“From a global pandemic to extreme weather events, supply shortages and a global energy crisis, it’s been a wild couple of years. The uncertainty and instability has bred innovation among corporate energy buyers: Not only are those with experience exploring and using a wider range of contract types, but,” reports Sarah Golden in Green Biz.

“A broader range of companies of all sizes have gotten more comfortable with taking the plunge into renewables procurement. That’s according to “State of the Market,” an annual report from the Clean Energy Buyers Association (CEBA) that identifies top trends from the energy deals inked by U.S.-based corporations. CEBA, an advocacy.”

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“Databricks, the Data and AI company and pioneer of the data lakehouse paradigm, today announced the appointment of Trâm Phi as Senior Vice President and General Counsel. In this role, Phi will pull from her decades of experience scaling high-growth companies, both public and private, to lead,” reports PR Newswire in their blog.

“Tram’s depth of experience and focus on operational excellence in scaling impactful legal and regulatory functions across enterprise software is critical to our continued success as a company,” said Ali Ghodsi, CEO and Co-Founder of Databricks. “Her leadership and expertise across both public and private markets will prove invaluable.”

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“H&M will pay $36 million to settle accusations that the fashion retailer illegally kept millions of dollars in gift cards that customers never used, New York Attorney General Letitia James said on Thursday. The Swedish company, whose full name is H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB, will pay $28.26 million to,” reports Jonathan Stempel in Reuters.

“James said H&M had since 2008 unlawfully kept at least $18.4 million in unused gift card balances in its own bank accounts, instead of transferring them to the state’s Abandoned Property Fund. New York law requires gift card issuers to turn over unused card balances to the fund after five years of inactivity. James also said H&M repeatedly.”

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“Facebook users in Illinois who applied to collect a settlement stemming from a class action lawsuit could see their payment any day now. According to the settlement administrator, paper checks and electronic payments began going out on May 9. The lawsuit was filed over Facebook’s collection and storing of,” reports ABC 7 News in their blog.

“The Biometric data of Illinois users without proper consent. As part of the $650 million settlement, claimants will receive payments of between $200-$400. Those covered by the settlement include Facebook users located in Illinois for whom Facebook created and stored a face template after June 7, 2011. Claimants must have been a resident.”

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“House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Sunday that Congress will take action on the baby formula shortage plaguing states throughout the country. The House is considering two pieces of legislation: first, a bill introduced by Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., chair of the Education and Labor Committee, to “loosen some of the red tape,” connected to how people can purchase formula. Pelosi told CNN that half of the formula is bought by WIC recipients,” reports Chelsey Cox in USA Today.

“The second bill is being put together by Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., that will allow the U.S. to purchase formula from overseas. Mexico, Chile, Ireland and the Netherlands have a formula supply on hand that may be immediately available, Pelosi told ABC News Sunday.”

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“At first glance, it may seem as though Big Tech can’t figure out how to make money off its foray into podcasting. In early May 2022, Meta announced that it was abruptly ending Facebook’s podcast integration less a year after it launched. Facebook had offered podcasters the ability to upload their,” reports John Sullivan in The Conversation.

“Meanwhile, Spotify’s own expensive gamble on podcast integration within its music streaming service hasn’t resulted in the surge of new listeners that it had hoped and what about the emergence of social audio platforms like Clubhouse that promised to re-imagine podcasting as live audio chatrooms hosted by celebrities and public.”

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“Charles Barber has been appointed George Washington University’s permanent vice president and general counsel, President Mark S. Wrighton announced Friday. A higher education legal expert with decades of experience at major research universities, Barber has served GW’s Office of the General Counsel since,” reports GW Today in their blog.

“Charles has been a crucial member of my leadership team since I joined the university, offering sound judgment and guidance through a wide range of legal matters, from business operations and strategic partnerships to our response to the Wrighton wrote in his message to the GW community. Charles’ legal acumen, collaborative.”

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“Online payday loan companies that charged as much as 919% interest will spend $489 million to reimburse some 555,000 borrowers, to settle a class action lawsuit filed by eight Virginians. The lawsuit alleged that Golden Valley Lending; Silver Cloud Financial, Inc. Mountain Summit Financial, Inc. and,” reports Dave Ress in Daily Press.

“Majestic Lake Financial, Inc. all formed under the laws of the Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake tribe in California, violated federal racketeering laws as well as Virginia’s usury and consumer finance licensing laws. It also leveled the same charges against three Kansas City, Missouri, businessmen, whose firms processed the loans, put up the.”

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“The trustee overseeing the dissolution of defunct law firm Le Clair Ryan has reached a $21 million settlement to resolve her claims that the firm’s joint venture with alternative legal services company United Lex hastened its demise, according to a court transcript in the case. A lawyer for court-appointed,” reports Sara Merken in Reuters.

“Chapter 7 trustee Lynn Tavenner described the details of the agreement during an April 19 hearing before a bankruptcy judge in Richmond, Virginia. The proposed settlement agreement has not been formally entered into the court docket as of Monday. There is a hearing scheduled for May 25 on a request to restrict public access.”

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“Thanks to a remarkable oil and gas boom, the United States has achieved the long-sought goal of energy self-sufficiency: We now produce more oil and refined products, natural gas and coal than we consume. In particular, horizontal drilling and hydraulic transformed the United States from,” reports Jesse Jenkins in The New York Times.

“This kind of physical energy security is a blessing when conflict disrupts the global energy trade. Europe’s frantic dash to free itself of Russian energy illustrates how deeply problematic it can be to not have it. Yet look at prices at the pump, and you’ll see why we can’t drill our way to true energy security. That’s why the Senate must finalize.”

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“Good-government organizations and a range of think tank and advocacy groups are backing the restoration of oversight for billions of dollars in state government spending by the New York comptroller’s office in order to guard against fraud and corruption. The oversight power was previously,” reports Nick Reisman in Spectrum News.

“Having that oversight could be key for preventing fraud or corruption given those entities have been used in the past to provide pass-through funding for economic development projects. Some of those projects in the last decade have fallen under the scrutiny of federal prosecutors. Comptroller oversight is crucial for ensuring the integrity.”

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“The 2022 NFL Draft has come and gone. Now that teams have claims on players they’ve selected throughout the three-day spectacle in Las Vegas, they’ll now head to the negotiating table to hammer out their rookie contracts. Of course, these negotiations are unlike those from over a decade ago when Sam,” reports Tyler Sullivan in CBS Sports.

“Bradford was inking a $78 million deal with $50 million guaranteed after being the first overall pick. Now, thanks to a new CBA, rookie contracts are a lot more tied to the player’s slotted draft position and there really isn’t too much to be negotiated. That said, it is notable when the two sides do come to terms on what is a fully guaranteed deal.”

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“The Cardinals began signing their draft picks on Thursday, getting three of their new players under contract. The team signed running back Keaontay Ingram, guard Lecitus Smith and linebacker Jesse Luketa to four-year deals. Ingram and Smith were sixth-round picks, Luketa was one of three,” reports Darren Urban in Arizona Cardinals.

“Seventh-rounders. That leaves second-round tight end Trey McBride, third-round pass rushers Cameron Thomas and Myjai Sanders, seventh-round cornerback Christian Matthew and seventh-round guard Marquis Hayes. The rookies arrived in Arizona for the first time Thursday. Rookie minicamp is Friday through Sunday.”

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“Proposed US rules causing banks to sour on SPACs are having the opposite effect on Big Law firms that see an uptick in inquiries about special purpose acquisition companies. Lawyers are advising SPACs, investors, and target companies on what the rules will mean for deals being negotiated now and,” reports Roy Strom in Bloomberg Law.

“In the past few weeks the work has increased, said Josh DuClos, co-head of the SPACs group at Sidley Austin. We’re having conversations with investors, banks, sponsors, about what these rules will mean. The US Securities and Exchange Commission proposal is creating business for law firms that benefited from the boom in the vehicles.”

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“General Mills (NYSE: GIS) today announced that Karen Wilson Thissen will join as general counsel and corporate secretary of General Mills, effective June 6, 2022. Thissen, a 29-year legal veteran, joins from Ameriprise Financial, Inc. where she most recently served as general counsel and executive vice,” reports Business Wire in their blog.

“Karen brings a proven track record of strategic thinking and global experience which is critical for General Mills’ continued success, said Jeff Harmening, Chairman and CEO of General Mills. As we continue to advance our growth, Karen’s sophisticated global legal experience will help move us forward across the many geographies we are.”

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“Capital One will pay $190 million to resolve claims it jeopardized customer information in a 2019 data breach. The settlement benefits around 98 million Capital One customers whose information was compromised as part of the 2019 data breach. Capital One offers a variety of financial services to,” reports Top Class Actions in their blog.

“However, according to the bank, its customers were targeted in a 2019 Data Breach. In July 2019, Capital One informed its customers that millions of them had their information compromised when a third party accessed bank systems. Although the perpetrator was captured by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), sensitive information.”

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“The Surfside collapse litigation reached an almost $1 billion settlement, a landmark development in the court battle to bring some justice to the families of the 98 people who died less than a year ago. The milestone agreement follows weeks of mediation between attorneys for the plaintiffs and the slew,” reports Katherine Kallergis in The Real Deal.

“The parties sued over allegedly contributing to the deadly collapse of Champlain Towers South last summer. The settlement is for $997 million, although it could exceed $1 billion as negotiations continue with one remaining defendant. More than 25 entities and companies opted to settle the suit, including the Terra-led development team.”

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“Could the person who leaked U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s draft abortion opinion be charged with a crime?,” reports Debra Cassens Weiss in ABA Journal.

“It’s possible, even though the Espionage Act wouldn’t apply, say experts who wrote for Bloomberg Law and spoke with Reuters, Wired, PolitiFact and the Washington Post. That law applies to classified information, and a court opinion is not classified.”

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“I used to look out at the Hudson from the window of my beautiful office at a Biglaw firm in Manhattan and pinch myself, not believing that I had made it. As a young associate, I had a passion for making connections and building relationships. I quickly realized that such skills would set me up for success,” reports Jill Woods in Above The Law.

“I was newly married and had just bought a house in the suburbs without any kids.  Before I took the job, my husband and I had a serious conversation, where we candidly discussed what our future would look like if I took this job and if we started a family. I would be over an hour away from our kids, and my husband would be the one.”

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“Podium, a communication and payments platform for local businesses, announced today that it has hired Mariam Sattar as its first-ever general counsel. In this newly created role, Mariam will be responsible for running Podium’s legal department. She will be a member of Podium’s executive team and report,” reports PR Newswire in their blog.

“Mariam brings extensive legal expertise to Podium with nearly two decades of experience in the legal field, working in areas such as securities, M&A, finance and corporate governance. She comes to Podium from Twilio, where she was Vice President of Legal, Corporate. Prior to Twilio, she was Senior Corporate Counsel at Atlassian.”

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