A former partner at Jones Day’s Silicon Valley office who accused the law firm of forcing her out after she raised concerns about its “boys’ club” culture has dropped her lawsuit in exchange for a return of capital she put into the firm, reports Bloomberg Law.

“Wendy Moore’s suit claimed the firm’s leadership retaliated against her after she voiced misgivings about its culture, pay transparency, and treatment of female attorneys,” writes Bloomberg’s Mike Leonard. “The complaint described Jones Day as a ‘fraternity’ where women are marginalized and objectified while male lawyers attend business meetings at strip clubs and sporting events.”

Read the Bloomberg Law article.

Image by Sean P. Anderson

Courthouse News Service reports that a Connecticut judge has slapped conspiracy theorist and defamation suit defendant Alex Jones with sanctions after he posted a 20-minute tirade against plaintiff’s attorney.

The video rant came after files turned over by the defense were found to contain images of child pornography.

In the video, Jones pounded on a photo of Chris Mattei, a lawyer for the families suing Jones for defamation over his statements that the Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax. “You’re trying to set me up with child porn, I’ll get your ass,” Jones said, as he beat on the Mattei photo.

“The court has no doubt that Alex Jones was accusing plaintiffs counsel of planting child pornography,” Bridgeport Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis said.

CNN reports that, under the sanction, the defense will be denied the opportunity to pursue special motions to dismiss moving forward in the lawsuit. The court will also award attorneys fees and filing fees to the Sandy Hook families’ lawyers related to the issue that Jones went off about in his broadcast: child pornography that Jones’ team inadvertently turned over to the plaintiffs.

Read the Courthouse News article.

A post on the Provost Umphrey website describes the role of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in investigating a workplace accident — and the role that a lawyer can play in finding where fault lies and obtaining fair redress for the victim.

The post cites a hypothetical construction accident in which a large piece of equipment injured a worker.

One of the first questions to ask is: What caused the accident? “That’s an important question because the answer can determine who’s liable for the worker’s injuries and can be made to pay for his medical expenses, lost wages, even lost earning capacity,” writes the author of the post.

“OSHA serves an incredibly important purpose,” he adds. “Because of it, workers are safer and accidents fewer. But while workers benefit from the services OSHA provides, they are still in need of help. The results of an OSHA investigation can be used to get the victims of workplace accidents the compensation and help they need. But it doesn’t fall to OSHA to make that happen.”

Read the article.

In an article in the ABA Banking Journal, Brad Rustin and Samer Roshdy of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough discuss the FDIC’s financial institutions letter FIL-19-2019, highlighting contractual deficiencies in banks’ contracts with technology service providers.

“The FDIC letter reaffirms the long-standing regulatory notion that a financial institution cannot discharge its responsibilities, which includes managing its business continuity and incident response processes, by outsourcing activities to third-party service providers,” they explain.

The authors also add that the letter serves as a reminder to the industry that federal banking regulators will continue to scrutinize relationships with technology service providers.

Read the article.

Buchalter announced the promotion of Masahisa “Masa” Mitsunaga and Mercedes O. Martin to shareholders.

Based in the Firm’s Los Angeles office, Masa Mitsunaga is a member of the firm’s Corporate Practice Group and Chair of the Japan Practice Group. Mitsunaga has participated in media-related mergers and acquisitions and debt and equity finance transactions, and advised clients on the development of intellectual property. He has deep knowledge of the business practices in the Hollywood and Media Entertainment industries. Mitsunaga also supports a variety of Japanese companies in conducting or expanding business in the U.S. by advising them on potential legal matters.

Mitsunaga earned his LL.M. at USC Gould School of Law and his LL.B. from Keio University in Tokyo, Japan.

Mercedes O. Martin is a member of the Real Estate and Real Estate Finance Practice Groups in Los Angeles. She specializes in real estate transactions, with an emphasis on secured lending and tax credit finance. Ms. Martin is also a member of both the American Bar and the Philippine American Bar Associations.

Martin earned her J.D. at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law where she was a member of the Cardozo Journal of Law and Gender and her B.A., cum laude, from the University of Southern California.

Brown Rudnick LLP announced that G. Derek Andreson has joined the firm as a partner in the Washington, D.C. office. He joins as a member of the firm’s White Collar Defense & Government Investigations Practice Group.

His addition comes on the heels of white collar partner Rachel Wolkinson, who joined the D.C. office earlier this year.

In a release, the firm said Andreson’s practice is focused on representing companies and individuals on white collar matters, including fraud and corruption, Department of Justice (DOJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigations, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) compliance and enforcement matters, and internal investigations for privately held and public companies. He is also an experienced criminal and civil trial attorney.

Before joining Brown Rudnick, Andreson was a partner and co-chair of Winston & Strawn’s Global Anti-Corruption & FCPA Practice Group. Andreson also served as a Navy SEAL for six years before embarking on his legal career.

Andreson earned his J.D. from Williams & Mary Law School and his B.A. from Old Dominion University.

Timothy J. McCarthy has joined Dykema in its Commercial Litigation Practice Group as a senior counsel in the firm’s Dallas office. He joins Dykema after two decades of practicing at various firms in New York City, including Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP, White & Case, and most recently, Carter Ledyard & Milburn LLP.

In a release, the firm said McCarthy contests disputes across a broad range of subject matter areas and jurisdictions and focuses on international disputes before American courts and international arbitral tribunals. He has represented U.S. and international multinationals and middle-market companies, banks, funds and investment managers, closely-held concerns, and individual investors and executives, in commercial cases, financial and investment disputes, securities and accounting fraud matters, bankruptcy proceedings, and executive employment disputes.

The firm said McCarthy’s clients and cases have spanned more than 25 countries, common and civil law jurisdictions, and a broad range of arbitral rule sets. He has acted in some of the highest-profile and highest-value cases of this century, including the Bush v. Gore 2000 election litigation, the Enron bankruptcy, and the civil litigations arising out the terrorist attacks of September 11t He has also represented and defended U.S. and international corporate clients, as well as individual clients, in white-collar criminal proceedings, internal investigations, and regulatory enforcement matters. McCarthy has experience as a corporate transactional attorney, including Islamic finance, and ongoing experience with innovative dispute funding strategies.

McCarthy received a J.D. and LL.M. from the Duke University School of Law and a B.A. in Political Science and Russian from the University of Notre Dame. He served as law clerk to Gerald Bard Tjoflat at the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

Charles A. Ognibene, Michael T. Grant, Robert J. Brener and William B. Dubon have joined Duane Morris LLP’s Boston, Newark and New York offices as partners in the firm’s Corporate and Trial Practice the firm announced. In addition, Michael R. Garcia has joined the Boston office as a trial associate. The lawyers join the firm from LeClairRyan PLLC.

In a release, the firm said Charles Ognibene, who led his previous firm’s Business Law Department from 2017 through earlier this year, has experience closing deals, including capital market transactions, loan originations and workouts, as well as helping banks in product development and portfolio projects. He has worked on wholesale and retail finance matters across the country. He provides strategic counsel to banks, finance companies and captives on related matters. He advises on commercial and consumer pool sales, as well as loan origination and dealer loan workouts.

Ognibene graduated from Boston College Law School (J.D., cum laude) and University of Massachusetts (B.A., summa cum laude).

The firm said Michael Grant has experience in consumer finance and banking litigation. He represents banks, servicers, auto finance companies and commercial lenders in state and federal courts. He works on individual claims as well as defending mortgage lenders and servicers in complex class action suits involving statutory consumer lending violations, usury and other contract claims. He also represents lenders in complex commercial loan workouts, foreclosures, negotiable instrument litigation and bankruptcy matters. Grant represents clients in wage and hour class actions and employment law matters involving discrimination, harassment, non-compete and contract issues.

Grant graduated from Emory University School of Law (J.D.) and Dickinson College (B.A., cum laude).

Robert Brener has more than two decades of litigation experience in complex and commercial matters. He appears as lead counsel before state and federal courts, as well as arbitration panels, representing corporations and banks in contract, fraud, RICO, lender liability, employment, real estate and unfair competition disputes. He also counsels clients in the auto finance industry, representing lenders in numerous auto dealer bankruptcies, workouts, class action suits, RICO, consumer fraud, UCC and other litigation proceedings.

Brener graduated from American University Law School (J.D.) and Northwestern University (B.A.).

The firm said William Dubon is a counselor to clients in the auto finance industry on corporate and commercial matters. With a background in commercial banking, he previously worked with national banks on multiple long-term secondments and automotive floorplan lending.

Dubon graduated from the University of Notre Dame (J.D., cum laude, and B.S.).

Michael R. Garcia focuses on commercial litigation, representing automotive finance companies, commercial lenders and other financial institutions in consumer financial services litigation ranging from individual claims to complex class action suits. He also has experience advising automotive finance companies on state regulatory compliance matters.

Garcia graduated from the University of Michigan School of Law (J.D.) and Boston College (B.A.).

Gabriella E. Alonso has joined Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP’s Houston office as an associate in the Banking and Financial Services Practice Group.

The firm said Alonso advises clients on financial services matters and corporate disputes. She prepares submissions for state and federal courts and helps clients as they progress through each stage of litigation.

Prior to joining Bradley, Alonso was an associate at Lightfoot, Franklin & White. While attending law school, she was a student case worker for the Advanced Administrative Litigation Clinic, helping coal miners and surviving family members to pursue claims through the federal Black Lung Benefits Act.

Alonso received her J.D. from Washington & Lee University School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Idaho.

Reuters reports that a federal appeals court has determined that Amazon is not liable for facilitating the sale of a defective product manufactured by another company.

It’s the second time in just three weeks that courts have found Amazon not be liable for the defective products of their suppliers.

Reuters’ Alison Frankel reports that the 6th Circuit held in Fox v. Amazon that Amazon cannot be held responsible under state product liability law because it was not the seller of the defective product – even though the product was advertised on Amazon’s platform and Amazon shipped and collected payment for it.

Read the Reuters article.

In a class action complaint filed last week, the plaintiffs’ firm Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman alleges that several New Jersey and Texas law firms committed procedural violations and overcharged clients in about 1,450 mesh cases brought in New Jersey state courts, reports Reuters.

Alison Frankel of Reuters explains:

According to the complaint, the law firms – including Nagel Rice, the Potts Law Firm, Bailey Cowan Heckaman, Annie McAdams and Junell & Associates – failed to sign clients to retainer agreements or purported to bind clients to contracts that don’t comply with New Jersey laws and ethics rules. The complaint, filed in Superior Court in Bergen County, New Jersey, asserts claims for malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment.

Read the Reuters article.

Tara Lynch, writing for Gordon & Rees LLP’s Construction Law Blog, offers three clauses to consider when writing construction contracts, with an eye to limiting liability and maximizing profits.

One of the clauses covers waiver of consequential damages. “Prudent design professionals and contractors will strike this exception so as not to render the clause meaningless. A well-drafted waiver clause will be mutual, will define which damages are consequential versus direct, and will not contain exceptions,” she writes.

She also discusses clauses covering limitations of liability, and a percentage clause involving change orders.

Read the article.

When drafting a China employment contract, one of the critical issues is always going to be the term of employment, points out Grace Yang, writing for Harris Bricken McVay Sliwoski’s China Law Blog.

She said the length of the employment term, especially the initial employment term, depends on the situation. But for new employees, her firm’s China employment lawyers usually recommend a three-year initial term, which usually works best when the employer wants that new employee to have a probation period.

“Because Chinese law requires that the probation period be proportional to the initial employment term, a three-year initial term means you can set the probation period for the maximum six months permitted by law,” she explains

Read the article.

Selman Breitman LLP announced that Ryan M. Sellers and Hee Sung Yoon have been elected to the firm’s partnership.

In a release, the firm said Sellers, who practices in the firm’s Orange County office, represents clients in insurance coverage disputes, personal injury lawsuits, and complex business litigation, including cases involving alleged bad faith, failure to defend and/or indemnify, violations of the Labor Code, consumer fraud, and unfair competition law. His clients include insurance carriers, rental car companies, and a variety of small businesses. He also represents creditors in disputes that involve complex bankruptcy issues.

Sellers earned his J.D. from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law and his B.S. from San Diego State University.

Hee Sung Yoon, who practices in the firm’s Los Angeles office, represents insurance companies in coverage disputes with their insureds, or co-insurers in the areas of commercial general liability, commercial automobile, professional liability, excess, and umbrella coverage. He has represented clients in bad faith, contribution, declaratory relief lawsuits, and class action lawsuits.

Prior to joining Selman Breitman, Yoon worked as a law clerk to Elizabeth Allen White and Debre Katz Weintraub, both of the Superior Court of California, Los Angeles County. In 2014, Yoon was named to the Lawyers of Color Hot List. He earned his J.D. from Loyola Law School, and his B.A. and B.S. from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Barnes & Thornburg has added Peter Wozniak as partner and Mark Wallin as of counsel in the firm’s Labor and Employment Department in the Chicago office.

The firm said Wozniak and Wallin represent employers in complex litigation matters, including wage and hour class and collective actions and single plaintiff litigation, employment discrimination class actions and single plaintiff litigation, and EEOC pattern or practice lawsuits. Previously, Wozniak and Wallin practiced at Seyfarth Shaw LLP.

Wozniak has worked with class and collective actions as well as single plaintiff employment litigation and arbitration, including pretrial investigation, settlement negotiation, fact and expert discovery, trial, and post-trial appeals.

Wozniak earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from Indiana University School of Law, and his B.A. from Binghamton University.

Wallin has experience defending clients against complex discrimination matters as well as class and collective actions brought under state and federal wage and hour laws across the country. The firm said he has successfully litigated cases of all sizes, including cases initiated by the EEOC as well as private plaintiffs, ranging from those seeking damages in the tens of thousands to damages in the tens of millions. Mark also provides advice on compliance with the FLSA, ADA, EPA, ADEA, and Title VII and their state law equivalents.

Wallin earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from DePaul University College of Law, and his B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Perkins Coie announced that Danielle M. Ryman has been named managing partner of the firm’s Anchorage office. Danielle succeeds Eric Fjelstad, who served in the role since 2007.

In a release, the firm said Ryman, a partner in the firm’s Labor & Employment practice, works with clients on workplace issues, including executive employment agreements, pay equity, restrictive covenants and enforcements, privacy, and internal investigations. She has experience with the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fair Pay Act and equivalent state laws.

As a trial lawyer, she has defended cases to verdict in state and federal courts, the firm said. She also serves as management-side labor counsel in collective bargaining, representation before the NLRB, and counseling on strategic union relationships.

Michael J.W. Rennock

Michael J.W. Rennock has joined Freeborn & Peters LLP as a partner in the Corporate Practice Group and John P. McConnell has joined as senior counsel in the Litigation Practice Group, both in the firm’s New York City office.

In a release, the firm said Rennock, as a member of Freeborn’s Private Equity and Venture Capital and Emerging Industries teams, focuses on mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, corporate governance and various private equity and venture capital transactions. He represents acquirers, sellers, boards of directors, and board committees, as well as issuers and investors. Rennock advises buyers and sellers in both public and private mergers and acquisitions, asset sales, and other dispositions. He has represented both issuers and underwriters in IPOs and secondary offerings, high-yield and convertible debt financings, and Rule 144A and Reg S offerings. He also has experience with recapitalizations, joint ventures, spinoffs, secured and unsecured borrowings and project financings.

Rennock represents public and private companies in a wide variety of industries, including telecommunications, healthcare, wireless communications, electronic data transmission, defense, retail, child care, banking, energy, and transportation.

Prior to joining Freeborn, Rennock was a partner at Steptoe & Johnson LLP.

Rennock received his J.D. (with honors) from Duke University School of Law and his Bachelor of Arts (with honors) from Harvard University.

The firm said McConnell, a member of the firm’s nationally acclaimed Insurance and Reinsurance Industry Team, has experience resolving complex reinsurance and insurance-related disputes. His practice involves insurance law and regulation, proportional and non-proportional reinsurance, reinsurance treaties and facultative certificates, and insurance contracts.

McConnell previously was a principal at Hargraves, McConnell & Costigan, P.C., which combined with Freeborn in 2017.

McConnell received his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and his Bachelor of Arts (with high distinction) from the University of Virginia.

A week after the West Virginia Supreme Court unanimously upheld the property rights of landowners battling one natural gas giant, the same court tossed out a challenge filed by another group of landowners against a different natural gas company, reports Ken Ward Jr. of the Charleston Gazette-Mail.

The article, published on the website of the ABA Journal, is the product of a partnership with the Gazette-Mail, a member of the ProPublica Local Reporting Network.

The court on Monday upheld a lower court ruling that threw out a collection of lawsuits alleging dust, traffic and noise from gas operations were creating a nuisance for nearby landowners.

“In the property rights case last week, the justices set a clear legal standard that natural gas companies can’t trespass on a person’s land, without permission, to tap into gas reserves from neighboring tracts,” writes Ward. “In Monday’s case, the justices didn’t articulate a new legal precedent.”

Read the ABA Journal article.