Because Enterprise Resource Planning implementation and software licensing contracts are as complicated as the software itself, there are a number of key things for general counsel to keep in mind as they review these contracts, according to a post on the Taft Technology Insights blog.

Author Marcus Harris offers a guide to negotiating and drafting contracts for ERP software systems, discussing seven main areas where companies slip up most-frequently.

The areas include: specify the vendor as the expert, detail liability, define responsibility, put everything in the contract, watch out for contractual remedies, and have a mechanism for controlling scope.

Read the article.

A $98 million verdict secured by Boyd, Powers & Williamson has been inducted into the VerdictSearch Texas Verdicts Hall of Fame.

In reaching the December 2017 verdict, a Dallas County jury found that BBVA Compass Bank and one of its executives had committed fraud during loan renewal and modification negotiations with a developer of three luxury subdivisions in northeast Tarrant County following the 2008 financial crisis.

Lead trial attorney Derrick Boyd presented evidence, including email correspondence, showing that the bank executive had been actively working to sell the properties while simultaneously promising developer David Bagwell that the bank was not selling the loans and intended to extend his loan.

A $96.2 million final judgment in the case in 2018 preserved all but one portion of the verdict and added pre- and post-verdict interest.

Read details of the case.

A post on the Tech & Sourcing blog of Morgan Lewis provides a checklist of common workstreams to consider inn outsourcing and managed services transactions.

Authors Barbara Murphy Melby and Kevin P. Dermody discuss governance, planning, people and asset transfers, resource mobilization, operations, processes and documentation, infrastructure and security enablement, networks, change and communications management, and third-party contracts disposition management.

Read the article.

A recent Delaware case serves as a reminder that a murky path to a signed agreement and lack of good record-keeping can lead to a finding of non-enforceable contracts, according to a post in the Taking Care of Business blog of White and Williams.

Authors Lori Smith and Gwenn Barney discuss a case in which an independent contractor for a company negotiated an arrangement to buy shares in the company. Although, both parties believed they had signed an agreement in 2007, because of the manner in which the drafts and signature pages were exchanged, the parties had differing understandings and recollections of what had actually been agreed upon.

The lack of any record trail, or “hard evidence,” in this case (other than the various drafts) made it difficult to find clear evidence of a meeting of the minds, the authors explain.

Read the article.

Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery LLP will present a free webinar, “Effective Trade Secret Practices: What You and Your Employees Need to Know,” featuring Fitch Even attorneys Thomas F. Lebens and Donald “Bob” Bunton.

The event will be on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019, at 9 am PDT / 10 am MDT / 11 am CDT / 12 noon EDT. It will also be available as an on-demand webinar after the presentation.

With the passage of the America Invents Act and the Defend Trade Secrets Act, as well as recent case law creating uncertainty in some areas of patent law, many intellectual property owners have expressed a renewed interest in trade secret protection for innovations and information. However, very few of these IP owners have a well-developed program for identifying, classifying, and intentionally protecting these trade secrets. And even for those owners with such a program, establishing a record of training leaders and employees in trade secret protection can be important to show that the owner has engaged in “reasonable efforts” to protect its trade secrets.

During this webinar, our presenters will discuss the following:
• Best practices for identifying and classifying trade secrets
• Key features of a trade secret program
• Internal ongoing education on trade secret protection needed to support a showing of “reasonable efforts”

Register for the webinar.

The current, third quarter 2019 issue of the Defense Counsel Journal (DCJ), published by the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC), features numerous articles that highlight important trends in the law, as well as an introduction by newly elected IADC President Amy Sherry Fischer.

The quarterly DCJ spotlights the IADC’s defense bar leadership through its articles about legal development and reform issues, as well as the practice of law in general. DCJ articles are written by members of the IADC, which is a 2,500-member, invitation-only, worldwide organization that serves its members and their clients, as well as the civil justice system and the legal profession.

“The Defense Counsel Journal is a significant part of the contributions of the IADC during its history,” said Fischer, a shareholder at Foliart, Huff, Ottaway & Bottom in Oklahoma City, Okla.

DCJ editor and former IADC board member Kenneth R. Meyer added that the current DCJ edition includes “three exciting and helpful articles.” These articles cover several significant proposed changes to the Federal Rules, insurance coverage issues involving inverse condemnation and public water systems, and the impact of a recent Supreme Court decision on maritime jurisdiction over asbestos claims.

The IADC’s third-quarter 2019 DCJ is available for free and without a subscription via the IADC’s website.

Following are brief summaries of key articles included in the third-quarter 2019 issue of the DCJ:

“Federal Civil Rule Reform – An Update” by Christopher E. Appel, of counsel, and Mark A. Behrens, co-chair of the Public Policy Practice Group, both at Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P. in Washington, D.C. This article outlines proposed major changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Federal Rules of Evidence. If implemented, these changes could prove enormously consequential for all civil defendants.

“Insurance Coverage Rules for Inverse Condemnation Actions Involving Public Water Systems” by Paul Fuller, a director of the American Association of Water Distribution & Management and an insurance professional specializing in public water systems. This article encapsulates the problems owners of public water systems face from inverse condemnation – a topic at the crossroads of insurance and land use law. The article covers the legal theory’s underlying mechanics, available protections, and emerging areas of liability. The article also examines insurer defense and indemnity obligations for those insurance policies from which such action cloaks as a potential policyholder right.

“In the Wake of Devries: Revisiting the Extension of Maritime Jurisdiction Over Asbestos Claims” by Brian J. Schneider, a shareholder at Moran Reeves Conn PC in Richmond, Va. This article explores the impact of the recent Supreme Court decision in Air & Liquid Systems Corp. v. Devries. The article examines admiralty law and its applicability to proof issues relating to equipment manufacturers’ liability for component parts.

About the International Association of Defense Counsel
The IADC is the preeminent invitation-only global legal organization for attorneys who represent corporate and insurance interests. Founded in 1920, the IADC’s members hail from six continents, 52 countries and territories, and all 50 U.S. states. The core purposes of the IADC are to enhance the development of skills, promote professionalism, and facilitate camaraderie among its members, their clients, as well as the broader civil justice community.

Senators from both parties criticized a nominee for a federal appeals court for declining to answer questions Wednesday about his work in the Trump White House and Education Department, according to an Associated Press report.

Trump has nominated Steven Menashi, an associate White House counsel, to a seat on the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Senators from both parties at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing complained as Menashi refused to answer questions about his work on immigration issues, including a policy to separate migrant children from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border.

“This isn’t supposed to be a game,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told Menashi.

Read the AP report.

A federal court document filed by Jones Day and local counsel Gentry Locke appeared to contain many redactions to protect grand jury information in a criminal case against their pharmaceutical client, reports the ABA Journal.

When it was discovered that the redactions could be read by cutting and pasting the blacked-out sections into a new document, U.S. Magistrate Judge Pamela Meade Sargent ordered the law firms on Wednesday to show cause why they shouldn’t be sanctioned for the error.

The client is Indivior, a U.K.-based addiction-treatment company that makes an under-the-tongue form of the opioid dependence drug Suboxone.

Read the ABA Journal article.

Politico is reporting that Sen. Ted Cruz will oppose President Donald Trump’s nominee for the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, Halil Suleyman “Sul” Ozerden, a major setback for the embattled nomination.

The report says conservative opposition places in doubt the future of Ozerden, who is a close friend of acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, and whose nomination Mulvaney pushed over the objections of the White House Counsel’s office.

“Unlike most other Trump judicial nominees, Ozerden lacks explicit backing from conservative judicial groups like the Judicial Crisis Network,” Politico reports. “Carrie Severino, the group’s chief counsel, wrote last year that ‘we could do better than Judge Ozerden’ in Mississippi.”

Read the Politico article.

Farrell Fritz had a combined total of 29 attorneys selected to the 2019 New York Metro Super Lawyers and New York Metro Rising Stars lists.

The firm listed 21 attorneys for being selected to the 2019 New York Metro Super Lawyers list. The attorneys and the practice areas for which they have been recognized are: Kathryn Carney Cole, Peter A. Mahler, John P. McEntee and James M. Wicks (Business Litigation); Peter L. Curry (Real Estate); Jed C. Albert, Eric M. Kramer and Patricia C. Marcin (Estate & Probate); John (Jack) J. Barnosky, Ilene Sherwyn Cooper, John R. Morken, Eric W. Penzer and Frank T. Santoro (Estate & Trust Litigation); Martin (Marty) G. Bunin and Patrick T. Collins (Bankruptcy: Business); Charlotte A. Biblow (Environmental); Domenique Camacho Moran (Employment & Labor); Jason S. Samuels (Construction Litigation); Louis Vlahos (Tax); and Joel R. Weiss (Criminal Defense: White Collar).

The firm also listed nine attorneys for being selected to the 2019 New York Metro Rising Stars list. The attorneys and the practice areas for which they have been recognized are: Azriel J. Baer (Estate & Probate); Edward D. Baker, Jaclene D’Agostino, Cheryl Erato and Robert M. Harper (Estate & Trust Litigation); Joshua M. Herman (Business Litigation); Hamutal Lieberman (Intellectual Property); Richard Quatrano (Business/Corporate); and Jacklyn A. Zitelli (Real Estate).

Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C.,  announced that Susan Meyer, an attorney in the firm’s Chicago office and leader of the Trademark, Copyright, Media, and Advertising group, has been promoted to officer, effective Sept. 9.

Meyer joined Greensfelder in June 2017 as a member of the Intellectual Property and Franchising & Distribution groups, advising businesses in the areas of intellectual property, franchising, and distribution. She represents companies in the United States and internationally in every stage of development. In addition to her work involving intellectual property prosecutions, licensing, and dispute resolution, Meyer has extensive experience in trademark law, representing clients before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and federal courts. She also works with franchisors on compliance issues and serves as outside general counsel for businesses on general business matters.

In a release, the firm said Meyer frequently advises companies on matters related to commerce between the United States and Scandinavia, including hosting and attending trade missions. She is a past president of the Chicago Chapter of the Norwegian-American Chamber of Commerce and is an active member of the Norwegian-American Defense and Homeland Security Industry Council and the Swedish American Chamber of Commerce.

Meyer received her J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law and her Bachelor of Arts from Stony Brook University.

Legal experts predict the National Rifle Association won’t get far in its lawsuit challenging San Francisco’s decision to brand it a terrorist group, but that could change if the city takes action against contractors that work with the NRA, according to one First Amendment scholar.

If the city cuts ties with contractors that do business with the gun rights advocate, “that would violate the First Amendment because it would punish people and entities for their association,” University of California, Berkeley, professor Erwin Chemerinsky told Courthouse News Service Tuesday.

University of California-Hastings law professor David Levine said, “I don’t think the NRA can do much about it. I think a better plaintiff would be a vendor saying you can’t do this to us.”

Read the Courthouse News Service article.

A Fourth Circuit judge didn’t mince words Tuesday as he appeared unlikely to support allowing the government to continue to sift through thousands of emails confiscated in a raid on an unnamed Maryland law firm, reports Courthouse News Service.

Federal agents seized tens of thousands of electronic files during a raid earlier this year, and now the government and the law firm are at odds on what is privileged, writes CNS’ Brad Kutner.

On of the three judges hearing the case pushed back on the DOJ protocol that allowed the taint team to contact clients and ask for privilege waivers. Client lists are very much protected under attorney-client privilege, said U.S. Circuit Judge Robert King.

Read the Courthouse News Service article.

Two law schools recently received public notice of being out of compliance with ABA accreditation standards, according to a report by the ABA Journal.

The schools are the Western New England University School of Law and the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law.

Deans of the two law schools have said their schools have taken steps to come into compliance with standards, including financial standards in the case of Western New England, and admission standards in the case of Clarke School of Law.

Read the  ABA Journal article.

In Seyfarth’s fourth installment in its 2019 Trade Secrets Webinar Series, Seyfarth attorneys Kristine Argentine, Eric Barton, and Katelyn Miller focused on the enforcement of non-competes and how the difficulty of enforcement of these restrictive covenants vary by state, especially based on recent legislation in various states.

The post includes a link to the webinar for on-demand viewing.

It also includes a summary of takeaways from the discussion.

Read the article.

Joanne L. Zimolzak has joined Dykema in its Insurance Industry Group and Business Litigation Practice as a member in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office. Zimolzak joins Dykema after practicing at LeClairRyan. Prior to LeClairRyan, she served as the office managing partner of the Dentons LLP Washington, D.C., office.

In a release, the firm said Zimolzak represents liability insurers in coverage disputes, including matters involving bad faith allegations and significant potential exposures. Zimolzak also advises insurers on coverage and risk management issues, emerging liability risks, new product development, and regulatory compliance. She currently serves as chair of the Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee of the American Bar Association Tort Trial and Insurance Practice.

Zimolzak’s practice also extends to complex commercial and administrative litigation, with a special focus on regulatory compliance, internal investigations, and fraud reporting. She has handled complex civil litigation matters before state and federal courts throughout the country, both at the trial and appellate levels, the firm said.

Zimolzak has experience handling government contracts-related litigation, including contract claims and disputes and reverse-FOIA matters. She has also handled procurement fraud matters and conducted related internal investigations.

Zimolzak received a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center and a B.A. in English, magna cum laude, from the University of Maryland.

Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP announced the expansion of its global environmental practice with the addition of David C. McSweeney as counsel in the firm’s Boston office.

In a release, the firm said McSweeney’s practice focuses on environmental and health and safety legal issues associated with permitting, compliance, transactional due diligence, regulatory development, enforcement defense and related litigation. He brings almost 20 years of experience working with energy companies, including those in the oil and natural gas industries, as well as with manufacturers, financial institutions and other corporations.

Before joining Hunton Andrews Kurth, McSweeney most recently was in-house counsel at a Fortune 500 midstream energy company in the natural gas and natural gas liquids industry, ONEOK, Inc., where he was lead environmental attorney.

Akerman LLP announced that Ruben Castillo, former chief judge for the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, will join the firm’s Chicago office as an equity partner in the Litigation Practice Group upon his retirement from the bench on Sept. 30.

Castillo will chair Akerman Bench, the firm said in a release.

As a first chair litigator, Castillo will focus his practice on corporate investigations, white collar criminal defense, private arbitration and mediation work for litigants. He will lead Akerman Bench, one of the nation’s largest moot court panels of former appellate and trial court judges, seasoned appellate lawyers, and former state and federal law clerks, who provide guidance and feedback for optimal oral argument preparation.

Castillo was nominated to the bench by President Bill Clinton and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 1994, becoming the first Latino federal judge in Illinois. He served as vice chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission from 1999 to 2010. In July 2013, Castillo began his service as chief judge, becoming the first Latino to hold this position in the district. In 2008, he was considered a possible candidate by President Barack Obama for the United States Supreme Court.

Prior to serving on the bench, Castillo was regional counsel to the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund. He also practiced in private law for two law firms in Chicago, including serving as first-chair litigator, and served as Assistant United States Attorney in the Special Criminal Prosecutions Division for the United States Attorney’s Office – Northern District of Illinois.

For more than 20 years, Castillo has taught trial advocacy at Northwestern University School of Law, with law students recognizing him with five teaching awards.

Castillo earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Loyola University Chicago in 1976 and his law degree from Northwestern University School of Law in 1979.

Duane Morris and the Charles Houston Bar Association will be holding a CLE program, “Two Bars: A History of African American Legal Advocacy in the Bay Area,” on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Duane Morris’ San Francisco office.

The presenter will be Judge Charles A. Smiley III of the Superior Court of California. Terrance J. Evans, Duane Morris partner and co-chair of the Duane Morris San Francisco Diversity & Inclusion Committee, and Winter L. Hankins, deputy city attorney for the City of Hayward, will make the introductory remarks.

Registration, Networking and Reception: 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
CLE Program: 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Q&A: 7:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

The Washington Post reports that state attorneys general  are initiating sweeping antitrust investigations against Silicon Valley’s largest companies, probing whether they undermine rivals and harm consumers.

More than 40 attorneys general are expected to announce their plan to investigate Google, delivering a rare rebuke of the search-and-advertising giant — and its efforts to maintain that dominance — from the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court, writes the Post‘s Tony Romm.

Romm explains that the states are potent actors in their own right, with the power to invoke local laws on antitrust and consumer-protection and to tap Washington’s antitrust statutes on behalf of their residents.

Read the  Post article.