Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has released the results of the Littler Employer Pulse Survey Report. The survey was completed by representatives of nearly 1,100 companies in mid-October – seven months after the remote-work pivot necessitated by the coronavirus and just weeks before the 2020 presidential election.

With COVID-19 cases again surging in the United States, the reality of the extended remote work environment seems to have set in for respondents, which include in-house counsel, human resources professionals and C-suite executives. At this stage of the pandemic, the results show employers placing greater focus on employee well-being and maintaining company culture, while bracing for workplace policy changes that will come with the new presidential administration.

Workplace Culture and Employee Well-Being

Among respondents who have maintained a largely remote workforce during the pandemic, the majority are continuing remote work arrangements at least through the end of the year (57 percent) or gradually bringing employees back on a voluntary basis (25 percent). Only 18 percent are reopening and requiring more employees to return.

In this prolonged remote work environment, maintaining company culture and keeping employees content emerged as key areas of concern for employers. A strong majority (81 percent) report being at least somewhat concerned about the pandemic’s impact on employee mental health and well-being – and just two percent say they are not concerned at all. Seventy-five percent expressed the same level of concern about how the shift to remote work has impacted company culture, collaboration and employee loyalty.

Employers report taking a range of actions to address employee well-being during the pandemic, including offering more flexible work schedules (73 percent) and providing mental health services and Employee Assistance Programs (68 percent).

The 2020 Election

While the survey was conducted just prior to the November 3 election, the results suggest employers were already anticipating significant changes to workplace policy under a Biden administration.

Half of the employers surveyed expect an uptick in enforcement actions by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and its state counterparts regarding compliance with COVID-19 safety rules. Outside of the new presidential administration’s COVID-19 response, respondents predict employment law-related changes in such areas as: paid sick and family leave requirements (74 percent), healthcare policy (71 percent), immigration (66 percent) and measures to address income inequality (64 percent).

Additional Key Findings

Other findings discussed in the report include:

• More than half of employers surveyed (56 percent) say they are struggling to navigate the various laws that apply to time off, scheduling and accommodation requests from employees with children whose education and care are affected by COVID-19.
• Amid renewed calls for racial justice and equality, supporting employees and addressing racism in the workplace emerged as an area of concern. That concern was especially pronounced among companies with over 10,000 employees as 43 percent say they are extremely or moderately concerned about this issue (compared to 27 percent of all respondents).
• With COVID-19 accelerating technology’s already prominent role in how companies operate, many employers report using technology or digital tools to manage their workforces during the pandemic. For instance, 55 percent of all respondents (and 70 percent of those whose companies have over 10,000 employees) are now using technology-driven recruiting and hiring tools

“A federal appeals court has concluded that a federal judge’s comments about a lawyer for a bias plaintiff were ‘within the bounds of what imperfect men and women, even after having been confirmed as federal judges, sometimes display,'” reports Debra Cassens Weiss in ABA Journal’s News.

“The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Cincinnati ruled that U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman of the Eastern District of Michigan was not required to recuse himself before tossing the discrimination case against General Motors. But his threat to place the lawyer on a pro bono list ‘could easily be seen as punitive,’ the court said.”

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“Earlier this fall, when elite firms were falling over themselves to match the Davis Polk special bonus scale, others were in no rush, instead simply committing to make sure that associates would be properly compensated in the future. That’s what Goodwin Procter did back in early October. Lo and behold, today, the morning after Cravath announced that it would fall in line to match those generous pandemic bonuses, Goodwin has announced that it will be handing out special bonuses on the DPW scale,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above the Law’s Biglaw.

“But, there’s a catch. While the DPW special bonuses merely required associates to be in ‘good standing,’ Goodwin’s special bonuses are hours-based by class year.”

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“Which Biglaw firm is the true gold standard of Biglaw compensation? … Cravath is sorta the default answer, even though they aren’t, strictly speaking, the top of the market. And that reputation took a further hit this year when Cooley started the COVID fall bonus trend followed by Davis Polk coming over the top of that scale, while Cravath opted to wait until the end of the year. Now year-end bonuses at Cravath have been announced, and while their associates will get full market scale, it’s clear they’re not about making any waves this year,” writes Kathryn Rubino in Above the Law’s Biglaw.

“But there’s another firm that’s been making their pitch to be the compensation leader. Milbank’s the firm that brought about the $190K salary scale, and last year, they were the first to move on year-end bonuses. So they’ve definitely proven they have what it takes to set the standard in Biglaw compensation. Now they’ve released their year-end bonuses…”

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“IAC (NASDAQ: IAC) today announced the appointment of Kendall Handler to Senior Vice President and General Counsel, succeeding Gregg Winiarski who will step down December 31, 2020 after more than a decade in the General Counsel role. Ms. Handler, who currently serves as Vice President, Mergers & Acquisitions Counsel at IAC, will take on the General Counsel position effective January 1, 2021, overseeing all legal, compliance and human resources functions for the company,” IAC provided to Cision PR Newswire.

“Ms. Handler joined IAC in 2017 as lead M&A Counsel, and in that role has led some of IAC’s largest transactions, including its acquisition of Care.com and its $1 billion investment in MGM.”

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Stroock is pleased to bring some positive news to these challenging times with the promotion of four new partners and three new special counsel, effective January 1, 2021.

The following lawyers have been promoted to partner:

Julie Nevins (Litigation, Miami): Nevins handles a broad range of complex commercial matters, including insurance coverage, bad faith, business torts, contracts, real property, outdoor advertising and intellectual property. In addition to litigating, she provides counseling on coverage and claims handling. Nevins is a sought after conference panelist and a regular author on important insurance issues that impact the market, most recently providing insight on business interruption in the era of COVID-19.

Marija Pecar (Financial Restructuring, New York): Pecar specializes in debt finance as part of the Financial Restructuring Group. Pecar represents leading investment and commercial banks, hedge funds, private equity sponsors and other alternative capital providers, as well as public and private companies, as creditors, sponsors, debtors, underwriters, arrangers, collateral agents and indenture trustees on a wide range of complex domestic and cross-border financing transactions, including leveraged acquisition and syndicated financings; distressed debt and other special situations financings and restructurings (including “debtor-in-possession” financings, bridge facilities and chapter 11 exits); ABLs; high-yield bond issuances and other debt and capital markets transactions.

Shannon Reaves (Government Affairs & Regulatory Support, Washington, D.C.): Reaves focuses his practice in the areas of Exon-Florio reviews before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS); industrial security, including Foreign Ownership, Control or Influence (FOCI) mitigation matters before the U.S. Departments of Defense and Energy; and export control compliance. He also advises companies regarding major defense industry acquisitions. Reaves has participated in hundreds of CFIUS reviews, has conducted industrial security due diligence for transactions and has investigated export control violations. He is a noted panelist at leading industry conferences and has contributed to numerous articles on CFIUS regulation.

Gabriel Sasson (Financial Restructuring, New York): Sasson concentrates his practice on bankruptcy proceedings and out-of-court restructuring transactions. Sasson has extensive experience representing ad hoc groups of bondholders, secured lenders and other creditors, DIP lenders, official committees of unsecured creditors, indenture trustees, equity holders and debtors in connection with in-court and out-of-court restructurings. In addition, Sasson has experience in the representation of large insurance companies, as creditors, in chapter 11 and chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings.

The following lawyers have been promoted to special counsel:

Kerry Cooperman (Government Affairs & Regulatory Support, New York): Cooperman focuses on complex commercial litigation, with particular concentrations in commercial real estate disputes, financial regulatory enforcement matters, and political law compliance. Cooperman also supports Stroock’s Public Service Project, helping oversee our pro bono program with particular attention to representing children with special education needs in securing appropriate educational services and school placements. His concentration also encompasses advocacy for not-for-profit organizations.

Thomas Shiah (Financial Restructuring, New York): Shiah focuses his practice on the corporate and transactional aspects of in-court and out-of-court restructurings, including mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity financings, debtor-in-possession financings, and restructurings and workouts. He has experience representing clients in all aspects of the structuring, negotiation, financing and implementation of these transactions. Shiah also regularly represents hedge funds, private equity funds, banks and large institutional investors regarding the development and implementation of distressed investment strategies.

Daniel Yost (Litigation, New York): Yost focuses on complex commercial litigation, as well as regulatory compliance counseling and defense for clients in federal and multi-state investigations, enforcement actions and examinations. He has experience in matters involving state and federal consumer protection statutes, fair lending and fair housing laws, credit reporting and debt collection. Yost pro bono practice focuses on asylum claims for refugees and housing rights for New York City tenants.

Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery LLP will present a free webinar, “Legal Ethics for IP Practitioners: A Cautionary Tale of Professional Irresponsibility,” featuring Fitch Even attorney Steven G. Parmelee.

The webinar will take place on Wednesday, December 16, 2020, at 9:00 am PST / 10:00 am MST / 11:00 am CST / 12 noon EST.

Registered patent practitioners must follow the USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct, which conform to the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct. Although largely similar to state bar rules, the USPTO rules can be applied in some fact scenarios that are unique to the intellectual property world.

During this webinar, the presenter will take a deep dive into how one patent attorney repeatedly ran afoul with the USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct in the context of a business venture that purported to serve the unique needs of the inventor community. This troublesome tale showcases some interesting ways in which the USPTO Office of Enrollment and Discipline interprets and applies these USPTO rules. The presenter will examine these and other behaviors to which the USPTO objected:

• Following instructions from an intermediary on when to file a patent application for a client
• Disclosing a fee arrangement with a client
• Supervising an employee working for a client via an intermediary
• Doing business under an assumed name

CLE credit has been approved for California, Illinois, and Nebraska. Other states may also award CLE credit upon attendee request.

Following the live event, a recording of the webinar will be available to view for one year at www.fitcheven.com.

Register for the webinar.

Dykema, a leading national law firm, today announced the addition of Ryan S. Alexander to its Corporate Finance Practice Group as a Member in the firm’s Los Angeles office. Alexander joins Dykema from Lewis Brisbois, Bisgaard & Smith, LLP.

Alexander concentrates his practice on corporate, commercial and technology transactional matters. He represents publicly-traded companies, privately-held companies, private equity funds, partnerships and professional service firms for clients in the automotive, consumer products, utility, government vendor, financial services and media and advertising sectors. Alexander has completed numerous M&A transactions ranging in size between $25M-$800M in market sectors including automotive, consumer products, defense, energy, gaming and health care.

Alexander has vast commercial experience and has completed transactions relating to the design, development, manufacture, distribution and sale of products and the sourcing of materials, products, and technology. He has created sales and warranty policies for several high-end consumer products manufacturers, prepared various distribution, dealer and franchise agreements, and has counseled clients regarding development, manufacture and sale of automotive components and restricted technologies.

Alexander earned a J.D. from the John Marshall Law School and a B.S. from Midwestern State University.

Washington, DC (November 24, 2020) – The Venable Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Venable LLP, is pleased to announce that it has been recognized as a platinum-level participant in D.C. Access to Justice’s 2019 Raising the Bar Campaign. The platinum level is the campaign’s top tier and honors firms that have administered financial support amounting to .11% of D.C. office revenue to local legal services providers. In 2019, the Venable Foundation awarded $341,000 in grants to legal aid organizations in D.C., and more than $600,000 across the country.

To meet the urgent need for increased funding for legal services, the D.C. Access to Justice Commission formally launched the Raising the Bar in D.C. Campaign in December 2010. The campaign’s goal is to substantially increase financial support to the District’s legal services community by establishing benchmarks for law firm giving and annually recognizing those firms that have donated at benchmark levels. Because the benchmarks are based on revenue, the recognition levels are accessible to firms of all sizes.

The D.C. Access to Justice Commission was created by the D.C. Court of Appeals in 2005 to improve low- and moderate-income residents’ ability to access the civil justice system and raise awareness of the need for equal access to justice. The Commission has twenty-four commissioners, including D.C. Court of Appeals and Superior Court judges, past presidents of the D.C. Bar, executive directors of leading legal services providers, corporate counsel, and other community leaders.

The Venable Foundation was established in 1983 to support a wide variety of charitable, civic, and cultural endeavors, and serve public interest law needs in our communities. In the past 10 years, the Venable Foundation has granted more than $25 million to worthy organizations that provide critical support to those in need. These include children’s services and funding for disadvantaged families and individuals; homeless shelters and food programs; community organizations, hospitals, hospices, and local chapters of national health organizations; and educational, artistic, and cultural events and organizations. In 2019 alone, the Foundation awarded $3.2 million in grant dollars to 363 nonprofit organizations in Washington, DC, Baltimore, New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. The Foundation is funded by the partners of Venable LLP.

This event is FREE for all In-House Counsel.*
*If you are a non-member of the New York City Bar Association, please call Customer Relations at (212) 382-6663.

Chaired by Michael S. Solender, Global Vice Chair & General Counsel, EY, this year’s program will feature keynote speaker Jeh Johnson, former Secretary of Homeland Security, and will talk about the role of lawyers in upholding the rule of law. Four panels will cover the subjects we expect are foremost on your mind with respect to the new administration –

• Justice and Law Enforcement
• Environmental Policy and Regulation
• Healthcare Policy and Regulation
• Business Policy and Regulation (including trade, tax, technology and China)

For each panel, we have recruited top experts in their fields who will offer diverse perspectives from a range of different vantage points, including:

• Top academics including Abbe Gluck of Yale, Michael Gerrard of Columbia, and Mary McCord of Georgetown
• Leaders from the private bar including Barry Berke of Kramer Levin, Antoinia Apps of Milbank, William Bernstein of Manatt Phelps, and Claire Reade and Jonathan Martel of Arnold & Porter
• Current and former public officials New York Commissioner of Environmental Conservation Basil Seggos, former Federal Judge John Gleeson, Congressman Eric Swalwell, California’s 15th District and others to be announced
• New York Times Journalists Sarah Kliff and Ana Swanson
• Senior in house lawyers Roger Martella from General Electric, Helena Sullivan of Bunge and Michael S. Solender from EY
• Public interest lawyer and leader Abigail Dillen
• Tax leader and practitioner Kate Barton of EY

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“Addressing climate change and its effects is one of President-elect Joe Biden’s top four priorities. Growing the clean-energy sector will be necessary to achieve his new administration’s goal of economy-wide, net-zero emissions by 2050 at the latest, a 2035 target for a ‘carbon pollution-free power sector’ and plans to rejoin the 2015 Paris Agreement, from which President Donald Trump announced the US would withdraw, an action that took effect on Nov. 4,” write Corinne Grinapol, Mary B. Powers, Pam Radtke Russell, and Debra K. Rubin in Engineering News-Record.

“That global agreement sets a collective goal of limiting CO₂ rise in the 21st century to under 2° C above pre-industrial levels, with each country submitting specific reductions. The U.S. had initially pledged to cut, by 2025, greenhouse gas emissions to 26%-28% below the 2005 level, as well as strive for an overall 28% emissions reduction.”

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“Dayston v, LLC v. Brooke, voided a real estate contract because it failed to satisfy the Texas statute of frauds,” discusses Charles Sartain in Gray Reed’s Energy & The Law.

“Brooke sued Dayston asserting that the contract was void due to an insufficient legal description and asked for return of earnest money.”

This post details what is required for a sufficient legal description.

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“Many people opt for binding arbitration because it is supposedly faster and cheaper, and binding – thus final,” writes Eric S. Solotoff in Fox Rothschild’s NJ Family Legal Blog.

“Some people have to arbitrate their matters that they cannot settle amongst themselves, because there are issues that they cannot try before a court given the court’s mandatory obligation to report certain matters to the proper authorities (e.g. taxing authorities). While many people seek the finality of a binding result, many others are concerned that because an arbitrator is human, she/he could make a mistake. Accordingly, they want the ability to appeal the matter to a reviewing body of some sort. However, the two main arbitration statutes have a very limited right of review.”

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“The statutes of limitations set forth in the CPLR are default rules, and parties generally are free to modify default rules by agreement,” writes Peter J. Sluka in Farrell Fritz.

“But statutes of limitations also further the important public interests, such as avoiding stale claims and giving repose to our affairs. In light of the public interests involved, there are substantial limits on how much parties can agree to lengthen, shorten, or waive the limitations periods applicable to claims arising under New York law.”

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New York-listed Penn National Gaming has confirmed that long-standing general counsel Carl Sottosanti will retire at the end of this year, posted Penn National in their Press Releases.

Sottosanti will retire as executive vice president, general counsel and secretary on 31 December after 17 years’ service at Penn National.

He will be replaced by experienced legal executive Harper Ko, who will join Penn National from Everi at the beginning of next year, subject to customary regulatory approvals.

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“UnitedHealth Group Inc. announced Friday its hire of Matthew Friedrich as chief legal officer, a role he will assume Jan. 11, as the managed health care and insurance company copes with the ongoing fallout from the coronavirus pandemic,” reports Brian Baxter in Bloomberg Law’s The United State Law Week.

“Friedrich, 54, is a former partner at Boies Schiller Flexner and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer who has spent the past three years as general counsel and chief corporate affairs officer at Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp., an information technology services provider and large federal government contractor.”

“He will succeed retiring UnitedHealth legal chief Marianne Short, 69, the first female managing partner at Dorsey & Whitney in Minneapolis. Short stepped down from the law firm in 2013 to take over as UnitedHealth’s top lawyer, replacing Richard Baer, now chief legal officer at Airbnb Inc.”

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“Bruce Matson, a prominent, longtime local bankruptcy attorney formerly of LeClairRyan, had his law license revoked last week by the Virginia State Bar after he admitted to inappropriately pocketing seven figures worth of funds from the long-dormant LandAmerica bankruptcy trust account,” reports Michael Schwartz in Richmond BizSense.

“The disbarment stems from an episode last year when it was discovered that Matson withdrew $2.8 million from the LandAmerica wind-down account and put the money into his own personal account and those of his associate Robert Smith, and their wives.”

“Matson, who has spent a portion of his nearly 40-year law career as a bankruptcy trustee, acting as the main fiduciary on often complex corporate bankruptcy cases, oversaw the untangling of LandAmerica’s collapse. The once mighty Henrico-based title insurance firm went under in a heap in 2008 as the Great Recession was beginning.”

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“Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP is pleased to announce that the attorneys, directors, and advisors from Redgrave LLP will join the firm’s Encompass practice, establishing Encompass Redgrave as the nation’s largest and most comprehensive information and discovery law practice. In this field, both firms already top the market in scale and scope of experience and resources, and the combined team will offer clients unparalleled depth of legal experience along with best-in-class technological capabilities to address the most complex and high-risk litigation, government investigation, and data governance challenges,” posted the company on Encompass’ News.

“Encompass Redgrave will be co-led by John Martin and Jonathan Redgrave. Martin, who has led the Encompass practice at Nelson Mullins since its inception more than a decade ago, said.”

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Exton, Pennsylvania-based West Pharmaceutical Services has recruited Kimberly Banks MacKay as senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary, effective December 8, 2020, posted West in their Press Releases.

“Ms. MacKay joins West from The Segal Group, a privately held firm specializing in employee benefits and investment consulting where she served as Senior Vice President General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. Prior to Segal, she served for over 15 years in roles of increasing responsibility at Novartis, including Head U.S. Legal for Novartis Business Services, Deputy Compliance Officer for Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation and Lead Counsel for a large Novartis business unit. Before joining Novartis, Kim practiced securities law at MetLife, Lucent Technologies and Milbank in New York. She also held a Federal clerkship and spent several years in commercial banking.”

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“Since at least 2017, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has emphasized the need for a determination of compliance training effectiveness. In the 2020 Update, it stated under the section entitled ‘Form/Content/Effectiveness of Training’ the following questions, How has the company measured the effectiveness of the training? Have employees been tested on what they have learned? How has the company addressed employees who fail all or a portion of the testing? Has the company evaluated the extent to which the training has an impact on employee behavior or operations?”posted FCPA Compliance & Ethics in their blog.

“No company executive would ever say a company does not need to conduct compliance training. However, compliance training is just one part of the overall compliance program. It is not the entire program. The compliance program is designed to (1) prevent compliance violations and (2) protect the company when a compliance issue occurs.”

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