Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, is pleased to unveil its latest initiative to foster diversity and inclusion within the firm. With “Breaking Through: Littler’s D&I Comp Initiative,” the firm is aiming to double the number of attorneys of color, women and LGBTQ+ shareholders in the top quartile of Littler’s compensation system within five years.

Led by a working group formed early in the year that consists of stakeholders across the firm – including members of the leadership team, Diversity & Inclusion Council and corporate management – Littler has identified several strategies to increase opportunities and propel diverse attorneys into the top quartile of the firm’s compensation system. This includes creating additional business development, leadership and other training programs that provide the skills and resources needed for career growth. An additional focus is on further expanding access to client opportunities, such as ensuring that diverse attorneys are considered for lead roles on new client matters and in transition/succession plans for existing client relationships.

Breaking Through: Littler’s D&I Comp Initiative is the latest initiative that showcases the firm’s dedication to diversity and inclusion. The firm is currently completing a two-year long initiative to provide unconscious bias training to every lawyer in the firm. Additional diversity and inclusion initiatives include the Career Advocacy Program, which selects high-performing diverse associates and pairs them with some of the firm’s most influential leaders and with general counsel of the firm’s current and former clients to help them develop the skills and visibility needed to progress in their careers. The firm also has four affinity groups – Bollo (Black/African American), ‘Ohana (Asian, South Asian, Middle Eastern, North African and Pacific Islander), Pride (LGBTQ) and Reunión (Hispanic/Latinx) – which provide diverse attorneys with another platform to expand and develop professionally.

Among many recognitions for its efforts, Littler has earned Mansfield Certification Plus for the past two years from Diversity Lab, an incubator for innovative ideas and solutions that boost diversity and inclusion in law.

The Excellence in Diversity Award for a Law Firm was presented to Duane Morris, LLP for outstanding efforts made by a law firm, bar association, and organization to promote diversity in the legal profession, in their organization or among their peers.

Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C., is pleased to announce that Christopher A. Pickett, an Officer, member of the board of directors, and chief diversity officer at the firm, has been named one of Missouri Lawyers Media’s 2021 “Law Firm Leaders” in its annual Missouri Lawyers Awards.

The “Law Firm Leaders” category recognizes chairpersons, managing partners or other law firm executives who demonstrated extraordinary vision, innovation and leadership during the previous year. Missouri Lawyers Awards winners across multiple categories will be honored in a virtual ceremony on Feb. 11 and will be profiled in a special section of Missouri Lawyers Weekly. Missouri Lawyers Media publishes Missouri Lawyers Weekly and several other legal newspapers in Missouri.

As chief diversity officer, Pickett leads Greensfelder’s efforts to foster an equitable and inclusive workplace, overseeing the firm’s diversity initiatives. He also is a frequent presenter to businesses, bar groups and other organizations on topics related to equity and inclusion, including dismantling assimilation and increasing diversity in the legal profession. As leader of Greensfelder’s Equity, Retention and Advancement Committee, Pickett focuses on growing, retaining and advancing a diverse group of employees, with a particular focus on groups that have been historically underrepresented in law firms. In 2013, Pickett was named a fellow of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, participating in a national leadership program for high-performing attorneys with diverse backgrounds.

Pickett has received numerous other awards for his work on diversity issues and in business law, including:

• Diversity & Inclusion Award from Missouri Lawyers Media (2018);
• Named one of “100 St. Louisans you should know” by St. Louis Small Business Monthly (2017);
• Excellence in Business Performance Award from the St. Louis American Foundation of the St. Louis American newspaper serving the region’s African-American community (2017);
• St. Louis Business Journal Diverse Business Leader Award (2016); and
• Named one of St. Louis’ most intriguing people to know by Who’s Who, Diversity in St. Louis (2015).

In his practice, Pickett represents clients from across the country in an array of business litigation matters, particularly in the areas of securities and higher education.

A former public defender, Pickett received his J.D. from Saint Louis University School of Law and his Bachelor of Arts from St. Louis University.

“The Florida Bar has filed its fourth complaint against Miami-Dade County attorney Scot Strems, alleging that Strems and the Strems Law Firm (SLF) engaged in a pattern of duplicitous behavior and subterfuge to enroll property owners into legal services,” reports Michael Carroll in Florida Record’s Attorneys & Judges.

“In October, a court referee appointed by the state Supreme Court recommended that Strems be suspended from the practice of law for two years, as well as a one-year probationary period, over the filing of multiple property owner claims that critics say drive up premium costs for all the state’s homeowners.”

“The latest complaint, which was filed with the Florida Supreme Court on Nov. 24, alleges that Strems and his firm engaged in a series of actions involving deceit and solicitation through third parties, whom the Florida Bar refers to as “Strems Consultants.” Strems’ actions violated eight of the bar’s ethics rules, according to the complaint.”

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“Despite $1,035,000,000 in gross revenue last year” Squire Patton Boggs “instituted COVID-19 austerity measures. Back in May, Squire Patton Boggs announced a 20 percent salary cut for all associates, as well as staff cuts, between 10 and 20 percent, depending on salary, and partner distributions were adjusted to shoulder the largest financial burden. But beginning in October, the salary cuts ended, an excellent sign that the worst impacts of the pandemic were over,” reports Kathryn Rubino in Above the Law’s Biglaw.

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“The Fresh Market Inc. has named Carlos Clark SVP, general counsel and corporate secretary. In his new role, Clark will report to CEO Jason Potter,” reports Bridget Goldschmidt in Progressive Grocer’s Labor & Employment.

“Before joining The Fresh Market, Clark was VP, corporate and securities and assistant corporate secretary at Wyndham Destinations, the world’s largest vacation ownership and exchange company. Previously, he was associate general counsel and assistant corporate secretary at theme park and entertainment company SeaWorld Entertainment Inc., in which role he guided the company through various transactions and investor relations issues, as well as handling corporate governance and reporting responsibilities. Clark also brings to his latest position experience as a corporate and securities attorney for several Boston law firms, among them Goodwin Procter LLP and Goulston & Storrs.”

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“State lawmakers are considering pausing for a year an energy law at the center of an alleged $60-million bribery case rather than repealing it,” reports Laura A. Bischoff in Dayton Daily News.

“More than 4.5 million ratepayers across Ohio are scheduled to start paying new fees Jan. 1 that will deliver $150 million a year to subsidize two nuclear power plants owned by Akron-based Energy Harbor. Those fees and other provisions are part of House Bill 6, which was signed into law by Gov. Mike DeWine in July 2019.”

“But in July 2020, FBI agents arrested then Ohio House speaker Larry Householder, R-Glenford, and four associates. Prosecutors alleged that utility companies funneled more than $60 million into groups that don’t have to disclose donors to position Householder to become speaker and he in turn helped pass HB6.”

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“A claim that a contract for construction of a school violated public bidding requirements did not become moot after construction was completed because effective relief — in the form of disgorgement of public funds paid to the contractor — was still available in plaintiff’s taxpayer action. Davis v. Fresno Unified School District (Davis 2), No. F079811 (1st Dist., Nov. 24, 2020),” writes Geoffrey Robinson in Perkins Coie’s California Land Use Development Law Report.

“Public school construction contracts generally must be competitively bid under public bidding laws. The Fresno Unified School District sought to rely on an exception for contracts under which the school district leases out district-owned property in return for the lessee’s agreement to construct a building for the use of the school district. Such a “lease-leaseback” arrangement, if properly structured, is exempt from public bidding laws.”

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“A frequent topic of dispute in litigation involving construction projects is whether a subcontractor is entitled to payment for work it performs outside its contractual scope of work—often referred to as ‘extra work’ or ‘change order work’—without obtaining a signed written change order to perform the work. The same issue often arises in the context of change orders and directives issued from the owner to the general contractor,” writes Bradly P. Polina in Cole Schotz’ Construction Contracts.

“In a typical scenario, the general contractor orally directs a subcontractor to perform work outside of the subcontractor’s scope and promises that a written change order will shortly follow. The subcontractor, conscientious to keep the project moving, complies with the oral directive and completes the extra work without obtaining a signed written change order. Its subsequent payment requisition is then denied for failure to obtain the signed change order. Is the subcontractor legally entitled to be paid for the work that the general contractor directed it to perform, even without a signed change order?”

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“Netflix is facing another executive poaching lawsuit, this time from gaming giant Activision Blizzard over the departure of CFO Spencer Neumann,” report Ashley Cullins and Natalie Jarvey in The Hollywood Reporter’s Labor.

“Activision claims Netflix induced Neumann to breach his employment contract while the CFO was actively involved in negotiations with the streamer on the gamer’s behalf. This marks the third major entertainment company, following Fox and Viacom, to allege Netflix is illegally poaching employees.”

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“Detroit-based Dickinson Wright is opening a Chicago office in the new year through the acquisition of Stahl Cowen Crowley Addis. Terms of the deal were not disclosed,” reports Grace Turner in D Business’ Daily News.

“The acquisition will be effective Jan. 1 and adds 12 attorneys and is the firm’s 19th office. The Chicago location is part of the firm’s strategic growth plan.”

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Hunton Andrews Kurth today announces the fifth edition of ‘Data Protection Law and Practice’, written by Rosemary Jay, Hunton Andrews Kurth Senior Consultant Attorney, and published by Sweet & Maxwell. This edition has been re-written to provide a thorough and expert review of the current state of data protection law in the UK, together with details of relevant background context.

Increasingly, data protection is a business critical issue, and personal data lies at the heart of most organisations, whether public or private sector. Frequently, personal data underpins the value of commercial organisations, while technological innovation ensures that ever larger quantities of personal data are created, used and shared around the globe. Consequently, the law governing data protection has evolved to reflect the complexity of data processing, and the challenge of protecting individuals’ rights in their personal data.

The introduction of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR”), which was supplemented in the UK by the 2018 Data Protection Act and subsequently incorporated into UK law, was the most significant change in the data protection landscape since the 1998 Data Protection Act. This new regime has already had a widespread impact on how organisations use personal data, how individuals enforce their rights, and on how regulators ensure personal data is safeguarded. Given such far-reaching changes to the data protection regulatory environment, the comprehensive and insightful commentary offered by this latest edition of Rosemary Jay’s book has been eagerly awaited.

The book includes contributions from significant industry thought leaders and covers the GDPR, its application in the UK, the implementation of Directive 2016/680 (the Law Enforcement Directive) and the new data protection regime which governs the UK intelligence services, as well as the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations and the revised rules on the monitoring of business communications. The impact of Brexit is also considered throughout the book.

Global law firm Hogan Lovells announced that Courtney Devon Taylor has joined the firm as a partner in the Litigation, Arbitration, and Employment practice in Philadelphia and New York. Taylor joins the firm from Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis, where she was vice-chair of the firm’s Securities Litigation Practice Group.

Licensed to practice in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, Taylor represents global and U.S. based clients in commercial litigation and regulatory enforcement matters. Her experience includes securities class action defense, shareholder derivative suits, M&A related litigation, and litigation emanating from other transactions involving contests for corporate control. She has tried a variety of cases to verdict. She has represented broker-dealers in significant disputes, including a rare and successful FINRA Enforcement Hearing.

Taylor’s clients operate in industries that include financial services, insurance, technology and sports. She joins the firm’s Financial Institutions and Insurance Sector, and the Sports, Media & Entertainment team.

Taylor earned her J.D., with honors, from Emory University School of Law, and a B.A. in Government from Wesleyan University.

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is pleased to announce that partners Lindsey C. Boney IV, Tripp Haston and Lela M. Hollabaugh have been named by Who’s Who Legal as among the world’s leading life sciences attorneys. They are listed in the Product Liability chapter of the 2021 edition of Who’s Who Legal: Life Sciences.

Bradley’s nationally recognized Life Sciences Industry team represents clients involved in pharmaceuticals, medical devices, molecular testing services, drug delivery systems, clinical labs (CLIA), genomic labs, bioinformatics, genomic medical clinics, research institutions, contract research organizations, animal sciences, plant sciences, and healthcare. Bradley earned Tier 1 national rankings in the 2021 edition of U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” for Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions, as well as Tier 1 “Best Law Firms” metropolitan rankings for Product Liability Litigation – Defendants for Birmingham; Jackson, Miss.; Montgomery, Ala; Nashville, Tenn.; and Washington, D.C.

The 2021 edition of Who’s Who Legal: Life Sciences is scheduled to be published early next year by London-based Law Business Research Limited. Only 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.

As companies continue to operate in a remote work environment, many are looking at ways to improve their contract management processes. On December 11th at 12:00pm ET, the Contract Logix team will be hosting a webinar on Best Practices to Successfully Manage Contracts in a Remote World.

Join us to learn 5 best practices you can leverage to overcome the challenges of managing contracts when your employees, customers, and vendors are working remotely.

Some key topics that we’ll cover include how to:

• Make your contracts securely accessible from anywhere at any time.
• Quickly search for any and all information in your agreements.
• Request, create, process, and execute contracts remotely.
• Automate alerts for key dates and obligations.
• Get real-time reports on your contracts’ stage, status, and performance.

“Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP announced today that Geoffrey S. Berman, former US Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), has joined as head of the White Collar Defense, Regulatory Enforcement & Investigations Practice and member of the Firm’s Governance Committee,” as announced on Fried Frank’s News Releases.

“At Fried Frank, Mr. Berman, who served as US Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 2018 to 2020, will represent individuals and corporations in white-collar cases, internal investigations, and complex commercial litigation.”

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“When the government offered forgivable loans to keep businesses afloat and workers on the payroll during the novel coronavirus pandemic, dozens of larger law firms received the money,” reports Debra Cassens Weiss in ABA Journal’s News.

“Now, the U.S. Small Business Administration has released more details on the loans as a result of a federal judge’s order, including the loan amounts.”

“…seven of the nation’s 200 top-grossing law firms received the maximum $10 million loan in the paycheck protection program.”

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“Salesforce.com Inc. is preparing to close what would be its biggest deal ever—and it plans to do so with a new finance chief,” report Nina Trentmann and Mark Maurer in The Wall Street Journal’s CFO Journal.

“San Francisco-based Salesforce, which built a reputation around its customer relationship management software, Tuesday said President and Chief Financial Officer Mark Hawkins intends to retire from his role, effective Jan. 31.”

“The company on Tuesday also confirmed it would buy collaboration platform provider Slack Technologies Inc. in a $27.7 billion transaction.”

“Amy Weaver, president and chief legal officer at Salesforce.com Inc., will become chief financial officer of the company on Feb. 1.”

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“Back in September, Davis Polk really raised the bar on special bonuses, offering associates up to $40,000 based on class year in recognition of their hard work throughout the pandemic. These bonuses weren’t consequential for Davis Polk associates alone — now almost all firms have adopted the Davis Polk special bonus, lest they be left in the dust when it comes to offering market compensation,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above the Law’s Biglaw.

“And now, the top 20 Am Law firm that brought about 2020’s bonus big boom has announced its year-end bonuses. Unsurprisingly, the firm has matched the prevailing market rate that was first announced by Baker McKenzie and later echoed by Cravath.”

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In Era of Remote Engagement, Actionable Guidance Remains Crucial in Law Firm Communications, New Study Finds

Incumbent law firms have advantage in the battle for clients’ attention, but substantive content creates openings for challenger firms

Chicago, December 1, 2020 – By bringing in-person client interactions to a virtual halt, the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a digital content explosion as law firms compete for the attention of clients and prospects. A new study of in-house counsel shows that providing substantive, actionable guidance remains the best way to rise above the noise, preserve existing client relationships, and win new ones.

These findings are detailed in the report, “How to Win and Protect Client Relationships in the Age of Remote Engagement,” released today by strategic communications firm Greentarget, legal consultancy Zeughauser Group, and B2B branding agency Right Hat. The August 2020 survey of 75 in-house lawyers, including 37 general counsel, offers important guidance for law firms anticipating an extended period of remote outreach.

The survey’s top findings include:

• Stick to Substance: 53 percent of respondents say they most want communications from outside counsel that relay substantive legal or business information. And substantive legal or business information is also most likely to generate a response from in-house counsel, especially for incumbent firms. For challenger firms, content that provides actionable guidance is the best route to sparking a conversation.
• Incumbent Firms Beware! 68 percent of in-house counsel say communication from existing outside counsel is of greatest value, but 31 percent say they place great value on communications from firms introduced to them by friends or colleagues. This suggests a clear opening for challenger firms with the right connections and approach.
• Pick Up the Phone – to Call or Text: Amid the age of digital communication, in-house lawyers most prefer the simplicity and intimacy of a telephone call or text. Picking up the phone affords outside counsel the chance to check in on a client personally before raising an emerging business or legal issue.
• Stay Relevant to be Read or Shared: More than half of in-house lawyers surveyed are willing to give communications from existing law firms (56 percent) and unfamiliar law firms (50 percent) at least a perfunctory read for relevance. Twenty-eight percent go further, saying that they appreciate good content sent from both types of firms, and they forward these communications to peers when appropriate.
• Perspective Wanted on Pressing Legal and Business Issues: 69 percent of in-house counsel say they want content on COVID-19’s impact on the economy and their businesses; nearly as many (65 percent) want content on business and legal topics not related to COVID-19. When we asked in-house counsel to name issues they’d like to hear about from firms, diversity, equity and inclusion topped the list.
• Forget Zoom Cocktail Hours: Seeking to fill the vacuum created by the inability to entertain clients, some firms have gotten creative with virtual social events. But virtual entertainment has little appeal for most in-house lawyers; 51 percent of respondents say they simply are not interested, and 40 percent say that they don’t want to engage with law firms in this manner.

What Law Firms Should Do
The report concludes with a series of recommendations for breaking through in the age of information overload, particularly given the increased flow of digital communication clients are receiving during the pandemic.

These recommendations start by reminding outside counsel that phone calls and texts are a welcome alternative to email; that evaluating content for its relevance, urgency, novelty and utility will distinguish it from the bulk of what clients are receiving; that all communication to clients and prospects should be customized; that incumbent law firms should avoid complacency; that investing in prospects can differentiate a firm seeking to develop a new relationship, and that bigger and bolder thought leadership projects – like research reports and podcasting – can show clients that a law firm is sensitive to their preferences and priorities.