Paper Software will demonstrate its Contract Tools product, a powerful Word add-in for working with contracts, in a complimentary live webinar. The event will be Monday, July 24, at 12 p.m. EDT.

Contract Tools, a TechnoLawyer Top 5 product of 2016, is designed to make creating and reviewing contracts easier.

The live demonstration will provide a tour of Contract Tools’ new features, including real-time updating.

Paper Software also offers a free seven-day trial of Contract Tools.

Register for the live demonstration.

A federal judge in Manhattan has rejected DTI Global’s arguments that a sales team lured away by a competitor had misappropriated key trade secrets, such as its e-discovery clients’ purchasing needs, and denied its motion for a preliminary injunction, according to a Bloomberg Law report.

The four sales agents had gone to work for LDiscovery.

U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff wrote in his opinion that he was “unpersuaded that LDiscovery has done anything improper by entering into these agreements with the Individual Defendants, let alone that the Individual Defendants have breached the applicable terms of their agreements with DTI.”

Read the Bloomberg article.

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Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is expected to be deposed as New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman expands his sweeping probe into whether Tillerson’s former employer, ExxonMobil, misled investors about the impact of climate change, reports JWN.

“Schneiderman’s office considers the nation’s chief diplomat a central figure in a case that pits the ambitious Democrat against a Texas energy giant and has divided attorneys general nationwide,” according to the report.

Some state prosecutors and Exxon’s legal team accuse the New York attorney general of abusing the power of his office to score political points. Schneiderman, however, says he he has the legal authority to depose the secretary of state, who served as Exxon’s CEO until joining the Trump administration.

Read the article.

This past term shows that the Supreme Court is really the Gorsuch Court — a trend that will likely continue well into the future, writes Jessica Mason Pieklo in Rewire.

“Gorsuch’s concurring opinion in Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer, the case that has further opened a pipeline for direct government spending to some religious institutions, was so conservative not even Justice Samuel Alito — who happily endorsed corporate religious rights in the Hobby Lobby v. Burwell decision — agreed with it,”
Pieklo writes.

If justice Anthony Kennedy retires from the court, a second Trump appointee could move the court the most conservative in its history, she adds.

Read the Rewire article.

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It’s Gordon McKernan’s “G Guarantee” versus fellow Baton Rouge personal injury lawyer E. Eric Guirard’s “E Guarantee” in a lawsuit that involves a mocking “big rig” television ad and claims of trademark infringement, according to the The Advocate of Baton Rouge.

As reporter Joe Gyan Jr. tells it: “McKernan, whose popular television commercials show him atop an 18-wheeler with arms folded, isn’t laughing about Guirard’s latest TV ad that mocks McKernan by depicting a man bearing McKernan’s likeness falling off a big rig while filming a commercial spot.”

McKernan’s federal lawsuit accuses Guirard of trademark infringement and misappropriation of identity. The suit seeks monetary damages.

Read the Advocate article.

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Chipmaker Qualcomm Inc. will ask the U.S. International Trade Commission to bar Apple Inc. from selling some iPhones and iPads in the United States that use chips made by competitor Intel Corp on the grounds that the devices infringe on six Qualcomm patents, Reuters is reporting.

Qualcomm said it will ask the U.S. ITC to ban imports of the Apple devices that use the chips. The company also filed suit in federal court in California on Thursday to request monetary damages.

Reporters Diane Bartz and Stephen Nellis write: “In its complaint to the ITC, Qualcomm asked the body to ban ‘iPhones that use cellular baseband processors other than those supplied by Qualcomm’s affiliates.’ Qualcomm did not name Intel, but Intel began supplying chips for some iPhones starting with the iPhone 7.”

Read the Reuters article.

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Baker McKenzie’s Global Arbitration News has posted an article discussing the difficult questions raised in both substantive and procedural law by indemnification clauses in share purchase agreements.

The author, Dr. Philipp Schuett, explains that the reason is that an indemnification dispute involves at least four parties: “The target company, the third party who raises claims against the target company, the seller (= the indemnitor) and the buyer (= the indemnitee).”

He then discusses the reasons to include indemnification clauses in SPAs, the scope and wording of indemnification clauses, the potential for disputes, and avoidance of post-M&A disputes.

Read the article.

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An alert from Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman takes a look at some new laws in the United States that provide a clear indication that smart contracts will be impactful.

Authors of the article are Craig A. de Ridder, Mercedes K. Tunstall and Nathalie Prescott.

The article covers the Current legal state of smart contracts and blockchain technology, provides a refresher on smart contracts, discusses upcoming smart contract and blockchain technology projects, and looks at the future of smart contracts.

Read the article.

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Bryan K. Wheelock of Harness Dickey has posted an item on the firm’s website contemplating what perfection might look like in regard to an employee agreement.

“Lawyers strive for perfection in their work, but time constraints, budgets, and other factors work against us. Also, perfection is not always the same thing in every circumstance,” he writes.

He discusses such topics as confidentiality, non-compete clauses, non-solicitation, assignment of inventions, access to computers, the return of employer property and confidential information, and publicity and social media restrictions.

Read the article.

The first part of the Department of Labor’s Conflict of Interest Rule went into effect in June, and a large group of newly-defined “fiduciaries” are now subject to certain requirements of the Best Interest Contract (BIC) exemption, a portion of the Fiduciary Rule that according to some commentators creates a private right of action for investors, reports Kilpatrick Townsend.

“The creation of a private right of action is one of the investment industry’s chief concerns with the Fiduciary Rule,” write Paul Foley and John I. Sanders. “Industry leaders claim that the BIC exemption creates a private right of action because it enables investors to bring breach of contract claims and class actions against the fiduciaries with whom they contract.  However, a federal judge from the Northern District of Texas flatly rejected this claim in Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America v. Hugler.”

Read the article.

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ALIS Law will present its annual conference on Jan. 22-23, 2018, at the Residence Inn and Courtyard Los Angeles. Attendees are expected to include general counsel teams of hotel ownership companies, management companies and brands, as well as law firms that advise hoteliers.

Under the ALIS umbrella, ALIS Law focuses on current legal matters of interest to hotel owners and operators. While the Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) conference discusses the issues and opportunities related to buying, selling, and building hotels, ALIS Law focuses on the “day after” the deal closes and the many legal issues owners and operators face, ALIS said in a news release.

As in previous years, ALIS Law will apply for MCLE credit hours in the state of California.

In addition, attorneys in attendance may be eligible to receive MCLE credit through reciprocity or attorney self-submission in other states, and ALIS Law will help provide the details needed to apply. Participants may contact their state bar or licensing authority to verify the requirements and process to apply.

In order for ALIS Law to have record of your attendance on file,attendees should make sure you sign-in at the start of each session. An official record of attendance form will be available on a table outside each session room.

Get more information on the conference.

Zapproved’s  2017 Summer volume offers insights from the latest e-discovery cases — and how courts are applying the FRCP to reach big decisions. The new volume is available for downloading at no charge.

The company says the publication includes summaries detailing e-discovery no-nos — from data compliance missteps to misconduct to total e-discovery breakdown. It also discusses trends in how courts are applying the new Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) to validate best practices.

The collection covers cases with many high-profile brands, such as Wal-Mart Stores, UPS, Goodyear Tire, Angie’s List and the return of Targate. Other cases put lesser known names in the spotlight, like Fischer v. Forrest, Vir2us, Inc. v. Invincea, Inc. and OOO Brunswick Rail Mgmt. v. Sultanov.

This free volume includes abstracts of e-discovery case law from the last 10 years, plus 11 full summaries of recent 2017 cases. It reveals how the courts are bringing issues of proportionality, cooperation and preservation to the forefront:

– Gordon v. T.G.R. Logistics, Inc.
– United States v. HV1 Cat Canyon, Inc.
– Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. v. Haeger
– Williams v. Angie’s List, Inc.
– Bird v. Wells Fargo Bank
– Fischer v. Forrest
– HCC Ins. Holdings, Inc. v. Flowers
– Vir2us, Inc. v. Invincea, Inc.
– Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Cuker Interactive, LLC
– Solo v. United Parcel Serv. Co.
– OOO Brunswick Rail Mgmt. v. Sultanov

Download the 2017 volume.

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Above the Law reports that a 115-year-old Biglaw firm is no more, after Chadbourne & Parke announced that its anticipated merger with Norton Rose Fulbright is official.

Reporter Kathryn Rubino writes that the combined firm, which will operate under the Norton Rose Fulbright name, has about 1,000 lawyers in the U.S. , with roughly 300 of them in New York City alone.

She writes that there were concerns that client conflicts could delay the firms tying the knot, but the announcement of the merger puts those concerns firmly in the past.

Read the Above the Law article.

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Some American law firms trying to collect on big contingency claims are starting to use  form of litigation insurance to hedge against the possibility that the judgment could be wiped away on appeal, according to Bloomberg Law.

Reporter Gabe Friedman describes one case in which a firm used the process when it was trying to resolve one of its biggest cases: a $300 million trial judgment for a client, which would yield a 10 percent fee for the firm.

The lawyer “negotiated for a type of ‘insurance’ with Credit Suisse that was acceptable to the court,” Friedman explains. “Under the deal, his firm paid Credit Suisse what was akin to an insurance premium. And if his firm was unable to collect its 10 percent fee award, Credit Suisse would pay it an undisclosed sum; and if the firm did collect, which it eventually did, the firm had only paid the bank the premium, an amount equal to a portion of its fee award … .”

Read the Bloomberg article.

The former chief financial officer of American Realty Capital Properties Inc was convicted on Friday of deceiving investors by inflating the real estate investment trust’s financial statements, Reuters reports.

A three-week trial in federal court in New York ended with Brian Block guilty of fraud and conspiracy.

American Realty shares lost about $4 billion in market value on one day in 2014 after the company said employees intentionally concealed accounting errors.

“Block was charged with securities fraud and conspiracy last year,” writes Brendan Pierson. “Prosecutors said that in July 2014, he plugged fake numbers into a spreadsheet that was used to prepare the company’s financial report for the second quarter of that year in order to disguise a calculation error in a previous report.”

Read the Reuters article.

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In another attempt to change the admissions process at the University of Texas at Austin, a group — led by a man who unsuccessfully sued the university previously over its admissions process — has filed a lawsuit claiming UT violates state law by using race and ethnic considerations as factors in its admissions, according to a post on the website of Androvett Legal Media & Marketing.

Edward Blum’s nonprofit organization, Students for Fair Admissions, says UT gives African-American and Hispanic candidates preference over white and Asian applicants.

Lynn Pinker Cox & Hurst partner Shonn Brown says this latest attempt is a step backward.

“The University of Texas still struggles to obtain a diverse student population,” Shonn says. “It proceeds under an admissions policy that has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. Blum’s group and its actions seek to return to the ‘days of old’ and if put into place would likely take UT backwards in its attempts to utilize additional across-the-board process that assists in increasing diversity in the UT student population.”

The health care bill the U.S. Senate is fine-tuning could have profound effects on elderly people who rely on nursing home care, says Houston-area elder law attorney Kelley Bentley of Roberts Markel Weinberg Butler Hailey PC. Bentley is board certified in estate planning and probate law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

“The bill proposes large cuts to federal Medicaid support over several years with reliance on states to decide funding in the future. In Texas, nearly 70 percent of nursing home residents are enrolled in Medicaid.

“While many people may assume the program pays solely for health care for the poor, it also fills a gap for long-term care, including at-home and nursing home care for the elderly population. The cost of long-term care in the U.S. can be substantial and a serious drain on an individual’s assets. That includes middle-class retirees who sometimes have managed to save substantial assets. Some people simply outlive their savings for long-term care.

“Older people should take a hard look at their savings long before any health problems. Consider a long-term care savings plan or long-term care insurance and also talk to a lawyer about how to organize and protect assets. In Texas, long-term care Medicaid programs can provide a wide range of care, including nursing home, assisted living and at-home programs. The secret is to start to plan early, before the need arises as there are more options available for the preservation of assets. The goal is not necessarily to preserve assets for future generations, but to ensure that an individual (or married couple) has sufficient assets to cover any future long-term care needs.”

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Meloney Perry, founder of the Dallas-based insurance defense law firm Perry Law P.C., has been elected the 2017-18 chair of the Insurance Law Section of the State Bar of Texas.

“I am honored to be elected by my peers to lead the Insurance Law Section,” said Perry. “Insurance law touches upon and plays a role in almost every area of the law. The Insurance Law Section includes many great legal minds and resources, which make us all better lawyers.”

The State Bar of Texas includes legal sections in specialized fields, allowing lawyers with shared interests and professional experiences to build a closer association. The Insurance Law Section enables attorneys to address areas of Texas insurance law in a bipartisan manner through both policyholder and insurance company attorneys. This section focuses on both substantive, procedural insurance law and litigation with a goal of educating and serving the legal profession and public, according to a news release from Perry Law.

In her role as the chair of the Insurance Law section, Perry will also oversee the Journal of Texas Insurance Law, which is written and edited by section members and published three to four times a year to provide continuing education on insurance law.

Perry is an insurance defense attorney in the Dallas area. A Women’s Business Enterprise National Counsel-certified business, the firm serves as the primary regional counsel for a major national insurance firm. Perry Law also represents business owners across the country involved in insurance and business disputes.

As an author and frequent presenter on insurance coverage and the law, Perry often conducts Continuing Legal Education seminars for clients.

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Entities that loaned General Motors $1.5 billion before it went bankrupt cannot sue GM’s law firm, Mayer Brown, for accidentally canceling the collateral on the loan, the Seventh Circuit ruled.

Courthouse News Service is reporting that the Chicago-based appeals court ruled Wednesday that Mayer Brown has no duty to GM’s lenders because it did not represent them.

The suit was based on a statement drafted by Mayer Brown that mistakenly terminated the collateral securing a $1.5 billion loan. That mistake resulted in the lenders’ loans becoming unsecured, putting their claims behind the claims of secured creditors, writes Lorraine Bailey.

Read the Courthouse News article.

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Reuters is reporting that an ex-general counsel of insurer WellCare Health Plans Inc. pleaded guilty on Wednesday in federal court in Tampa to having made a false statement to Florida’s Medicaid program, prosecutors said, the latest former executive to be convicted in the case.

Thaddeus Bereday, indicted along with four other former WellCare executives in 2011, faces a maximum of five years in prison.

“Bereday’s plea came after the U.S. Supreme Court in April declined to hear an appeal by former WellCare Chief Executive Todd Farha of his fraud conviction for his role in a scheme to cheat the Medicaid health insurance program for the poor,” writes reporter Nate Raymond.

Read the Reuters article.

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