Global law firm DLA Piper announced the addition in Texas of a six-partner team that specializes in the representation of institutional investors in connection with their alternative investments and other matters.

The firm said the team, which includes David Parrish, Nicole Brennig, Elise Green, Philip Svahn, Sara Stinnett and Richard Cardillo, represents many of the world’s largest and most active foreign and domestic pension plans, endowments, insurance companies, private market solutions providers, family offices and other financial institutions.

In a release, the firm said:

For more than a decade, this team has represented institutional investors in domestic and foreign alternative investments. In addition, the team advises institutional capital in connection with secondary transactions, syndicated and direct co-investments in portfolio companies and transactions, fund restructurings, general partner removals, advisory board matters, fund and advisor acquisitions and other consolidations, fund dissolutions, pre-IPO private investments, private investments in public equities (PIPEs), Rule 144A equity and debt transactions and swaps, derivatives and other hedging strategies.

The team’s experience spans alternative investment and institutional investor classes and includes:

• Private Equity Funds
• Venture Capital Funds
• Hedge Funds
• Energy Funds
• Infrastructure Funds
• Real Estate Funds
• Commodities Funds
• Reinsurance Funds
• Credit and CLO Funds
• Private Markets Solutions Providers
• Pension Funds
• Sovereign Wealth Funds
• Captive Funds
• Long-only Funds
• Collective Investment Funds
• Strategic Multi Asset Class Funds
• Separately Managed Accounts
• Funds of One

“DLA Piper is committed to delivering unparalleled service and value to clients around the world,” said Roger Meltzer, DLA Piper’s global co-chairman and co-chairman for the Americas. “The world’s leading institutional investors and investment funds rely on this highly sophisticated team because of their extensive experience and their unique insight into the marketplace.”

The volume and breadth of the team’s practice provide unique visibility into current and trending legal and commercial terms across asset classes. The team tracks, manages and delivers this market intelligence to clients and other market participants.

“We have always tried to find creative and effective ways to serve our clients,” said David Parrish. “We look forward to leveraging the breadth and resources of the DLA Piper platform to better help our clients as they pursue their investment strategies throughout the world.”

The team is also heavily involved in investor-education efforts with respect to alternative investments through active engagement in the American Bar Association, Institutional Investor Subcommittee, the Institutional Limited Partner Association, the National Public Pension Attorneys Association, the Pension Real Estate Association (PREA), the Texas Association of Public Pension Plan Attorneys (TAPPA) and other organizations.

“The addition of this team is also an important strategic component of our ongoing regional expansion in Texas,” said John Guaragna, managing partner of the firm’s Austin office. “We are thrilled to welcome them to the firm.”

Other recent arrivals in Texas include Employment partners Marc Katz and Isabel Crosby, Corporate partner Steven Bartz and Litigation partners Rob Hoffman, Michael Moore and Matthew Nickel, all in the Dallas office.

The first batch of employers are getting estimates from the IRS of penalties they owe for not providing health coverage to employees in 2015. Some of the estimates are in the millions, reports Bloomberg.

Kristen Ricaurte Knebel writes that the IRS won’t say how many “226-J” letters have gone out or who’s getting them.

“But some practitioners expect Industries like trucking, restaurant, and staffing to see a high proportion of them,” she explains. “That’s because there is a high turnover rate inherent in those industries, which makes it challenging to keep track of workers, Alden J. Bianchi, a member at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky & Popeo PC in Boston, told Bloomberg Law.”

The Affordable Care Act in 2015 required employers with 100 or more full-time employees to offer minimum essential coverage to at least 70 percent of full-time workers. Failure to do so could result in a penalty of $2,080 for every full-time employee, with penalties sometimes reaching $10 million.

Read the Bloomberg article.

A lawsuit has been filed against cable company Charter Communications and its third-party cable installation partner DCOMM after the alleged sexual assault of a 72-year-old Dallas woman during a cable installation visit, according to a post on the website of Androvett Legal Media & Marketing.

The woman, who is not named in the filing in order to protect her privacy, was sexually assaulted by the technician sent to set up television, internet and telephone service, according to her family’s attorney, Michael Lyons of the trial firm Deans & Lyons, LLP. The technician, Moises Cabrera, is facing criminal charges of aggravated sexual assault.

“Calling the cable person to come to your house — that’s not something you ordinarily associate with the threat of criminal danger,” Lyons told Dallas ABC affiliate WFAA.

There is a false sense of safety because these workers are viewed as representatives of a company that is trusted to properly screen, train and supervise its employees.

“But in reality, you don’t know who you are allowing into your home,” he said. “Consumers need to recognize that most of these workers are contractors who may not always be properly vetted, well-trained or supervised. That can result in dangerous consequences, especially for vulnerable customers who are home alone. Service companies need to be held accountable for the people they hire to go into residents’ homes.”

The Antitrust Update of Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler discusses a Federal Trade Commission case in which it appears an amicus brief may have been dispositive to the outcome of an appeal.

In Federal Trade Commission v. Penn State Hershey Medical Center, a group of 36 economists affiliated with top universities across the country filed an amicus brief explaining that the lower court used a faulty economic theory when it ruled against the FTC. The appellate court cited the brief when it reversed the district court.

Authors Jake Walter-Warner and Jonathan H. Hatch examine the brief’s influence on the appellate court and show how the court laid out the issues with the district court’s analysis just as the amicus brief did.

Read the article.

Image by NPCA Online

Randall S. Rich of Pierce Atwood LLP, writing in the firm’s Energy Infrastructure Blog, considers the question: Can an interstate natural gas pipeline continue to operate if a court vacates its certificate authorizations?

He raises the question in light of a federal appellate court’s ruling that raises the possibility that it will vacate certificates of public convenience and necessity authorizing the construction and operation of the Florida Southeast Connection pipelines. Those pipelines are currently transporting natural gas to power plants in Florida.

He covers the facts of the case and then discusses a legal theory that may permit the pipelines to continue to transport natural gas if the certificate orders were vacated.

Read the article.

A jury in a legal malpractice case has found Alston & Bird 32 percent responsible for a former company manager’s theft from a client, according to a report at Above the Law.

Kathryn Rubino writes, “Their (now former) client, family-held Hatcher Management Holdings LLC, took a loss after former manager, Maury Hatcher, cashed out of the business, allegedly at an inflated price in addition to hundreds of thousands of dollars in self-dealing fees. Hatcher Management Holdings alleged Alston & Bird partners assisted the departed Maury Hatcher from providing company members access to financial records and documents after he left the company.”

The Atlanta jury also awarded up to $1.1 million in fees and expenses, which the law firm could be required to cover in full, according to the report.

Read the Above the Law article.

Image by David Shankbone

Variety is reporting that Harvey Weinstein’s insurance company is refusing to defend him against 11 sexual harassment lawsuits, saying that his alleged misconduct is not covered under his personal liability policies.

Chubb Indemnity Insurance Co. sued on Wednesday, asking the New York Supreme Court for a declaration that it is not obliged to fund the disgraced producer’s legal defense, according to reporter Gene Maddaus.

The suit says that some of Weinstein’s policies cover damages he is obligated to pay “for personal injury or property damage.” The damages must arise from “an accident or offense” to be covered.

But Chubb’s position is that Weinstein’s alleged pattern of sexual assault and harassment does not qualify.

Read the Variety article.

Image by WhisperToMe

Regal Entertainment’s ex-CEO took home a $14.6 million payout when she and the Knoxville-based theater chain’s other top executives resigned this week, reports Know News, a part of the USA Today network.

Reporter Matt Lakin writes that a report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lists the severance packages awarded to Amy Miles, Regal’s CEO since 2009, and three others.

One of those, general counsel Peter Brandow will receive a $1.04 million payment and an $1.1 million bonus, for an ultimate total payout of $4.7 million. He’d been general counsel since 1999.

“The four bowed out under the terms of Regal’s merger with UK-based Cineworld Group PLC, which became final Wednesday,” writes Lakin.

Read the Knox News article.

As with any contract, non-disclosure agreements are least effective when treated as boilerplate afterthoughts, points out Sean W. Fernandes in an article for the American Bar Association’s Mentoring New Lawyers blog.

“To ensure that clients obtain the maximum benefit of non-disclosure agreements, lawyers should tailor the agreement to the information being shared and the risks attendant to the disclosure,” he advises.

In his article, Fernandes discusses:

• a statement of purpose
• terms governing permissible uses
• a definition of confidential information
• procedures for labeling confidential information
• what steps should be taken to secure confidential information
• procedures governing unauthorized disclosures
• expiration of the agreement and return or deletion of confidential information
• a discussion of remedies

Read the article.

The Association of Corporate Counsel has set the agenda for the 2018 ACC Mid-Year Meeting, which will be in Denver April 22-24.

The ACC is promoting two special sessions: “Advanced Ethical Issues in Negotiating and Drafting Contracts” with Clara Ohr, general counsel for East Coast Power & Gas, LLC, and a presentation by Gary Kennedy, former CLO of American Airlines and author of “Twelve Years of Turbulence: The Inside Story of American Airlines’ Battle for Survival.”

Three major components of the meeting will focus on:

• Contracts: Learn advanced drafting and negotiation techniques and tools that drive contract performance, mitigate risk, and meet rapidly changing needs of your organization.
• Mergers and acquisitions: Knowing business—and your company’s business, specifically—will make you an immensely more valuable business partner as your company navigates complex corporate transactions.
• Business training: Business management is the #1 non-legal skill desired by CLOs for their lawyers. Boost your business acumen through academic-taught live and on-demand sessions on key finance, accounting, and emotional intelligence concepts.

Get more information.

As more and more “smart” products incorporate computer and software elements, manufacturers must evaluate whether they have the appropriate supply chain practices and procedures in place to handle the addition of these elements, advises Nicholas J. Ellis of Foley & Lardner in the firm’s Manufacturing Industry Advisor blog.

This could involve revising contracting practices and documents, he writes.

“Many of the contract forms used to source raw materials or physical components may not be appropriate to use when sourcing software. The terms of any contract must be dictated by the specific circumstances,” Ellis explains.

He discusses some examples that highlight some of the potential issues that may arise when trying to use traditional supply form documents to purchase software or other computer components to be included in a product.

Read the article.

An attorney client-relationship can arise from something far less definite than an explicit agreement between the attorney and his or her client, warns Robert J. Glowacki Jr. in a post for Poyner Spruill LLP.

He explains:

“In the recently decided Friday Invs., LLC v. Bally Total Fitness of the Mid-Atl., Inc., the North Carolina Supreme Court found the existence of an attorney-client relationship under circumstances where neither party explicitly discussed legal representation. There, the central question was whether an attorney-client relationship exists between a defendant to a lawsuit and a non-party that contractually agreed to indemnify that defendant and, if so, whether correspondence between the two is protected by the attorney-client privilege.”

Read the article.

The U.S. Supreme Court recently reaffirmed that collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) must be interpreted according to “ordinary principles of contract law,” according to a post in the  Proskauer Rose Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Blog.

The ruling again rejected the Sixth Circuit’s inference from silence that CBAs vested retiree benefits for life.

Three years ago, the Supreme Court held in M&G Polymers USA, LLC v. Tackett that CBAs must be interpreted according to ordinary principles of contract law, and the court rejected the Sixth Circuit’s so-called “Yard-Man” inference that if a CBA did not specify that retiree medical and other welfare benefits had a limited duration, the benefits were presumed to be vested.

The article’s authors explain: “The Supreme Court unanimously reversed the Sixth Circuit, holding that the Sixth Circuit’s inference of vesting could not be squared with Tackett because it did not comply with Tackett’s direction to apply ordinary contract principles.”

Read the article.

The unsealing of Harper Lee’s will this week in Alabama yielded few insights into the life of the beloved author of the American classic novel “To Kill a Mockingbird,” according to a post on the website of Androvett Legal Media & Marketing.

Among the most frustrating details to those who had hoped to learn more about the notoriously private author was that she directed the bulk of her assets to a trust she established a few years prior to her 2016 death, says Dallas estate planning attorney Sam Long of ​Shackelford, Bowen, McKinley & Norton, LLP.

“Privacy concerns are among several factors that have increased the use of trusts as a mechanism to transfer property at death,” says Long, who also serves as an adjunct professor of wills, trusts and estates at UNT-Dallas College of Law. “In most cases, the terms of such a trust, such as the Mockingbird Trust here, and the nature of the assets conveyed to the trust during a person’s lifetime are not public information.”

DLA Piper announced that Ben Mulcahy has joined the firm’s Intellectual Property and Technology practice as a partner in Los Angeles and Gina Reif Ilardi has joined the IPT practice as a partner in New York.

In a release, the firm said Mulcahy’s practice focuses on representing major film studios, broadcast and cable television networks, prominent website operators, retailers and major consumer brands in sports marketing, entertainment marketing and interactive marketing, as well as in virtual reality, gaming, eSports and innovative branded entertainment initiatives.

Reif Ilardi’s practice focuses on counseling advertising, marketing and public relations agencies, motion picture studios, television networks and major brands in their online and mobile marketing initiatives, along with all aspects of sports marketing, entertainment marketing, e-commerce and branded entertainment. She and Mulcahy will serve as co-chairs of the firm’s newly formed National Advertising Team.

“As we continue to strategically expand in Los Angeles, adding Ben will allow us to strengthen our practice offerings for new and existing clients here and across the country,” said Stuart Liner, co-managing partner of the firm’s Los Angeles offices. “He and Gina complement our media and entertainment capabilities well, and their skillset will be immediately beneficial.”

“Gina’s background is an ideal fit for our national and global platform, and her broad experience will bolster our IPT practice in New York and firmwide,” said Richard Hans, managing partner of the firm’s New York office. “She and Ben will be valuable additions to our team, and we look forward to their contributions.”

Reif Ilardi was recently named on Variety magazine’s list of “Dealmakers Elite New York” and “Hollywood’s New Leaders” and has been listed three times among the entertainment industry’s top lawyers in Variety’s annual “Legal Impact Report,” along with Mulcahy. Both Reif Ilardi and Mulcahy have also been recognized on Variety’s annual “Dealmakers Impact Report” on three separate occasions.

“Ben and Gina are highly skilled lawyers with outstanding reputations among clients and peers,” said Ann Ford, co-chair of DLA Piper’s US Intellectual Property and Technology practice. “They bring substantial experience in the entertainment industry, including representation of major film and television studios, to our global platform, and we are pleased to welcome them to the firm.”

“Stuart Liner has an impressive track record of putting together strong teams with the right capabilities and bringing out the best in people,” Mulcahy said. “In a short amount of time, he’s brought on Doug Emhoff, whom I’ve known for years, and attracted several other highly respected partners to DLA Piper in Los Angeles. It’s an honor to join this strong and growing team.”

“Our enthusiasm for the firm goes beyond Stuart and Doug,” Reif Ilardi added. “DLA Piper has consistently demonstrated its ability to deliver excellence in its local offices and coordinate true national and global solutions that clients increasingly need.”

Mulcahy and Reif Ilardi both join DLA Piper from Jenner & Block, where Mulcahy was the co-chair of the firm’s Trademark, Advertising and Unfair Competition team. Mulcahy received his J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School and his B.A. from Saint John’s University. Reif Ilardi received her J.D. from Fordham University and her B.A. from New York University. They have been recognized as leading attorneys in numerous publications, including Variety, New York Law Journal, Daily Journal, National Law Journal, Chambers USA and Legal 500.

The National Labor Relations Board threw out its most important ruling of 2017 — a 3-2 victory for major U.S. corporations — following an internal agency report that found that a potential conflict-of-interest had tainted the vote, reports Bloomberg, via the Chicago Tribune.

Bloomberg reporter explains that the discarded ruling, called Hy-Brand, had reversed a controversial Obama-era “joint employer” decision empowering workers to pursue claims against, or seek collective bargaining with, major corporations that don’t sign their paychecks, such as franchisors or clients of contractors.

“The vote overturning that 2015 case included support from Trump-appointed William Emanuel, whose former law firm had represented one of the companies in the original case, Browning-Ferris,” Eidelson reports.

Read the Tribune article.

Reuters reports that Supreme Court justices on Tuesday wrestled with Microsoft Corp’s dispute with the U.S. Justice Department over whether prosecutors can force technology companies to hand over data stored overseas, with some signaling support for the government and others urging Congress to pass a law to resolve the issue.

“The case began when Microsoft balked at handing over a criminal suspect’s emails stored in Microsoft computer servers in Dublin in a drug trafficking case. Microsoft challenged whether a domestic warrant covered data stored abroad” according to reporters Lawrence Hurley and Dustin Volz.

Two of the justices, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor, questioned whether the court needed to act now,  considering the fact that Congress is considering bipartisan legislation that would resolve the legal issue.

Read the Reuters article.

General Electric has announced a shakeup that’s unusual in corporate America, disclosing an overhaul to its board that included the departure of eight directors, the nomination of three new members and an eventual change next year in its independent lead director, The Washington Post reports.

“The announcement, which follows a precipitous fall in its share price in recent months and weeks of troubling headlines for investors, was first discussed by new CEO John Flannery in November and had been expected,” writes reporter Jena McGregor. “If shareholders approve the nominees, the industrial giant will have just 12 directors — far closer to the average size board and 33 percent smaller than the 18-member board it had a year ago.”

She adds that the revamp is an example of the kind “of overhaul advisers on governance and board recruitment say is extremely rare, if well overdue at the embattled company.”

Read the Post article.

Roetzel & Andress LPA announced that E. Mark Young has joined the firm’s Cleveland office and Business & Commercial Litigation practice as a partner. Young has experience working with local legal community and civic organizations.

The firm said Young focuses his practice on complex civil litigation matters in federal and state courts. He represents companies ranging from small, local businesses to international companies and financial institutions, serving as “first chair” in multiple matters before the courts. He has also represented clients in bankruptcy cases and in administrative proceedings before a number of government agencies.

Young returns to Roetzel after having worked as an associate at the firm from February 2005 through July 2008.

“We are thrilled to welcome Mark to Roetzel and we look forward to his contributions and added leadership among our firm’s highly respected group of business litigators and corporate lawyers,” Roetzel Chairman Robert E. Blackham said. “Mark’s deep experience in a wide range of industries and matters will be a great asset to our team.”

Douglas E. Spiker, partner-in-charge of Roetzel’s Cleveland office, said, “Mark has been a well-respected litigator and civic-minded counselor in the Cleveland business community for many years. His skills and business acumen enhance the breadth and depth of our services to our corporate and financial clients.”

Young said, “I am excited to rejoin my colleagues at Roetzel, which is well-known in Cleveland and nationally for its experienced litigation team and successes in handling high-profile cases across the full spectrum of industries. I also look forward to continuing my focus on community work that allows me to bring my business and legal knowledge to bear on behalf of important civic efforts.”

Most recently, Young was a partner with Meyers, Roman, Friedberg & Lewis in Cleveland. Previously, he also was a partner at Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff, also in Cleveland. In addition, Young has served as outside general counsel to multiple companies in diverse industries, including mobile technology, construction supply manufacturing, low- and moderate-income residential housing development, alcohol manufacturing and distribution, medical billing and home health care, as well as for religious institutions and a number of minority- and female-owned businesses.

Young also is an adjunct professor at The Cleveland Marshall College of Law and a former trustee of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Foundation.

Outside his law practice, Young has been engaged in local civic and community initiatives, the firm said. He currently serves on the executive committee as the Parliamentarian and on the board for the Consortium of African American Organizations and is a member of the Executive Committee and the board for Gilmour Academy High School in Gates Mills, Ohio. In addition, he has served in various board or leadership roles with the Cleveland Academy of Scholarship Technology and Leadership Enterprise, the Wake Forest University Alumni Association and Local Alumni Chapter, and the Gilmour Academy High School Alumni Association.

Young received his J.D. from the University of Toledo College of Law. He also holds a Master of Arts from Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University and a Bachelor of Arts from Wake Forest University.

Dykema announced that Adam Fishkind, a member of the firm’s Real Estate Practice Group, has been appointed as Managing Member of the firm’s Bloomfield Hills office.

In a release, the firm said Fishkind represents in real estate based transactions, including investors, lenders, developers, owners, and operators. He advises clients in commercial real estate transactions, including the acquisition, disposition, development, leasing, management, financing, and syndication of a wide variety of real estate projects such as office buildings, industrial properties, telecommunications facilities, single family and multi-family communities, regional shopping malls, strip shopping centers, parking facilities, hotels, golf courses, and planned developments. He also advises real estate-based business entities with respect to formation and operation, including structure of organization, acquisitions, mergers, reorganizations, dispositions, debt and equity financing, and real estate workouts.

Fishkind is also a member of Dykema’s Financial Institutions Team and has experience representing national lending institutions and borrowers in the negotiation, structuring documentation and enforcement of commercial real estate acquisition loans, construction and land development loans and various other commercial lending transactions.

Fishkind earned a J.D., from DePaul University and a B.A., with honors, from Michigan State University.