The Associated Press reports that a federal judge has denied a law firm’s request to be added as an administrator of the NFL’s estimated $1 billion concussion settlement.

“U.S. District Judge Anita Brody rejected an attempt from the Locks Law Firm to join the process that compensates former players for head injuries they sustained during their careers. The firm had claimed that the process was going too slowly,” according to the AP report.

Nearly 400 claims that could pay out more than $416 million have already been approved.

Read the AP report.

The growing scandal involving women who were paid during the 2016 presidential race to keep them quiet about their alleged affairs with Donald Trump has turned a harsh spotlight on Beverly Hills lawyer Keith M. Davidson.

The Los Angeles Times reports that two of those women once represented by Davidson have wound up firing Davidson and hiring new lawyers to get their nondisclosure deals voided.

Reporter Michael Finnegan writes: “Affable and streetwise, he operates on the fringe of entertainment law. His niche is extracting money from celebrities for clients threatening to release sex tapes or share embarrassing stories with the media.”

Now Davidson faces lawsuits alleging extortion.

Read the LA Times article.

Dallas lawyer Tshombe Anderson had his niece obtain an internship at the U.S. Labor Department so she could snoop through claims files, learn the system and act as a “mole,” prosecutors say.

The Dallas Morning News reports that on Thursday a U.S. district judge sentenced Anderson to the maximum punishment of 10 years in prison and ordered him to pay more than $26 million in restitution minus what the government has already collected from him.

“Anderson stole patient information from over 200 injured federal workers and then used the information to fraudulently bill OWCP [workers’ comp], enriching himself and others with taxpayer dollars intended for the treatment of injured federal workers,” said Steven Grell, Special Agent in-Charge for the Dallas Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General.

Read the Dallas News article.

It is important to periodically review form agreements to ensure that the provisions that were favorable or represented your company’s position in the past continue to accurately protect your company’s interests, and that includes a company’s nondisclosure agreements, according to Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.

Michael L. Pillion and Jessica M. Pelliciotta are authors of the article.

They discuss in some detail the subjects of parties, terms, the definition of “confidential information,” disclosure of information, standard of care, the obligation to report misuse, and the return of confidential information.

Read the article.

Recent case law and enforcement actions have made clear, contractual language addressing the issue of exclusivity, while obviously relevant, is not always determinative, write E. John Steren and Patricia Wagner for Epstein Becker & Green’s Antitrust Byte blog.

The authors explain: “Instead, and regardless of the contractual language between the parties, the courts and enforcement agencies look at whether the parties operate, in practice, as if the relationship is exclusive or not. Regarding network participation, the enforcement agencies will look at whether competing networks exist and whether network members actually participate in those competing arrangements. For payor contracts, the enforcement agencies will look at whether payors actually contract with competing providers—and if not, why not.

Read the article.

A recent article published by Goodwin Procter describes a Department of Justice challenge to an agreement between two of the largest rail equipment suppliers in the world that prohibited them from competing to hire each other’s employees, often referred to as “no poach” or “no hire” agreements.

“The negotiated settlement requires the Defendants to cease participation in these agreements and imposes a slew of onerous compliance obligations to assure no conduct of this sort occurs in the future,” according to the article. “This is a notable harbinger of the DOJ’s future enforcement intentions. Companies with any such agreements with competitors – be they written or informal – should consult with counsel immediately to assess their potential exposure. Agreements that are reasonably necessary to achieve a legitimate business transaction or collaboration between or among companies remain lawful.”

Read the article.

Dan Harris of Harris Bricken’s China Law Blog writes that when foreign companies sign dual language contracts without knowing exactly what the Chinese language portion of their contract says, they are engaging in risky business.

He explains: “Many dual language Chinese-English contracts are silent on which language controls. For some unknown reason, foreign companies far too often just assume that the English language portion controls or they just assume that it does not matter because the meaning of both the English and the Chinese portions is exactly the same. Wrong, wrong, wrong.”

He writes that Chinese companies love using a contract with an English portion that is more favorable to the foreign company than the Chinese portion and then relying on the English speaking company to assume that the English language portion will control.

Read the article.

Business trial law firm Rose Walker has added transactional and corporate attorney Holly Clarke to the firm.

“Holly has a rare combination of high-level contracting, international transactions and in-house counsel experience,” says Rose Walker founding partner Marty Rose. “Her background and experience certainly fit the direction we would like to take in the development and growth of our firm, and I look forward to our future with her in our Dallas office.”

Clarke has experience in structuring international government contracts. She has served as in-house counsel at General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., L-3 Communications Aerospace Systems and Caterpillar Inc., handling legal issues related to contract procurement, negotiation, performance, close-out, and disputes. At the state and federal levels, she has represented clients with contracts involving the U.S. Department of Defense, including the Army, Air Force and Navy, as well as NASA, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and the General Services Administration (GSA).

The firm said Clarke has served as lead negotiator and lead counsel on numerous international transactions, with representative transactions, including a $120-plus million direct-commercial sale contract with the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence to develop certifiable unmanned aircraft systems for the UK, several VVIP aircraft interior contracts valued in excess of $500 million with multiple international customers, the direct commercial sale of services to the Republic of South Korea, the FMS sale of transport aircraft to the Royal Australian Air Force, and an avionics upgrade contract with the New Zealand Air Force.

“I am excited about the opportunities someone with my background has at a firm that is as established and respected as Rose Walker is in the Dallas legal community,” says Ms. Clarke. “I look forward to being a part of the Dallas office for many years to come.”

Clarke joined the firm April 9.

Above the Law reports that the names of some of the biggest law firms in the country have come to light after the Department of Justice seized records from the home and office of Donald Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.

“The first Biglaw firm caught up in the mess is Squire Patton Boggs. Last year the firm announced a strategic alliance with Cohen, but as the heat’s been turned up, they’ve sought to distance themselves,” writes editor Kathryn Rubino.

Other firms’ materials could have been caught in the raid, including Morgan Lewis, Gerstman Schwartz Malito, and Cole Schotz, the article states.

Read the Above the Law article.

The lawyer who taught New York’s first family of tax evasion the tricks of the trade might be spending his golden years in prison, according to Crain’s New York Business.

A Manhattan jury found Michael Little, 67, guilty of helping the adult children of a Wall Street executive tap into their Swiss bank accounts, which held millions in inheritance money, without alerting the IRS.

Reporter Aaron Elstein writes that the case appears to mark the end of an extensive government crackdown on wealthy families and their advisers who avoided paying taxes by parking money offshore. Federal authorities have charged more than 60 account holders with tax evasion and 30 bankers or lawyers with enabling them during the past eight years.

Little’s troubles began in 2001 when the children of Harry Seggerman, who’d made his fortune at Fidelity investing in Japanese and later Korean companies wanted to access their late father’s $24 million estate, about half of which was tucked away in a Zurich vault.

“Little advised the Seggermans that they could get their inheritance dollars back into the United States without alerting authorities by taking ‘little chunks’ using travelers checks or disguising transfers by saying they were related to sales of art or jewelry,” writes Elstein.

Read the Crain’s article.

Image by Sean P. Anderson

The parents of children who died in the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., have accused conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and InfoWars of defamation and seek damages in excess of $1 million, reports the Austin Statesman.

Plaintiffs in two lawsuits filed in Austin, Texas, allege that Jones and his media organization spread false information related to the tragedy, according to reporter Mark D. Wilson.

The Los Angeles Times reports: “The lawsuits allege that Jones defamed the parents by constantly calling them ‘crisis actors’ and insisting the shooting was a ‘false flag’ operation; they also claim Jones’ accusations have led to death threats against the Sandy Hook families by Jones’ followers.”

Read the Statesman article.

The national defense firm of Foley & Mansfield announced that attorney Whitney D. Seltzer has joined its NYCAL defense team. Seltzer represents prominent national corporations in all aspects of complex product liability, toxic tort, and personal injury litigation.

Prior to joining Foley & Mansfield, Seltzer practiced at an industry leading toxic tort and product liability defense firm. In a release, the firm said she has experience in all phases of litigation, and has represented a wide variety of manufacturers, distributors, and premises owners as both local and national coordinating counsel. Licensed in New York, she is a member of the New York State Bar Association.

Construction attorney Cathy Altman, a partner in the Dallas office of Carrington, Coleman, Sloman & Blumenthal, LLP, has been elected to the Governing Committee of the ABA Forum on Construction Law.

She is one of four new members elected to the 12-member Governing Committee during the Forum on Construction Law’s annual meeting April 11-13 in New Orleans. Each member serves a three-year term, representing the group’s estimated 6,000 members and associates.

“It is a tremendous honor to be selected for a leadership role in an organization that is committed to building the best construction lawyers in the country,” said Ms. Altman, chair of Carrington Coleman’s construction group. “I look forward to working with this dedicated group of lawyers in supporting professionalism and knowledge in construction law.”

Focused on education and professional development, the Forum on Construction law is the largest organization of construction lawyers in the world. Its members represent all segments of the construction industry, including owners, developers, design professionals, contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, construction managers, lenders, insurers and sureties.

“Cathy is a proven leader within our firm and the business community,” said Carrington Coleman Managing Partner Bruce Collins. “It is not surprising to any of us who have worked with her that she has been selected by her peers to serve on the Governing Committee.”

Before joining the governing board, Ms. Altman served as chair of the Forum’s Construction Owners & Project Finance division and as chair of the Forum’s Trial Academy. In addition, she serves on the Construction Industry specialty panel of the American Arbitration Association (AAA) National Roster of Arbitrators and Mediators. She also is the 2018 Chair of the Midlothian Chamber of Commerce and serves on the board of the North Texas Commission.

A jury has awarded internet security software company VirnetX $502.6 million, finding Apple Inc. willfully infringed on four patents used for VPN on Demand and Facetime in Apple products.

The finding that Apple willfully infringed on four VirnetX communications patents could lead to higher damages. The liability and damages verdict was returned on April 10 at the end of a seven-day trial, and the willful infringement finding was returned the following day. It is the third jury verdict in the past two years that lawyers with East Texas-based firm Ward, Smith & Hill, PLLC, have secured for VirnetX in its long-running legal battle with Apple.

Judge Robert W. Schroeder III heard the case in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Tyler Division. The dispute involved U.S. Patent Nos. 6,502,135; 7,490,151; 7,418,504; and 7,921,211.

VirnetX was represented at trial by Ward, Smith & Hill name partner Johnny Ward and Caldwell Cassady & Curry attorneys Brad Caldwell, Jason Cassady, Austin Curry and Chris Stewart.

In September 2016, Ward played a key role in securing a $302 million patent infringement verdict for VirnetX. Seven months prior to that verdict, Ward and attorney Claire Abernathy Henry assisted with a $625.6 million patent verdict win against Apple, the firm said in a release.

The case is VirnetX Inc. et al v. Apple Inc., case 6:12-cv-00855, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

Shane A. Brunner has joined Michael Best as a partner in the firm’s Litigation Practice Group.

In a release, the firm said Brunner has more than 18 years of experience focusing on intellectual property litigation and other complex commercial disputes. He has represented clients in patent, trademark, trade secret, unfair competition and contract matters in a variety of industries, including pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, biotechnology and computer technologies.

“We’re thrilled to have Shane on board,” said John Scheller, Chair of Michael Best’s Litigation Practice. “His broad range of intellectual property litigation experience and proven track record will bring great depth to our already-established group, and we’re looking forward to having him on our team.”

“I’m excited to be with Michael Best,” said Brunner. “The firm’s IP and Litigation Practice Groups are very established and well respected. I’m honored to be part of this noteworthy group.” Brunner will be based out of the firm’s Madison office.

Brunner earned his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Wisconsin Law School where he was articles editor of the Wisconsin Law Review and Order of the Coif. Before becoming a lawyer, Brunner obtained a B.B.A in Accounting from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and went on to work several years as a certified public accountant at a Big Four accounting firm.

Longford Capital announced that Justin A. Maleson has joined the firm as a director in Chicago. The firm said Maleson will assist with investment sourcing, due diligence, and monitoring of portfolio investments.

Prior to joining Longford Capital, Maleson was a partner in the litigation department of Jenner & Block, where he focused on large-scale commercial litigation.

In a release, the firm said he has litigated cases across the country, and his experience spans a wide range of substantive areas of the law, including commercial contracts, business torts, intellectual property, and licensing. He has been involved in all phases of the litigation lifecycle from inception of a dispute through trial and appeal. In private practice, Mr. Maleson regularly directed and participated in fact development and case assessment, and counseled corporate clients about the strength of claims, strategy, and dispute resolution.

“Justin has extensive experience bringing litigation from inception through trial and appellate levels,” said Michael A. Nicolas, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Longford Capital. “He has effectively managed large litigation teams in complex disputes, contributing to his understanding of claimant needs. His arrival is an important addition to our firm as we continue to scale our team to respond to the increasing demand for well-designed litigation finance that we continue to experience.”

Maleson has published extensively on topics relating to the protection of confidential and trade secret information, as well as corporate information technology transactions and disputes.

He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from the Smith Business School at the University of Maryland, and obtained his law degree from the University of New Hampshire School of Law, where he graduated magna cum laude.

Akerman LLP announced the addition in its Chicago office intellectual property litigators Timothy Sendek, former leader of Lathrop Gage’s IP Litigation Team, and Darrick Hooker from Lewis Brisbois, both as partners.

“Tim and Darrick are accomplished trial lawyers with impressive experience handling IP litigation, procurement and counseling,” said Michael Switzer, chair of the Intellectual Property Practice Group. “Their arrival broadens our strengths and international reach, as we expand our presence across major business centers to better serve our clients.”

Sendek focuses his practice on patent, trademark and copyright disputes in U.S. District Courts, the International Trade Commission (ITC), and at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board. His experience includes numerous Section 337 trials at the ITC, jury and bench trials in district court and patent office litigation, including more than 60 inter partes review (IPR) proceedings. A registered patent lawyer with a background in engineering, Sendek represents clients in a range of technologies and sectors, including automotive, electronics, food and beverage, and consumer goods. In addition to his litigation experience, he advises clients on IP compliance, risk management, counseling and patent prosecution. At the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Sendek has asserted and defended petitions for IPR and other America Invents Act post-grant challenges. In 2015, Patexia ranked him as one of the top five U.S. lawyers handling IPR petitions. In addition to practice, Sendek teaches patent litigation as an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois College of Law.

Hooker is a counselor and a litigator who routinely counsels and represents clients with a variety of intellectual property issues, including patent litigation and counseling relating to litigation, as well as trade secret, trademark, copyright and entertainment matters. He has transactional and litigation experience representing clients, including but not limited to, the medical devices, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, computer software, chemicals, mechanical devices, industrial, renewable energy, utility, mechanical engineering and automotive/transportation industries. He also assists his clients with licensing, risk assessment and management, internal governance, compliance, freedom to operate, and due diligence investigations in connection with licensing transactions, mergers and acquisitions. He also advises clients on entertainment matters, including licensing and branding issues. As a commercial litigator, Hooker has litigated both jury and non-jury cases involving complex commercial matters, including cyber security, product liability, premises liability and commercial agreements. As a result, he has developed a reputation for having an in-depth understanding of a client’s business and technology to successfully identify and manage global assets, and prepare for and manage litigation.

He is admitted to practice before several federal courts and the United States Patent and Trademark Office. He also serves on the board of directors of the Institute for Science & Education Technology, Free Spirit Media, and the Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association. Hooker is also a member of the Intellectual Property Advisory Board at the Maurer School of Law at Indiana University-Bloomington.

The Federal Bar Association during its Capitol Hill Day on April 26, 2018, will urge President Trump and the United States Senate to honor their Constitutional responsibilities to nominate judicial nominees and promptly act upon those nominations, in response to a growing vacancy crisis afflicting the federal courts.

“Today there are nearly 150 judicial vacancies in our nation’s courts, representing 18 percent of all Article III federal judgeships, said Kip Bollin, president of the Federal Bar Association. “Judicial vacancies mean that our federal courts are not being staffed at the level Congress intended, triggering the slower dispensation of justice.”

In addition to judicial vacancies, FBA leaders participating in Capitol Hill Day will urge Congress to adequately fund the federal courts, establish additional federal judgeships in high-caseload judicial districts, and establish an Article I immigration court.

W. West Allen, chair of the FBA Government Relations Committee, stated, “The Federal Bar Association represents the foremost constituency of our federal courts. As its practicing bar, we have a responsibility to remind Congress of the critical role the courts play, the challenges they face, and their ongoing needs.”

Last year, the annual FBA advocacy event broke all-time attendance records involving FBA national, circuit, chapter, section, and division leaders. Working off a common agenda of FBA policy priorities, FBA leaders participated in over 200 meetings with House and Senate offices across the Hill.

Read more about Capitol Hill Day.

Judiciary

Conga and Forrester have published a new report titled “Best Practices: Uncover the Full Potential of Your CLM Implementation.” The report on contract lifecycle management can be downloaded from Conga’s website at no charge.

In promoting the report, Conga makes three points:

1. Customers are leaving money on the table by not fully implementing CLM. Fewer than one in five of all CLM customers interviewed captures all the strategic values a CLM implementation can bring.
2.  Engage early with stakeholders and manage their expectations. It’s critical to start working with general counsel and other key stakeholders early when developing a business case. Having a holistic plan that ties benefits to stage and to stakeholder will keep the implementation on track.
3. Have a solid and funded business case that drives the later stages of implementation. More than 70 percent of CLM customers interviewed stopped at stage 2 of the implementation. Having funds, resources, and support enables the latter stages of CLM optimization.

Download the report.

Oral arguments in the biggest U.S. Supreme Court tax case in years are just days away, reports Bloomberg Law.

Oral arguments in South Dakota v. Wayfair are scheduled for Tuesday, April 17.

Reporter Ryan Prete writes that the case directly challenges the 1992 decision in Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, prohibiting states from imposing sales tax collection obligations on vendors lacking an in-state physical presence.

“The case has set off perhaps the largest amount of state and local tax-related activity in the past decade as states have tried to ‘kill Quill’ as online commerce has replaced traditional brick-and-mortar markets,” according to Prete.

He quotes Max Behlke, director of budget and tax at the National Conference of State Legislatures, as saying the South Dakota case is the “tax case of the millennium.”

Read the Bloomberg article.