“As of February 2021, pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”), which created the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) and supplemental funding such as the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, the United States government has made available an estimated four trillion dollars in relief funds to businesses and individuals, and the Biden administration is proposing roughly two trillion dollars more,” write Merle M. DeLancey Jr. and Craig Stetson in Blank Rome’s Government Contracts Navigator.

“In addition to the relief funds, the Government has easily awarded more than billions in pandemic-related contracts for everything from vaccines to PPE to hand sanitizers. These levels of funding and spending are unprecedented and have been made at breakneck speed (for the government). Based on these factors and lessons from the past, audits of relief recipients and contractors to confirm appropriate use of government funds are inevitable. And the government has said as much. Of course, if an audit reveals potential wrongdoing or malfeasance, relief recipients and contractors should expect follow-on investigations and enforcement activity.”

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Duane Morris is sad to report that our retired partner, Jim Krieg, passed away last week, at his dream home in Truckee, California. He was surrounded by family including his beloved wife and law partner Mary Reilley, who reports that much rock and roll music was also involved.

Resident in our San Francisco office as a Trial Group partner from 2013 to his retirement in 2017, Jim left an indelible footprint on California law in the trial, professional liability defense, and ethics arenas. He was a true “lawyer’s lawyer.”

With his usual self-deprecation, Jim recently said he had an intellect “a mile wide and an inch deep.” To the contrary, he was eternally intellectually curious and could talk with great intelligence and humor about anything. This is part of what made him such a fantastic professional liability defense lawyer – the issues underlying the cases he handled spanned all areas of the law. Our built-in, in-house experts in so many areas drew Jim to Duane Morris from the eponymous boutique firm he previously formed.

Another draw was his respect for Duane Morris’ management, values, ethics, and people. Jim really understood the importance of all of these, having risen to prominence in California as a founding, managing partner of the Los Angeles office and then managing partner, state wide, at its height, of Bronson, Bronson & McKinnon. Home grown at Bronson, Jim founded the Los Angeles office with four others (including Mary) and grew it to 45 lawyers in just ten years. He then returned to San Francisco, having been elected to the firm-wide managing partner role at Bronson, then an almost 200 lawyer California litigation powerhouse.

Jim earned his J.D. in 1976 magna cum laude from Boston University and his A.B. in 1971 from Princeton University.

Jim was a fantastic lawyer, a fierce and dedicated advocate, a consummate professional and a wise and effective law firm manager. But he will be most remembered for his quick wit, penetrating insights, mentoring skills, love of music and art, and general delight in the world. He was a good and loyal friend, and we will miss him.

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is pleased to announce that Robert Ford, a partner in the firm’s Houston office, has been selected as a 2021 Fellow of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD). In addition, Alé Dalton , an associate in the firm’s Nashville office, and Kya Henley, an associate in the firm’s Washington office, have been selected as 2021 LCLD Pathfinders.

The LCLD Fellows and Pathfinder programs are among the most comprehensive legal talent development programs in the country. They are designed to increase diversity at the leadership levels of the nation’s law firms and corporate legal departments. With more than 350 members, the LCLD is a national organization made up of general counsel and law firm managing partners who participate in programs designed to attract, inspire, and nurture the talent in society and within the members’ organizations, thereby helping a new and more diverse generation of attorneys ascend to positions of leadership. The LCLD was launched in 2009.

The LCLD Fellows Program was designed to connect high-potential attorneys from distinguished organizations for a year-long professional development series focused on leadership and relationship building. The program offers unique opportunities to network with and learn from the top leaders in the legal field. The program provides Fellows exclusive access to numerous virtual training methods and networking opportunities, including class meetings, leadership lunches, accountability partners, and mentoring and alumni networking.

The LCLD Pathfinder Program is designed for diverse, high-potential, early-career attorneys at LCLD member organizations. The goal of the program is to provide Pathfinders with practical tools for developing and leveraging professional networks through relationship-building skills, foundational leadership skills, and an understanding of career development strategies. The program provides Pathfinders exclusive access to a variety of virtual training methods and networking opportunities, including class meetings, regional meetings, e-Learning modules, compass conversations with LCLD alumni, and program facilitators.

Hinshaw Adds Seasoned Insurance Partner in New Orleans

February 23, 2021 – Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP today announced that Erin Parkinson has joined the firm as a partner in the New Orleans office. Formerly with McGlinchey Stafford, Parkinson, licensed both in Louisiana and Texas, represents companies in state and federal courts in reinsurance and insurance coverage and defense litigation matters in a wide range of areas, including asbestos, environmental law, aviation and product liability issues.

An experienced trial attorney, Parkinson has garnered a reputation for creative solutions in and out of the court room, often resolving matters through arbitration and mediation. She has significant experience in the asbestos industry, handling litigation for energy and chemical companies in that sector. Parkinson also defends insurers against coverage claims related to directors’ and officers’ liability, general liability and standard auto, environmental, pollution and cyber policies.

Parkinson recently retired after 29 years at McGlinchey, where she began as a 1L summer associate. Not ready to leave the practice of law, she decided to join Hinshaw as her “second act.” She joins former McGlinchey colleagues Lauren Campisi, Stephen P. Strohschein, Stewart Spielman, Eric J. Simonson and Heather Alexis LaSalle, who joined the firm in Louisiana last summer, and Kyle Ferachi and Stephanie Laird Tolson, who joined Hinshaw in Texas in January.

In addition, Parkinson said Hinshaw’s focus on advancing diverse attorneys and women is important to her. She was a member of McGlinchey’s diversity committee and head of its Women’s Initiative Network, and plans to be an active participant in Hinshaw’s programs.

Parkinson received her B.A., magna cum laude, in political science from Loyola University New Orleans, and her J.D., magna cum laude, from Loyal University New Orleans College of Law.

Eversheds Sutherland is pleased to announce that Steve B. Park has joined the firm’s Corporate Finance team in the Atlanta office as partner. Park is the third Corporate partner to join the firm in the past year.

Park, who joins from Ballard Spahr, represents financial institutions and multinational companies with an emphasis on financing transactions, corporate governance, public and private offerings of securities, mergers and acquisitions, and compliance with SEC regulations and reporting requirements. He has significant experience in advising both lenders and corporate borrowers in commercial lending transactions, including secured and asset-based lending and syndicated credit facilities.

His clients include multinationals, particularly in the automotive and real estate sectors and with an emphasis on Korean investors and clients who extend credit for Korean and other corporate borrowers in the United States. He has extensive experience in the origination and restructuring of commercial loans and senior mortgage and mezzanine loans.

Additionally, Park has extensive experience in EB-5 financing matters. He has represented a wide range of regional centers, project developers, and other sponsors in EB-5 securities offerings and other aspects of the federal program. EB5 Investors Magazine named him one of the top eight EB-5 corporate and securities attorneys in the United States.

Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, announced the launch of Littler Affirmative Action 360. The solution combines proprietary technology and experienced attorney insights to help employers develop affirmative action plans that ensure regulatory compliance and guide efforts to promote inclusion, equity and diversity (IE&D) in the workplace.

Littler’s new solution provides a comprehensive approach to compliance with Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) affirmative action program requirements, from developing an initial strategy, to collecting and analyzing data, to finalizing a plan that can withstand an OFCCP audit. The solution also helps drive stronger IE&D programs by uncovering actionable insights into the diversity of the organization’s workforce and its recruiting practices.

Here’s how it works:

Consultation: Littler attorneys draw on their extensive experience in employment laws unique to government contractors to determine which of an organization’s entities are subject to OFCCP jurisdiction. A strategy is then developed to help prepare or revamp an affirmative action program to align not only with federal regulations, but also with the specific needs of the organization – all in a privileged context.

Data Collection Review: Through a secure extranet, Littler’s analytics team collects all data relevant to the organization’s affirmative action plan and cross-checks it for gaps or inconsistencies.

Real-Time Analysis: Attorneys analyze the data using Littler’s proprietary tool and showcase the findings in real time through an easy-to-understand visual dashboard, demonstrating the impact of certain adjustments (e.g., to census coding and recruitment practices) on key metrics, including utilization goals, and on the overall affirmative action report.

Finalize the Plan: Having undergone a comprehensive real-time analysis, Littler attorneys finalize the affirmative action plan, ensuring compliance with OFCCP’s regulatory requirements, providing new insights into the diversity of the organization’s workforce, and helping set priorities for the coming year.

Littler Affirmative Action 360 expands the firm’s suite of innovative and practical resources offered to employers. The firm’s Service Solutions – including the Littler Pay Equity Assessment (a technology tool for conducting audits and guiding legal strategy), Littler onDemand (a data-driven solution for employment law advice and counsel), Littler CaseSmart® (the firm’s approach to efficiently managing employment litigation) and the Littler Restructuring Assessment Solution (a resource for employers making workforce restructuring decisions) – are designed to provide clients with efficient legal counsel, help shape legal and compliance strategies, and spot trends that can inform critical business decisions.

Venable LLP is pleased to announce that James D. Reilly has joined the firm as a senior policy advisor in the Legislative and Government Affairs Practice in the Washington, DC office. Reilly is an experienced leader and skilled strategist with a proven ability to achieve his clients’ policy goals at both the national and international levels.

Reilly leverages his relationships with federal lawmakers and regulators, and draws on his experience advocating on behalf of major organizations to manage threats, opportunities, and trends impacting today’s policy landscape. He has a track record of creating practical, bipartisan solutions to climate, infrastructure, energy, and environmental issues.

He has held in high regard for his ability to work with both sides of the aisle to pass key legislation in Congress, a skill he honed as chief of staff for Senator Tom Carper (D-DE). In that capacity, he facilitated bipartisan and other partnerships to achieve the senator’s objectives related to committee assignments on finance, environment and public works, and homeland security and government affairs. As chief of staff, he worked to ensure Delaware’s small federal delegation, including then Senator Biden, worked side by side to deliver results. Reilly co-chaired the weekly Senate chiefs of staff meeting and established bipartisan relationships throughout Washington. A Delaware native, he previously served as a legislative assistant to Senator Carper, responsible for all environmental, energy, agriculture legislation, and related appropriations matters, including climate change, renewable energy, water quality, and air pollution. He also was the staff lead overseeing passage of clean air, PURPA reform, nuclear safety, and Army Corps legislation.

Prior to joining Venable, Jim served as the vice president of a trade association that represents owners, developers, equipment and service providers, financiers, utilities, and customers involved in the wind industry. During his tenure, he maximized a $21 million budget and the influence of 1,000 member companies to convey the wind energy industry’s priorities to U.S. federal and state governments, enabling the industry’s 48% growth over a four-year period.

Reilly received his in M.A. in Environmental Management from Duke University 1998, and his B.S. in Plant Science and Ornamental Horticulture from the University of Delaware in 1989.

Venable LLP is pleased to announce that Allen H. Denson has joined the firm as a partner in the Financial Services Practice in the Washington, DC office. Denson develops and implements strategies for financial institutions navigating regulatory examinations, investigations, enforcement actions, litigation, or inquiries by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), federal banking regulators (OCC, FDIC, and the Federal Reserve Board), state attorneys general, and various state regulatory bodies.

Denson has significant experience representing companies that provide consumer financial services, including lenders, sales finance companies, fintechs, banks, auto dealers, and other financial services companies. He also represents clients nationwide in litigation related to federal and state consumer financial law. He previously served as a senior attorney at the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Enforcement & Compliance Division. There he handled all aspects of agency investigations, litigation, and regulatory inquiries involving both safety and soundness and consumer protection issues, against financial institutions and institution-affiliated parties. He advised bank supervision staff and senior agency officials regarding a wide range of issues arising under federal banking and consumer laws, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. He also assisted examiners in the supervision and resolution of problem banks under OCC examination.

Denson received his J.D. from the University of Alabama School of Law in 2008, and his B.A. in English from the College of William & Mary in 2004.

“South Dakota’s Republican attorney general was charged Thursday with three misdemeanors for striking and killing a man with his car last summer, avoiding more serious felony charges in a case that raised questions about how the state’s top law enforcement official first reported the crash,” reports Stephen Groves in AP News.

“Jason Ravnsborg could face up to 30 days in jail and up to a $500 fine on each charge: careless driving, driving out of his lane and operating a motor vehicle while on his phone.”

“Hyde County Deputy State’s Attorney Emily Sovell said the evidence simply didn’t support felony charges of vehicular homicide or manslaughter, which could have meant years of prison time. She noted Ravnsborg wasn’t intoxicated, and that a manslaughter charge would have required the state to show he “consciously and unjustifiably” disregarded a substantial risk.”

Read the article.

“The former co-chairman of a major New York law firm has been suspended from practicing law for two years after pleading guilty and spending time in prison over his role in the U.S. college admissions scandal,” reports Nate Raymond in Reuters’ U.S. News.

“Gordon Caplan, who had been co-chairman at Willkie Farr & Gallagher, avoided disbarment despite his efforts to avoid “getting caught,” according to a Thursday decision by a New York appellate court imposing the suspension.”

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“Wells Fargo has reached a settlement in a pair of lawsuits brought by the US Automobile Association (USAA), after two juries found the bank liable for patent infringement,” reports Rory O’Neill in World Intellectual Property Review’s News.

“USAA filed two separate lawsuits against Wells Fargo at the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas for infringing patents covering mobile deposit technologies.”

“In both cases, juries at the Texas court found Wells Fargo liable to have USAA’s IP, and the bank was found to be liable to pay a total of $300 million.”

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“Weee! … the leading ethnic e-grocer in the United States, today announced the addition of two new executives to its leadership team: Ankur Shah, Chief Finance and Strategy Officer; and Thomas Jeon, General Counsel. The new leaders bring diverse experience at the intersection of retail and technology, and will play a vital role in the company’s mission to bring exciting and affordable access to online grocery shoppers nationwide,” released Weee in Cision PR Newswire.

“We proudly welcome Ankur and Thomas who demonstrate the world-class team we’re building here at Weee!,” said Larry Liu, founder and Chief Executive Officer. “Their distinguished leadership and industry experience will be vital to achieving our mission: make online groceries affordable and accessible more than ever to customers adjusting to the new normal. We look forward to tapping into Ankur and Thomas’ insights to accelerate our innovation and expansion efforts across North America.”

Read the release.

Akerman LLP a top 100 U.S. law firm serving clients across the Americas, has expanded its Franchise and Licensing Practice with five lawyers in five months, most recently adding Robert Smith in Washington, D.C. He brings decades of experience leading complex financial transactions for U.S. franchisors expanding internationally.

Smith follows the addition of Franchise and Licensing Practice Co-chair Kevin Hein, special counsel Trish MacAskill, and associate Leilani Argersinger in Denver, and litigation partner William Sentell in Houston. Together they bring a deep knowledge in U.S. and international franchise and distribution matters.

Smith focuses his practice on representing U.S. franchisors expanding internationally and serving as franchise counsel in a variety of complex transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, revising and re-branding franchise programs, regulatory Franchise Disclosure Document compliance, workouts, dispute resolution, master franchise and development agent programs and refranchising. He is ranked among the nation’s leading franchise lawyers by Chambers USA, which cites clients who commented that he “has a tremendous amount of experience and has a great business mind. The value he brings to our company is extraordinary.” Clients appreciate that “he makes himself available—it almost feels like he’s our in-house counsel and he’s in the office down the hall.”

Akerman’s Franchise and Licensing Practice assists start-up, regional, national, and international franchisors and licensors, as well as subfranchisors, and other businesses, on a wide range of matters, including structuring, acquiring, and selling franchise and licensing systems, handling state franchise registrations, counseling on state, federal, and international legal compliance matters, and resolving and litigating disputes. Its client roster includes businesses in a wide range of consumer-oriented and business-to-business sectors.

“An unusually severe winter storm has left millions in Texas without natural gas and electricity as the state’s grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), implemented rolling blackouts. The severe cold has left electric generators in ERCOT unable to meet base load requirements as a number of natural gas producers shut in production, some pipeline transporters were unable to transport natural gas due to the effects of the severe weather event on pipeline assets, and other thermal and renewable generation assets were unable to operate,” post Steve Spina, Levi McAllister, Kirstin Gibbs, Dan Skees and Patrick Pennella in Morgan Lewis’ Publications.

“ERCOT announced it had set a winter record for power demand: 69,150 megawatts on February 14. However, more than 40,000 megawatts of power generation had been forced off the system due to the severe cold.”

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“Companies grow by investing time and money in various resources, including their employees,” writes Cari Rincker in Rincker Law’s blog.

“Yet business owners are often anxious about losing their investment, i.e., the time they spend training new hires and the confidential information they share with their new employees. Once confidential information is shared, there is a risk that an employee will leak the company’s trade secrets to a competitor, or quit and create a competing business using the confidential information. To help guard against this, many companies have employees sign a noncompete agreement when they are hired.”

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“First year teachers of common law subjects describe the common law system with a little bit of romanticism,” post Samuel Issacharoff & Florencia Marotta-Wurgler, in Contracts Jotwell’s blog.

“Through the aggregation of many court opinions, and through learning from variant approaches in different states’ jurisdictions, a process of reflective equilibrium finds legal rules that make sense as applied to diverse fact patterns and that reflect ongoing changes in technology and social mores. The status of each state’s supreme court as the final arbiter of questions of common law features keenly in Louis Brandeis’s oft-quoted characterization of the states as ‘laboratories of democracy.’ Writing with Samuel Warren, Louis Brandeis famously declared that ‘the common law, in its eternal youth, grows to meet the new demands of society.'”

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“Construction disputes face additional challenges compared to other commercial disputes for various reasons,” post James Ebert and Steven W. Fleming in Jones Day’s Insights, “including:

• projects involve a multitude of participants and stakeholders, including principals, contractors and subcontractors with a range of different interfaces and interests;
  the disputes concern complex technical matters in addition to legal issues;
• huge volumes of documentation from many sources are generated during projects, including technical documents, correspondence and emails; and
• participants are required to balance the legal and commercial aspects of claims and timely resolution of disputes with good project execution and the maintenance of ongoing relationships.”

“To overcome these challenges in major projects, parties often agree to adopt independent expert determination for disputes that may arise. This is a process in which an independent expert is appointed to decide disputes. The types of dispute that can be determined, the relief that can be awarded and whether the expert’s decision is binding will depend on the terms of the expert determination clause.”

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“Kathy Card Beckles joins Verisk from Chase Consumer Bank, where she served as general counsel for one of the world’s largest consumer banks. Effective April 5, Kathy will join Verisk as executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary,” posted Verisk in their Press Releases.

“Card Beckles, 46, will replace Kenneth Thompson, who announced his retirement late last year. To ensure a smooth transition, Ken will continue with the company as executive counsel.”

“Card Beckles joins Verisk from Chase Consumer Bank, where she served as general counsel. Before that, she was managing director and associate general counsel of intellectual property and technology at JP Morgan Chase. Prior to becoming in-house counsel, Card Beckles practiced law at the firm Kenyon & Kenyon. She started her career as an engineer before deciding to pursue a law degree.”

Read the release.

“Attorney General Chris Carr … announced that the office’s Prosecution Division has indicted* Paulding County District Attorney Donald Richard ‘Dick’ Donovan on four felony charges: Bribery … False Swearing, … and Violation of Oath by Public Officer, O.C.G.A. § 16-10-1. A Paulding County Grand Jury returned the indictment on February 17, 2021,” released Georgia’s Office of the Attorney General in their press releases.

“Donovan has served as the Paulding County District Attorney since his election to that position in 2010. The indictment charges that Donovan committed the offense of bribery when he submitted an order dismissing criminal charges pending in Paulding County Superior Court against a client of the Cedartown Municipal Court prosecutor with the purpose of influencing this prosecutor’s decision regarding the disposition of criminal charges then pending in the Cedartown Municipal Court against an employee of Donovan’s office. The indictment also charges Donovan made false statements in a sworn affidavit when he denied ever having said that he wanted to have sex with this same employee of his office and denied describing fantasies regarding his desire to be physical with this employee. In addition, the indictment charges that Donovan violated the terms of his oath of District Attorney by committing the offense of bribery.”

Read the release.

“The first of its kind FCA case involves Roche and Medicare Advantage insurer Humana,” report Mary Inman, Esq. and Max Voldman, Esq. in RACmonitor.

“The recent settlement of a whistleblower case involving the government’s Medicare Advantage program might be a sign of things to come for litigation filed under the False Claims Act (FCA), including those initiated by whistleblowers. On Monday, it was announced that the pharmaceutical company Roche and Medicare Advantage insurer Humana have agreed to pay $12.5 million to the U.S. government to resolve allegations that the companies violated the anti-kickback statute. This is the first FCA settlement resulting from a pharmaceutical company’s alleged payment of kickbacks to a Medicare Advantage Organization.”

“Medicare Advantage, also known as Part C of the Medicare program, is a managed care model wherein the government pays Medicare Advantage Organizations (private insurance companies such as Humana) premiums to insure Medicare beneficiaries. The premium amounts are determined by the demographic makeup and the health status of the insured beneficiaries, with sicker, older members drawing a higher payment from the government than younger, healthier ones. This model contrasts with “traditional” Medicare (Parts A and B of the program), wherein the government pays for each individual healthcare service performed, in what is known as a fee-for-service model. In the Medicare Advantage program, the amounts of government payments are not directly linked to which healthcare services are performed.”

Read the article.