“On Tuesday the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that it fined Affordable Enterprises of Arizona $37.5 million for making at least 2.3 million illegal spoofed telemarketing calls in a 14-month period starting in 2016 in violation of the Truth in Caller ID Act,” reports Kirsten Errick in Law Street Media’s Tech News.

“According to the FCC, the company either used unassigned phone numbers or phone numbers that in most cases ‘belonged to innocent Arizona consumers and placed them in the caller ID of their telemarketing calls.’ As a result of this purported conduct, Affordable Enterprises of Arizona ‘was able to appear to be calling from local phone numbers and to avoid receiving angry callbacks when making spoofed telemarketing calls to sell home improvement and remodeling services.’ Moreover, the FCC stated that the caller ID was manipulated to appear to come from a number not connected to the company. Additionally, calls also came from pre-paid ‘burner phones’. Regardless, Affordable Enterprises of Arizona allegedly spoofed the caller ID, so consumers were not able to correctly identify the caller.”

Read the article.

“The settlement resolves allegations that Merit Medical Systems engaged in a kickback scheme lasting more than six years to pay healthcare providers to induce use of its products in medical procedures performed on Medicare, Medicaid, and Tricare beneficiaries,” reports Clare Goldsberry in Plastics Today’s Medical News.

“Medical device maker Merit Medical Systems Inc. (MMSI) has agreed to pay $18 million to resolve allegations that it caused the submission of false claims to the Medicare, Medicaid, and Tricare programs by paying kickbacks to physicians and hospitals to induce the use of MMSI products.”

“The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits offering or paying anything of value to induce the referral of items or services covered by Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare, and other federal healthcare programs.”

Read the article.

Akerman LLP, a top 100 U.S. law firm serving clients across the Americas, welcomes Russell Marcus to the firm’s Corporate Practice Group in Fort Lauderdale. Marcus further strengthens Akerman’s strengths in corporate, M&A, and private equity with experience representing entities in regulated industries, including healthcare organizations, financial services institutions, and governmental agencies.

Marcus’ practice is focused on M&A and private equity transactions with a concentration on transactions involving regulated industries. He has represented public and private companies and private equity funds in numerous transactions. His experience includes mergers, stock and asset acquisitions, and joint ventures. Marcus also regularly advises boards regarding governance and fiduciary duties and consults with governmental agencies. He represents clients in a variety of industries, including healthcare, life sciences, insurance, banking, technology, energy, and manufacturing.

Prior to private practice, Marcus led a career in public economic development and venture capital. As chief of business development for the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, he assisted the Governor of Florida in the advancement of the state’s economic development by administering state and federal programs for local businesses and communities. Marcus later served as president and executive director of Florida Opportunity Fund, Inc., which provides venture capital to emerging Florida companies and entrepreneurs in the early-stage finance ecosystem.

Michael Best is pleased to announce that Leigh Jeter has joined the firm’s Labor and Employment Relations Practice as senior counsel in Chicago. She is the latest hire to the practice coming on the heels of recent addition, Emily Hobbs, as partner in Denver.

Jeter’s litigation experience includes representing public and private sector clients in state and federal courts and administrative agencies across the nation. She has advised on all matters of employment law including investigations involving harassment and violations of company policy, Title VII, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), age discrimination, Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) matters, and related state laws. Her work also includes providing employer trainings on employment issues including the prevention of discrimination and harassment, supervisor best practices, and ADA/FMLA issues.

After working in private practice at Seyfarth Shaw and Clark Baird Smith for nearly a combined two decades, Jeter founded and acted as principal attorney at the Jeter Law Office, where she practiced for nearly three years before moving to LaPointe Law. Additionally, Jeter served as the Director of the Sexual Harassment Prevention Office at Northwestern University, where she investigated harassment complaints across the university and trained staff on issues related to the prevention of harassment and discrimination.

Jeter earned her J.D. from the University of South Carolina School of Law and her B.S. and B.A. from the University of South Carolina-Columbia.

Barnes & Thornburg has added Matthew S. Gibson as a partner in the Intellectual Property Department in its Dallas office. He is the seventh addition to the Intellectual Property Department this year, and his move follows on the heels of Jerry Harris’ addition to the group in Dallas in August.

Gibson is a patent attorney who serves clients in the life science industry pursuing technologies such as gene therapies, cell therapies, immunotherapies, next generation DNA sequencing, and traditional small molecule pharmaceuticals. Gibson’s practice spans the entire life cycle of a patent, from procurement to licensing to defending against validity challenges at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, including inter partes review proceedings.

Gibson also assists clients during the product development or acquisition process by assessing risk associated with competitor IP and analyzing strength of target IP assets. On the enforcement side, Gibson works with his clients to assess the merits of a potential lawsuit and to develop the litigation strategy.

In addition to his patent practice, Gibson also counsels higher education institutions and for-profit companies on their intellectual property policies and routinely provides counsel on trademark-related matters.

Gibson earned his J.D. from the University of Oklahoma College of Law, his Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma, and his B.S. from Oklahoma Christian University.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and just a year after tempering expectations for deal-making, respondents to Dykema’s 16th Annual M&A Outlook Survey are the most optimistic they have been in the 16-year history of the survey.

Seventy-one percent of respondents expect the M&A market to strengthen over the next 12 months, up from 33 percent in 2019, and 87 percent believe M&A activity will increase in the same time frame. The rise in optimism reflects market conditions and a belief from respondents that the worst is behind them – with both financial and strategic buyers seeing opportunity in a hobbled economy. Further, 60 percent of respondents say their outlook for the U.S. economy is positive over the next 12 months

The survey polled senior executives and advisers across the nation, CEOs, CFOs, owners, managing directors and other professionals involved in M&A activity. When asked about the impact this year’s election could have on deal-making, nearly twice as many respondents felt Donald Trump’s reelection would be positive for M&A (61 percent) compared to a Joe Biden victory (34 percent). Sixty-four percent see Republican control of both houses of Congress as the most favorable outcome for M&A; half as many (32 percent) view Democratic control of both houses as positive.

Despite their optimism, deal-makers agreed about several looming issues. Nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of respondents ranked COVID-19 among the three greatest threats; Democrat wins in the presidency (48 percent) and Congress (46 percent) followed in second and third place among top concerns.

The survey yielded several additional significant findings, including:

• Respondents were divided on what would be the single greatest driver of U.S. M&A activity over the next 12 months, with U.S. economic conditions (22 percent), favorable interest rates (22 percent) and availability of capital (20 percent) all vying for the top spot.
• Strategic U.S. buyers saw a resurgence in this year’s survey, ranking atop our list of most influential buyers for the first time since 2017, likely a reflection of our unique economic conditions. Financial U.S. buyers followed closely behind and remain flush with deployable capital.
• Respondents embraced government programs to help businesses survive COVID-19 restrictions and their fallout. The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) proved most popular; 73 percent of respondents say they accepted those loans. Just 8 percent of respondents who worked on deals involving PPP reported failing to close the deal due to the loan – a sign deal-makers were able to navigate potential hurdles involving the outstanding loans.
• Respondents predict the following sectors will see the most M&A activity in the next 12 months: 1) Automotive; 2) Health Care; 3) Technology; 4) Consumer Products; 5) Financial Services. Notably, education jumped to number six in this year’s survey, up nine spots from 2019. Energy dropped from third in 2019 to eighth.
• Europe ranked as the top destination for both inbound and outbound U.S. M&A activity. Central/South America and China ranked second and third for inbound activity, with those two options flipped for outbound.

Survey results are being released at Dykema’s exclusive annual M&A Outlook event on October 27. Get the full report.

“Johnna Spera was appointed senior vice president and general counsel, a position she has held on an interim basis since February,” posts Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority in AviationPros.

“Spera, who served as deputy vice president and deputy general counsel before stepping into the acting general counsel position, brings more than 30 years of experience to her new role as chief legal officer for the Airports Authority. Her selection follows an extensive nationwide search process.”

“After joining the Airports Authority in 2009 as associate general counsel, Spera focused on Phase one of the Silver Line Metrorail construction project. In the 11 years since, she has led the legal efforts for Project Journey, the $1 billion capital improvement project at Reagan National, revised the Airports Authority’s contracting manual, negotiated numerous revenue-producing easements and licenses at both Reagan National and Dulles International airports and handled legal aspects of the Airports Authority’s $236.5 million sale of its western lands parcel at Dulles International.”

Read the article.

“A judge in Durham County, North Carolina has handed down what may be the nation’s first dispositive ruling in favor of policyholders in a COVID-19 business-interruption lawsuit,” reports Jim Sams in Claims Journal.

“Superior Court Judge Orlando F. Hudson Jr. ruled on Oct. 7 that closure orders that restricted the use of a group of 16 restaurants in the Raleigh-Durham area constituted a ‘direct physical loss’ that was covered by the policy.”

“According to a litigation tracker maintained by the University of Pennsylvania law school, as of Thursday 1,183 lawsuits have been filed seeking coverage from insurers for business income losses caused by coronavirus closure orders. Judges have granted insurers’ motions to dismiss in 26 cases, but have denied dismissal motions in 12 cases, including the Durham County lawsuit, according to the university’s data.”

Read the article.

“Former Portsmouth, Ohio, city council member and attorney Michael Mearan was arrested today on human trafficking, racketeering and related charges,” reports staff in Cincinnati.com The Enquirer.

“Mearan, 74, is charged with nine counts of promoting prostitution, five counts of compelling prostitution, three counts of trafficking in person and one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activities.”

“All the charges are felonies … Mearan faces more than 70 years in prison if convicted.”

Read the article.

“The international investment bank Goldman Sachs agreed to pay $2.9 billion and admit wrongdoing for its involvement in the plundering of an economic development fund meant to benefit Malaysia, under the terms of a settlement announced Thursday by the U.S. Justice Department,” reports Pete Williams in NBC News’ U.S. News.

“Instead of helping develop Malaysia’s economy, the fund’s overseers embezzled roughly $4 billion and bought real estate in Beverly Hills and New York, yachts, a jet and works by Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet, prosecutors said. Some of the money, they said, was used to cover gambling debts at Las Vegas casinos and to help finance the hit movie, ‘The Wolf of Wall Street.'”

“Goldman agreed to pay a penalty and to give back the millions in fees it earned from its work in arranging bonds for the fund managers. Goldman admitted that two former executives participated in an agreement to pay $1.6 billion in bribes to help secure the business.”

Read the article.

“Remote work is here to stay. The shift from in-person office work to working from home has been dramatic, and the data and commentators suggest it may be permanent. Employers, therefore, need to develop thoughtful telecommuting options and employment policies to go with them,” write Jeff MacHarg and Beau Howard, Partners at Fox Rothschild in HR Daily Advisor.

“For companies with workers in other states, the work-from-home (WFH) scenario creates a risk of defending lawsuits in unfamiliar and distant courts. To prevent this, employers must understand the legal concept of ‘personal jurisdiction’ and the specific steps they can take to avoid litigating in an employee’s home court.”

Read these strategies to help establish and maintain a home court advantage.

Read the article.

“The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently released updated guidance for both employers and employees addressing common questions related to COVID-19 and the federal employment laws. The update pulled together information from other agency resources, modified two existing questions and answers, and added 18 new ones,” reports Samuel Jackson of Perkins Coie LLP in HR Daily Advisor.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted employers’ normal operations in virtually every way, but it’s important for you to stay abreast of the EEOC’s guidance on employment laws during this challenging time. The agency’s recent update clarified:

• You may conduct coronavirus screening tests and inquiries to all employees returning to the workplace, but you must have a reasonable belief that an individual has COVID-19 or its symptoms if you wish to conduct a test or make inquiries to the person.
• To the extent possible, you must keep confidential all medical information about employees, including COVID-19 details.
• Finally, if employees request a reasonable accommodation, you must engage in the interactive process by discussing what they need and the reasons why.”

Learn the key takeaways for employers and HR pros.

Read the article.

“Business disruptions caused by Covid-19 are providing fertile ground for contractual disputes and negotiations over how losses should be allocated. Kasowitz Benson Torres attorneys say courts may be increasingly willing to adjust contract obligations to avoid inequitable results and they offer tips for contract language,” write Paul “Tad” M. O’Connor III and Jennifer McDougall in Bloomberg Law’s Corporate Governance.

“Covid-19 has given new relevance to the common law breach of contract defenses of impracticability and impossibility of performance, as well as force majeure contract clauses, under which contract performance may be excused because of external events (like the Covid-19 pandemic) not the fault of the parties.”

“Where such a defense is successfully invoked, however, the consequences can potentially be inequitable—a party, for example, could face a loss of expenses it laid out before the occurrence of the event in anticipation of performance by the party whose performance is excused.”

“Courts have taken different approaches to avoid inequitable results.”

Read the article.

“Houston-based Baker Botts, one of the top energy law firms in the U.S., launched a dedicated carbon capture, utilization and storage practice group within its energy sector,” reports Erin Douglas in Houston Chronicle’s Business Energy.

“After launching a hydrogen practice group in June, Baker Botts launched the carbon arm, which the firm said has been a significant topic of interest from clients and energy markets, ‘even during the difficult COVID-19 working environment.'”

“Carbon capture, utilization and storage is considered a promising technology that could help to slow the pace of climate change, especially in the oil and gas industry.”

Read the article.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is pleased to announce that Todd Presnell, a partner in the firm’s Nashville office, has been selected by the Defense Research Institute (DRI) as the 2020 recipient of the Tom Segalla Excellence in Education Award, which honors a member of DRI whose contributions through legal scholarship exemplify the highest educational standards of DRI and further its mission of improving the skills of the defense lawyer.

DRI is the leading organization of defense attorneys and in-house counsel and provides access to resources and tools for attorneys who strive to provide high-quality, balanced and excellent service to their clients and corporations. Presnell was selected for the award, from more than 20,000 DRI members across the country, based on his years of leadership and service with the organization.

A member of the Litigation Practice Group, Presnell maintains an active trial practice, serves in discovery-counsel roles, and leads and advises on internal corporate investigations. Presnell has tried 27 cases to verdict and argued before the Tennessee Supreme Court, Tennessee Court of Appeals, and the Sixth, Seventh, and 10th U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals. He also counsels and advises in-house legal departments on the attorney-client and other evidentiary privileges, and authors the popular legal blog Presnell on Privileges, which the ABA Journal named to its 2016 Top 100 Blawg list. He has been interviewed and quoted on privilege issues by The Wall Street Journal, Politico, Bloomberg news, and various legal news outlets.

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

“A South Florida lawyer has been arrested for his involvement in at least five robberies or attempted robberies of local banks, FBI officials said Wednesday,” was reported in NBC South Florida’s Miami Dade County.

“Aaron Honaker, 41, was arrested Tuesday night as he was attempting to enter a bank in Coral Gables, officials said.

“According to allegations in the complaint affidavit, Honaker would follow a consistent approach during his robbery attempts and succeeded twice: Honaker would walk up to a teller and ask for assistance in making a withdrawal. He would then pass a handwritten note to the teller that would say messages like, ‘don’t touch the alarm or call the police,’ ’empty all of your $50s and $100s and put it in an envelope,’ and ‘keep calm, and give me all the money in the drawer, I have a gun.’ Honaker would take his note with him on the way out of the bank.

Read the article.

“Rockefeller Capital Management… announced the appointment of William ‘Billy’ Fenrich as General Counsel. Fenrich will be a member of the Executive Committee and will be based in New York,” was posted in BusinessWire.

“Prior to joining Rockefeller, Fenrich was the Chief Legal Officer at AQR Capital Management and a member of the firm’s Operating Committee. Previously, Fenrich was the Global Chief Compliance Officer for Morgan Stanley and a member of the firm’s Management and Risk Committees. Fenrich also served as General Counsel and Chief Operating Officer of Point State Capital, from its 2010 spin-out from Duquesne Capital until 2014. He started his career at Davis Polk & Wardwell in 1999 and was named partner in 2005.”

Read the article.

“Family members of a 61-year-old San Pedro grandmother who was killed by a falling 80-foot tree at her daughter’s 2016 wedding party in Whittier have reached a tentative $28 million settlement with the city,” reports City News Service in Whittier Daily News.

“The lawsuit stemming from Margarita Mojarro’s death was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court in April 2017, alleging wrongful death and that a dangerous condition of public property existed.”

“The case was later transferred to Norwalk Superior Court and the plaintiffs’ motion for a finding that the settlement was made in good faith is scheduled to be heard Friday by Judge Raul Sahagun.”

“The settlement does not involve the part of the family’s case against West Coast Arborists LLP, which contracted with the city to inspect and trim trees at Penn Park, where the tree fell, according to the plaintiffs’ attorneys’ court papers.”

“The city also has a cross-complaint against the company for indemnity.”

Read the article.

“Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, has agreed to plead guilty to three federal criminal charges for its role in creating the nation’s opioid crisis and will pay more than $8 billion and close down the company,” reports Chris Isidore in CNN Business.

“The money will go to opioid treatment and abatement programs. The privately held company has agreed to pay a $3.5 billion fine as well as forfeit an additional $2 billion in past profits, in addition to the $2.8 billion it agreed to pay in civil liability.”

“The company doesn’t have $8 billion in cash available to pay the fines. So Purdue will be dissolved as part of the settlement, and its assets will be used to create a new ‘public benefit company’ controlled by a trust or similar entity designed for the benefit of the American public. The Justice Department said it will function entirely in the public interest rather than to maximize profits. Its future earnings will go to paying the fines and penalties, which in turn will be used to combat the opioid crisis.”

Read the article.

HOUSTON – Houston trial lawyers Ashish Mahendru and Darren A. Braun of Mahendru PC appeared in the latest issue of Best Lawyers Business Edition after the magazine featured the attorneys’ international arbitration article “Without Delay.”

The article explores the benefits of including arbitration clauses inside of international agreements. The two litigators cite several positive reasons to steer toward international arbitration, especially during the global COVID-19 pandemic, which has brought many of the world’s legal systems to a halt.

First, international arbitration has always relied on remote means, rather than requiring in-person appearances, to move disputes forward.

Second, the procedure offers flexibility to address problems that come up and typically moves faster.

Third, arbitrators are very comfortable with presenting an entire final hearing via videoconference or by other methods.

Finally, arbitrators are paid to advance cases to a close regardless of what is occurring in the outside world.

Mahendru and Braun have broad experience representing clients in complex business and commercial disputes in state and federal courts and in arbitration. Their firm uses strong civil litigation expertise to design savvy legal strategies to protect their clients’ business and individual interests.

This is the fifth year for the Best Lawyers Global Business Edition. It is the definitive guide to connecting leaders in the international legal community with influential businesses in the United States. The publication is published twice each year and highlights current events, business and legal trends on a global scale.