“The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted supply chains around the world requiring many companies to adjust operations and their business,” writes Laura K. Veith in The National Law Review.

“Supply chain litigation has not erupted as companies have largely been forced to find commercial solutions, recognizing that there is little to gain from litigation when they are still dependent on those same suppliers to help them tread water and stay afloat. However, as the wake expands and losses are crystalized, companies should re-evaluate their contractual rights and defenses in the event litigation becomes more common or appealing. Now is also a good time for companies to evaluate their contracts to ensure they contain adequate protections for future supply chain shortages or disruptions.”

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“Big Ten Conference has named Erica McKinley its first chief legal officer and general counsel. In this role, she oversees all legal, corporate governance, enterprise risk management, compliance, litigation, regulatory, corporate, and NCAA matters, as well as outside counsel management. McKinley reports directly to Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren and will work collaboratively with the Council of Presidents and Chancellors (COP/C) and the general counsels at all 14 Big Ten member institutions. She also serves as a key strategic advisor to Commissioner Warren and the conference,” released Big Ten Conference.

“Adam Neuman has served as chief of staff, strategy and operations, in the office of the commissioner and now joins the newly formed legal department as the first deputy general counsel for the conference. As chief of staff and deputy general counsel, Neuman works collaboratively with McKinley, Commissioner Warren and key constituents at all 14 Big Ten member institutions.”

Read the announcement.

Chicago – Sidley Austin LLP is pleased to announce that Daniel Rubinstein has joined the firm as a partner in its Chicago office. Rubinstein will be global co-leader of the White Collar: Government Litigation and Investigations practice. He joins Sidley from Winston & Strawn where he was the chair of the Chicago Litigation practice.

Recognized as one of the top lawyers in commercial litigation and white-collar defense, and a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, Rubinstein has tried more than 20 jury trials to verdict, numerous bench trials, and contested evidentiary hearings in state and federal court. His nationwide practice focuses on complex litigation, white-collar criminal matters, regulatory matters, and corporate internal investigations. Rubinstein has successfully resolved a broad range of matters that have involved theft of trade secrets, violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and other anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws. He frequently defends clients in regulatory investigations brought by the Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, and other regulators.

Prior to entering private practice, Rubinstein was an assistant district attorney in Oakland, CA and an assistant United States attorney in both Los Angeles and Chicago.

“In M&A transactions, the definitive purchase agreement (whether asset purchase agreement, stock purchase agreement, or merger agreement) typically contains representations, warranties, and covenants, along with related indemnification obligations,” writes Daniel R. Avery in Goulston & Storrs’ What’s Market blog.

“A common representation that the seller makes is that the target has operated its business in accordance with applicable laws (often referred to a “compliance with laws” representation). While sellers generally do not object to making a representation that addresses legal compliance, they usually seek to include certain limitations that narrow the representation’s scope.”

Read the article.

Services Industry Team, which helps clients navigate the entire life cycle of real estate projects.

Adamson is the former general counsel of a national real estate developer and has approximately 20 years of experience in real estate and commercial development. She has deep experience advising on industrial, multifamily, self-storage, master planned communities, timber and natural resources development, and other commercial properties.

Prior to joining Parker Poe, Adamson served for more than seven years as general counsel for Johnson Development Associates, Inc. (JDA), which is based in South Carolina and has offices and developments across the country. As general counsel, Adamson oversaw the myriad legal issues surrounding development, construction, and operation for JDA, from letter of intent to closing, contract negotiation, project finance, employment issues, regulatory compliance, supervision of outside counsel, and more.

Adamson is also a founding charter member of Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) Upstate. She earned her law degree from the University of South Carolina and her bachelor’s degree from Furman University.

Blank Rome LLP is pleased to welcome three new attorneys to the firm’s Corporate, M&A, and Securities group, notably enhancing the firm’s Privacy, Security & Data Protection practice: partners Sharon R. Klein, who will serve as chair of the Privacy, Security & Data Protection practice, and Alex C. Nisenbaum, as well as associate Karen H. Shin. The prominent team will also establish a new office for Blank Rome in Orange County, California. They join Blank Rome from Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP where Klein led compliance for the Cybersecurity, Information Governance and Privacy practice group.

The team collectively advises clients on state, federal, and international data privacy and information security laws, regulations, and rules, including compliance with HIPAA/HITECH, Gramm-Leach-Bliley, and the California Consumer Privacy Act. They have significant experience assessing and mitigating risks related to the privacy and security of personal data; data ownership and commercialization of data; artificial intelligence; planning, auditing, drafting, and implementing privacy, security, and data protection policies and best practices; and breach response, crisis management, and investigation strategies for non-compliance. They are also well-versed in negotiating and drafting complex technology and cloud transactions, licensing, and strategic IT and commercial agreements. Their clients span a variety of industries, such as healthcare, consumer goods, e-commerce, FinTech, pharmaceutical, medical device, financial services, education, automotive, and manufacturing. Klein and Nisenbaum are also both certified as information privacy professionals by the International Association of Privacy Professionals.

Klein brings more than 40 years’ experience to Blank Rome and is a known thought leader in data privacy, cybersecurity, and complex technology transactions. Her acumen in data privacy stems not only from her significant experience executing outsourcing and technology contracts, but also from the 12 years she spent as associate general counsel at Siemens Medical Solutions USA where she notably focused on operationalizing healthcare and life science regulations, including HIPAA/HITECH and the Common Rule. Klein is active in many organizations, serving as a board member of the Girl Scouts of Orange County; a member of HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society); a commissioner of the Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission; and a member of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services task force working to promote national cybersecurity standards. Klein earned her J.D. from Temple University School of Law and her B.A., summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Syracuse University.

Nisenbaum synthesizes the patchwork of state and federal legal requirements to assist clients in bringing innovative products to market and develop compliance programs that are in line with their business goals. He notably advises consumers and vendors of information technology products and services on commercial technology agreements involving cloud services and software licensing, software and mobile application development, information technology and business process outsourcing, hardware acquisition, telecommunications, data licensing, and professional services. Alex earned his J.D. from UCLA School of Law and his B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Shin focuses on a diverse range of data privacy and information security matters, including compliance with various privacy laws and regulations. She also assists clients in developing and implementing internal and external privacy policies as well as drafts various technology-related agreements and performs due diligence reviews. She is a member of the Orange County Korean American Bar Association. Karen earned her J.D. from the University of California, Irvine School of Law, and her B.A. from New York University.

Brown Rudnick Expands IP Litigation and Technology Groups with addition of Ian Diebernardo and Jason Sobel.

NEW YORK – Brown Rudnick LLP announced the addition of Ian DiBernardo and Jason Sobel, based in the Firm’s New York office. DiBernardo and Sobel have practiced together for nearly two decades, providing full-service Intellectual Property (IP) counsel to innovative technology clients in a wide range of industries. They have tried numerous cases, and they are trusted advisers to companies at all stages of the corporate lifecycle.

DiBernardo is a Brown Rudnick Partner and Chair of the IP Litigation Practice Group. He will serve also as Practice Group Leader of the US Technology Group. Sobel is a Partner in the IP Litigation and Technology Practice Groups.

Their arrival enhances Brown Rudnick’s highly regarded IP Litigation Group, which serves clients worldwide on an array of matters, including litigation involving patents, trademarks, trade secrets, copyrights, trade dress, license agreements, and other disputes. The addition further expands Brown Rudnick’s commitment to providing full-service intellectual property and transactional services to its technology clients. DiBernardo and Sobel join from Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP, where DiBernardo served as Co-Chair of Stroock’sIP and Technology Group and as Co-Chair of Stroock’s Fintech practice.

DiBernardo counsels emerging and established companies, focusing on complex intellectual property and technology transactions and intellectual property litigation. He has first-chair trial and appellate experience, successfully representing both plaintiffs and defendants in patent, trade secret, copyright, and breach of contract disputes. He has successfully argued before the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. DiBernardo also counsels clients in connection with a broad range of technology and corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, license, outsourcing, cloud computing, corporate finance, and other commercial agreements.

Sobel’s practice spans the full spectrum of intellectual property law, including litigation, transactions, prosecution, and other strategic matters. He provides intellectual property and litigation counsel to clients in numerous industries and technological disciplines. Sobel has served as trial counsel in bet-the-brand litigation, and he has litigated numerous highly contentious, complex competitor disputes. He has represented clients in claims of patent, trademark and copyright infringement, misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of contract, unfair competition, breach of restrictive covenant agreements, fraud, and a wide variety of other disputes.

Bill Baldiga, Chairman & CEO of Brown Rudnick, commented, “We are excited to welcome Ian and Jason to the Firm. They bring sophisticated practices to our already strong IP Litigation and Technology teams. Their addition further expands our offerings for our IP and Technology clients worldwide.”

Neil Foster, a London-based Brown Rudnick Partner and Chair of the Global Technology Group, added, “Ian and Jason bring extensive experience working with innovative companies on a wide range of IP and technology transactions and disputes. They will be a tremendous asset to our clients and to our technology sector practice across all offices.”

Brown Rudnick’s IP Litigation Group has a deep bench of seasoned trial lawyers with technical backgrounds. The team includes prominent patent practitioners who have litigated in the busiest patent courts, including in front of the Federal Circuit, International Trade Commission, and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, where the team has petitioned for and opposed more than 100 inter partes reviews and covered business method patent proceedings. Brown Rudnick’s Technology Group acts for companies in the technology space on a range of legal issues, including advising on transactions involving fintech, blockchain technology, cryptocurrency, cleantech, environmental technology, corporate venturing, impact investing, health care, and digital health.

“Nikola Corp. has given more than $79.6 million in stock to its chief legal officer Britton Worthen, who last year agreed to forego a $250,000 salary at the electric truck and hydrogen fuel cell battery maker,” reports Brian Baxter in Bloomberg Law’s Business & Practice.

“Nikola disclosed the equity grants to Worthen and five other current and former executives—worth more than $560 million—in a Monday securities filing ahead of a $100 million share sale by the company.”

“The executives must stay at Nikola through June 2023 to collect the grants, which are pegged to certain share price targets. ‘None of the share price milestones have been achieved and none of the performance awards have been earned,’ the filing said.”

Read the article.

“The Obama Foundation has a new general counsel in Shawn White, a former top lawyer to billionaire philanthropist and Democratic Party donor Eli Broad,” reports Brian Baxter in Bloomberg Law’s Business & Practice.

“White will succeed outgoing legal chief Addar Levi whose new role as deputy general counsel at the Treasury Department was announced Tuesday, a day after former President Barack Obama’s Chicago-based nonprofit touted its addition of White to lead legal affairs …”

“The OPC, a $500 million project, hopes to break ground this summer following prolonged delays in its construction. The 19-acre campus with views of Lake Michigan will no longer be home to the Obama presidential library, whose documents will instead be digitized under a 2019 agreement between the Obama Foundation and the National Archives and Records Administration.”

Read the article.

“Clifford Chance and Herbert Smith Freehills are paying staff an extra bonus of 5% of their salary for their hard work during the pandemic,” reports James Dennison in Roll on Friday.

“‘Over an extraordinary year, and in the face of sometimes immense personal challenges, our people have consistently gone the extra mile to support our clients and to support each other,’ CC’s Global Managing Partner Matthew Layton told RollOnFriday. I could not be prouder of our team here at Clifford Chance.'”

“The Magic Circle firm is giving a one-off payment of 5% of salary to staff worldwide – which is in addition to other salary and bonus reviews, and does not replace them.”

“Earlier this week, Herbert Smith Freehills also announced that it would provide an additional 5% bonus to all staff. CEO Justin D’Agostino said the payment is an acknowledgement of the ‘dedication and hard work’ of staff ‘in the face of the tremendous disruption and challenges experienced in the last year.'”

Read the announcement.

“What exactly are the many ongoing effects of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) on health information technology (HIT)?” asks Lori Beerman in channelinsider’s Managed Services.

“What is HIPAA? To address the emerging role of health care technology, Congress passed HIPAA in 1996. The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) codified the following primary HIPAA rules between 2000 and 2013 to implement and refine the law’s requirements:

1. Privacy Rule
2. Security Rule
3. Final Omnibus Rule (includes Enforcement Rule)”

Read the guide.

“A federal appeals court has sanctioned Perkins Coie attorneys who represent Democratic groups for a “redundant and misleading” motion in election litigation,” reports Debra Cassens Weiss in ABA Journal’s Ethics News.

“The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at New Orleans imposed the sanctions on lawyer Marc Elias and his legal team in a March 11 order …”

“The court imposed the sanctions in a case in which Perkins Coie lawyers argued that the elimination of straight-ticket voting in Texas disproportionately affected minorities.”

“The appeals court said the lawyers filed a Feb. 10 motion to supplement the record that was nearly identical to a Sept. 29, 2020, motion that they previously filed. The earlier motion was denied.”

Read the article.

“Purdue Pharma LP has floated a settlement plan calling for members of the billionaire Sackler family to pay more than $4.2 billion to help resolve the thousands of lawsuits that drove the maker of OxyContin opioid painkillers into bankruptcy,” report Jeremy Hill and Jef Feeley in Bloomberg Law’s Bankruptcy Law.

“Court papers filed late Monday by Purdue call for the drugmaker to hand over the company’s assets to trusts for the benefit of states, cities and counties suing to recoup billions spent dealing with the U.S. opioid crisis. Combined with the cash payment by the Sacklers — the company’s current owners — the Chapter 11 reorganization plan may be worth more than $10 billion, according to court filings.”

“In exchange for the company and the cash, slated to be paid out over nine years, Purdue and the Sacklers would be legally insulated from existing and future opioid lawsuits. Some states, cities and counties that sued the drugmaker oppose the proposal, arguing it doesn’t do enough to hold Purdue’s owners accountable.”

Read the article.

“Digitech, a leading provider of EMS billing and technology services, has announced that Krina Merchant has been hired as Corporate Counsel and Amanda Stark has been hired as Risk Manager,” released Digitech in their News.

“Ms. Merchant brings with her a background of balancing business goals with legal risk, which allows her to effectively support departments across Digitech. She recently held a role as corporate counsel for a cutting-edge biotechnology company, and has significant experience working in heavily regulated industries. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from The University of Western Ontario (Canada) and received her Law Degree from The University of Leicester (UK). Subsequently, she earned a Master of Laws from Osgoode Hall School of Law (Canada) and a second Master of Laws from Fordham University. Ms. Merchant is licensed to practice law in the State of New York. She is currently completing training to become a Certified Ambulance Compliance Officer.”

“Ms. Stark joins Digitech from Page, Wolfberg & Wirth, the nation’s leading EMS industry law firm, where she specialized in Medicare compliance. There, she co-authored the Ambulance Compliance Program Toolkit, created and taught the Certified Ambulance Compliance Officer course, and worked with clients across the country to create and improve their compliance programs. Ms. Stark is licensed to practice law in California. She earned her undergraduate degree from Millikin University, received her JD from the University of Illinois, and is certified in Healthcare Compliance (CHC). As Risk Manager for Digitech, her responsibilities include reviewing and auditing clients’ claims to ensure they are billed in compliance with each payer’s rules.”

Read the release.

“The American Bar Association (ABA) has issued Formal Opinion 498, which outlines several of the ethical implications of maintaining a virtual law practice but focuses primarily on data privacy and security issues,” write Calon N. Russell and Trisha M. Rich in Holland & Knight’s Insights.

“Although the opinion, released on March 10, 2021, identifies potential areas of concern for lawyers with virtual offices, it offers little specific guidance regarding what lawyers must do to address such issues. Lawyers with a virtual practice, therefore, will need to continue to make sure they understand the ethical issues and risks at play in connection with their particular areas of practice in order to choose and manage technologies that will aid such practices without creating undue risk.”

Read the post.

Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, today announced the addition of Isha Malhotra as of counsel in its Singapore office. Malhotra, who joins from Squire Patton Boggs, represents clients throughout South Asia on employment matters. Malhotra is licensed to practice law in India and is fluent in Hindi language.

With a focus on representing companies operating in India, Malhotra provides counsel on compliance with labor and employment regulations across industries and jurisdictions. She has advised clients on a wide variety of employment law matters, including structuring employment agreements and policies, dual employment structures and immigration procedures, background screening policies and processes, wrongful termination claims, and breach of employment contracts. Malhotra also works closely with in-house human resources and legal teams on hiring, training and managing the performance of employees through expansions.

Opened in late 2019, the Singapore office is Littler’s APAC Regional Hub from which the firm services clients in the Asia Pacific region. In addition to Sutton, special counsel Nancy Zhang, who is qualified to practice in the People’s Republic of China, is based in Singapore. The office works closely with attorneys across Littler’s global platform who are licensed in the Asia Pacific region, including shareholder Naomi Seddon, who is admitted to practice in Australia and New Zealand, and shareholder Aki Tanaka, who is licensed in Japan. They, and several other Littler attorneys with international practices, regularly assist clients on matters in those markets, as well as Asia Pacific-based clients with U.S. operations.

Malhotra received her LL.B from Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law in India and her LL.M. from National University of Singapore.

Littler’s international operations consist of more than 1,600 attorneys across 25 countries, including Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, France, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Italy, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Poland, Singapore, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States (including Puerto Rico) and Venezuela. The firm’s global capabilities also include lawyers with exceptional international experience, including practitioners dually licensed in the U.S. and Australia, Brazil, Japan, New Zealand, Russia and South Africa.

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is pleased to announce that Christopher C. Lam, managing partner of the firm’s Charlotte office, has been named to lead continuing legal education (CLE) efforts for the International Association of Defense Counsel’s (IADC’s) 2022 Annual Meeting, which will be held July 9-14, 2022, in Berlin, Germany. Within the IADC, Lam serves as chair of the Engagement and Retention Committee and is a past chair of the Business Litigation Committee.

Founded in 1920, the IADC benefits approximately 2,500 invitation-only, peer-reviewed members and their clients, as well as the civil justice system and the legal profession. Membership is comprised of the world’s leading corporate and insurance lawyers and insurance executives who serve as partners in large and small law firms, senior counsel in corporate law departments, and corporate and insurance executives. Members represent the largest corporations around the world, including the majority of companies listed in the FORTUNE 500.The IADC takes a leadership role in many areas of legal reform and professional development.

Lam has a national practice focused on business litigation and product liability defense. He helps clients protect their business interests in disputes related to contracts, business torts, product liability, earn-outs, trade secrets, non-competes, LLCs and partnerships, defamation, motorsports, and private equity investments. Lam has been recognized in numerous leading attorney directories, including Chambers USA, The Best Lawyers in America®, Super Lawyers, Legal Elite, and Benchmark Litigation and was named one of Charlotte’s Most Admired CEOs in 2020 by the Charlotte Business Journal.

Lam is a leader in several professional and civic organizations. He currently serves as chair of the 2021 Charlotte Access to Justice Campaign. He is the immediate past president of the Mecklenburg County Bar and is a past co-chair of the North Carolina Bar Association’s Administration of Justice Committee. In addition, he serves on the Board of Visitors for Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy and is a trustee of North Carolina Humanities.

You can read the IADC’s press release here.

About Bradley
Bradley combines skilled legal counsel with exceptional client service and unwavering integrity to assist a diverse range of corporate and individual clients in achieving their business goals. With offices in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and the District of Columbia, the firm’s nearly 550 lawyers represent regional, national and international clients in various industries, including banking and financial services, construction, energy, healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing, real estate, and technology, among many others.

Michael Best is pleased to announce the 2021 recipients of the Michael Best Diversity & Inclusion Scholarship, given to Samantha Contreras, and the Michael Best University of Wisconsin Law School Diversity & Inclusion Scholarship, bestowed to Mason Higgins and Veronica Mantilla.

The two scholarships are hallmarks of the firm’s long-standing diversity, equality, and inclusion efforts that provide opportunities and programming to help make the legal community and Michael Best a more inclusive culture and environment.

The UW-Madison Diversity & Inclusion Scholarship is a collaboration between Michael Best and the University that began in 2017 and is given out to a second-year law student at the institution. Three past recipients of the scholarship have joined the firm full-time, with the fourth starting in the fall of 2021.

At UW-Madison, both Higgins and Mantilla are involved in several organizations. Mantilla is part of the university’s Latinx Lawyer Association, Women’s Law Student Association, and the Society for Education and Law Policy. She has also worked as a Law Clerk for Alliant Energy in Madison Wisconsin. Higgins is involved in several organizations on campus as well, including the Black Law Students Association, UW Mock Trial, and The Criminal Court Appeals Project. He has also worked as a Law Clerk for Krekeler Strother, S.C. in Madison, Wisconsin.

This is the inaugural year for the Michael Best Diversity & Inclusion Scholarship, launched as a result of the successes of the aforementioned scholarship. This too is available to second year law students, but open to any ABA-accredited law school in the country. This year’s recipient, Samantha Contreras, hails from the University of Notre Dame Law School.

Contreras is the Vice President of the Hispanic Law Student Association and the Admissions Liaison to the Black Law Students Association at Notre Dame and works directly with admissions to help find prospective members for both groups.

All three will be receiving tuition assistance for their third year of law school and the opportunity to participate in the Michael Best’s Summer Associate Program.

Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C., is pleased to announce that Lauren A. Daming, an attorney in the firm’s St. Louis office, has earned the Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US) credential in the United States through the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).

Accredited by the American National Standards Institute, the CIPP/US designates professionals who demonstrate a strong foundation in U.S. private-sector privacy laws and regulations and an understanding of the legal requirements for the responsible transfer of sensitive personal data to/from the United States, the European Union, and other jurisdictions. The IAPP is the world’s largest association of privacy professionals with more than 65,000 members across 151 countries.

A member of Greensfelder’s Employment & Labor and Electronic Information Management practice groups, Daming counsels clients regarding the many privacy issues that affect employers. Her experience includes advising and representing clients in privacy-related employment litigation on topics involving privacy torts; pre-employment concerns such as background checks, drug testing, and best practices for interviewing candidates; medical screenings and employer obligations under the ADA and GINA; employee monitoring and surveillance; and employee data collection, such as issues involving the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, biometric information, and facial recognition technology. She also handles complex litigation matters, including those involving intensive electronic discovery aspects. In addition, Daming represents employers facing issues related to discrimination, leave and accommodations, wage and hour issues, employee benefits, and traditional labor issues.

Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C., founded in 1895, is a full-service law firm with offices in St. Louis, Chicago and Southern Illinois. Greensfelder offers comprehensive legal solutions for clients locally, nationally and internationally. Areas of practice include business services; communications and media; construction; educational, religious and tax-exempt organizations; employee benefits; employment and labor; energy; franchising and distribution; health care; intellectual property; litigation; real estate; securities and financial services; and trusts and estates. Find out more at www.greensfelder.com.