How a Tax Code Overhaul May Affect You

Taxes - IRS - Internal Revenue ServiceDespite what President Trump promised about simplifying the tax code when he was on the campaign trail, tax simplification isn’t a simple task, writes Charles Delafuente of The New York Times.

In his article, Delafuente writes, “It is unlikely that changes in the tax code would affect tax returns that must be filed this year, which cover last year’s income and deductions.”

He discusses major items that are under discussion in Washington and that may affect tax returns, including tax rates, itemized deductions, mortgage interest and real estate deductions, filing status, standard deduction, personal exemptions, carried interest, dependent-care deductions, and many more.

Read the NYT article.

 

 




Chesapeake Energy and McClendon Estate Reach Settlement

Chesapeake Energy Corp. and the estate of co-founder and former CEO Aubrey McClendon have agreed to settle a multimillion-dollar dispute over data, stocks and use of a corporate jet, reports The Oklahoman.

The deal calls for Chesapeake to pay $3.25 million in legal fees and drop claims for $445 million related to data McClendon took from the company when he was fired in April 2013.

In exchange, the McClendon estate agreed to drop claims on remaining compensation from the separation, including cash, stock and use of Chesapeake’s corporate jet,” writes Adam Wilmoth.

Read The Oklahoman article.

 

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Settlement Agreements: Who Should Sign?

Contract- signatureThe recent California appellate ruling in Glen Provost v. Regents of the University of California sheds significant light on judicial views of written settlement agreements, writes Robert S. Luft in the JAMS ADR blog.

“For corporations, whether or not a settlement agreement can be enforced depends on who signs it. A corporation acts through its employees and agents and that raises the question of what employee or agent can bind the entity to Judgment enforcement.  This issue was partially answered in the Provost case.” Luft explains.

It’s best to err on the side of over qualification of a corporate employee representative to sign a settlement agreement to ensure it will be enforceable, advises Luft.

Read the article.

 

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Who Pays for Delay? How Enforceable is a No Damage for Delay Clause?

Delays are an all too common occurrence on construction projects. And they almost always cost money, points out Eugene Polyak on the website of Smith, Currie & Hancock LLP. So who pays for the increased costs caused by delays?

“This is one of the most durable issues in all of construction contract law. The answer is — it depends,” writes Polyak. “It depends first on whether the risk of delay is addressed in the parties’ contract. Owners and contractors frequently use No Damage for Delay clauses to push down the risk of delay costs. It may also depend on the law of the state where the project is performed. No Damage for Delay clauses are not uniformly enforced in different jurisdictions.”

He gives some examples of no-damage-for-delay clauses and discusses some exceptions.

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Key Issues for Due Diligence of Government Contracts – Part II

Comprehensive due diligence review of any target company that performs government contracts should include evaluation of five broad categories relating to general business matters, Kimi Murakami writes in Part II of a report on Piliero Mazza‘s PM Legal Minute blog.

She discusses key issues to be considered when performing due diligence in M&A transactions for government contractors.

The topics include entity formation basics. registrations and permits, employee related matters, intellectual property related matters, and financial and other business related matters.

Read the article.

Read Part I.

 

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Older Judges and Vacant Seats Give Trump Huge Power to Shape American Courts

President Trump could soon find himself responsible for appointing a greater share of federal court judges than any first-term president in 40 years, in large part because of a growing number of older judges and a stack of vacancies on the federal courts, according to a report in The New York Times.

Most of the vacant seats are on district courts or appeals courts, explains Josh Katz in the article. Many of those seats have been vacant because of Republican obstruction in blocking votes for former President Obama’s nominees, Democrats charge.

“It’s not just vacancies. The federal bench has many judges who are older than 70,” writes Katz. “Federal judges are appointed for life, but at a certain combination of years served and age, they become eligible to accept ‘senior status,’ a form of semi-retirement.

Read the NYT article.

 

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Federal Appeals Court Sides With Physicians in ‘Docs vs. Glocks’ Case

HandgunThe 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that Florida’s so-called “Docs and Glocks” law, which prohibited doctors from asking patients about guns in the home, violated a physician’s free speech rights, reports The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“The 10-1 decision said the other three elements of Florida’s 2011 Firearms Owners’ Privacy Act were unconstitutional: the ban on asking patients about guns in the home, writing down their answers, and harassing patients,” writes Rhonda Cook.

“In an effort to prevent and reduce firearm-related deaths and injuries, particularly to children, the American Medical Association ‘encourages its members to inquire as to the presence of household firearms as a part of childproofing the home and to educate patients to the dangers of firearms to children,’” the ruling said.

Read the Journal-Constitution article.

 

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Doctor Guilty of Felony for Botched Surgery; Prosecutors Said His Hands Were Deadly Weapons

Christopher DuntschA day after a Dallas jury found a neurosurgeon guilty of intentionally crippling an elderly woman he operated on, a string of his former patients and co-workers testified in his sentencing trial, reports The Dallas Morning News.

Christopher Duntsch of Colorado has been in jail since his arrest in July 2015, charged with five aggravated assault charges after four of his patients were maimed and two died between July 2012 and June 2013, reports Claire Ballor.

“His trial focused only on a first-degree felony charge: injury to an elderly person. Mary Efurd was 74 years old in 2012 when Duntsch promised to fix her back pain but instead damaged her spinal cord and amputated part of a nerve,” writes Ballor.

Read the Dallas News article.

 

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How to Use Content Marketing to Grow Your Small Law Firm

By Amy Boardman Hunt
Muse Communications

Online digital marketingIf you’re a small law firm looking to grow your business, you may have encountered the phrase “content marketing” while exploring your marketing options. You may be asking yourself, “What the heck is that?”

This blog post will explain some of the main concepts of content marketing and discuss how it can be a potent tool for solos and small law firms with limited marketing budgets.

Content marketing is an umbrella term that incorporates the following elements (among others):

  • Blogs
  • Website text
  • Social media
  • Email marketing
  • Search engine optimization for website text and other online content (i.e. making your content easily findable by online)
  • Online profiles
  • News releases
  • White papers
  • Ebooks

Become a Source of Genuine Value

The essence of content marketing is that you’re promoting your subject matter expertise (whether it’s labor law, family law, or any other practice area) by providing consistent, relevant content of interest to your clients and prospective clients. That could be answers to FAQ-legal inquiries, updates on new regulations, pending legislation that could affect your industry, interesting trends your clients need to know about, or just your “hot take” on a news story that intersects with your practice area.

Content marketing is primarily about two things:

  • Building a reputation as a source of genuine value in your practice area; and
  • Staying top-of-mind among your clients, prospective clients and referral sources.

It is not primarily about self-promotion, though that can play a part in your overall communications strategy.

 

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Bill in Texas Legislature Would Give Nurse Practitioners More Power

Nurse - health care - medical - hospitalA bill in the Texas House seeks to end regulations that require nurse practitioners to contract with doctors in order to treat and write prescriptions. The proposal, HB1415, would give nurse practitioners (NPs) in Texas the freedom and flexibility they have been seeking for decades, reports Androvett Legal Media & Marketing.

It also would cut costs for both patients and providers, according to attorney Bill Hopkins of the Austin office of Shackelford, Bowen, McKinley & Norton, LLP.

“From the start, there has been a fundamental tension between their role and the role of the physician in the health care setting,” says Hopkins, who advises both individual and institutional health care providers on matters involving administrative law, regulatory defense and litigation. “No one has ever questioned that the physician is at the top of the pyramid. But over the years there has been some question as to whether there was some room at the top for the nurse practitioner who can drastically improve access to care.”

Currently NPs must complete four years of nursing school and two years in a graduate-level training program. Although they are regulated by both the Texas Board of Nursing and the Texas Medical Board, regulations require a doctor to supervise – even if the physician is not physically present and does not even see the patient, says Hopkins. Similar regulations have been rolled back in other states, with no evidence of increased safety issues, he says, adding that in some studies, nurse practitioner safety has ranked as high or higher than doctor care.

“For many years, NPs have argued that their knowledge, ability and training were more than sufficient to allow them to practice independently, care for patients and ensure safety,” he says. “The justification for charging NPs for this ‘supervision’ traditionally has been that it is a necessary cost to ensure patient safety. But thanks to the Affordable Care Act, there are more people with insurance than ever before and access has become a primary concern. With the safety argument becoming less relevant and calls for better access getting louder, it looks like this may be the time for NPs to finally get the independence that they have sought.”

 

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Dallas Attorney Sawyer Neely Promoted to Shareholder at Sayles Werbner

Sawyer NeelyLaw firm Sayles Werbner  announced the promotion of associate Sawyer Neely to shareholder.

“Sawyer has amassed an impressive record of success for his clients and has proven himself to be a formidable presence in the courtroom. His promotion is well-deserved,” said firm founder Richard A. “Dick” Sayles.

In a release, the firm said Neely represents both plaintiffs and defendants in personal and business disputes throughout Texas in matters involving direct and derivative shareholder claims, securities claims, trade secret and copyright battles, catastrophic personal injury, and various complex business and tort cases.

Neely also acts as local counsel for a number of out-of-state companies and lawyers with Texas litigation, and he is retained to conduct internal investigations regarding, among other issues, workplace safety, environmental compliance, discrimination, and harassment.

A 1999 graduate of Vanderbilt University and a 2003 graduate of Georgetown University Law Center, Neely has been recognized six times on the annual Texas Rising Stars listing of the state’s top young attorneys. While in law school, Neely assisted victims of domestic violence in the District of Columbia Superior Court through Georgetown’s Domestic Violence Clinic. He is also active in the Dallas legal community and his children’s school.

 

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Government Contracts Legislative and Regulatory Update – February 2017

Dentons has published the latest edition of its “Government Contracts Legislative and Regulatory Update,” a summary of the relevant changes that took place during January.

Highlights of the report include:

  • President Trump orders regulatory freeze pending review
  • President Trump’s executive actions and their impacts on the government contracting community
  • FAR Council issues final rule prohibiting contracting with firms that require confidentiality agreements restricting disclosure of fraud or abuse

Read the article.

 

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Antitrust Lawyers Leiv Blad and Zarema Jaramillo Join Lowenstein in D.C. Office

Lowenstein Sandler LLP announced that Leiv Blad has joined the firm as a partner and co-chair of the firm’s antitrust practice in Washington, D.C. Blad joins with Zarema Jaramillo, who becomes senior counsel in the firm’s antitrust practice. Both join from Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.

In a news release the firm said, Blad has spent nearly two decades representing domestic and international companies in complex antitrust investigations and litigation, including matters involving price fixing and monopolization, including defending clients in the pharmaceutical and financial services industries, both of which have been the subject of government scrutiny for pricing practices.

Jaramillo has antitrust experience, providing counseling and representing clients in investigations related to mergers and acquisitions and complex antitrust class actions. She represents clients from the financial services, technology, life sciences, and telecommunications and other sectors before the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice, and foreign competition agencies. Jaramillo also advises clients in government investigations and civil litigation involving violations of U.S. Securities Law and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

The release continues:

Said Mr. Blad, “Lowenstein’s sophisticated and accomplished team in D.C. impressed me, as did the firm’s entrepreneurial culture and client focus. I was particularly struck by the fact that every attorney I met throughout the firm could articulate with great clarity the strategy of his or her practice group and of the firm. I don’t know of another firm with that kind of strategic focus. I am grateful to be part of such a strong team as we help steer our clients through an evolving antitrust environment.”

“Leiv is a leader among his peers with a strong reputation in the antitrust arena. Zarema brings important additional strengths to the team,” said Jeffrey Blumenfeld, Co-Chair of Lowenstein’s antitrust practice. “Leiv’s extensive experience navigating the D.C. landscape will be invaluable to our clients. As we continue to grow our Washington office, Leiv and Zarema add to our already significant capabilities in core sectors including life sciences and financial services.”

Gary Klein of Klein Landau provided legal search services to the firm on this placement.

 

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Litigation is Inevitable: Update on Recent Advertising Class Actions

Kelley Drye & Warren will present a complimentary webinar Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2017, to update participants on recent advertising class actions. The event is part of the firm’s Advertising & Privacy Law Webinar Series. The 60-minute webinar will begin at noon Eastern time.

Consumer class action suits continue to be a growing source of concern to marketers and income for plaintiffs’ law firms. This webinar will provide an update on recent consumer class action cases across a range of industries and provide guidance and strategies on how to knock out a consumer class action.

Kelley Drye partners August Horvath and Jeff Jacobson will lead the discussion.

The webinar will include a discussion of developing cases, the post-Spokeo standing on class actions, and hot-button issues such as the economic models in support of class certification. Speakeers also will discuss the types of cases that are receiving the most traction.

The webinar also will be available later on-demand.

Kelley Drye is an accredited provider of NY & CA CLE. This non-transitional continuing legal education program has been approved for 1.0 NY Professional Practice credit, 1.0 Illinois credit, and 1.0 CA General credit. The firm will apply for CLE credit in other jurisdictions, upon request.

Register for the webinar.

 

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Michael Best Hires Senior Director of Affirmative Action Plans & Contractor Compliance

Maryelena ZaccardelliMichael Best & Friedrich LLP has added Maryelena Zaccardelli to its Washington, D.C., office as the firm’s Senior Director of Affirmative Action Plans & Contractor Compliance.

In a release, the firm said Zaccardelli will play a pivotal role in working with government contractor clients to provide affirmative action programs (AAPs) and compliance strategies that are carefully tailored to each client’s industry and corporate culture.

“Maryelena’s arrival to the firm provides us a great step forward in the constantly shifting arena of labor and employment regulations and law,” said David Krutz, Michael Best’s Managing Partner. “Whether it is her deep experience in developing affirmative action plans, implementing compliance programs, or guiding employers through Department of Labor compliance reviews, she will be a key addition to our firm.” The addition of Zaccardelli to Michael Best’s team of affirmative action lawyers and professionals further increases the firm’s expertise and ability to assist government contractor clients with the full spectrum of affirmative action compliance, from AAP preparation to challenging audit findings in the administrative process, in a cost effective and efficient manner.

In the release, the firm said, “A lawyer by trade, Zaccardelli has worked 17 years as an employment attorney to her work as an affirmative action consultant. Throughout her career, she has assisted clients with developing solutions to employee relations issues that achieve both business and legal goals. Most recently, she has concentrated on designing and preparing annual affirmative action programs to comply with the mandates under Executive Order 11246, the Rehabilitation Act, and the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act. Additionally, Zaccardelli has worked with clients to simplify and devise practical solutions to sophisticated legal issues, including AAP design, applicant tracking programs, and compensation analysis.”

Prior to joining Michael Best, Zaccardelli began her career clerking in the U.S. District Court of Maine and subsequently worked as an associate/counsel in the employment and labor group of a large Washington, D.C., law firm. In 2008, she founded MEZ Consulting, LLC, where she advised clients on effective design and implementation of affirmative action programs, developed tailored training programs for employees, managers, and executives, and worked with clients to complete OFCCP compliance reviews and the reporting requirements under OFCCP Conciliation Agreements. She also worked with internal and external legal counsel, HR professionals, managers/executives, labor economists, and statisticians on affirmative action issues.

“I’m thrilled to be joining Michael Best in this unique role,” Zaccardelli said. “It is vital to government contractors to have robust AAPs and sophisticated strategies for compliance reviews, and I am confident that I can be of great service to the firm and our clients in these endeavors.”

Zaccardelli received her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Michigan Law School, where she served as note editor in the Michigan Law Review. She also earned her B.S., High Distinction, from Indiana University Bloomington.

 

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Voluntary Standard Development Organizations Prevail in Copyright Litigation

Copyright with padlockA federal judge has found that Public.Resource.Org infringed upon the copyright of educational standards developed by the American Educational Research Association (AERA), the American Psychological Association (APA) and the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME).

Judge Tanya S. Chutkan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found that standards developed by the three organizations retained their copyright even when incorporated by reference into government regulation, and ruled that Public Resource is liable for copyright infringement, according to a release from Quarles & Brady LLP, the firm representing the agencies in the litigation.

The release continues:

Since the early 1950s, a volunteer committee of experts chosen, sponsored and overseen by the AERA, APA and NCME, have developed and published the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing. The result of enormous deliberation, vetting and authoritative consensus, these standards represent a set of best practices in the development, administration and scoring of tests that are widely relied upon by educational and psychological testing professions across the country. In mid-2012, however, after the standards were incorporated by reference into state and federal education agency regulations, Public Resource posted an unauthorized copy of the entire 1999 edition to the Internet, taking the position that the standards had become law and therefore lost their copyright protection. When Public Resource refused to remove the copy, AERA, APA and NCME brought suit for copyright infringement. With the court’s ruling, the creative efforts, time, and resources expended by voluntary standards development organizations like AERA, APA and NCME are secured from unauthorized replication by copyright protection, regardless of whether state or federal agencies choose to incorporate the resulting standards by reference into agency regulations.

“We are gratified that the court protected the standards, a valuable resource of the testing professions, from the brazen actions of a deliberate copyist,” said AERA Executive Director Felice Levine.

In the view of APA Interim CEO Cynthia D. Belar, PhD, “protracted litigation was not our first choice, as nonprofit organizations focused on the contributions of our disciplines to the public welfare. Public Resource’s refusal to stop harming the value of our publication left us with no alternative.”

NCME President Mark Wilson said that “the testing professions rely on the standards as the premier source of guidance for the work we do. We appreciate that the court saw the value in protecting the standards from infringement.”

About AERA, APA, and NCME

AERA is the major national scientific society for research on education and learning. AERA’s mission is to advance knowledge about education, to encourage scholarly inquiry related to education, and to promote the use of research to improve education and serve the public good.

APA is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. APA’s membership includes nearly 115,700 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people’s lives.

NCME is a professional organization for individuals involved in assessment, evaluation, testing and other aspects of educational measurement. NCME’s members are involved in the construction and use of standardized tests; new forms of assessment, including performance-based assessment; program design; and program evaluation. NCME’s members include university faculty; test developers; state and federal testing and research directors; professional evaluators; testing specialists in business, industry, education, community programs, and other professions; licensure, certification, and credentialing professionals; graduate students from educational, psychological, and other measurement programs; and others involved in testing issues and practices.

AERA. APA and NCME were represented in the litigation by Jonathan Hudis, Nikia Gray and Jonathan Labukas of the Washington, D.C. office of Quarles & Brady LLP. For more than 120 years, Quarles & Brady has provided quality legal services to a wide range of industries on a national stage. The firm is a multidisciplinary AmLaw 200 legal services provider with 10 offices across the United States.

 

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Sandra M. Cotter Elected to Michigan Chamber Foundation Board

National law firm Dykema announced that Sandra Cotter, director of the firm’s Regulated Industries Department and Leader of its Government Policy & Practice group, was elected to the Michigan Chamber Foundation Board of Directors. The charitable arm of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, the Michigan Chamber Foundation sponsors public policy studies on key business climate issues and also sponsors the Young Entrepreneurs Academy to guide middle and high school students with business start-up opportunities.

In a release, the firm said Cotter, who is based in Dykema’s Lansing office, focuses her practice on insurance regulation and legislation, campaign finance and election law, liquor licensing and regulation, public policy litigation and legislation, and general corporate work for nonprofit corporations. She has frequent contact with Michigan’s executive office, state legislators and various agencies, including the Department of Insurance and Financial Services and the Michigan Liquor Control Commission. She is also a registered lobbyist in the state.

Cotter has been an active member of the Nonprofit Council for Charitable Trusts since its inception in 2004. She has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® each year since 2013 and named a Top Lawyer by dBusiness Magazine each year since 2010.

Cotter received a B.S. from Michigan State University and a J.D. from the University of Michigan.

 

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Investigating Discrimination Complaints: Some Special Considerations

Although there should certainly be some consistency in the pursuit of any workplace investigation, the investigation of discrimination complaints requires sensitivity to some special considerations that will not always apply to other complaints, according to an article published by Lynch Service Company.

The articleoutlines some of those considerations and encourages the reader to become knowledgeable of the unique challenges that discrimination investigations present.

Three common legal theories may apply to a workplace complaint: (1) disparate treatment, (2) disparate impact, and (3) hostile work environment. The article also explains the importance of understanding how a discrimination lawsuit unfolds, investigating properly, and, after concluding the investigation, re-evaluating the evidence in light of the guiding legal theory.

Read the article.

 

 

 




Jackson Walker Elects 10 New Partners

Jackson Walker announces the election of 10 attorneys to the firm’s partnership. The new partners in each city are:

  • Austin – Kimberly Gdula, Ben Rhem, Cassie Ross
  • Dallas – Chris Bankler, Steven Dimitt, Jordan Smith
  • Fort Worth – Carrie Miller
  • Houston – Courtney Carlson, Amanda Shaw-Castro
  • San Antonio – Ann Leafstedt

Chris Bankler, Dallas, Litigation – Chris Bankler’s practice focuses primarily on dispute resolution for businesses and financial institutions. He represents clients in a variety of litigation matters, including general business disputes, fraud claims, breach of fiduciary duty cases, and breach of contract claims. Chris has served as counsel on over 100 cases in state and federal courts as well as FINRA and AAA arbitrations. His distinguished understanding of financial matters has made him a go-to counselor for national banks, community banks, credit unions, and investment and private equity firms. He also represents officers and directors of public and private companies in high-stakes corporate defense cases.

Courtney Carlson, Houston, Litigation – Courtney Carlson represents clients in a wide range of business and commercial litigation matters with particular emphasis on the energy and financial industries. While she practices in both state and federal courts, she focuses on litigation within the state of Texas and receives regular requests to give CLE presentations focused on procedure and related state court issues. Courtney is also involved in environmental litigation matters. She has participated in litigation related to site cleanup and remediation projects and advises clients on the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA).

Steven Dimitt, Dallas, Litigation – Steven Dimitt handles both litigation and transactional matters for land use, construction, and business clients.  Recently, Steven has focused his practice on representing religious institutions against municipalities regarding violations of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Person’s Act (RLUIPA). Highlights of his practice include the successful representation of a church in a federal court lawsuit, which resulted in the church obtaining the necessary zoning approvals that the local municipality had previously refused to provide.

Kimberly Gdula, Austin, Litigation – Civil litigator Kimberly Gdula represents a wide range of clients, from Fortune 500 companies to small businesses and trusts. In commercial litigation, she represents clients in several areas, including contract actions, fiduciary litigation, real estate litigation, insurance defense, partnership disputes, and antitrust suits. She also defends health care providers and insurance companies in contract disputes and malpractice claims.

Ann Leafstedt, San Antonio, Corporate & Securities – Ann Leafstedt works with family offices and businesses to create and implement strategic plans to achieve their goals. Ann guides clients in entity formation, acquisitions, entity governance, drafting contracts, and other corporate matters. She works with businesses to provide solutions for day-to-day issues and to execute complex corporate transactions. Ann’s experience includes succession planning for family offices, negotiating financing transactions, and representing clients in business combinations. She works with multi-disciplinary teams of tax, real estate, IP, and other specialists to help clients navigate all aspects of deals. Ann represents clients in a variety of industries, including energy, construction, heavy equipment, and ranching. She also regularly advises nonprofit organizations on a pro bono basis.

Carrie Bowers Miller, Fort Worth, Finance – Carrie Miller represents a diverse range of clients, including financial institutions, real estate developers, and mining companies in a wide range of business transactions. She helps clients create efficient strategies to achieve their business goals. Her real estate work involves the negotiation, structuring, and documentation of financing, as well as all phases of development, from acquisition to disposition. Her financial experience includes negotiating single-asset and portfolio transactions, multi-state transactions, loan participations, and multi-creditor facilities.

Ben Rhem, Austin, Environmental & Legislative – Ben Rhem practices energy and environmental law. He advises power generation, oil and gas and mining companies in state and federal compliance matters. Ben regularly works with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the Environmental Protection Agency. He also helps clients with regulatory issues related to FERC, PHMSA, the Railroad Commission of Texas, and MSHA. Ben has assisted in the development and financing of over two dozen wind and solar energy projects, as well as numerous natural gas-fired power plants. He was selected to the Super Lawyers – Rising Stars list by Thomson Reuters in 2016.

Cassie Ross, Austin, Real Estate – Cassie Ross is a real estate attorney who represents purchasers, sellers, borrowers, developers, landlords, and tenants in a variety of real estate transactions. She advises clients in the acquisition, disposition, financing, development, management, and leasing of retail, industrial, office, single-family residential, multi-family, and mixed-use projects.  Her experience also includes the representation of clients in the acquisition, disposition, financing, and development of unimproved land. Cassie was selected to the Super Lawyers – Rising Stars list by Thomson Reuters from 2012 – 2016, and was named to the Legal Rising Stars in Real Estate Law list by S.A. Scene magazine from 2012 – 2014. 

Amanda Shaw-Castro, Houston, Energy – Amanda Shaw-Castro’s practice is focused on energy and commercial finance transactions and multi-state real estate portfolio transactions. Amanda routinely helps both borrowers and lenders negotiate, structure, and document complex commercial finance transactions. Amanda assists lenders with all aspects of energy based loans, including revolving line of credit and letter of credit facilities. Amanda’s real estate practice includes representing multinational private and public companies in the acquisition of large multi-state portfolios ranging in value from 250 million to 8.1 billion dollars. 

Jordan Smith, Dallas, Energy – Jordan Smith’s practice is focused on energy, natural resources, real estate, and general corporate transactions. In oil and gas, Jordan negotiates agreements related to upstream exploration and production and advises clients on title issues, water rights, horizontal drilling under special field rules, and lease development obligations. Highlights of his career include the representation of private investment funds in negotiating joint venture investments with operators to develop and produce oil and gas assets around the United States. Jordan is a Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation. He was selected to the Rising Stars list by S.A. Scenemagazine in 2013 and 2015, and was selected to the “Best S.A. Lawyers” in Energy and Oil and Gas Law list by S.A. Scene magazine in 2015.

 

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HP GC to Law Firms: Meet Diversity Mandate or Forfeit Up to 10% of Fees

Diversity - employmentThe general counsel of HP has informed its outside law firms that the company may withhold up to 10 percent of invoiced fees for failure to meet its diversity standards, reports the ABA Journal.

HP Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel Kim M. Rivera put law firms on notice of her “diversity holdback” mandate in a Feb. 8 letter.

The Journal‘s Debra Cassens Weiss writes, “HP says its definition of a diverse lawyer ‘is limited to race/ethnicity, gender, LGBT status, and disability status.’ A lawyer who is both a woman and who is racially/ethnically diverse and performs or manages at least 10 percent of the billable hours worked on HP matters satisfies the minimal diversity staffing requirement.”

Read the ABA Journal article.

 

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