Flexera will present a webinar titled “Risk Management & IP Value Protection for Software Suppliers” on Tuesday, July 31, at 10 a.m. Central time.

In this webinar, Christian Bartsch, partner at international law firm Bird & Bird, will give an overview of legal issues software suppliers must be aware of and the ramifications of leaving them unmanaged.

Martin Callinan, founder of Open Source Software consultancy, Source Code Control, will explain the simple and effective management principles your organization needs to adopt to manage these open source software risks appropriately.

“Whether your organization supplies software alone or embedded in devices or machinery, you need it to be robust, secure and legally compliant,” Flexera says on its website. “Security vulnerabilities or licensing loopholes stemming from open source software can result in product recalls, the loss of valuable IP and terrible damage to your reputation and bottom line.

“These risks can be successfully mitigated by understanding how they arise and the key management principles you need to put in place to manage them.”

Register for the webinar.

The former general counsel of Lionsgate Entertainment left the company amid allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse, reports Variety, citing a story in The Wall Street Journal.

“Wayne Levin resigned from the company in November of last year,” writes Gene Maddaus. “A former subordinate, Wendy Jaffe, told the Journal that Levin mistreated her for more than a decade, including non-consensual sexual conduct in 2002 and 2003. Jaffe left the company in 2016, and received a $2.5 million settlement.”

Jaffe said Lionsgate had violated a non-disclosure agreement, giving her the opportunity to speak about her experiences.

Jaffe was executive vice president of legal affairs and reported to Levin during her tenure.

Read the Variety article.

The Dallas Morning News is reporting that Texas Instruments chief executive and president Brian Crutcher has been removed from his position after violations of the company’s code of conduct.

Reporter Melissa Repko writes: “The Dallas-based semiconductor company said in a news release Tuesday that the violations were related to personal conduct and did not affect the company’s operations or its finances. It did not give details about the violation. But it appears the board acted after receiving a claim that it investigated, according to a video shared with employees.”

The company’s chairman and former CEO, Rich Templeton, has reassumed the role vacated with Crutcher’s sudden departure.

The Morning News also published a commentary titled “Why won’t Texas Instruments say more about CEO’s exit? It could be legal, cultural or worse.”

Read the Dallas News article.

According to a report released by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, employers are at an increased risk of age-discrimination litigation due to changing workforce demographics, according to a Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone post.

“The State of Age Discrimination and Older Workers in the U.S. 50 Years After the Age Discrimination in Employment Act” highlights a number of important considerations for employers with regard to older workers.

“The report notes that older workers, specifically those in the 65+ category, are expected to remain in the workforce for longer, at greater numbers, and are the segment of the workforce expected to grow the fastest through 2024,” the post reports. “As a result of the increased presence of older workers in the workforce, the EEOC report warns against employment discrimination based on age, representing that ‘[u]nfounded assumptions about age and ability continue to drive age discrimination in the workplace.'”

Read the article.

Reuters reports that the former chief executive of Energy XXI Ltd agreed to settle civil charges that he failed to disclose to investors more than $10 million in personal loans obtained from company vendors and a candidate for the company’s board, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said.

John D. Schiller Jr. didn’t admit or deny the charges, but he settled with the SEC by paying a $180,000 penalty and agreeing not to serve as an officer or director of a public company for five years, the SEC said.

The Reuters article explains: “The SEC alleged Schiller maintained an extravagant lifestyle using a leveraged margin account secured by his shares in the oil and gas producer. When oil prices tumbled in 2014 and he was faced with margin calls, Schiller accepted more than $7.5 million in personal loans from companies that did business with Energy XXI, the SEC claimed.”

Read the article.

Image by Yoel Ben-Avraham

The Tech & Sourcing blog of Morgan Lewis takes a look at Software as a Service (SaaS) agreements — starting with the perspective of a solution that uses a dedicated service.

The authors of the article describe this scenario: “The application is provided and hosted as a dedicated instance, with common base software (sometimes with customization or variation) but running as a separate instance in a dedicated environment.”

The discuss:

Read the article.

A post on the website of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips discusses a case in which an Ohio federal court found that, where a contract required written revocation of consent to be contacted, a consumer’s attempt to orally revoke consent failed.

As part of the cardholder agreement between Carlton Barton and Credit One Bank, Barton provided his explicit consent to be contacted on his cellphone number in any way (such as prerecorded message, autodialer or text message), explain Diana L. Eisner and Christine M. Reilly. Barton later claimed that he revoked his consent by telling a representative of Credit One not to call him anymore.

Barton sued under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, but the court found that the plaintiff provided his cellphone number to the defendant when he filled out his application form and “‘a party who gives an invitation or permission to be called at [a certain] number’ has given ‘prior express consent’ to be contacted.”

Read the article.

The GOP’s bid to transform the federal bench with conservative judges hit its first significant snag Thursday as the White House withdrew the nomination of Ryan Bounds to serve on the powerful and famously liberal 9th Circuit appeals court, reports The Washington Post.

After an hour-long delay on the vote, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that the nomination had been withdrawn. Two Republican senators planned to vote against the confirmation.

“The nomination drew widespread criticism over articles Bounds wrote in the Stanford Review as an undergraduate that ridiculed multiculturalism and groups concerned with racial issues,” writes Karoun Demirjian. “Bounds attempted to apologize for those writings earlier this year, but his apology — which focused more on his rhetoric than his views — failed to convince Democrats or satisfy all Republicans.”

Read the Post article.

Some former colleagues of the lawyer who was convicted of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with the “Pharma Bro” case are asking the judge in his case for leniency.

Evan Greebel, formerly of Katten Muchin and Kaye Scholer, could face up to 20 years in prison for his role as outside counsel for Martin Shkreli’s pharmaceutical company Retrophin, according to Above the Law. Prosecutors alleged Greebel assisted Shkreli in using Retrophin’s assets to pay investors in unrelated hedge funds run by Shkreli through the use of phony settlement and consulting agreements and fraudulently backdating agreements.

“But his lawyers — he’s repped by Gibson Dunn — have submitted a sentencing memo asking Judge Kiyo Matsumoto for no jail time,” writes editor Kathryn Rubino. “Attached to the memo are some 180 letters asking for leniency, and quite a few from Greebel’s former Biglaw partners.”

Read the Above the Law article.

Ken Starr

A former football coach who lost his job at Baylor University had some harsh words for former Baylor president Ken Starr, but his strongest words are for Pepper Hamilton, whose investigation led to Baylor’s decision to part ways with almost anyone even tangentially involved in allegations of sexual misconduct by football players.

Above the Law details the saga, based in part on an interview with Baylor’s former defensive coordinator and interim head coach Phil Bennett published by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

“Bennett rips the firm as clueless about the basics of running a college football team — allegedly suggesting to him that the school’s lawyers should have gotten involved as soon as a student showed up late for practice — and prone to inserting some disturbing racial observations,” writes editor Joe Patrice.

Read the Above the Law article.

A federal district court judge has affirmed a take-nothing defense verdict for the owner of an Oklahoma City-based company that unknowingly provided services in connection with a mineral royalties Ponzi scheme, finding that the company, Cianna Resources Inc., does not have to repay $21.7 million the scheme paid to Cianna for mineral interests and commissions.

“Our group of attorneys did an outstanding job and put together a powerful case,” said Sawyer Neely of Dallas-based Sayles Werbner, one of the attorneys who represented Cianna. “It certainly was a David-and-Goliath situation, and we appreciate that our hard work resonated with the jury.”

In a release, the firm described the case:

In 2008, Cianna Resources and owner Kyle Shutt entered into a sub-broker agreement with Oklahoma-based Ruthven Oil & Gas, LLC, for the purchase of mineral interests. Ruthven was working with Dallas-based Provident Royalties, Joseph Blimline and others, in what authorities described as a scheme involving nearly 7,800 investors and losses of more than $400 million.

The scheme collapsed and the company went bankrupt after natural gas prices fell. Mr. Blimline was convicted in 2012 for his role in the scheme, and a bankruptcy trustee later attempted to recover funds from investors who had profited before the collapse, including seeking $21.7 million from Cianna Resources.

The trial before U.S. District Judge Jane Boyle in Dallas lasted more than a week when the jury returned the defense verdict on March 28. The successful defense hinged on providing evidence that Cianna had acted in good faith and provided valuable services to an entity. On June 28, Judge Boyle entered a final judgment, denying the trustee’s motion for a new trial and rejecting requests to throw out the jury verdict.

Cianna was represented by Bill Johnson, David Elder, and Matt Brockman of Oklahoma City-based Hartzog Conger Cason & Neville, in addition to Mr. Neely.

The case is Segner et al v. Ruthven Oil and Gas LLC et al, case number 3:12-cv-01318, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District.

One area of an employee agreement that can be over-looked, or perhaps misunderstood, is intellectual property, according to a post by John E. Munro on the website of Harness, Dickey & Pierce. Intellectual property, however, can be one of the most valuable assets of a company and should not be glossed over.

In the post, Munro discusses three provisions of an employee agreement that may be missing or could use a tune-up.

These are: the present invention assignment clause, the invention assignment carve-out, and a whistleblower provision.

Read the article.

Image by NY Photographic

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a Texas federal court’s order compelling arbitration in a sexual harassment and discrimination case because one party failed to sign an agreement to arbitrate, reports Karl Bayer in the Disputing blog.

Writing for the blog, Beth Graham describes the case in which the plaintiff, Huckaba, signed an arbitration agreement that waived her right to sue Ref-Chem L.P. prior to beginning employment with the company.

“The agreement included a signature box for Ref-Chem and also required that the company reciprocate by giving up its right to sue Huckaba. After the woman signed the contract, however, Ref-Chem failed to have an officer of the company countersign the document.”

When Huckaba later filed a sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation lawsuit against Ref-Chem, the company responded by filing a motion to compel arbitration. The district court granted Ref-Chem’s motion.

The 5th Circuit concluded “there is not a valid agreement to arbitrate in this case,” reversed the district court’s order compelling the dispute to arbitration, and remanded the lawsuit back to the district court, Graham writes.

Read the article.

Christopher A. Pesch has joined Freeborn & Peters LLP as a partner in the firm’s Corporate Practice Group in New York.

In a release, the firm said the New York since that office was formed in March 2016 through the combination with New York City firm Hargraves, McConnell & Costigan P.C., with a particular focus on insurance and reinsurance law.

“We are thrilled to welcome Chris to Freeborn’s New York office where he adds breadth and depth to our current team of attorneys including a number of top insurance and reinsurance practitioners,” said Daniel Hargraves, the Managing Partner of Freeborn’s New York office. “Chris has been a leader in corporate and securities law for many years and his knowledge and experience will be great assets for the diverse business clients we serve.”

Freeborn Co-Managing Partner William E. Russell added, “Chris enhances the scope and caliber of services that we provide to our clients from New York. As a former Chicago practitioner, he also brings insights and leadership that will benefit our corporate clients across all Freeborn’s offices.”

The firm said Pesch focuses his practice in a broad range of general corporate and securities matters, including mergers and acquisitions, compliance with federal securities laws, public offerings, corporate governance, and general commercial transactions. He has represented diverse businesses of all sizes, including publicly and closely held corporations, in the areas of corporate finance, securities, and business organization. In addition, he has represented purchasers and sellers in a variety of business transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, and joint ventures.

Most recently, Pesch was a partner and served as chair of the Corporate and Securities practice at PIB Law. Previously, he also served as chief legal officer for former insurance industry technology and outsourcing solutions provider Patriot National, Inc.

Pesch received his J.D. from Seattle University School of Law (cum laude) and his Bachelor of Arts from Lake Forest College.

FisherBroyles, LLP has added Wayne Alder and Alfred J. Monte, Jr. as partners and litigators in the firm’s Naples, Fla., and Philadelphia offices, respectively.

“Wayne and Alfred are great additions to the team of successful litigators in our Southwest Florida and Philadelphia offices,” said FisherBroyles General Counsel and Managing Partner of Litigation Joel M. Ferdinand. “Wayne and Alfred also continue the growth that has made FisherBroyles the largest distributed law firm partnership in the nation.”

Alder said, “I look forward to working alongside my new colleagues to deliver the brand of high-level service and value that clients expect from FisherBroyles.”

Monte added, “I am thrilled to collaborate with other attorneys who combine their Big Law experiences with the platform that FisherBroyles offers for delivering high-level, cost-effective legal services to our clients.”

In a release, the firm said Alder concentrates his practice on litigation matters and represents companies, individuals and municipalities. He has experience in the litigation of claims related to professionals’ business and international transactions. He also handles the defense of directors and officers against trustees in bankruptcy, as well as matters related to marine and shipyard liability, product liability, environmental claims, personal injury, construction defects and claims, cyber risks and claims, architects and engineers, and insurance coverage disputes. Alder also has experience in the area of condominium law, the Florida Condominium Act, homeowners association issues, general liability, and property claims and defense.

Previously, Alder was a partner at Kaufman Dolowich &Voluck LLP in Boca Raton, Fla. He also formerly was a partner with Becker & Poliakoff in West Palm Beach, Fla., and served as co-managing partner with Seiden, Alder & Matthewman, P.A., in Boca Raton, Fla.

Alder received his J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law and his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Hartwick College. He also attended Regent’s University in London.

The firm said Monte focuses his nationwide practice in business risk management, both preventative and post-litigation. He has litigated and tried to conclusion cases in virtually every jurisdiction in the nation. The vast majority of his practice involves businesses operating in federally regulated environments, focusing on the often-conflicting obligations of regulated businesses to disclose adverse events to regulatory agencies and the resulting liability exposure such disclosures cause. He is actively sought out by medical device, pharmaceutical, biotech and other businesses regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to design and manage risk before and after litigation has initiated. He is well-versed in traditional and alternative risk management strategies.

Prior to joining FisherBroyles, Monte served as the founding chair and later as co-chair of the Life Sciences Practice Group at Fox Rothschild, LLP for more than 11 years.

Monte received his J.D. from Villanova University School of Law and his Bachelor of Arts from DeSales University.

Langley & Banack, Inc. announced that Emerson “Buddy” Banack Jr. and Natalie Friend Wilson have been recognized by Texas Lawyer for their contributions to the legal profession. Banack, co-founder and shareholder of Langley & Banack, was awarded Lifetime Achievement, and Wilson, a bankruptcy attorney, was awarded On the Rise for attorneys 40 years of age and younger.

Banack, a distinguished trial lawyer, graduated from the University of Texas School of Law in 1965. He has represented governmental entities, corporations, businesses, individuals, physicians, lawyers, engineers and architects in malpractice cases, products liability cases, negligence cases and business litigation. He has been named a Best Lawyer in America since 1983, a Texas Super Lawyer since 2003, and has received the San Antonio Business Journal’s Outstanding Lawyer Lifetime Achievement Award.

Wilson is a bankruptcy attorney with Langley & Banack who began her legal practice in 2007 after graduating from the University of Hawai’i, William S. Richardson School of Law, J.D., cum laude. She has represented debtors, creditors, and bankruptcy trustees. Wilson is active in the Military Spouse JD Network, a bar association for lawyers married to members of the armed forces. Wilson has been a 40 Under 40 recipient by the San Antonio Business Journal and a Bexar County Women’s Bar Association Belva Lockwood Award winner.

Profiles of the honorees will be published in the September issue of Texas Lawyer Magazine. An awards ceremony in their honor will be held on Sept. 19 at the Belo Mansion in Dallas.

George Callas, who served as senior tax counsel to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and was one of the chief architects of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), has joined the Steptoe & Johnson LLP’s Government Affairs & Public Policy and Tax Groups. He will serve as a managing director in Steptoe’s Washington office.

Callas is a 15-year Capitol Hill veteran who spent most of that time working on tax issues at the committee level and for Republican leadership. As senior tax counsel to Ryan since 2015, Callas worked as lead staff negotiator for House Republicans on the three major tax packages that were enacted into law during Ryan’s tenure. Along with the TCJA, which Ryan personally thanked him for shepherding upon signing the legislation in December 2017, Callas led the charge on the Protecting Americans against Tax Hikes Act of 2015 and the tax title of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, the firm said in a release.

Previously, Callas served seven years on the House Committee on Ways and Means, including as chief tax counsel, where he worked closely with former Chairmen Dave Camp, Paul Ryan, and current Chairman Kevin Brady. In 2012, Roll Call recognized him as “One of Five Hill Aides to Know” in tax. During his tenure as chief tax counsel, Callas also worked on the revenue aspects of several pieces of trade legislation. Callas’s Hill experience also includes time spent on the Senate side, serving as legislative director and senior advisor to Sen. George Voinovich, and a position as counsel to the House Budget Committee.

“George is one of the most influential tax staffers on the Hill,” said Steptoe Chair Phil West, who also leads the firm’s tax department. “Along with his strong technical tax skills, George has been recognized for his ability to translate the technical aspects of tax policy into concise and straightforward language that legislators, Treasury officials, and business executives understand. He will provide great value to clients, from large multinational corporations to trade associations, in navigating the new tax laws and the rulemakings that lie ahead.”

Micah Green and Scott Sinder, who co-lead the firm’s Government Affairs and Public Policy Group, added: “George’s experiences both technically and politically at the committee level and in the speaker’s office, have given him unique insights not only into how tax laws are negotiated and enacted, but also the intent of the Congress on virtually every section of the most significant tax reform legislation to pass Congress in over three decades. Such deep and recent experiences and insights will provide tax clients valuable perspective on tax regulatory, legislative, and planning strategies as this new law is implemented and continually reviewed.”

Callas remarked: “Since reaching a decision to leave the Hill, I’ve explored a number of opportunities with law, lobbying and accounting firms. Steptoe is the right fit. With a stellar tax practice and equally strong public policy shop, it is the combination of everything I was looking for to shape and grow a comprehensive tax policy and legislative practice.”

Callas earned his B.A. and his J.D., with honors, from the University of Florida, where he served as the senior managing editor for the Florida Journal of International Law. He also received an LL.M. in taxation from the University of Florida. Before transitioning to Capitol Hill, Callas spent several years at KPMG as a senior tax associate.

Truda K. Chow has joined Michael Best as Chief Operating Officer. Chow most recently served as a senior advisor at LawVision Group, a professional and legal services consultancy.

In a release, the firm said Chow will work closely with firm leadership, including the chief finance officer, chief information officer and practice group managers, to oversee the firm’s operations, administrative, and human resources functions. She will collaborate with the chief marketing and business development office to execute firm strategy initiatives.

“Truda stood out above all other candidates in our extensive search as an experienced and intelligent leader who has counseled professional service organizations and law firms around the world,” said David Krutz, firm managing partner. “The law firm COO is more important than ever to an organization’s success, and Truda’s expertise will be a huge asset as we continue to strategically expand our services and business operations nationally.”

Chow has management experience in strategy, operations, finances, recruiting and retention, culture and mergers, the firm said. During her career, she provided national and international guidance, particularly in Asia, where she developed and implemented Asia regional strategies for multinational organizations. Prior to that, Chow held several positions in the legal industry and international consultancies providing counsel on global marketing and business development initiatives, growth, and investment strategies.

“I’m thrilled to join Michael Best,” said Chow. “Michael Best’s growing national presence coupled with the firm’s strong leadership in the industries they serve was a major draw in deciding to join the firm, and I’m looking forward to assisting in its continued strategic expansion.”

Chow received her M.B.A. from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management, her J.D. from Loyola University’s School of Law, and her B.S. from the University of Illinois.

The former general counsel for the Oklahoma State Department of Health is accused of falsifying death threats against herself and has been charged in Oklahoma County district court, according to KWTV News 9 in Oklahoma City.

Julia Marie Ezell faces three counts of using a computer to send herself death threats and then falsely report a made-up crime. Ezell resigned as health department general counsel on Friday.

State officials said the emails were meant to look like they were coming from angry medical marijuana supporters. The health department recently adopted rules for the implementation of medical marijuana across the state.

Read the KWTV News 9 article.

The American Bar Association has posted a tax form that reveals a onetime staff member diverted about $1.3 million from the ABA over a period of eight years.

The ABA Journal reports that the organization became aware of the theft by a nonmanagerial staff member last September, according to the form. The employee was fired the next day, writes Debra Cassens Weiss.

ABA staff are cooperating with the investigation and have been in touch with law enforcement as recently as Tuesday.

An ABA official told the Journal that the theft was well-hidden with falsified documents, but the theft became apparent when the individual got more ambitious in attempts to divert more money.

Read the ABA Journal article.