High-profile sexual harassment scandals involving the entertainment, politics and media fields are spurring businesses everywhere to take a closer look at their policies and training programs, according to a post on the website of Androvett Legal Media & Marketing.

In many cases, employers are finding that generic policies with cut-and-paste legal text and one-size-fits-all instructional videos are simply not doing enough to connect with employees and address key issues.

With careers at stake – not to mention the reputations of entire companies – employers are re-examining workplace culture, training, complaint procedures and everything in between, says employment attorney Audrey Mross of Dallas’ Munck Wilson Mandala. For example, businesses are finding that live training provides a more interactive experience that resonates with workers. “Previously, many employers thought showing an off-the-shelf training video would be sufficient, but the interactivity of live training does a better job of ensuring that key concepts are fully understood.”

In addition, training is moving beyond a focus purely on harassment to address problems including rudeness, poor judgment and disrespect toward co-workers. States are moving in a similar direction with a recent amendment to California law requiring harassment training to include bullying.

“I am a big fan of moving beyond a recitation of the applicable law to delving into actual examples to help workers begin to understand where the line is between acceptable and unacceptable behavior,” says Mross, who frequently makes presentations to businesses on workplace policies and employment law. “I’ve found that this is what triggers an ‘aha’ moment for many, and often individuals will speak up and share their own experiences with their peers in the training session. When attendees are hearing the message from both the trainer and their fellow workers, it really starts to resonate.”

Freeborn & Peters LLP announces that Benjamin C. Hughes has joined the firm as a partner in the Corporate Practice Group.

“We are thrilled to welcome Ben to Freeborn and our Corporate Practice Group,” said Cynthia A. Bergmann, a partner and co-leader of the firm’s Corporate Practice Group. “Ben plays an important role in delivering key counsel on tax-related and other business transaction issues that are important to the success of our corporate clients.”

Based in Freeborn’s Chicago office, Hughes focuses his practice primarily in the areas of business structuring, strategic business planning, income tax evaluation, tax efficiency evaluation, state and federal tax law, and IRS controversies, the firm said in a release. He also serves as general counsel or tax counsel for commercial and financial transactions across a broad spectrum of professions and industries. In addition, Hughes has been involved in various personal advanced planning and advanced business planning engagements that have included international trusts, family holding companies, family offices, and strategic business development for the working wealthy.

Prior to joining Freeborn, Hughes was a partner in the Advanced Planning and Family Office Practice Group at Handler Thayer, LLP. He also previously handled transactions involving tax planning and business and corporate law for his nationwide private practice client base. In addition, he formerly served as outside counsel to a tax consulting firm.

Hughes received his J.D. from Florida Coastal School of Law with Moot Court Honors, his Master of Laws in taxation, with honors, from The John Marshall Law School and his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Montana.

Exterro has published its “Comprehensive E-Discovery Workflow Guide,” which can be downloaded at no charge.

This resource compiles four checklists documenting best practices for each stage of the e-discovery process.

The guide includes:

• 4 e-discovery checklists covering (1) Preservation and Legal Holds through (2) Preparation for Discovery, (3)Search and Collection, and (4) Review and Production
• 32 workflow steps to ensure your e-discovery process is efficient and defensible
• How to communicate across teams inside and out of your organization

Download the guide.

Billionaire Ira Rennert has filed a $214 million malpractice lawsuit against his former law firm, after a jury found him liable for looting his magnesium company to build a huge mansion in New York’s Hamptons, reports Reuters.

The plaintiff claims that he would not have been liable had Kaye Scholer and partner Peter Haveles objected to faulty jury instructions that Rennert has said led to an “irrational” February 2015 verdict, according to reporter Jonathan Stempel.

The U.S. Supreme Court has already rejected his appeal of the verdict and resulting $213.2 million judgment.

“In Monday’s complaint, Renco said its former lawyers wrongly failed to object both to jury instructions that led to the ‘inexplicably inconsistent’ verdict, and to the jury’s dismissal after the verdict was read,” Stempel writes.

Read the Reuters article.

Image by Rhododendrites

Reuters is reporting that President Donald Trump on Wednesday blasted the U.S. court system as “broken and unfair” after a federal judge blocked his move to end the program protecting young immigrants brought to the United States illegally by their parents, commonly known as “Dreamers.”

He was responding to a Tuesday ruling by U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco that DACA must remain in place while the litigation is resolved.

In a post on Twitter on Wednesday morning, Trump wrote, “It just shows everyone how broken and unfair our Court System is when the opposing side in a case (such as DACA) always runs to the 9th Circuit and almost always wins before being reversed by higher courts.”

Read the Reuters article.

The former head of a Wells Fargo legal department responsible for employment matters is one of two high-ranking executives who are no longer with the company, reports The Charlotte Observer.

The executive changes are the latest at the top of the bank since a sales scandal broke more than a year ago.

The former legal department group head is Deanna Lindquist. The other former executive mentioned in Deon Roberts’ report is Tracy Kidd, who was head of human resources for Wells’ community banking segment in Charlotte, NC.

Read the Observer article.

The National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) will host a meeting of progressive general counsel, directors, and subject-matter experts for an intimate discussion on the continuing evolution of the general counsel’s role, and its impact on boardroom issues. This exclusive, one-day event seeks to help GCs to better align themselves with director expectations, as well as elevate their role in the boardroom, the company says.

The event will be on Monday, Feb. 12, 2018, at the Grand Hyatt Washington in Washington, D.C.

Once seen solely as legal advisors, general counsel are now regularly called upon to provide the board with an objective opinion about the company’s strategy based on their legal and ethical training. In fact, almost 70 percent of NACD’s full board memberships have a general counsel on their board roster. As part of our continuing goal of equipping boards with the information they need to create long-term value for businesses, NACD launched a new initiative: The Strategic-Asset GC.

Now in its second year, the Strategic-Asset GC event will aim to provide general counsel unique insights from directors, subject-matter experts, and fellow general counsel in order to help identify effective strategies for continued partnership with the board.

Register or get more information.

Employment and labor law firm Littler announced the return of Aaron D. Crews to the firm as its first Chief Data Analytics Officer, based in the Sacramento office.

In this new role, Crews will manage the operations of Littler’s data analytics practice and lead the development and implementation of technology-based solutions that provide value to the firm and its clients, the firm said in a release. He will work closely with Dr. Zev J. Eigen, Littler’s Global Director of Data Analytics, a team of data analysts, and others within the firm who are guiding Littler’s efforts in data analytics, AI and other technology-based tools and methodologies. Crews will also use data analytics tools to facilitate process improvements and efficiencies, and assist in protocols for the secure handling of data.

“Aaron’s addition comes at an important time for Littler and the legal industry as a whole, as the use of data analytics to guide business and legal decisions only continues to grow,” said Tom Bender and Jeremy Roth, co-managing directors of Littler, in a joint statement. “Aaron will play a key role in formalizing our business strategy and enhancing our capabilities as we continue to expand our data analytics capabilities.”

Crews joins Littler from Text IQ, a provider of AI technologies to address legal and compliance issues, where he served as general counsel and vice president of strategy. Prior to that, he was global head of eDiscovery at Walmart and oversaw the company’s eDiscovery process and litigation strategy and managed data analytics initiatives. Prior to joining Walmart, Crews was a shareholder with Littler and counseled clients on eDiscovery, the use of computer forensics in investigations and litigation, and protocols related to the collection and analysis of data.

“Littler is one of the few firms that has a genuine appetite and history of embracing innovation and leveraging technology to improve the delivery of legal services,” said Crews. “One of the most significant trends affecting our industry is the rise of legal operations teams within corporate law departments. The opportunity to create a legal operations role within a law firm was too good to pass up and helps further Littler’s unique ability to provide solutions that focus on clients’ needs and pain points.”

“We’ve developed several initiatives over the years that use data analytics to better serve clients and the time had come to create a position focused on managing our operations in this area,” said Paul Weiner, Littler’s National eDiscovery Counsel. “We are fortunate to bring on Aaron who has the right experience, skills and vision to collaborate with clients, corporate departments and our own attorneys to develop new data analytics applications and improve legal processes that will advance our position as a market leader in law firm innovation.”

Crews has served on the advisory boards of several technology companies and startup organizations, and is a prolific writer and accomplished speaker. He received his J.D., cum laude, from the University of San Francisco School of Law and his B.A. from the University of California at Davis.

DLA Piper has named Frank Ryan co-chair of the firm’s global Intellectual Property and Technology practice and Ann Ford co-chair of its US IPT practice, both effective January 1.

Ryan joins Stéphane Lemarchand as global co-chair of IPT and will continue to serve as chair of the US IPT practice alongside Ford. Ryan also serves as deputy chair of the firm’s global Media, Sport and Entertainment sector and is a member of the firm’s Executive Committee and Global Board. In his practice, he provides legal and strategic advice to domestic and multinational clients in litigation, intellectual property, media and sports, and complex commercial matters.

Ford, who previously served as vice chair of the US IPT practice, is also the US chair of the Trademark, Copyright and Media practice, the global co-head and US head of Sectors, and a member of the firm’s Executive and Policy committees. In her practice, Ford works with clients on business, litigation, strategy, and transactional aspects of intellectual property. She has extensive experience working with both mature and emerging companies on developing, strengthening and enforcing brands in a wide variety of industries.

Dykema announced that Dommond Lonnie, member of Dykema’s Litigation practice, was recently appointed to serve the firm as director of its Automotive Industry Group, a multidisciplinary group focused on providing high-quality legal service to automotive and mobility clients.

Based in the firm’s Los Angeles office, Lonnie is experienced in representing numerous domestic and foreign automobile/mobility manufacturers in product liability, class action, toxic tort, and commercial litigation matters, the firm said in a release. Throughout his career, he has prepared and tried multi-million dollar exposure lawsuits involving product liability, breach of warranty and breach of contract claims on behalf of Fortune 500 clients.

“I am honored to have been asked to take on this significantly important leadership position in one of Dykema’s core industry groups, and in doing so, supporting and upholding the successful work we’ve done on behalf of our automotive clients worldwide,” said Lonnie. “We have established ourselves as the premiere legal counsel to OEMs, global automotive suppliers and other mobility companies, and I plan to lead the charge in continuing our excellent track record of client service.”

Lonnie, who received a J.D. and a B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles, succeeds Brendan Cahill, who was recently appointed to Dykema’s Executive Board.

Barnes & Thornburg LLP has added financial restructuring and banking attorneys Thomas Hoffman and Michael Cavallaro as partners in the firm’s Minneapolis office.

Hoffman and Cavallaro have almost 30 years of in-house bank counsel experience, including indenture trustee representation, restructuring work and bank advisory and regulation advice, the firm said in a news release.

“As we approach our tenth year in Minneapolis, we’re continuing to attract the best legal talent in the region, while also putting our people in positions to provide valuable counsel and services to clients, both in the Twin Cities and other markets, and take advantage of our national platform,” said Connie Lahn, managing partner of Barnes & Thornburg’s Minneapolis office. “In Mike and Tom, we’ve added two highly respected, dynamic attorneys with decades of banking and financial services experience.”

“Mike and Tom bring invaluable in-house experience and are well-regarded by their peers and the broader business and legal communities in Minneapolis,” said David Gotlieb, chair of Barnes & Thornburg’s Corporate Department. “Their arrival underscores the concerted effort we’re making to grow this office and our larger corporate group with practitioners who can best address the increasing regulatory and compliance challenges facing large financial institutions.”

The pair, who was previously at Fox Rothschild, will be members of the Corporate Department.

Barnes & Thornburg has seen an influx of lateral growth with a group of four partners who launched the firm’s Family Law group in the Minneapolis office: Karen Schreiber, Sonja Trom Eayrs, Brittany Stephens Pearson, and Gloria Myre. Bruce Little, an intellectual property partner, also joined in Minneapolis in the first four days of the year. Barnes & Thornburg’s Minneapolis office, which opened in 2009, now has increased its attorney ranks to 32.

About the Attorneys

Thomas Hoffman has more than 34 years of experience in the financial services industry as a consumer regulatory and compliance attorney and as a commercial financial restructuring and bankruptcy attorney. In the consumer space, he concentrates on default servicing, consumer regulatory and compliance issues, foreclosure, and secured and unsecured claims. In his commercial practice, he represents national banks, trustees, and other creditors in financial restructuring and bankruptcy cases. Earlier in his career, Hoffman worked for more than 25 years as an in-house attorney at Wells Fargo & Company and became a managing counsel.

Hoffman received his J.D. from the Mitchell Hamline School of Law, cum laude, and his B.A. from the University of Minnesota.

Michael Cavallaro focuses his practice on advising banks and financial services companies on national and regional consumer regulatory and legal compliance issues related to consumer and commercial bankruptcy and restructuring, collections, vendor management, foreclosure, loss mitigation and default servicing. His representation of financial institutions includes credit unions, community and national banks, and mortgage servicing companies. Cavallaro also served as the U.S. Trustee Single Point of Contact for one of the top five largest financial institutions in the country, in addition to having worked as senior corporate counsel at U.S. Bank.

Cavallaro received his J.D. from the Mitchell Hamline School of Law, and his B.A., cum laude, from Gustavus Adolphus College.

Nicholas G. Moneta, a Franklin Square, NY resident, has joined Farrell Fritz  as a first-year associate.

Moneta was a law clerk (2017) and summer associate (2016) at Farrell Fritz. Additionally, he interned for the Hofstra Community & Economic Development Clinic; was a judicial intern for Magistrate Judge A. Kathleen Tomlinson, United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York; and was a legal intern and paralegal at the law firm of Moulinos & Associates LLC in New York, NY.

Moneta earned his Juris Doctor degree, cum laude, from the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University, where he was the Managing Editor of Articles for the Hofstra Labor & Employment Law Journal. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts, magna cum laude, from Adelphi University.

On Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018, the experts at NAVEX Global will discuss the challenges of ethics and compliance and offer predictions for 2018’s most pressing compliance issues.

The complimentary webinar will be at 1 p.m. Pacific time/ 1 p.m. Eastern time.

This past year was filled with news headlines that resulted in major legal repercussions for many organizations—causing workplace unrest or wreaking havoc on reputations.

Webinar participants will be able to take a proactive look at their programs and make sure they have a legally defensible strategy that’s prepared for any scenario, NAVEX says in its invitation.

Register for the webinar.

In an article for Bloomberg Big Law Business, Wiley Rein LLP’s Kirk Nahra details the top-10 U.S. and international developments in 2018 that companies must be aware of to ensure an effective information security program.

Nahra writes that “it is clear that privacy and data security has moved from an issue impacting primarily healthcare and financial services companies, to an issue that affects, in large and small ways, virtually every company across the globe. These issues affect litigation, mergers and acquisitions, product development, research, corporate strategy, business partnerships, and, in some way most activities of most companies.”

His article covers the European Union’s new General Data Protection Regulation, Privacy Shield and other data transfer obligations, non-EU data transfer programs, cybersecurity, breach litigation, FTC and Office for Civil Rights enforcement, and the role of the states.

Read the Bloomberg article.

The Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics has posted a podcast titled “Paul Fiorell on Snitches Get Stitches: Our Feelings About Whistleblowers.”

Fiorelli is Professor of Legal Studies and Co-Director, Cintas Institute for Business Ethics at Xavier University.

“We all admire whistleblowers who call out wrongdoing and help right a wrong, at least we do in the abstract. But, as case after case has shown, whistleblowers are rarely so admired by their peers,” the SCCE says in its introduction to the recording.

Listen to the podcast.

As evidence that cyberattacks continue to threaten electric infrastructure in the United States, a report issued in December by cybersecurity firm FireEye indicates that critical infrastructure industrial control systems (ICS) could be susceptible to a new type of malware, reports Morgan Lewis in its Power & Pipes blog.

According to the report, a piece of malware called “TRITON” triggered the emergency shutdown capability of an industrial process within a critical infrastructure ICS.

“In 2013, hackers believed to be operating on behalf of a state-actor managed to take partial control of the Bowman Avenue Dam near Rye Brook, New York. More recently, reports emerged this past summer that hackers gained access to the operational grid controls of US-based energy firms,” write J. Daniel Skees and Arjun Prasad Ramadevanahalli.

Read the article.

Forum selection clauses that are not adhesive will be interpreted independently of the court’s determination of the enforceability and validity of the contract as a whole, according to a post in Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice’s Employment Law Blog.

Robert Chandler discussed the case of Reed v. The Reilly Company, LLC, in which the plaintiff, terminated by the Reilly Co., brought claims in Missouri. Reilly moved to dismiss, based on a contract provision stating that disputes must be brought in Kansas.

“Parties drafting forum selection clauses should exercise care to avoid contracts that are adhesive – i.e. agreements reached without a realistic opportunity for bargaining – and to choose forums which will be considered “neutral” and not overly advantageous to the party drafting the agreement,” Chandler explains.

Read the article.

A recent Indiana Court of Appeals decision illustrates the importance of having an overall risk allocation strategy in contracts where appropriate, and paying close attention to the language used to express that strategy, writes Christian Jones of Barnes & Thornburg.

In the post on the firm BT Policyholder Protection Blog, Jones writes that this is particularly when multiple contracts and parties are involved.

“This case illustrates the difficulty of coordinating risk allocation language across multiple contracts. [The insurer] might have attempted to pursue subrogation claims under any circumstances, but it seems possible that litigation might have been avoided if all of the contracts at issue had contained their own express waiver of subrogation clauses” Jones explains.

Read the article.

Form documents published by the American Institute of Architects can sometimes be a one-size-fits-all approach often does not adequately protect the developer when issues arise on a construction project, according to a post on the website of King & Spalding.

Robert B. Garner and Peter A. Berg write that of the biggest problems a developer faces in using the AIA forms is selecting the proper form for its project.

“One of the biggest problems a developer faces in using the AIA forms is selecting the proper form for its project,” they explain.

“Without careful thought and modification to standard forms, developers can find themselves in a difficult position in a delayed and over-budget project, even if developers signed a contract with a ‘guaranteed maximum price.’ Project development requires detailed attention to all aspects of your latest construction agreement,” the authors write.

Read the article.

Liz Kramer, writing in Stinson Leonard Street’s Arbitration Nation blog, provides a rundown of the top 10 developments in arbitration law during the past year.

“2017 was a big year in arbitration law,” she writes. “We went from a country that seemed on the verge of banning arbitration in most consumer and employee contracts to a country whose federal policy embraces arbitration in nearly every context.”

Among the trends she discusses are cases on regulation reversal, preemption, the NLRB, small claims court confusion, statutory preclusion, non-signatories getting divergent results, and more.

Read the article.