The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed a district court decision that retained jurisdiction over a breach of contract action, finding that the action did not sufficiently implicate issues of patent law and instead was simply a state law contract case for past royalties, reports McDermott Will & Emery via Lexology.

One of the parties to a case involving patents and royalties filed suit, alleging breach of contract and other equitable state law claims.

The defendant asserted counterclaims of breach of contract, fraud, negligent misrepresentation, restitution and breach of fiduciary duty. Both parties relied on diversity to establish subject matter jurisdiction.

Read the article.

D.C. Toedt III, writing in the On Contracts blog, offers some lessons for drafting representations and warranties in contracts.

He discusses a hypothetical case that involved the sale of a car, showing how the case could turn out differently, depending on whether the seller represented — or warranted — that the car was in good condition.

“If your client is being asked to represent and warrant some fact, then consider whether the client should only represent the fact, or whether the client should only warrant the fact,” Toedt writes in one of his drafting lessons.

Read the article.

A federal judge recently sent an ominous signal regarding the enforceability of cannabis contracts by issuing an order telling the parties have to show why the court should not dismiss the case, writes Samuel D. Méndez in Lane Powell’s Cannabis Law Advisor.

“The Order to Show Cause states that the contract at issue may be unenforceable under the federal Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”) because it concerns cannabis businesses, and cannabis remains an illegal substance under the CSA,” according to Méndez.

The judge wrote in the order that, although state law governs the breach of contract claim, where it is alleged that an agreement violates a federal statute, courts look to federal law.

Méndez offers some advice on drafting contracts that include a covenant that the parties agree not to raise the argument of enforceability in litigation.

Read the article.

Women make up as many as 50 percent of new associates, yet they leave law firms much more frequently than men, the American Bar Association found in a new study.

Bloomberg Law, reporting on the ABA study, summarized the findings:

“The report found that there are big differences in how the genders view their firm’s handling of promotions, leadership opportunities and equity partnerships.

“Some 91% of firm leaders, for example, felt their firms are “actively advocates of gender diversity,” while only 62% of the women lawyers responding thought the same thing.”

The study found that women cited the level of stress at work, care-taking commitments, differences in pay, and the firm’s emphasis on marketing as negative factors.

Read the Bloomberg Law article.

A survey of chief legal officers by the consulting firm Altman Weil found that 76 percent of the respondents think there will be a recession in the United States within the next two years.

And that finding may be the reason why corporate legal departments are showing caution in spending, points out the ABA Journal on a report on the survey results.

One of the findings indicates that only 27 percent of departments increased their spending on law firms in 2019, down from 42 percent that did so last year.

Read the  ABA Journal article.

In a vote that will flip the makeup of the New York-based appeals court, the Senate on Thursday confirmed a controversial White House lawyer to a seat on the Second Circuit, reports Courthouse News Service.

The vote means that a majority of the 13 judges on the Second Circuit have been appointed by Republican presidents. Menashi is the fifth judge President Donald Trump has appointed to the court and the fourth this year alone, according to Courthouse News’ Tim Ryan.

Menashi’s dodging of questions during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, along with his position in the Trump administration and his controversial writings, stirred controversy in the Senate.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer had harsh words for Menashi’s nomination: “My Republican colleagues, in my view, rubber-stamped too many of these extreme, unqualified nominees – nominees, in Mr. Menashi’s case, who are almost craven.”

Read the Courthouse News article.

ContractWorks has published a new legal tech guide titled “Choosing SharePoint or Contract Management Software,” which can be used for identifying the type of software legal teams need most based on specific business objectives.

The guide is available from the company’s website at no charge.

It includes such information as:

• The different business problems that SharePoint and contract management software are designed to address
• Specific strengths of each type of software
• Scenarios where SharePoint and contract management software can be used together

Download the guide.

Image by NY Photographic

NAVEX Global is inviting participants to contribute input to its annual Corporate Compliance Benchmark Report.

“As a legal professional within the risk and compliance field, your experience and opinions are vital to helping us define what matters in this quickly evolving field,” the company says in its invitation.

Participants who take this 25-minute survey will receive a free copy of the report, as well as early and exclusive insights into survey results and analysis.

Phase5, an independent marketing research firm, will be collecting all the feedback. All responses are confidential and will be reported only in aggregate form. Individual data will never be shared with any other party, NAVEX says.

Take the survey.

For the eighth consecutive year, Dallas-based Estes Thorne & Carr has been placed among the nation’s best law firms in the Best Law Firms guide compiled by U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers in America.

In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the firm ranked as a top law firm for commercial litigation and employment law and was also recognized in the publication for arbitration, family law, labor law and construction litigation practices.

“This recognition comes from client feedback and peer review, so it is especially significant and meaningful to us,” Jessica Thorne, managing partner, said.

Read the article.

Jurors in Ward County, Texas, came back with a $1.9m verdict against Go Rhino Trucking, LLC.

The verdict was obtained by East Texas trial attorneys Stafford Davis and Shane McGuire, on behalf of their clients, Larry and Marjorie Young, the lawyers said in a release.

The plaintiffs’ lawyers aid that, in June of 2017, while travelling eastbound on I-20, the Youngs were struck from behind by a cement truck just as they entered Monahans, Texas.

During trial, it was revealed that Go Rhino failed to conduct pre-accident drug testing on the driver, and routinely violated federal regulations regarding post-accident drug testing of drivers, the lawyers said. It was further revealed that Go Rhino repeatedly violated its own safety policies.

The jury awarded the Youngs a total of $1,908,968.50, which included an award of $1.4m in punitive damages for gross negligence. The verdict was unanimous.

Anne M. O’Brien, partner and member of Quarles & Brady LLP’s Health Law Practice Group, has been named president of the American Society for Pharmacy Law (ASPL). O’Brien officially began her duties as president at the ASPL annual meeting in San Diego, November 7-10.

In a release, the firm said O’Brien has participated in multiple committees, including the sub-committee for Education, serving as ASPL treasurer and, most recently, president-elect. As president, one of her key initiatives will be to continue expansion of the organization’s content and educational programming for members. O’Brien said she also hopes to continue the steady growth in membership ASPL has experienced over the past several years.

In her practice, O’Brien advises pharmacies, wholesale distributors, and manufacturers regarding regulatory compliance and licensing issues. She represents pharmacists, pharmacies, and other entities in civil and administrative venues in matters related to discipline and licensure, actions filed by Medicaid to recoup payments and terminate provider status, audits by public and private payers, petitioning for reinstatement of eligibility to participate in Medicare, and the defense of medical negligence claims.

Redgrave LLP partners Mathea K.E. Bulander, and Christine P. Payne, and managing director Staci D. Kaliner were named to the 2019 “Women Worth Watching” list published by Profiles in Diversity Journal.

Now in its 18th edition, “Women Worth Watching” recognizes women executives who are leading the way to excellence in the workplace, marketplace, and the world. The award winners were profiled in the summer 2019 edition of Profiles in Diversity Journal, which is dedicated to promoting and advancing diversity and inclusion in the corporate, government, nonprofit, higher education, and military sectors.

To read the “Women Worth Watching” summer 2019 edition, visit http://www.womenworthwatching.com/.

Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C. announced that Randall F. Scherck, Jessica L. Curtis and Jared S. Manse have joined the firm’s St. Louis office as attorneys in the Business Services, Employee Benefits and Intellectual Property practice groups, respectively.

In a release, the firm said Scherck serves as of counsel, with more than 35 years of experience representing businesses, banks and financial institutions in corporate matters, as well as experience litigating and negotiating actions in bankruptcy and state court. He represents primarily creditors in bankruptcy proceedings, including Chapter 7, 11, 12 and 13. He has represented secured creditors in obtaining lift stay, reclamation actions, and objecting to and litigating disputes involving plans of reorganization, the firm said.

Scherck’s practice also involves assisting leading financial institutions in connection with loan enforcement actions including foreclosures of commercial and residential real property in Missouri and Southern Illinois. He has served as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association, Commercial Section, and as an arbitrator in commercial disputes involving individuals, businesses and financial institutions. In addition, he represents clients in corporate and real estate matters, including litigation relating to these areas.

Prior to joining Greensfelder, Scherck was of counsel at Frankel, Rubin, Klein, Siegel, Payne, & Pudlowski, P.C.

Scherck received his J.D. from Washington University School of Law and his Bachelor of Arts from Trinity College.

Curtis is an associate who assists in designing, implementing and advising on benefits plans for employers of all sizes. She works with businesses and tax-exempt organizations on a variety of plans including qualified and non-qualified deferred compensation plans, health and welfare benefit plans, and executive compensation programs. Her experience includes transactional, litigation, compliance and risk-management projects.

Prior to joining Greensfelder, Curtis served as the Michael R. Cannon Fellow in Higher Education and Health Law at the Washington University in St. Louis Office of the Vice Chancellor and General Counsel. As a fellow, she collaborated on issues related to employee benefits and executive compensation, taxation, education law, health law and other areas. During law school, she interned for Judge James M. Dowd of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District.

Curtis received her J.D. (magna cum laude) from Saint Louis University School of Law. She also holds a Master of Arts and is completing work for a Ph.D., both in political science from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. She also has a Bachelor of Arts (magna cum laude) from Webster University.

Also an associate, Manse focuses his practice on patent prosecution, IP litigation, and strategic planning regarding patent infringement and validity. With a background in the life sciences, including a Ph.D. in molecular microbiology, he assists clients in the biochemical, pharmaceutical and material sciences areas with patent prosecution and licensing, as well as patent and trademark freedom-to-operate analyses and enforcement. He is experienced in inter partes reviews, post-grant reviews and appeals, and anticipatory IP litigation planning and strategy.

The firm said Manse’s technical experience includes molecular cloning, site-directed mutagenesis, nucleic acid purification, cell culture, heterologous protein expression and purification, immunocytochemistry, and confocal microscopy.

Prior to joining Greensfelder, Manse was an associate at Thompson Coburn LLP.

Mr. Manse received his J.D. from Duke University School of Law and his Ph.D. in molecular microbiology-medicine from the University of Missouri School of Medicine. He also holds a Bachelor of Science (magna cum laude) from Wake Forest University.

Arent Fox LLP announced the expansion of its Government Relations group with the addition of Senior Government Relations Director Oliver Spurgeon III.

Spurgeon joins the firm’s Washington, DC office.

Prior to joining Arent Fox, Spurgeon was the deputy director of federal affairs at the National Association of Community Health Centers. At NACHC, Spurgeon advised the c-suite, board of directors, and 11,000 health centers on strategy, policy analysis, and advocacy issues to help secure $7.9 billion in federal funding that reached 28 million people, the firm said in a release.

Before joining NACHC, Spurgeon was the manager of government affairs at the National Recreation and Park Association. In that role, he also supported the c-suite and board of directors in executing an $18 million budget to serve 50,000 members, evaluated federal and state health care regulations and legislation, and led NRPA in finding solutions to reduce hunger and improve health, the firm said.

Prior to his association lobbying experiences, Spurgeon served for five years on the Washington, DC staff of Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA), where he covered health policy, tax, education, and other issues. He spent two years in the congressman’s Atlanta-area office, where he was the liaison to municipal governments, colleges and universities, the business community, and other stakeholders.

Spurgeon serves on the board of directors and human resources committee for the United Planning Organization, the board of directors and as acting treasurer for the DC Strings Workshop, the board of directors and as acting secretary for the Historic Anacostia Block Association, and executive committee member and acting legislative committee chairman for the Ward 8 Democratic Party. He earned his MBA from Howard University and his BA in International Studies from Georgia Southern University.

Littler announced it is planning to open an office in Singapore, the firm’s first in Asia.

Upon final approval by local authorities, the Singapore office will be led by Littler shareholder Trent Sutton, who will be joined in the office by special counsel Nancy Zhang. Sutton, who speaks Korean and has lived in several countries throughout Asia, focuses his practice on counseling clients on multi-country employment and compliance matters. He regularly conducts cross-border internal investigations, advises on the employment aspects of global expansions and workforce restructurings, and conducts training sessions on human resource issues.

In a release, the firm said that Zhang, with extensive experience practicing in China, is qualified to practice in the People’s Republic of China. Prior to joining Littler, she practiced at an international law firm in Beijing and served as an in-house counsel at a multinational company headquartered in China.

Sutton and Zhang will reside in the Singapore office and will continue to work closely with other attorneys in Littler’s International Employment Law practice and with those licensed in the Asia Pacific region, including shareholder Naomi Seddon, who is admitted to practice in Australia and New Zealand, and special counsel Aki Tanaka, who formerly practiced and is licensed in Japan.

The public impeachment inquiry hearings set to begin Wednesday will pit a Democratic attorney who built his reputation as a federal mob and securities fraud prosecutor against a GOP House Oversight investigator who helped steer some of the most notable probes of the Obama administration, the Associated Press reports.

For the Democrats, Daniel Goldman will lead the questioning of witnesses. The Washington Post reports that Goldman “made his bones as a prosecutor by sending mobsters, stock swindlers and a multimillion-dollar insider trader to prison, cases in which colleagues said he mixed brains and ‘swagger’ to win convictions.”

Steve Castor, House Intelligence Committee counsel for the minority, will ask questions on behalf of the GOP. “Castor was brought over from the House Oversight Committee by Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who recently joined the Intelligence Committee,” reports Fox News.

Read the AP article.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared likely to side with the Trump administration in its effort to end a program that lets nearly 700,000 young, undocumented immigrants live and work in the USA without fear of deportation, according to a USA Today report.

Several conservative justices noted the Department of Homeland Security laid out several reasons for its decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program.

The court’s four liberal justices argued that the decision to end DACA should rise or fall on the administration’s tenuous claim that it was illegal.

“Chief Justice John Roberts looked to be the key vote, as he was in June when he voted with the court’s four liberal justices to strike down the Trump administration’s effort to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census,” USA Today‘s Richard Wolf writes.

Read the USA Today article.

Following a storm of controversy over her use of a racial epithet at a free-speech event on the campus of the University of North Texas, university assistant general counsel Caitlin Sewell submitted her resignation.

The Dallas Morning News reports that Sewell used the N-word during a presentation at the event, titled “When Hate Comes to Campus.” She used the word in an example of speech that is offensive but protected.

Sewell, who had worked at UNT since 2017, apologized during the event, saying she “did not mean to, by any means, offend anyone.” But her earlier statement sparked a firestorm on campus.

Read the Dallas News article.

Restrictive covenants in employment agreements and employee benefit arrangements will be enforced in appropriate circumstances, but parties should be aware of varying standards from state to state, warns Jonathan Orleans for Pullman & Comley.

Orleans, writing in a post for JDSupra, says that enforcement of noncompetes can be complicated. Sometimes statutes create exceptions, and sometimes exceptions are developed through caselaw.

While courts frequently comment that restrictive covenants are “disfavored in the law,” they can be enforced if they meet certain standards.

Read the article.

The Texas Bar Foundation awarded Legacy Family Court Foundation a $12,500 grant award to support its mission and goal to raise funds and awareness for effective court advocacy on behalf of the Legacy Family Civil Specialty Court program in Dallas County.

The Legacy Family Court Foundation’s project supports the court’s role in the effective recovery, rehabilitation and reunification of families, whose children have been removed from their homes and separated from their parents because of the parent’s alcohol or substance-abuse addiction. This grant will facilitate parents’ recovery from addictions, instill long term sobriety, decrease number of displaced children, and increase family reunification in safer, healthier environments, the foundation said in a release.

Since its inception in 1965, the Texas Bar Foundation has awarded more than $20 million in grants to law-related programs. Supported by members of the State Bar of Texas, the Texas Bar Foundation is the nation’s largest charitable funded bar foundation.

The Legacy Family Court program is a voluntary, 18-month program and represents an intensive, collaborative effort to support families with alcohol or substance addiction issues through their recovery process. It is designed for parents who have a genuine desire to become clean and sober, long term. As such, participants in the Legacy Family Court program must complete substance abuse treatment and maintain sobriety from all forms of alcohol and non-prescribed drugs. Through regular meetings with the court and the Legacy Family Court team members, they will be provided support, services, encouragement and every possible advantage while facing the unique and difficult challenges of learning to live in recovery. For their part, they must be willing to do what is necessary to help themselves and their children. Honesty and willingness are key. Participants are frequently and randomly drug tested for compliance.

Senior Judge Tena Callahan, co-founder of the Court’s program, states: “Parents in crises love their children, but the lie of their addiction prevents them from acting in their child’s best interest. Legacy Family Court works with these parents to alleviate the crises and place the love of their children back at the forefront of their behavior. And that is a game changer – for the parents, their children, and this community. We are very happy to receive this funding from the Texas Bar Foundation, which allows the Court’s program to continue providing services to support the parents in their recovery and rehabilitation from alcohol, substance abuse or dependency and to assist in creating a stable life and a safe environment for their children and their family reunification.”.

The Texas Bar Foundation is the largest charitably funded bar foundation in the nation. Membership is composed of the most elite Texas attorneys.  The Foundation’s members are nominated because of their dedication to the administration of justice and high professional standing among their peers.

For five decades, the Texas Bar Foundation has helped organizations to:

* Educate the public about their rights and responsibilities under the law
* Provide legal services to the poor
* Assist those who turn to the legal system for protection.

Grants are made possible by the generosity of the Fellows of the Texas Bar Foundation and charitable gifts from individuals and law firms across the state. The Texas Bar Foundation and its members are committed to its mission: Advancing justice in Texas by providing opportunities to support the rule of law in Texas, especially for programs that relate to legal assistance for the underserved, the administration of justice, ethics in the legal profession, the encouragement of legal research, publications and forums, and education of the third branch of government..

The Legacy Family Court Foundation was created by a dedicated group of Dallas area judges, lawyers and interested business leaders to develop the non-adversarial program to support parents with alcohol or substance abuse issues and reunite them with their children who have been removed from their homes and separated from their parents as a result of the parent’s addiction issues.

This Foundation solicits public and private grants and donations to provide funding to the Court to ultimately sustain the Court’s existence. Adult participants (parents), once selected and invited in the program, volunteer to participate in this 15 to 18 month alternative program in Dallas County, which utilizes a team based approach and operates under the Ten Key Components of Drug Courts. The Court is a specialized drug court administered through the 302^nd Judicial District Court. The Court’s purpose is to provide parent(s), facing parental rights termination by the Child Protective Services (CPS), with a unique opportunity within the Civil Courts process, outside of the Criminal Courts process, to establish and sustain lasting recovery from substance addiction. Through their successful completion of the Court’s program and services, the parent(s) have the opportunity to reunite with their children and thus lead healthy, productive lives as a family.