“If you have ever signed a contract of any kind, you have probably asked, ‘Should I sign an arbitration agreement?’ The most common place that people may see an arbitration agreement that gives them pause is in an employment agreement. Many companies have been begun to include arbitration agreements in their contracts with employees because it may make dispute resolution cheaper and faster; however, some employees question the efficacy and the fairness of requiring an agreement as part of the employment. This article will quickly discuss what an arbitration agreement is and then move into a discussion of the benefits and drawbacks of signing an arbitration agreement with an employer. Finally, this article will discuss the considerations that an employee should make when choosing whether to sign an arbitration agreement,” posts ADR Times in their blog.

Read the article.

“The False Claims Act, a Civil War-era law, encourages private individuals, such as whistleblowers, to come forward and file suit against unscrupulous government contractors, and share in the government’s recovery. The passage of the law was inspired by contractors selling the Union Army bags of sand as flour, lame mules as cavalry horses, and glued-together rags as uniforms,” posts Constantine Cannon in their Whistleblower Group Blog.

“The main purpose of the law is, of course, to encourage private individuals with knowledge of fraud to help the government recover ill-gotten money from fraudsters. The government recovers billions under the law annually. But the law benefits more than just taxpayers and the public—it could also help keep patients safe, help keep workers from being exploited, and help stave off environmental degradation.”

Read the article.

“The cardinal change doctrine has become a popular doctrine for a contractor to argue under but remains an extremely difficult doctrine to support and prove. Arguing cardinal change is one thing. Proving cardinal change is entirely different. … this is a doctrine with its origins under federal government contract law with arguments extending outside of the federal government contract arena. For this reason, the cases referenced … are not federal government contract law cases, but are cases where the cardinal change doctrine has been argued (even though these cases cite to federal government contract law cases),” writes David Adelstein in Florida Construction Legal Update’s blog.

“A party argues cardinal change to demonstrate that the other party (generally, the owner) materially breached the contract based on the cardinal change. In reality, a party argues cardinal change because they have cost overruns they are looking to recover and this doctrine may give them an argument to do so. But it is important to recognize the distinction between raising it as an argument and the expectation that this (difficult doctrine to prove) will carry the day.”

Read the article.

“In April 2020, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund … vacating the Ninth Circuit’s decision. The appeals court had affirmed a district court’s finding of Clean Water Act (‘CWA’) liability for the County’s alleged failure to obtain a discharge permit for subsurface releases of pollutants into groundwater that conveys pollutants to navigable waters. In vacating the judgment below, the Supreme Court rejected the Ninth Circuit’s ‘fairly traceable’ test and set forth a new standard for determining when a source needs an NPDES permit: ‘the statute requires a permit when there is a direct discharge from a point source into navigable waters or when there is the functional equivalent of a direct discharge.’ In other words, ‘an addition falls within the statutory requirement that it be ‘from any point source’ when a point source directly deposits pollutants into navigable waters, or when the discharge reaches the same result through roughly similar means,'” posted Brent A. Rosser of Hunton Andrews Kurth in The National Law Review.

“Recognizing that this approach ‘does not … clearly explain how to deal with middle instances,’ the Court set forth ‘some of the factors that may prove relevant’ in any given case:”

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Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is pleased to announce that partners Tripp Haston and Richard A. Sayles have been named as among the world’s leading litigation attorneys in the 2020 edition of Who’s Who Legal: Litigation. Of nearly 900 lawyers recognized worldwide, Mr. Haston is the only Alabama attorney and Mr. Sayles is the only Texas attorney featured in the 2020 edition.

Based in Bradley’s Birmingham office and chair of the firm’s Life Sciences Litigation team, Mr. Haston represents a broad spectrum of clients on regional, national and international engagements. He has served numerous clients as national trial and coordinating counsel and as a national team member in individual actions, as well as in mass tort and multidistrict litigation. His experience has involved matters throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and South America.

Based in Bradley’s Dallas office, Mr. Sayles has more than four decades of experience trying cases in both state and federal courts. He has taken more than 150 cases to trial and has won more than a dozen jury verdicts exceeding millions of dollars. His experience includes defending clients in cases involving defense of and claims against corporate directors and officers, securities claims, product liability and patent infringement suits, and high-stakes commercial litigation.

The 2020 edition of Who’s Who Legal: Litigation recognizes lawyers who receive the highest number of recommendations from peers and clients as determined through independent research are listed in the publication. The Who’s Who Legal directory lists more than 27,000 private practice lawyers from more than 160 national jurisdictions, covering diverse areas of corporate and commercial law. The guides are intended to serve as reference sources for companies seeking to corroborate the reputations of lawyers recommended by another party.

The Litigation Practice Group is Bradley’s largest practice and includes almost half of the firm’s nearly 550 attorneys who represent clients in litigation and arbitration in every U.S. state and federal district court across the country, as well as internationally. Attorneys handle matters in nearly every substantive area of business law and in a wide range of industries, including high-stakes and complex cases.

Brightflag, the AI-powered legal spend management and matter management platform, today announced its achievement of SOC 2 (Type II) and SOC 1 (Type II) certifications without exceptions. Following the recent renewal of the company’s existing ISO 27001:2013 certification, these attainments underscore Brightflag’s reputation as a trusted partner to corporate legal, compliance, and security professionals eager to embrace cloud-based solutions.

While navigating an unexpected shift toward remote work in 2020, many global enterprises began to fully recognize the risks associated with tying essential business applications to a single physical workplace. Through third-party verification of its security controls, and the expertise of its own world-class customer success team, Brightflag is helping corporate legal departments rapidly execute ambitious digital transformation plans.

SOC 2 (Type II) evaluates general information security practices, highlighting Brightflag’s strength in safeguarding customer data. SOC 1 (Type II) more specifically attests to Brightflag’s protection of invoice approval, accruals management, and financial reporting processes.

For a copy of Brightflag’s security and compliance reports, including a completed Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) Consensus Assessment Initiative Questionnaire (CAIQ), please contact the team directly.

Barnes & Thornburg today announced that David DeVillers, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, has joined the firm’s Litigation Department as partner in the Columbus office.

DeVillers, whose practice will concentrate on white collar crime and investigations, has a stellar track record. As U.S. Attorney, he oversaw the investigation into and prosecutions related to one of the largest corruption conspiracies in Ohio’s history and prosecuted the largest federal murder case in Ohio, charging 20 members of the Short North Posse, a known gang in Columbus. Prior to becoming U.S. Attorney, he spent nearly 20 years as Assistant U.S. Attorney, during which time he served as lead prosecutor in 24 jury trials and headed up task forces involving the FBI, ATF, DEA, IRS and the Division of Police.

DeVillers is the sixth former U.S. Attorney to join the firm since 2015, and follows Josh Minkler, the former U. S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, who joined in November 2020. Fifteen former Assistant U.S. Attorneys also practice with Barnes & Thornburg in litigation, white collar criminal defense, and other areas.

He stepped down from the Justice Department in late February. DeVillers has decades of experience providing counsel and defense at every stage of the criminal defense process. During his time at the Department of Justice, he prosecuted a number of cases involving the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, the Continuing Criminal Enterprise statute, money laundering, corruption, murder, international drug trafficking, and terrorism.

In addition to his work with the Justice Department on U.S. soil, DeVillers served as a legal adviser in Albania, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Georgia, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, and Ukraine – including acting as prosecutor adviser to the Iraqi High Tribunal for the Anfal (Kurdish Genocide) trial of Saddam Hussein. While in this role, DeVillers investigated additional crimes against humanity perpetrated by the former Iraqi regime.

DeVillers earned his J.D. from Capital University and his B.A. from The State University of New York at Oswego.

“Cummins Inc. (NYSE: CMI) announced today Nicole Y. Lamb-Hale is succeeding Sharon Barner as Vice President and General Counsel, effective in May,” released Cummins in their Newsroom.

“Nicole Y. Lamb-HaleLamb-Hale is currently a managing director at Kroll, a global governance, risk and transparency consultancy, and the head of the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. She has 30 years of executive-level experience and a unique viewpoint on global commercial and compliance matters from her extensive service in both the public and private sectors. Prior to joining Kroll, Lamb-Hale was Senior Vice President at Albright Stonebridge Group, a global strategy consultancy, where she provided strategic advice to companies in the development and implementation of their global business objectives, including the expansion of their exports to, and presence in, international markets. ”

Read the article.

“Intel was told to pay $2.18 billion after losing a patent-infringement trial over technology related to chip-making,” report Susan Decker, Matthew Bultman and Bloomberg in Fortune’s Tech.

“Intel infringed two patents owned by closely held VLSI Technology, a federal jury in Waco, Texas, said. The jury found $1.5 billion for infringement of one patent and $675 million for infringement of the second. Intel, the world’s largest chipmaker, denied infringing either of the patents and said one was invalid because it claimed to cover work done by Intel engineers, but the jury rejected those arguments.”

“The patents had been owned by Dutch chipmaker NXP Semiconductors, which would get a cut of any damage award, Intel lawyer William Lee of WilmerHale told jurors in closing arguments Monday. VLSI, founded four years ago, has no products and its only potential revenue is this lawsuit, he said.”

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“Some of the nation’s top law firms posted substantial boosts in profits last year after laying off attorneys or staff members,” reports Debra Cassens Weiss in ABA Journal’s News.

“… at least 15 of the nation’s 200 highest-grossing firms posted revenue or profit increases of more than 5% last year, even after layoffs. Most were among the nation’s top 100 firms.”

“… layoffs were needed to keep their firms healthy. Some said decisions were made before they saw an increase in demand for legal work later in the year. And some said layoffs were already planned, but the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the timeline.”

Read the article.

“Davis Polk & Wardwell, which was the first Big Law firm to offer a ‘special bonus’ of up to $40,000 for associates last year, is offering them another thank you for hard work during the pandemic in the form of high-end gift packages,” reports Meghan Tribe in Bloomberg Law’s Business & Practice.

“Associates have the opportunity to select a gift from a curated selection of items and experiences that include a shopping spree, fitness equipment, and wine packages, said Davis Polk managing partner Neil Barr in an email.”

Read the article.

Chamberlain Hrdlicka is pleased to announce that it has elevated two of its shareholders to equity status and elevated three attorneys to shareholder status. Moving up to equity shareholders are Philadelphia-based attorneys Kevin F. Sweeney and Kenneth I. Trujillo. Moving to income shareholders are San Antonio-based attorney Jillian Gordon Foerster, Atlanta-based attorney Jeffrey S. Luechtefeld and Houston-based attorney Julie R. Offerman. These promotions were affirmed during the firm’s virtual annual shareholders meeting held on Feb. 6, 2021.

Jillian Gordon Foerster
Foerster practices in the area of Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and employee benefits law. She has significant experience with all compliance aspects for qualified plans, health and welfare plans and executive compensation arrangements. Foerster has a particular interest in healthcare reform compliance for employer health and welfare plans, HIPAA Privacy and Security rules, wellness programs and self-funded health plans. She also counsels clients on the insurer and third-party administrator side of employer welfare plans. Foerster earned her undergraduate degree from Southwestern University and her law degree from Texas Tech University School of Law.

Jeffrey S. Luechtefeld
Luechtefeld represents clients in IRS examinations, appeals and litigation. He has a deep understanding of inner workings of the Internal Revenue Service as well as a strong technical tax background. Previously, he led the regional Tax Controversy practice for a “Big Four” accounting firm. Prior to that, he was a litigator for the IRS Office of Chief Counsel. Luechtefeld earned his undergraduate degree from Missouri State University, his law degree from the University of Missouri School of Law and his Master of Laws degree from University of Florida Levin College of Law.

Julie R. Offerman
Offerman is an experienced litigation attorney in Chamberlain Hrdlicka’s Houston Labor & Employment Practice. She has substantial experience defending employers nationwide in wage and hour class and collective action lawsuits, including matters involving allegations of misclassification of employees and failure to pay overtime. Prior to joining Chamberlain Hrdlicka, she clerked for Justice Phil Johnson of the Texas Supreme Court. Offerman earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin and her law degree from Texas Tech University School of Law.

Kevin F. Sweeney
Sweeney is a member of Chamberlain Hrdlicka’s Tax Controversy & Litigation Practice and is a former federal prosecutor who defends clients in civil and criminal tax controversy and litigation matters. He represents high-net-worth individuals and businesses with complex and sensitive tax issues. Sweeney focuses on high-stakes IRS audits, civil tax litigation, white-collar criminal defense matters and whistleblower matters for high and ultra-high net worth individuals, corporate executives, business owners and public and private companies worldwide. He is recognized by Legal 500 U.S. and has also been honored twice with the Tax Division Outstanding Attorney Award by the U.S. Department of Justice. Sweeney earned his undergraduate degree from Loyola University Maryland and his law degree from New York Law School.

Kenneth I. Trujillo
Trujillo represents U.S. and foreign corporations, as well as government entities, executives, lawyers and other individuals in contract disputes, securities, antitrust, education and other regulatory issues. His practice involves complex civil litigation and class actions, and he counsels clients on governance, regulatory matters, internal investigations and government relations. Trujillo has also represented numerous public officials and government entities, including city council members, mayors, governors, states, cities and Native American tribes in civil and criminal matters. He has extensive jury trial experience having tried to verdict civil and criminal cases ranging from personal injury to civil rights to complex class actions. Trujillo earned his undergraduate degree from Evangel University and his law degree from University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Chamberlain Hrdlicka recently promoted Jillian Foerster to income shareholder during the firm’s virtual annual shareholders meeting. The firm has also promoted two income shareholders to equity status and two additional attorneys to income shareholder status across its Atlanta, Houston, Philadelphia and San Antonio offices.

Foerster practices in the area of Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and Employee Benefits law in Chamberlain Hrdlicka’s San Antonio office. She has significant experience with all compliance aspects for qualified plans, health and welfare plans and executive compensation arrangements. She frequently advises clients on employee benefits and executive compensation matters as part of mergers or acquisitions.

Foerster has a particular interest in healthcare reform compliance for employer health and welfare plans, HIPAA Privacy and Security rules, wellness programs and self-funded health plans. She also counsels clients on the insurer and third-party administrator side of employer welfare plans.

Foerster earned her undergraduate degree from Southwestern University and her law degree from Texas Tech University School of Law, where she was the managing editor for the Texas Tech Law Review. She is a member of Bexar County Women’s Bar Association and the Military Spouse JD Network—a bar association of attorney spouses of active duty military members. She has been named among San Antonio Scene’s Rising Stars and Best Lawyers multiple times, including in 2020 and 2021.

John Lee Shepherd, Jr., former Director of Legal Policy at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, has joined Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP as a partner in the firm’s nationally recognized energy and infrastructure team. Based in Washington, Shepherd’s energy regulatory practice will focus on rulemaking proceedings, litigation, investigations and appeals.

Shepherd joined FERC in 2018 as its leading policy lawyer and served as the principal legal advisor to agency leadership on the implementation of policy through adjudication, rulemaking, and judicial review, with a particular emphasis on issues surrounding electric and capacity market design, transmission incentives and cost allocation, pipeline certification, Mobile-Sierra issues, waivers, and bankruptcy.

His responsibilities also included drafting orders and facilitating negotiations among commissioners, managing external litigation and coordinating positions with other federal agencies, drafting briefs and arguing cases in matters before the Supreme Court, appellate courts, district courts, and bankruptcy courts.

Prior to joining FERC, Shepherd was a counsel in the energy litigation group at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, having joined the firm in 2000, following his clerkship with D.C. Circuit Judge A. Raymond Randolph. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Yale University and his law degree from Duke University School of Law.

Between college and law school, Shepherd served as a legislative aide in the Alaska state senate while teaching at the University of Alaska and training for the U.S. Army. Over the course of his 20-year career with the Army, Shepherd achieved the rank of Major and was deployed four times, including during Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Noble Eagle and Operation Enduring Freedom.

Shepherd is among several recent additions to Hunton Andrews Kurth’s energy and infrastructure team. In November, international nuclear power projects attorney George Borovas joined the firm in Tokyo. Last June, the firm added project finance attorneys James D. Simpson, Jr. and Jason B. Parker in London and Martin A. Skehill in Dubai.

Hunton Andrews Kurth’s global energy and infrastructure team provides comprehensive finance, development, and infrastructure counsel to regulated and unregulated power companies and utilities, distributors and transportation companies, independent electric transmission companies, and others involved in the renewable energy, oil, gas, LNG, petrochemical, and nuclear industries. Lawyers in our energy regulatory practice represent clients across the energy and utility spectrum throughout the country. Our clients include electric utilities, independent system operators (ISOs) and regional transmission organizations (RTOs), independent power producers, and lenders, as well as natural gas utilities, storage companies, natural gas and oil pipeline companies, and midstream companies.

With lawyers in the United States, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP serves clients across a broad range of complex transactional, litigation and regulatory matters.

This month, Virginia became the second US state to enact comprehensive data privacy legislation of general applicability. On March 2, 2021, Virginia’s Governor, Ralph Northam, signed the Consumer Data Protection Act into law. The law’s requirements will take effect on January 1, 2023, which is the same day that requirements under the new California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) become operative.

In this program, our speakers will highlight how Virginia’s Consumer Data Protection Act affects the data privacy landscape in the US and how it may impact your organization. We also will discuss steps you can take now to prepare for the new requirements under the Consumer Data Protection Act and how to maintain a privacy program that can adapt to the changing legislative and regulatory landscape in the United States. Our speakers will address:

• The evolving nature of the data privacy landscape and our predictions for 2021 and beyond;
• An overview of the Consumer Data Protection Act, including to whom it applies and what it requires;
• How the Consumer Data Protection Act differs from other significant data privacy laws, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act/CPRA and the EU General Data Protection Regulation; and
• Strategies for maintaining a nimble data privacy compliance program that can adapt to the changing landscape.

Speakers:
• Lisa J. Sotto, Chair of the Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice, Hunton Andrews Kurth, New York
• Aaron P. Simpson, Partner, Hunton Andrews Kurth, New York
• Holly A. Brady, Associate, Hunton Andrews Kurth, Virginia
• Robert T. Bohannon, Director of Government Affairs, Hunton Andrews Kurth, Virginia

Register now.

Denise Williamee has joined Steel City Re as Vice President of Corporate Services, where she heads client relations and education for integrated reputation groups.

Williamee’s broad experience in the legal industry includes serving as a Deputy Clerk for US Magistrate Judge Joseph Miller, as well as working on a range of civil and criminal litigations and conducting a variety of investigations on behalf of clients, especially in the financial and healthcare sectors.

Previously, Williamee founded and operated a successful multi-location, full-service private investigations firm and served as the President of the Alaska Investigator’s Association. She also sat on the board of Directors for the Alaska Innocence Project. She holds an AAS in Paralegal Studies (cum laude) from the University of Alaska at Fairbanks, an ABA approved program, and is an Associate member of the Chicago Bar Association.

Modern corporate websites incorporate interactive features like sliders, videos, dropdowns, forms, and personalized customer journeys to aid in storytelling and communicating effectively with customers. However, these same interactive features challenge most archiving solutions and demand powerful tools for capturing this data reliably and comprehensively. In this session, join us to experience how Hanzo ensures your websites are captured with high fidelity and are immutably stored to meet your ongoing compliance obligations.

Speaker
Justin Kreamer, Senior Enterprise Executive, Hanzo

Justin is a Senior Enterprise Executive at Hanzo. He consults with Fortune 500 companies desiring to transform the efficiency and effectiveness of their compliance and ediscovery initiatives. Justin brings specific experience in helping large enterprises proactively manage complex data sources such as dynamic web content and collaboration application data.

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Michael Best is pleased to announce that the firm’s Venture Best Practice has been recognized in Pitchbook’s 2020 Annual Interactive Global League Table.

Published annually, the tables are compiled using the completed deal count for specified deal type, region and other criteria. Only publicly disclosed transactions and/or transactions confirmed by PitchBook’s primary research team are included.

The Venture Best team ranked in the following categories:

#1 Great Lakes Region
#3 Mountain Region
#10 Most Active in the US
#11 Most Active in the WORLD
Top 20 Most Active in South, New England, Southeast, West Coast and Mid Atlantic

Leading this initiative for the Venture Best Practice was Galen Mason, who was recently named Co-Chair of the Venture Best team and the Venture Capital & Private Equity Sub-Group. Prior to taking the helm, the group was led by partner Melissa Turczyn in Madison. Under her tenure, the practice expanded beyond Wisconsin into key markets, including Denver, Austin, and Chicago.

Washington, DC – March 4, 2021 – Beth Hatef, a regulatory attorney focused on alcohol regulation and distribution issues, has joined the nationwide Food + Beverage Group at Davis Wright Tremaine. Hatef, who will join as counsel and work from the firm’s Washington, DC office, previously worked at McDermott Will & Emery. She will join a team that counsels many of the nation’s leading institutional investors and leading-edge beverage businesses aspiring to deliver better consumer experiences.

In addition to advising on regulatory and distribution issues, Hatef will provide critical counsel in connection with corporate transactions involving alcohol beverage suppliers and retailers, supplementing the team’s rapidly growing M&A practice with an additional presence on the East Coast.

Despite the pandemic, DWT’s Food + Beverage Group had another strong year. “We reached out early and offered clients support and solutions – including how we managed our business relationship with them – to help manage budgets, drive innovations, and position for growth,” said Lyon. DWT continued to gain market share among national alcohol beverage brands, restaurant groups, and their investors by demonstrating loyalty to the industry. Overall, the firm had its seventh consecutive year of record performance in 2020. Revenue increased by more than 7% and net income rose by nearly 12%.

Lansing – March 3, 2021 — Dykema, a leading national law firm, today announced that Jason T. Hanselman has been appointed to serve as Managing Member of the firm’s Lansing office.

In his practice, Hanselman, a Lansing native, advises clients in highly-regulated fields, such as energy, elections, education, and health care. He regularly represents those clients in complex business matters, legislative drafting on multiple jurisdictions, litigation before state and federal courts, and regulatory proceedings before administrative boards and commissions. He serves as outside general counsel to several trade associations, electric cooperatives, non-profit corporations, and other businesses.

Outside of his legal practice, Hanselman is extremely active in professional organizations. He is a former President of the Ingham County Bar Foundation (2017-19), former President of the Ingham County Bar Association (2015-2016), and served as the Michigan Chapter Leader of the Republican National Lawyers Association from 2010 to 2020.

Having learned the importance of volunteering from his parents, who were active in the Lansing Jaycees and Grace United Methodist Church in Lansing’s Colonial Village, Hanselman, is also active in community and civic organizations. He currently serves as the publicly elected Vice President of the DeWitt Board of Education and was appointed by Governor Snyder to serve as Unarmed Combat Commissioner (formerly known as the Boxing Commission) to regulate boxing and mixed martial arts in Michigan.

Hanselman received a J.D., cum laude, from the University of Miami and a B.A., with honors, from Michigan State University. Before joining Dykema, he worked at the Michigan House of Representatives, the Michigan Supreme Court, and the Internal Revenue Service.

In 2019, Michigan Lawyers Weekly named him among its Leaders in the Law. He has been recognized by Michigan Super Lawyers as a Rising Star, named a Michigan Leading Lawyer by the Leading Lawyers Network, and included in The Best Lawyers in America for Energy, Energy Regulatory, and Government Relations Practice.

Established in 1973, Dykema’s Lansing office shares the Binsfield Office Building with the Michigan Senate adjacent to Michigan’s Capitol and houses dozens of attorneys and government relations professionals. The firm’s state and federal government policy practices are coordinated from Lansing. Attorneys from the Lansing office are skilled in a broad range of matters including utility and insurance regulation, liquor and marijuana licensing matters, elections and public policy representation, municipal bond issues and lobbying activities.