Exterro has published a new e-discovery guide called The Comprehensive Guide to Early Case Assessment. The guide can be downloaded at no charge.

The guide discusses how the concept of ECA is changing in today’s digital age and provides tips for creating an ECA strategy to get to the facts of a case quickly.

The guide includes:

• 22 pages of best practices for incorporating e-discovery considerations effectively in your ECA strategy
• Six chapters on everything you need to know about ECA, including new techniques for quickly accessing and assessing case data
• One custodian interview template and one ECA checklist for implementing a winning ECA process

Download the e-discovery guide.

The House is poised to pass three bills this week championed by industry that may tilt the civil litigation process in favor of business in thousands of cases each year, reports Bloomberg BNA.

The far-reaching bills address class actions, asbestos cases and attorneys who file “frivolous” suits, writes Bruce Kaufman.

The fast-track approach is deemed essential to give the bills time to advance in the more-deliberative Senate, where 60 votes are needed to overcome an almost certain filibuster.

The bill rewrites class-action practice, aids defendants striving to keep cases out of plaintiff-friendly state courts, punishes attorneys who file dubious claims, and seek to put new limits on settlements entered into by the Department of Justice and the EPA. They also would require more disclosures by asbestos victims who seek compensation from bankruptcy trusts.

Read the Bloomberg article.

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Reuters is reporting that Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE Corp has agreed to pay $892 million and plead guilty to criminal charges for violating U.S. laws that restrict the sale of American-made technology to Iran and North Korea.

“A five-year investigation found ZTE conspired to evade U.S. embargoes by buying U.S. components, incorporating them into ZTE equipment and illegally shipping them to Iran,” explains reporter Karen Freifeld. “In addition, it was charged in connection with 283 shipments of telecommunications equipment to North Korea.”

“With this action, we are putting the world on notice. Improper trade games are over with,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told reporters Tuesday. According to a CNBC report, he called ZTE’s actions “a brazen disregard for our laws.”

Read the Reuters article.

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One of the two attorneys behind the notorious Prenda Law copyright factory has finally admitted extracting more than $6 million from internet users by accusing them of illegally downloading porn, reports Forbes.

John Steele pleaded guilty to federal charges of  conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The U.S. Department of Justice alleged that Steele and co-defendant Paul Hansmeier set up an elaborate “honeypot” operation by buying rights to porn videos in the name of various shell companies and then uploading the videos to torrent sites themselves. They also produced some videos themselves, Steele admitted.

The scheme called for the two lawyers to obtain subpoenas to force internet service providers to hand over IP address of downloaders. Then they would threaten downloaders with financial penalties and public embarrassment unless the hapless victims agreed to pay a $3,000 settlement fee, writes Emma Woollacott.

Read the Forbes article.

Speakers from Black Duck Software and Wolters Kluwer will be presenters in a webinar addressing key open source security and management questions.

The complimentary event will be Wednesday, March 22, at 11 a.m. Eastern time.

Speakers will be Bob Genshaft, Director Strategic Programs at Wolters Kluwer, and Black Duck’s VP and General Manager On-Demand Audits Phil Odence.

“Companies are constantly seeking ways to ensure their application code is secure and effectively managed. For example, M&A acquirers conduct one-time code audits on companies they are buying to avoid legal, operational or security pitfalls. Other organizations are proactive, using an an ongoing solution to make sure their application code is secure and well managed on a day-to-day basis. Increasingly, many companies are opting to use both approaches,” Black Duck says in a release.

Topics will include:

• When is it appropriate to conduct an audit?
• When should your company consider an ongoing solution?
• What are the benefits of doing both?

Register for the webinar.

McKool Smith has announced that Frank Vecella, the former associate general counsel of litigation at Ericsson Inc., has joined the firm as a principal in its Dallas office. Vecella was with Ericsson for 16 years and managed and supervised all of the company’s significant litigation in the United States and Canada, and often provided guidance with respect to Ericsson’s major disputes around the world.

“Ericsson is a long-time client and Frank has been a very dear friend of the firm for many years,” said McKool Smith managing principal David Sochia. “We couldn’t be more excited to have Frank with us. He has significant litigation and industry expertise, and his in-house counsel perspective will be invaluable to the firm as we continue to strengthen our client service initiatives.”

Prior to joining Ericsson, Vecella was a senior partner at Jackson Walker L.L.P., where he worked for 18 years.

Read details about Vecella’s career move.

Zapproved has published its new E-Discovery Case Law Summaries: 2017 Winter volume, covering the latest trends in applying the new Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) to address cases involving preservation and discovery missteps.

The volume illustrates what e-discovery pitfalls to avoid and how the courts are bringing issues of proportionality, cooperation and preservation to the forefront. These rulings reflect more nuance in curing prejudice, such as ordering “measures no greater than necessary” and awarding attorney fees and permissive jury instructions, according to Zapproved.

Summaries cover the gamut of cases, from the high-profile U.S. v Volkswagen AG to the quieter Security Alarm Financing Enterprises and Arrowhead Capital Financial. Together, they add up to a snapshot of where courts are leaning and why noncompliant e-discovery practices are dangerous.

This free volume includes quick e-discovery case law abstracts from the last 10 years, plus full summaries of nine recent cases.

Download the new case summaries.

Barnes & Thornburg LLP has added Bill Jones, former general counsel to Texas Gov. Rick Perry, to its Dallas and Washington, D.C., offices as a partner in the Government Services and Finance Department.

Upon leaving the governor’s office in 2003 and entering private practice, Jones counsels clients on a variety of matters before state and federal agencies and on legislative matters. He has represented numerous clients in the public law arena, including oil and gas companies before the Texas Railroad Commission, landowners before the Texas Public Utility Commission, and various clients before the Texas Office of the Attorney General, Texas Health and Human Services Commission, Texas Department of Transportation and other state agencies. He also has represented clients in matters at the U.S. Department of Energy.

In a news release, the firm said:

“Bill’s experience in public service has made him adept in managing complex proceedings and investigations for clients that involve local, state and federal administrative and regulatory agencies,” said Bruce Donaldson, chair of Barnes & Thornburg’s Government Services and Finance Department. “He’s a valuable addition to our multidisciplinary team and also gives us additional boots on the ground in Texas and Washington, D.C., to advise clients on virtually all aspects of government.”

Jones served in the governor’s office from 2000 to 2003, where he advised on all legal, regulatory and legislative matters, including economic development, contract negotiations, policy review and the monitoring of settlements and litigation. He later entered into private practice and worked as a partner at two large law firms before launching his own law practice, The Jones Firm.

“Bill is a self-starter and natural leader, which are qualities we’re seeking for our young, but growing, Dallas office,” said Mark Bayer, managing partner of the firm’s Dallas office. “We’re gaining a premier practitioner in government-related law, including regulatory issues with most Texas agencies, and Bill benefits from the firm’s national platform including our strong Washington, D.C. office.”

With the addition of Jones, Barnes & Thornburg’s Dallas office now has 12 attorneys since opening in 2015, and its roster spans many of the firm’s sophisticated practices, including corporate, intellectual property, labor and employment and litigation, to name a few.

Jones earned his J.D. from Baylor University School of Law and his B.S. from Texas A&M University. He is chairman emeritus of the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents and serves as commissioner of the Texas Parks & Wildlife Commission. He will continue to reside in Austin, Texas.

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Hofstra Law has selected Katy Cole to receive an “Outstanding Woman in Law” award, announced Farrell Fritz. She will be honored at a reception on Tuesday, April 25, 2017 at Carlyle on the Green in Farmingdale.

Cole, a Garden City, NY resident, is a partner in the firm’s commercial litigation practice group. In addition to a broad commercial practice, she has a niche focus on e-discovery matters, the firm said in a news release. She writes for the firm’s All About eDiscovery blog.

She earned her Juris Doctor degree, magna cum laude, from St. John’s University School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts degree from Colgate University.

This event celebrates women who have made a meaningful and inspiring contribution to the legal community.

DLA Piper announced that Mary Dollarhide has joined the firm’s employment practice as a partner in the San Diego office.

Dollarhide has represented companies with a focus on wage and hour class actions and other employment matters for nearly 30 years, the firm said in a news release. She has experience defending clients in single-plaintiff cases involving sex or sexual orientation discrimination, executive misconduct, religious harassment, disability claims, breach of contract, theft of proprietary information and other related matters.

The release continues:

“We’ve recruited some wonderfully talented partners to our Employment practice in California over the past 5 years. Mary represents the capstone to these efforts. . She is remarkably talented, has had a distinguished career and now steps into an exciting opportunity joining DLA,“ said Michael Sheehan, DLA Piper’s global co-chair of Employment and chair of the US Employment practice. “California presents dynamic and unique challenges for employers. Mary’s breadth of experience working in multiple state and federal courts with an intimate knowledge of California labor laws will be valuable to our clients.”

Dollarhide’s addition builds upon the firm’s strategic growth in California this year. In January, Ron Holland, Ellen Bronchetti and Pankit Doshi joined the firm’s Employment practice in the San Francisco office. Also in January, Michael Brown joined the firm’s Corporate practice in San Diego.

“Mary is a marquee trial attorney and a proven leader with the skills to help our clients navigate complex, large-exposure and brand-threatening employment litigation,” said Troy Zander, managing partner of DLA Piper’s San Diego offices. “She has built a strong reputation in Southern California, and her arrival shows our commitment to attracting the state’s top talent while bolstering our bench of resourceful litigators.”

Dollarhide is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and was selected by the Southern District of California to serve a three-year term as a Lawyer Representative for the court. She is the co-author of the legal treatise, “Reductions in Force in Employment Law,” published by the Bureau of National Affairs.

Prior to joining DLA Piper, Dollaride spent her career at Paul Hastings LLP, most recently leading the Employment practice in San Diego. She received her J.D. from USC Gould School of Law, where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the Southern California Law Review, and her B.A., with honors, from Occidental College.

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Benjamin Kozinn has joined Lowenstein Sandler LLP as a partner in the Investment Management Group. Kozinn joined Lowenstein Sandler from Claren Road Asset Management, LLC, a global credit-focused hedge fund formerly majority-owned by The Carlyle Group, where he served as General Counsel. Kozinn previously served as Vice President and Associate General Counsel for Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Director of Hedge Fund consulting in Deutsche Bank’s prime brokerage business.

Robert G. Minion, Chair of Lowenstein Sandler’s Investment Management Group, said, “Ben’s experience, business savvy, and in-depth knowledge of the issues facing funds, fund managers, and investors will be of immeasurable benefit to our clients. We are thrilled to have him as part of our team.”

In a release, the firm said:

Kozinn said, “I was drawn to Lowenstein Sandler because of the strength of its investment management practice and its ability to help funds navigate the increasingly complex terms and choices they face in today’s market. I am grateful to be part of such a strong team as we help steer our clients through an evolving market.”

“Ben brings value to every stage of the fund life cycle,” said Peter Greene, Vice-Chair of the Investment Management Group. “His experience on both the buy-side and sell-side will provide our clients with an edge in a rapidly evolving environment. Funds and investment managers need lawyers who have been on the frontlines and can provide proactive counsel to help avoid risks and turn challenges into prospects for growth.”

Kozinn is based in the firm’s New York office.

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Donna Petrone, counsel with ExxonMobile Corp., will be presented the 2017 Leon Jaworski Award by the Houston Bar Association Auxiliary.

The presentation will be at an event Wednesday, March 8, 7-9 a.m. CST at Junior League of Houston, 1811 Briar Oaks Lane, Houston, TX 77027. Tickets may be purchased here.

Petrone was nominated by Catholic Charities for her work. She has been involved in ExxonMobil’s pro bono program for years, earning the Pro Bono Volunteer of the Year Award for her work 2014. She has participated in and sponsored numerous pro bono activities including Citizenship and DACA clinics, Pro Se Divorce Clinics, Saturday Morning Clinics, and Veterans clinics.  She has also handled Kids in Need of Defense cases (KIND).

In a release, the auxiliary reported:

In 1983, the Houston Bar Association Auxiliary appointed an Ad Hoc Committee to develop an award program to honor lawyers for long-time community service. The first award was made in 1988. The award is named for Leon Jaworski (1905-1982) whose life and achievements reflected a deep commitment to public service.

Through the award program, the Houston Bar Association Auxiliary seeks to inform and educate the public about the dedication of lawyers to the laws that govern us all and about the commitment of members of the bar to the improvement of the community as a whole.

Houston has been fortunate in having countless lawyers who have contributed unselfishly to civic and charitable endeavors. In recognizing the efforts of an outstanding lawyer each year, the Auxiliary honors all lawyers who help make the legal profession an abiding source of community good.

This award is to be given to a member in good standing of the Houston Bar Association who is civically minded, professionally capable, socially and culturally concerned, family oriented, morally and spiritually aware and who has demonstrated these qualities over a significant number of years.

Past award recipients include Lynne Liberato, Carol S. Vance, Kelly Frels, Charles C. Foster, Charles C. Foster, Rufus P. Cormier, Jr. and Bill Kroger.

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Gardere labor and employment attorneys Cristina Portela Solomon and Rachel Powitzky Steely, and litigation attorneys Mary Elizondo Frazier and Mike Seely, have been elected to membership in the Fellows of the Texas Bar Foundation. Fellows of the Foundation are selected for their professional achievements and demonstrated commitment to the justice system throughout the state of Texas.

Selection as a Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation is restricted to members of the State Bar of Texas. Each year, only one-third of 1 percent of State Bar members are invited to become Fellows. Once nominees are selected, they must be approved by the Texas Bar Foundation Board of Trustees. Membership has grown from an initial 255 charter members in 1965 to more than 9,000 Fellows throughout Texas today.

Founded in 1965 by lawyers determined to assist the public and improve the profession of law, the Texas Bar Foundation has maintained its mission of using the financial contributions of its membership to build a strong justice system for all Texans. To date, the Texas Bar Foundation has distributed more than $17 million throughout Texas to assist nonprofit organizations with a wide range of justice-related programs and services. More information about the Texas Bar Foundation can be accessed at www.txbf.org.

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Successful law firm marketing in today’s electronic environment can include everything from online banner ads to Twitter feeds to Facebook pages and more, writes Bruce Vincent in a blog post for Muse Communications.

Amid the many available options, one of the most effective tools for attracting the attention of referral sources can be found in a well-orchestrated email campaign, he says.

In a question-and-answer format, Vincent’s post recounts a discussion he had with Dennis Weber , founder of General Counsel News.

Some of the questions they discussed included: What makes email marketing effective fo the legal industry? Aren’t people so buried in email that they might simply tune out? What are the key elements of a solid email marketing campaign?

Read the Muse Communications article.

Navex Global will present a complimentary webinar on the company’s annual Ethics & Compliance Hotline Benchmark Report, a tool compliance professionals around the globe reference every year to help measure their program and highlight areas for improvement.

The event will be Tuesday, March 21, 2017, beginning at 10 a.m. Eastern time. Anyone who registers but can’t attend the live event will receive a link that will provide access to the recording at a later date.

Navex studied more than 936,000 anonymized reports from their clients’ intake systems, analyzed the data and interpreted the trends.

This webinar will address questions such as:

• Are the number of reports increasing or decreasing?
• What’s happening with case closure times?
• Are retaliation reports being substantiated within the organization at higher rates?
• How do open door reports impact the data?

Register for the webinar.

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Reuters is reporting that a U.S. Justice Department probe into a phony accounts scandal at Wells Fargo & Co. is asking whether executives hid details from the company board and regulators as the problem grew over years, sources familiar with the review said.

Patrick Rucker reports that the move could result in criminal charges against bank employees involved.

“Officials are seeking to find out if executives shared everything they knew about the phony accounts to the Wells Fargo board of directors and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the lead regulator for national banks,” Rucker reports. “Even if executives are not charged with criminal misconduct, they could face civil penalties including fines or a ban from the banking industry. Wells has already fired some executives and clawed back portions of their pay.”

Read the Reuters article.

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A Harris County jury has delivered a $5.3 million verdict against the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) for wrongly disparaging Professional Janitorial Service of Houston when the company refused to recognize the union without a secret ballot by its employees. The judge added $2.5 million in prejudgement interest for a total of $7.8 million owed to the company.

According to a post on the website of Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing P.C., the law firm representing Professional Janitorial Service:

The case was filed 10 years ago by Professional Janitorial based on claims that SEIU issued an onslaught of false statements to try to harm the company for refusing to give in to the union’s demands. In the four-week trial, jurors heard evidence that SEIU officials systematically lied about the janitorial service to its customers and caused the company to lose millions of dollars in business. The evidence showed union members rejoiced and took credit for causing the janitorial business to lose some of its customers.

Attorneys Nathan Campbell, Adam Milasincic and firm co-founder John Zavitsanos of Ahmad, Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing P.C., or AZA, represented Professional Janitorial. Mr. Zavitsanos told the jury that SEIU is “an evil, evil organization that used an intimidating campaign of extortion to try to run the janitorial service out of business.”

See a video on AZA’s website.

Navex Global and Bloomberg have posted an on-demand webinar discussing discuss discrimination regulations applicable to the workplace, from what constitutes discrimination to what limits employers can put on the words and actions of employees.

The 60-minute webinar is available free of charge.

“After the 2016 election, multiple studies have noted an increase in workplace harassment, through discrimination remarks and actions, from both sides of the campaign,” Navex says on its website. “This has resulted in divisive and sometimes hostile work environments.  HR, Compliance and Ethics officers must take action to create a welcome environment that is harassment-free.”

The video covers strategies for developing policies and plans for training departments and employees to minimize and manage workplace harassment, and understand when disciplinary actions should – or must – be taken.

Educational Objectives:
Program participants will learn:
• What actions constitute discrimination in the workplace, including sexism, racism, and homophobia;
• Limits on how employers can approach and manage workplace harassment;
• Strategies for developing training plans for leaders as well as employees to minimize and avoid workplace harassment;
• What types of disciplinary measures might be taken by employers.

Who would benefit most from attending this program?
Human Resources leaders; compliance officers; ethics officers; anyone responsible for employee training within their organizations.

Watch the on-demand webinar.

Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP reports on a study from the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC), titled “The Local Economic and Welfare Consequences of Hydraulic Fracturing.”

On its website, the firm says the study looked at “the costs and benefits of hydraulic fracturing on local communities in nine shale basins throughout the United States, making it the most comprehensive assessment of its kind to date.”

The study explored revenue generated in communities where drilling takes place, local income and employment, benefits to local governments, decreases in the quality of life, and increases in housing prices.

Read the article.

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The 8th U.S. U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals considered who was the actual “party” to a contract where one of the original parties assigned all of its economic benefits arising from the contract to another entity (without that entity becoming a substituted or an additional party), and the contract was thereafter terminated by the other party to the contract.

In an article in Weil, Gotshal & Manges’ Global Private Equity Watch, Glenn West writes that there are definite lessons to be derived from this case by deal professionals and their counsel.

He explores the case of ACI Worldwide Corp. v. Churchill Lane Associates, LLC, No.16-1736 (8th Cir. Jan. 27, 2017), which involved a licensing agreement between Nestor Inc. and ACI Worldwide Corp.

“When obtaining an assignment of rights under a contract, it is imperative that the contract, with respect to which those rights are assigned, is carefully reviewed to determine any amendments that may be necessary so that the assignee is the ‘party’ that matters for any subsequent modification or termination of that contract that could in anyway impact those assigned rights,” West writes.

Read the article.