The New Beginnings Center, a Tennessee non-profit dedicated to improving the health, strength and wellness of women. In 2017, Jacques received the firm’s Cameron J. Miller Award for Excellence and Community Service.

Jacques received both her undergraduate and law degrees from Vanderbilt University.

Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, today announced that Lori Brown has rejoined the firm as Office Managing Shareholder in Miami and as a member of the firm’s Management Committee. Brown previously served as Chief Executive Officer of ComplianceHR (CHR), a joint venture of Littler and Neota Logic. CHR has named Kimball Norup, currently the company’s Chief Marketing Officer, as CEO.

Brown was a shareholder with Littler from 2003 to 2011 and served on the firm’s Board of Directors for six of those years, while also serving as Miami Office Managing Shareholder. In her new leadership roles in returning to Littler, she will lead the Miami office and guide its continued growth, as well as serve on the firm’s seven-member Management Committee. Brown has extensive experience counseling and defending employers on a range of workplace issues, including discrimination, harassment and wage and hour matters. She has a particular focus on counseling companies through sensitive personnel matters, while ensuring compliance with constantly evolving federal and state employment and labor laws.

Brown joined CHR when it launched in 2015 and has been instrumental to its success. CHR is a web-based platform that helps human resources and legal professionals make informed decisions on employment law-related matters. The automated platform provides employers with cost-effective and valuable tools for making compliance decisions in hiring and managing their workforces. Under Brown’s leadership, the company has grown to offer over 20 applications to more than 11,000 users.

Norup joined CHR as Chief Marketing Officer in October 2020 and has assisted in building out the company’s go-to-market organization and broader growth plan. He brings two decades of senior executive experience with software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications and in human capital management. Norup has held senior leadership roles with professional services firms that span general management, marketing, sales and growth, most recently as Senior Vice President and Global Head of Growth for Hays Talent Solutions, the managed services division of global recruitment firm Hays PLC.

Brown’s return marks the fourth attorney in the last month to rejoin Littler and the third in the firm’s Florida offices. Shareholder Jessica Travers and of counsel Miguel Morel recently rejoined Littler in Florida and shareholder Lisa Kathumbi returned to the firm’s Columbus office.

Sidley Austin LLP is pleased to announce that Hagai Zaifman has joined the firm in New York as a partner in its Tax, Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation practice supporting Sidley’s work in the renewable energy sector and other infrastructure projects. He joins Sidley from White & Case LLP, where he was a partner.

Zaifman is a leading practitioner in the renewable energy area, advising sponsors, private equity funds and other investors, and lenders in connection with the structuring, planning and negotiating of all types of renewable energy transactions. He regularly advises clients on project development and financing, repowering, M&A transactions and tax equity investments, including in flip partnerships and all forms of leasing transactions. Zaifman has significant experience in the qualification of projects for the various energy tax credits and other government incentive programs, including the production tax credits (PTCs), investment tax credits (ITCs), new markets tax credits (NMTCs), and carbon sequestration tax credits. For several years, he served in various tax leadership roles, including as the tax director of one of the leading investors in the renewable energy industry in the country. Zaifman oversaw the underwriting, investing, managing and disposing of a debt and equity portfolio of over $10 billion of U.S. and foreign wind and solar projects.

“In its latest assignment for longtime client General Mills Inc, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath is advising the company on its $1.2 billion all-cash purchase of Tyson Foods Inc’s pet food business,” reports Sierra Jackson in Reuters’ Legal.

“Tyson Foods turned to a team from Hogan Lovells for the sale, which comes as people are increasingly adopting cats and dogs amid the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“Minneapolis-based General Mills announced the acquisition plans on Friday as part of its efforts to reshape its pet food portfolio, which will add the Nudges, Top Chews and True Chews brands to its holdings.”

Read the article.

“BASF SE, a chemical giant with a large litigation docket, has appointed an American, Matthew Lepore, to be its global general counsel and chief compliance officer,” reports Brian Baxter in Bloomberg Law’s U.S. Law Week.

“Lepore spent the past three years as a senior vice president and global head of legal from BASF’s headquarters in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany. He confirmed via email his new role at BASF, first reported Tuesday by German legal publication Juve.”

“As of May 1, Lepore succeeded Wolfgang Haas, a German lawyer who spent the past decade as BASF’s global legal chief with responsibility for the company’s tax, insurance, intellectual property, and customs teams. Lepore will assume the bulk of those duties, although tax and customs will be overseen by BASF in-house lawyer Oliver Nussbaum, according to Juve.”

Read the article.

“Top law firms are building out practice groups focused on state attorneys general, whose aggressive moves on everything from workers’ rights to Big Tech have clients looking for lawyers with a deep understanding of the process,” reports Ellen M. Gilmer in Bloomberg Law’s Environment and Energy.

“The latest entrant is DLA Piper, which unveiled its new practice Tuesday, led by veterans of the New York and California state attorneys general offices. Other big firms with similar practices include Jones Day, O’Melveny & Myers LLP, and Crowell & Moring LLP.”

“Companies face scrutiny from state attorneys general on all sides. Democratic-led offices are set to team up with the Biden administration on complex investigations and, in some cases, have been granted broader jurisdiction. Republican-led offices are taking aim at Big Tech.”

Read the article.

“One lawyer negotiating a resolution to the multi-billion-dollar bankruptcy filed by the Boy Scouts of America billed $267,435 in a single month. Another charged $1,725 for each hour of work. New lawyers fresh out of law school have been billing at an hourly rate of more than $600,” reports Mike Baker in The New York Times U.S. Section.

“The high-stakes bankruptcy case has drawn in lawyers by the dozens, negotiating how to compensate tens of thousands of people who have filed claims of sexual abuse. Lawyers and other professionals — both those representing the Boy Scouts and some who are representing victims — have submitted fee applications with the court that have now surpassed $100 million. By August, they could reach $150 million.”

Read the article.

“A federal judge approved a deal Wednesday for Maryland to settle a long-running lawsuit over the state’s treatment of its four historically Black universities with $555 million in extra funding over 10 years, clearing the last major hurdle to end a legal battle launched in 2006,” reports Bryn Stole in the Baltimore Sun’s Politics.

“The lawsuit, filed by alumni and supporters of the schools, argued the state systematically undermined the institutions even after the end of legal segregation and made it difficult for Bowie State University, Coppin State University and Morgan State University in Baltimore, and the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore, to compete with the state’s other public universities for students and resources.”

Read the article.

Connecticut Law Tribune Honors Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C. with Multiple 2021 Connecticut Legal Awards

Trumbull, Connecticut (May 14, 2021) – Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C. (SDV) is proud to announce its recognition by the Connecticut Law Tribune at the 2021 Connecticut Legal Awards annual celebration held on May 12.

As a firm dedicated solely to policyholder coverage, SDV received the Litigation Department of the Year – Insurance Award. SDV’s highly skilled team of attorneys have successfully argued in appellate, federal, and state courts nationwide, have been involved in a multitude of precedent-setting decisions, and have recovered nearly $1 billion on behalf of clients in the firm’s 25-year history.

SDV is honored to have also received the Diversity Initiative Award in recognition of its diversity and inclusion efforts. The firm’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee is committed to providing a work environment that encourages mutual respect and is free of harassment, discrimination, and bias. As one of the first law firms in the state to sign the Connecticut Bar Association’s Diversity & Inclusion Plan and Pledge, SDV strives to create a workplace that embraces the collective value of our employees’ differences.

Finally, SDV would like to congratulate its Partners, who were recognized for their individual achievements. Founding Partner Tracy Alan Saxe was a finalist for the Best Mentor Award, while founding Partner Jeffrey J. Vita was a recipient of the Distinguished Leader Award, and Theresa A. Guertin, Managing Partner of SDV’s northeast offices, was a recipient of the New Leaders in Law Award.

Tarter Krinsky & Drogin is excited to announce the launch of the firm’s first West Coast office in Los Angeles with the addition of counsel Marco Giovine to its Italy Practice. Marco’s addition and the new Southern California location deepens the resources available to our clients as we expand our geographical footprint.

Giovine is a corporate transactional attorney who advises domestic and multinational clients on a broad range of matters including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, contracts, commercial transactions, and corporate governance. With a particular focus on clients who have a nexus to Italy, he draws on his deep understanding of cross-border transactions and the unique issues inherent in conducting business in the United States.

Giovine earned his law degree from the University of Padua in Italy and LL.M. degrees from Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands and UCLA in Los Angeles. Bilingual in Italian and English and fluent in Spanish, he is admitted to practice in California and New York. Prior to joining Tarter Krinsky & Drogin, he founded and managed the Los Angeles office of a boutique international law firm and, before that, practiced at Hogan Lovells and DLA Piper in Milan, Italy.

DALLAS – Trial lawyer Chris Simmons, co-founder of Lyons & Simmons, LLP, is among a select group recognized by the National Law Journal as “Plaintiffs’ Lawyers Trailblazers,” attorneys who are “born leaders.”

One of only 52 attorneys nationwide honored, Simmons was chosen based not only on his litigation success, but also for his role as an agent of change.

That focus also helped propel Lyons & Simmons’ recognition in 2020 as the top personal injury law firm in Dallas by readers of Texas Lawyer magazine.

Simmons’ reputation as a go-to trial lawyer in cases involving life-altering personal injuries, wrongful death, and “bet-the-company” business disputes has earned him recognition from Best Lawyers in America, Lawdragon 500, Texas Super Lawyers, D Magazine, and Texas Lawyer.