By Robert J. Scott
Scott & Scott, LLP

Almost every business today operates with the support of digital tools. One recent survey put the number of companies investing in digital technologies to transform their business at an astounding 97 percent. Conducting business in this digital age means licensing software from major publishers, such as IBM, Oracle and Microsoft, and the subsequent acknowledgement and anxiety that software audits from these and other providers are not only likely, but they can wreak havoc on your company.

It typically goes something like this: You receive a letter from your software publisher and it says there is an audit coming. It contains threatening language and warns not to make any changes to your environment.

At this point many companies simply wave the white flag and open the doors of their entire IT infrastructure to the software vendor. However, this comes with risks. The scripts that auditors use to discover the illicit use of software (intentional or not) can cause problems in an IT infrastructure, and consume valuable staff resources and money.

Better-prepared companies, on the other hand, deploy tried-and-true practices for negotiating a software audit. Often, one of their first moves is to negotiate with the software vendor.

Case-in-point, a few years ago, the candy maker Mars received a letter from Oracle saying that it had been selected for a software audit. Mars, being a large and well-run company, knew the risks the audit posed to its IT infrastructure, so it pushed back. One of the issues at the heart of Mars stalemate with Oracle was the scripts that Oracle wanted to run. Mars wanted Oracle to agree that any damage inflicted by scripts probing the Mars infrastructure would be paid for by Oracle.

According to a recent survey by IT services firm Technologent, 65 percent of organizations were subject to a software audit in 2016 and 23 percent were audited three or more times. Almost half (44 percent) of surveyed organizations paid $100,000 or more in true-up costs to vendors due to noncompliance, a sharp increase from 25 percent the prior year. Twenty percent paid more than $1 million in true-up costs, more than double the number in the previous year (nine percent).

These numbers are intimidating. But in fact, you have more room to negotiate an audit than you likely realize. Here are some questions to keep in mind when you negotiate with software publishers demanding audits across your enterprise IT infrastructure.

• The license agreement may not obligate you to run any third-party tools in connection with an audit. You should certainly have your legal team review audit provisions of the operative license agreements to understand your rights
• If the audit clause requires the customer to provide reasonable cooperation, that can easily be accomplished without running the auditor’s tools
• Consider what data collection methodology will you offer the auditors as an alternative?
• Where scripts are being considered, test, test, test.
• What are the vendor’s obligations to provide a remedy for audit scripts that lead to failure of performance in systems being probed?

The digital transformation of business has exploded in recent years and so, consequently, has software licensing. Worse, software is characterized by multiple licensing rules and models, which leads to more companies falling out of compliance. This is why having enterprise wide strategies in place for dealing with and pushing back on software audits has become as important to businesses as their accounting practices.

This article originally appeared on TechCrunch; you can read Scott’s articles on TechCrunch here: https://techcrunch.com/contributor/robert-j-scott/

Dykema has added government contracts attorneys John C. Dulske and Bryan Kost to its Government Policy & Practice Group in the firm’s San Antonio office. Prior to joining Dykema, both practiced at Dulske & Gluys in San Antonio, which Dulske formed in 2002.

In his practice, Dulske, who joins the firm as senior counsel, focuses on federal procurement litigation, contract administration and claims litigation, as well as bid protest work, including a mix of administrative and appellate work. He has been actively involved in trial practice in San Antonio and South Texas, with experience in both State and Federal Courts, including the United States Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C.

Dulske received his J.D. from St. Mary’s University School of Law, and a B.A. in Economics from Kenyon College.

Kost, who joins the firm as a senior attorney, also focuses his practice on federal procurement litigation, contract administration and bid protest work before the Government Accountability Office, the U.S. Small Business Administration and the United States Court of Federal Claims. He has also maintained an extensive trial practice spanning 24 years in both Texas State and Federal District Courts.

Kost received his J.D. from St. Mary’s University School of Law, and a B.A. in American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin.

“John and Bryan’s vast government contracts experience immediately strengthens our Government Policy Practice,” said Sandi Cotter, Director of Dykema’s Regulated Industries Department and Leader of the firm’s Government Policy & Practice Group. “Their expertise in this important field will greatly benefit Dykema and our clients.”

“We are very excited to add such well-regarded attorneys to our San Antonio office,” said Dan Harkins, Office Managing Member of Dykema’s San Antonio Office.

Join Our LinkedIn Group

The national law firm of Quarles & Brady LLP and its firm chair Kimberly Leach Johnson announced that partners Lucy R. Dollens and Kelli A. Edson have been selected as new office managing partners inn the firm’s Indianapolis and Tampa offices, respectively. The appointments are effective immediately.

Dollens succeeds D. Linden Barber, who has been the office managing partner since the Indianapolis office opened in 2014. Barber will continue to serve as Director of the firm’s DEA Compliance and Litigation practice in the Health Law group.

“As a founding partner of the Indianapolis office, Lucy has displayed incredible institutional knowledge and understanding of the challenges facing our clients,” said firm chair Kimberly Leach Johnson. “She regularly exhibits the values and characteristics associated with a firm leader, and we are confident the care and thoughtfulness she provides for clients will translate into her office managing partner role.”

Dollens serves as the Indianapolis Commercial Litigation office chair and the Indianapolis recruiting chair. She focuses her practice on commercial litigation. Dollens represents clients facing business disputes in federal and state trial and appellate courts, bankruptcy courts, proceedings involving governmental agencies, and class action suits. Dollens’ practice extends to areas such as breach of contract, product liability, premises liability, toxic torts and restrictive covenants. Licensed in both Indiana and West Virginia, Dollens also has extensive experience representing financial institutions, servicers, and consumer finance companies in consumer and commercial contexts.

In Tampa, Edson succeeds David A. Beyer, who became office managing partner in 2012. Beyer will continue to serve as a partner in the firm’s Franchise & Distribution practice.

“Kelli embodies the firm’s shared vision to pursue excellent legal work, strengthen client relationships and give back to the community through pro bono efforts,” said firm chair Kimberly Leach Johnson. “Her genuine dedication to client service and helping colleagues succeed will enable her to lead the Tampa office and continue David’s vision for the firm.”

Edson is partner in the firm’s Litigation & Dispute Resolution practice and serves as the Tampa Commercial Litigation office chair. She is also the Tampa recruiting partner and a member of the Associate Development Committee.

As a founding partner in the Tampa office, Edson provides counsel for clients on various litigation matters including trusts, real estate, insurance, investments, contracts, bankruptcy, torts, products liability, class actions, premises liability, landlord/tenant disputes, securities, intellectual property, telecommunications, technology and unfair trade practices.

Join Our LinkedIn Group

Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C., announces that attorney Andrew M. Hartnett has joined the firm as an officer with the Securities & Financial Services industry group. Based in the firm’s St. Louis office, Hartnett most recently served as Commissioner of Securities for former Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander.

“We welcome Andrew to Greensfelder and to our growing team of Securities and Financial Services attorneys,” said Greensfelder Chief Executive Officer Timothy R. Thornton. “In addition to his extensive experience in data security matters, Andrew brings a regulator’s perspective on important industry challenges and issues that impact our clients in Missouri and throughout the nation.”

Inn a news release, the firm reported:

As Commissioner of Securities from 2013 to 2016, Hartnett directed the Missouri Securities Division and heard cases filed by the Enforcement Section of the Division. In this role, he spearheaded the drafting and passage of the Missouri Senior Savings Protection Act – one of the first statutes of its kind in the country created to prevent financial exploitation of senior citizens. In addition to his policy work in Missouri, Hartnett helped formulate policy nationwide through his work at the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), particularly on cybersecurity, leading the team that created the cybersecurity program now used by most state regulators. He chaired the Broker-Dealer Section and the Enforcement Section for NASAA as well as committees focused on cybersecurity, technology, and federal legislation. Hartnett also has spoken at conferences and other events nationwide on topics including state securities regulations, cybersecurity, and protection for senior investors.

“Andrew’s securities knowledge and experience with both the Missouri Securities Division and NASAA will be great assets to our firm,” said Christopher A. Pickett, an officer and leader of Greensfelder’s Securities & Financial Services industry group. “His contributions will be instrumental to helping our clients including financial institutions navigate complex regulatory and compliance issues, as well as manage critical business issues and litigation.”

Hartnett said, “I look forward to helping to grow Greensfelder’s Securities and Financial Services practice while also enhancing services to the firm’s existing clients in the sector. I believe the experience and knowledge I have gained as Missouri’s Commissioner of Securities as well as my work with regulators in other states will be beneficial to addressing clients’ regulatory and compliance issues to help them focus on their businesses.”

Prior to his time as Commissioner of Securities, Hartnett served as Chief of Staff to then-Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster and as an Assistant Attorney General in the Consumer Protection Division, handling all aspects of consumer protection, antitrust and securities investigations and litigation. He began his career in private practice in St. Louis.

Hartnett earned his law degree (cum laude) from Saint Louis University School of Law, his Master of Arts from New York University and his Bachelor of Arts (summa cum laude) from Catholic University of America.

Join Our LinkedIn Group

Bloomberg Big Law Business, in partnership with Catalyst, will convene corporate counsel to discuss the need to control rising legal costs particularly related to litigation at the complimentary event, Controlling Litigation Costs – Managing Your Legal Department for Success.

The event will be Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017, 3-5:30 p.m. Central time, at University Club of Chicago, Northwestern Room, 76 E Monroe St., Chicago, IL 60603.

Technology provides important solutions, but only if implemented effectively and as part of an overall strategy to manage litigation, Bloomberg says on its website. Top general counsel will talk about the ways they are managing litigation and the expectations they set with law firms and technology vendors.

Corporate counsel speakers include:

• Susan Lees, Executive Vice President & General Counsel, Allstate Insurance
• Leslie McKnew, VP, Litigation, CISCO
• Matt Miller, VP, Deputy General Counsel – EMEA, APAC and Global Litigation, Groupon
• Sharyn Procaccio, Vice President and Assistant General Counsel, Hunt Companies

Register for the event.

Join Our LinkedIn Group

Zapproved, Inc. announced the five winners for e-discovery excellence and honored Michael Arkfeld for lifetime achievement at the Corporate E-Discovery Hero Awards Celebration, presented by Zapproved at the New World Stages in New York.

The winners were:

• Strategy – Brett Tarr, Caesar’s Entertainment, Inc.
• Technology – Michael Chung, S&P Global
• Process – Charlotte Riser Harris, Hess Corporation
• Teams (tie) – GE’s Discovery Center of Excellence (COE) and McDonald’s Corporation’s Commercial Litigation Practice Group
• Lifetime Achievement – Michael Arkfeld

More than 300 legal and e-discovery professionals attended the inaugural awards celebration. The winners were selected from more than 60 nominations which had been narrowed to 13 finalists. An esteemed panel of federal judges, top in-house e-discovery practitioners and national e-discovery experts used an online survey to vote on candidates by category.

“It was a special evening during which we honored some of the best work by in-house e-discovery professionals. They have made great contributions to their companies for which they deserve recognition, but also are beacons for others to follow. From the sell-out crowd to the luminaries who joined us we couldn’t have hoped for a better start for this event that we hope becomes an anchor on the annual calendar,” said Brad Harris, Vice President of Product Strategy at Zapproved.

During the awards segment, Hon. Shira A. Scheindlin (Ret.) presented Michael Arkfeld with the Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his work advancing electronic discovery. Arkfeld, author of the comprehensive treatise Arkfeld on Electronic Discovery and Evidence, is Founder and Director of Education for the eDiscovery Education Center and Director of the Arkfeld eDiscovery and Digital Program at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University.

The celebration featured a keynote chat via satellite with NPR’s award-winning legal affairs correspondent, Nina Totenberg, moderated by Craig Ball. Totenberg described history-making events that shaped her career, including those involving Anita Hill and Justice Clarence Thomas, J. Edgar Hoover, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stradivarius. She also shared insights about President Trump’s nomination for the open position on the Supreme Court.
Event sponsorship included key support from Apttus, BRG, D4, Microsystems, Smarsh and SRR and affiliate-level contribution from Corporate Legal Operations Consortium (CLOC) and International Legal Technology Association (ILTA).

About the awards
The Corporate E-Discovery Hero Awards, presented by Zapproved, honor e-discovery experts and corporate legal professionals who demonstrate excellence in e-discovery strategy, technology, process, teamwork and overall influence and achievement. An esteemed panel of federal judges, top in-house e-discovery practitioners, and national e-discovery experts will review and choose winners who will be announced at the awards presentation event. Finalists in these five categories represent a range of e-discovery expertise:

Corporate E-Discovery Hero Award for Lifetime Achievement
Winner:

• Michael Arkfeld, Founder and Director of Education for the eDiscovery Education Center and Director of the Arkfeld eDiscovery and Digital Program at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University

Corporate E-Discovery Hero Award for Strategy
Finalists:

• Ron Harry, Honeywell International, Inc.
• Dawn Radcliffe, Transcanada Pipelines Ltd.
• Brett Tarr, Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (winner)

Corporate E-Discovery Hero Award for Technology

Finalists:

• Michael Chung, S&P Global (winner)
• Michael Knight, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
• Cortney Starble, CBRE Group, Inc.

Corporate E-Discovery Hero Award for Process
Finalists:

• Laura Curran, Comcast Corporation
• Alexandra Desmond, Sykes Enterprises Incorporated
• Charlotte Riser Harris, Hess Corporation (winner)

Corporate E-Discovery Hero Award for Teams

Finalists:

• Information Management Team, CSX Transportation, Inc.
• Discovery Center of Excellence (COE), GE (winner)
• Commercial Litigation Practice Group, McDonald’s Corporation (winner)
• E-Discovery Team, Southern California Edison

Join Our LinkedIn Group

By Patty P. Tehrani
Lawyer and Founder of Policy Patty Toolkit

So much focus right now on the new administration in place. Not to mention the rampant speculation about what they will do about various financial regulations and how dramatically this landscape is expected to change. As if this were not enough, your company has a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). She has requested a meeting with you, the General Counsel, to meet to discuss your ethics, risk and compliance programs to learn more about them. She also wants to get your insights on what she and management should do to avoid the common pitfalls highlighted in recent corporate scandals.

As an experienced lawyer, this is welcome news. You know that a company’s governance, risk and compliance programs (“core programs”) should be promoted by management to truly be effective. You are all too familiar with recent headlines regarding the lack of management focus on a company’s core programs resulting in poor company culture and irreparable systemic failures. Often these scandals involve management that has delegated ownership for their company programs and most definitely ignorant to the risks and issues involving them. Most end up with dire consequences – share price plummets, employees lose morale and leave, customers leave, and overall the brand and reputation diminish. And while your company’s prior management did a good job to promote your core programs more can still be done.

This article provides key considerations to help you prepare for your meeting with your CEO.

Note: You can define management however you deem fit for your company. This can include boards of directors where appropriate and your business leaders such as the chief executive officer, president, chief financial officer, the heads of product/business lines as well regional divisions for global companies.

Preparing for Your Meeting

You decide that the focus of your meeting will be on management ownership of your core programs. To prepare for your meeting, you want to make an outline of discussion points. As a starting point, you want to note what ownership does not mean, which can be delegated to the subject matter experts. That is – the development, implementation, and maintenance of a core program which can be delegated to the subject matter experts – Legal, Risk or Compliance departments (as well as others). Next and most importantly, you list how management can own these programs. In doing so, you want to make sure that you underscore the benefits. To help your discussion consider the following points:

• Tone at the Top – Management should set an effective “Tone-at-the-top” to communicate their commitment to core programs and to promote the need for them.

• Formal and documented adoption of a program (e.g., notice from management to all employees that they have approved a core program).
• Regular communication from management on a program (e.g., management messages on your programs via training, company websites, inclusion in town halls, or periodic reminders on program requirements to name a few).

• Embed in the Business and Culture – Management should lead efforts to incorporate program requirements and risks into the company’s overall business strategy, processes, and operations. Taking an integrated approach will lead to better overall performance and ultimately your bottom line by avoiding different and possibly conflicting business and control requirements.

• Unintegrated program risks and vulnerabilities may affect the ability of a company to fulfill its business strategies and objectives.
• Failed or deficient programs may result in costly disruptions to core business activities leading to harmful breakdowns in business operations and ultimately the company’s viability.
• Jeopardizing the company’s continuity and integrity increases the potential for reputational damage — in the market, among shareholders, and with business partners.

In addition, a core program should not be viewed in isolation of a company’s core values, mission, and culture. Management should align a core program with a company’s core values, mission, and culture to reap tangible benefits.

• A strong program provides important benefits including safeguards for weak or absent controls, and integral to an open environment of trust, accountability, and integrity – all ingredients that benefit productivity and the bottom line.
• While every company is unique, there are a few universal program outcomes/objectives that it every company would benefit from:
  • an enhanced culture of trust, accountability, and integrity;
  • process for prevention, detection, and management of issues;
  • protection (to the extent possible) from negative consequences, and detection of non-compliance;
  • defined escalation measures for non-compliance and material issues; and

• Accountability – Management should foster a culture of accountability to help the success of a core program. Accountability requires management to know what the material issues are with a core program and how to act on them promptly.

• Escalation – A defined escalation process to alert management is critical to management accountability. This is particularly important when the company is getting close to (or crossing) a risk or challenge that prevents the achievement of a material program objective or deliverable or runs afoul of a legal, regulatory or business requirement.
• Monitoring – Program processes and results should be monitored and measured on a regular basis. If done properly, monitoring measures keep regulators happy during reviews, but more importantly keep management informed and accountable.

Robust monitoring and reporting results can be used to:

• facilitate management response to program issues and challenges;
• help company’s gauge progress of objectives and how they are contributing to the success of the company’s strategy;
• improve program components from time-to-time; and
• prevent, detect, and respond to identified malfeasance in the future.

Note: Be mindful of matters that may warrant referral or reporting to the relevant governmental agency or regulator following presentation to management.

o Access – Management should ensure key areas have access to them to ensure timely, proper and informed responses to program issues.

• Key program administrators and messengers – Legal, Compliance, Risk Management, Operations, Human Resources, Audit, Information Technology – need unrestricted access to management to help them respond to the issue/challenge.
• Responsibility – Management should also be prepared to go so far as to take the blame for a material failure involving a core program. Consider when a company CEO publicly acknowledges responsibility for a company failure, everyone takes notice – employees, investors, business partners and industry regulators.
• Support – Management should support program leaders and administrators so that they have the authority and sufficient resources to: 1) manage a program on a day-to-day basis; and 2) maintain them in the event of regulatory and operational changes, varying and possibly increasing risks.

You’ve drawn your outline together and ready to discuss with your CEO. You know that by working together, management and program administrators can help ensure a core program not only contributes to the improvement of the company’s governance practices but the success of its company’s strategy as well.

Join Our LinkedIn Group

Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, a federal appeals court judge, is expected to face intense scrutiny over the politically incendiary topics of abortion and gun rights during confirmation hearings. However, Dallas media lawyer Shannon Teicher of Jackson Walker LLP suggests that the nominee’s record on the First Amendment is also vitally important given the new administration’s already strained relationship with the press.

In an article posted by Androvett Legal Media and Marketing, Teicher says she is “cautiously optimistic that he would be favorable on free speech issues before the court.”

“There is not a lot of case history involving Judge Gorsuch related to First Amendment issues, but it is important to look at what there is to find,” says Teicher. She points to Bustos v. A&E Networks, a case in which a prison inmate sued for defamation because he only affiliated with a gang but was not a member, as A&E had reported. Serving on the 10th Circuit Appeals Court, Gorsuch ruled that A&E’s statement was substantially true and affirmed dismissal of the lawsuit. In doing so, he explored the historical importance of truth as a defense and called it a “First Amendment imperative.”

However in an earlier decision, “Judge Gorsuch offered an interesting concurrence in Mink v. Knox, in which the court ruled a college student’s parody of a professor was protected speech.” Judge Gorsuch noted the U.S. Supreme Court had not yet ruled on whether parody is actionable when the plaintiff is neither a public figure nor the speech a matter of public concern. He believed “reasonable minds can and do differ” on the issue, so that it was best to avoid such “thickets.

Citing an opinion by then-Judge John Roberts of the D.C. Circuit (now Chief Justice of the Supreme Court), Gorsuch said he would only decide what is necessary and nothing more.

“Such careful parsing may well be a preview of the type of measured approach Judge Gorsuch would take if confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court,” says Teicher.

Join Our LinkedIn Group

Midland, Texas-based energy law boutique Davis, Gerald & Cremer has added Texas appellate specialist Charles “Skip” Watson to its Austin office. Watson, who will join as a shareholder, formerly was with Locke Lord LLP.

“We are very excited that Skip is joining our firm,” said managing shareholder John “Jad” Davis. “He’s on everyone’s short list to handle the most difficult and most important cases at the Texas Supreme Court, and his deep oil-and-gas roots are a perfect fit for our firm. An additional benefit is Skip’s desire to mentor our younger lawyers.  It’s a win-win for our clients and attorneys.”

Watson has served on the Texas Supreme Court’s advisory committee for the last 15 years and chaired the committee that drafted the Standards for Appellate Conduct that the court unanimously adopted.  He was selected as a fellow by the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, and he was chair of the State Bar of Texas Advanced Courses for both civil trial law and civil appellate law, the areas in which he is board certified.

“This is a rare opportunity to handle appeals generated by legendary oil and gas litigators at the time the Texas Supreme Court is actively reexamining how decades-old principles fit new technology, new lease clauses, and a challenging economy,” Watson said.

Inn a news release, the firm said Watson recently argued five landmark oil-and-gas cases, two of which are pending before the Texas Supreme Court.

Watson will be the fifth attorney in Davis, Gerald & Cremer’s Austin office. Last month, Texas litigators Shannon Ratliff and Lisa Paulson joined the firm. Rounding out the Austin office are appellate attorney Ryan Clinton, a former Texas Assistant Solicitor General, and title attorney Lauren Shapiro, a former Assistant District Attorney.​

Join Our LinkedIn Group

The National Association of Corporate Directors will present a complimentary webinar discussing how progressive general counsel use the board evaluation process as a tool to effect positive change in the boardroom.

The webinar is part of NACD’s Strategic-Asset General Counsel Webinar Series.

The event will be March 23, 2017, 2-3 p.m. Eastern time.

Board evaluation will be the main topic for the NACD webinar.

Speakers will be announced closer to the event date.

Register for the webinar.

Baretz+Brunelle, a strategic communications agency, announced that Erin Harrison, former editor-in-chief of ALM’s Legaltech News and InsideCounsel, has joined the firm as a managing director.

In a release, the firm said Harrison will lead Baretz+Brunelle’s legal technology practice and focus on the development of the firm’s digital content strategies for existing and future clients – both natural areas of focus, given her deep ties to the fast-growing legal technology sector and extensive experience in digital media, including content strategy, SEO and social media.

The release continues:

A veteran journalist and publisher, Harrison served as editor-in-chief of American Lawyer Media’s Legaltech News and InsideCounsel and directed the multimedia editorial coverage of ALM’s global events, including two of its flagship events, Legaltech and cyberSecure. She also played an integral editorial leadership role in developing and implementing ALM’s digital media campaigns, directing the content strategy for the launch of new digital products including digital news packages, webcasts and websites.

“There is so much opportunity now in the law firm space where competition is the fiercest it’s ever been, and that could not be more true than in the legal tech sector and law firms’ digital marketing efforts,” said Spencer Baretz, founding partner of Baretz+Brunelle. “Erin is the perfect leader to expand our firm’s reach in these two areas.”

Harrison directed the development, strategy and editorial operations of ALM’s contributed content, special sections, digital products and global event coverage strategy across the company’s legal, insurance, financial and real estate verticals serving more than 2 million visitors per month. Named among the 2016 Folio Top Women in Media, Harrison was recognized as a “Director-Level Doer” for her collaborative approach to building new digital media products and for elevating the Legaltech News brand. She also served as a member of the Legaltech Advisory Board and was a frequent moderator at Legaltech, the world’s largest and most prestigious legal technology event.

“I wanted to join a top communications firm where I could not only leverage my experience in journalism and the legal industry, but also become part of a smaller organization that feels more like a family,” Harrison said. “I am thrilled to join such an extraordinary team of seasoned communications leaders at Baretz+Brunelle and to help expand its services and enhance its impressive brand.”

“Erin is one of the most well-respected journalists in the legal industry and we always enjoyed working with her in that capacity. We can’t wait to work with her every day as a member of our team,” said Cari Brunelle, founding partner of Baretz+Brunelle.

Join Our LinkedIn Group

Hogan Lovells announced that Andrew Keller, a senior government official and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Counter-threat Finance and Sanctions (TFS) in the State Department’s Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs (EB), will join the firm’s International Trade and Investment practice as a partner in its Washington, D.C. office.

As Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of State, Keller led the Department’s efforts on economic sanctions and counter-threat finance matters. Keller held this position at a critical time for the United States government. He played a key leadership role in developing and implementing the sanctions relief aspects of the nuclear agreement with Iran known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA); coordinating with counterparts in Europe and Asia on Russia sanctions; and developing and implementing the easing of sanctions against Cuba, the firm said in a release.

The release continues:

With lead responsibility for outreach to the private sector, one of Andrew Keller’s primary functions at the State Department was to explain U.S. sanctions policies and regulations to industry in the United States and abroad, and to coordinate with European, Asian, and other counterparts on sanctions and counter-threat finance policy and implementation. Keller served as a primary liaison between the State Department and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the United States Department of Commerce, on economic sanctions and related export controls. In that capacity, he was responsible for the State Department’s foreign policy review of OFAC and BIS license applications.

At Hogan Lovells, Keller will concentrate his practice on sanctions, counter-threat finance, national security and export control regulatory, policy, legislative and enforcement matters.
“We are delighted that Andrew is joining our practice,” said Beth Peters, Co-Director of the firm’s International Trade and Investment Group. “He has had an unparalleled vantage point for viewing and influencing how sanctions regulations and policy are developed, interpreted, and implemented both in the U.S. and in foreign countries, and he will bring that unique perspective to strengthen the value of the counsel we provide to our clients on a global scale.”

“As the Trump administration’s position becomes clearer on a number of key sanctions programs, our clients must be ready for change and a potentially more aggressive approach to enforcement,” added Alice Valder Curran, Global head of the firm’s Government Regulatory practice. “Andrew’s background in sanctions and enforcement matters will be extremely valuable to our clients worldwide as they look for guidance and prepare for anticipated regulatory volatility and increased compliance risk, especially with respect to Iran, Russia, and Cuba.”

Before serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary, Keller served in senior positions at the State Department and on Capitol Hill. He twice served in the State Department’s Office of the Legal Adviser: as a Deputy Legal Adviser from 2013 to 2015 and as an Attorney-Adviser from 2002 to 2009. In that capacity, his work included leading priority initiatives on behalf of the Secretary of State, handling counterterrorism, law enforcement, intelligence, and other matters, and leading U.S. delegations in treaty negotiations.

From 2009-2013, he served as Deputy Chief Counsel and then Chief Counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (SFRC). During that time, he provided strategic, policy and legal guidance to then-Chairman Senator John Kerry, other Senators, and the committee staff on the range of foreign policy, international trade and national security-related matters pending in the SFRC and the Senate.

“Hogan Lovells’ global client base and wide range of practices will provide the ideal platform for me,” said Keller. “I look forward to bringing my government agency experience, and expanding the firm’s international trade, sanctions regulatory, legislative and enforcement capabilities.”

Keller served as a law clerk to the Honorable Royal Furgeson, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. He received a J.D., with honors, from the University of Texas School of Law and a B.A. from Swarthmore College.

For the third consecutive year, federal judges do not feel the typical attorney has the required knowledge to be effectively counseling clients on e-discovery matters, according to Exterro’s Third Annual Judges Survey.

Exterro has compiled a report on the survey, which can be downloaded.

The report covers:

• E-Discovery advice from 22 federal judges on how to improve e-discovery practices
• Expert commentary from retired judges and e-discovery thought leaders, interpreting the results and how they should effect practices
• Judicial insight on the new FRCP rules and the role judges should play under them

Download the report.

President Trump’s pick to replace the late Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Supreme Court is seen by many on the right as a fitting replacement for the iconic jurist that Gorsuch considered a “lion of the law,” reports The Los Angeles Times.

At the same time, Neil Gorsuch also evokes the qualities of Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, for whom Gorsuch worked as a law clerk, writes reporter David G. Savage.

“He may be more conservative than Kennedy when it comes to expanding individual rights, but he seems to lack Scalia’s fervor for overturning liberal precedents from decades past,” Savage writes.

Read the LA Times article.

Join Our LinkedIn Group

Scholars interviewed by The Washington Post say that President Trump’s executive order on immigration is likely to face a series of new legal challenges about whether it violates a 1965 anti-discrimination law and the Constitution, the newspaper reports.

Four federal judges have put various holds on the ban, and 16 state attorneys general have said they believe the executive order is unconstitutional.

Ruthann Robson, professor of law at City University of New York School of Law, said the order could be thrown out on grounds that it violates the equal protection clause of the Constitution. “She noted that courts have criticized governmental distinctions based on ancestry and race, write Michael Kranish and Robert Barnes.

Read the Washington Post article.

Join Our LinkedIn Group

The Internal Revenue Service’s Large Business and International division is taking a new approach to tax compliance, with a series of 13 campaigns aimed at cracking down on tax evasion, reports Accounting Today.

Reporter Michael Cohn writes that the IRS division is moving toward issue-based examinations and a compliance campaign process in which it decides which compliance issues present enough of a risk that they require a response.

Those responses, known as “treatment streams,” could include examinations and letters to achieve the IRS’s tax compliance objectives, leveraging IRS expertise in various compliance issues, Cohn explains.

Some of the areas considered will be tax credits for advanced energy projects, people who withdraw from or are denied entry to the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program, TV broadcasters and channels who claim film production tax credits for distributing shows produced by third parties, and micro captive insurance.

Read the Accounting Today article.

Join Our LinkedIn Group

A Dallas constitutional law attorney says President Trump’s temporary ban on immigrants and refugees at airports nationwide is extreme, but not without historical precedent, according to a post published by Androvett Legal Media & Marketing.

Issued Friday, the executive order prevents citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States for three months. He also placed the U.S. refugee program on hold for four months. The order launched massive protests at airports in major cities across the country and brought attorneys together to offer free legal support to detained travelers.

But attorney David Coale of Lynn Pinker Cox Hurst says that presidents have conducted similar actions in the past:

“There is a very broad 1952 statute that lets the president suspend entry by classes of aliens for security reasons. But a 1965 statute imposes anti-discrimination limits on the executive branch in how it implements immigration policy. But beyond that, there is not a lot of case law to go. More modest bans have been allowed by courts, but with caveats that indicate they were thinking about a possibility such as this. Jimmy Carter did something vaguely like it in 1980 during the Iran crisis by requiring Iranians here on student visas to report to immigration officials, but it is a big leap from his limited action to this one. I think that once the temporary ban ends, however, the ‘extreme vetting’ in the current order will be DOA. The First Amendment prohibits government action that favors one religion over another, and the current executive order clearly does so by giving non-Muslims priority status.”

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, announced that Anita L. Boomstein has joined the New York office as chair of the firm’s global payments practice. Boomstein joins the firm from Hughes Hubbard and Reed LLP, where she was a partner in the banking and financial services practice.

Boomstein’s practice focuses on payment systems, credit cards and consumer financial services, the firm said in a news release. Boomstein has experience advising brick-and-mortar retailers, e-commerce companies and issuers as they navigate payments and loyalty programs and the regulatory hurdles that come from integration of such programs. She regularly develops, negotiates, documents and supervises legal work pertaining to the creation of the full spectrum of credit, debit, prepaid, loyalty and gift card programs, including strategic alliances involving virtual accounts and electronic money transfers, the firm says.

The release continues:

“The world of fintech is evolving at a breakneck pace, and Anita knows the landscape extraordinarily well. Her years of experience in global payments will prove invaluable to our clients, no matter how complex or novel the challenges they face,” said Craig D. Miller, co-chair of the firm’s financial services practice. “She adeptly handles a variety of payment and regulatory compliance matters, including intelligent solutions for privacy and data protection, and we look forward to working with her.”

Focusing on financial services law, credit cards and payment systems, electronic commerce, privacy and cybersecurity, and the development of financial products and services for banks and nonbanks, Boomstein is well-versed in the regulatory scheme affecting all industry players. Boomstein has represented a range of clients, from Fortune 100 companies to new startup ventures, ensuring regulatory compliance across payment projects for businesses of all kinds.

“Anita is a highly regarded lawyer known for handling critical industry matters involving emerging payments, credit card programs, electronic commerce and other issues affecting clients in the consumer financial services area,” said Richard E. Gottlieb, co-chair of Manatt’s consumer financial services practice. “Few understand the workings of the card and payments business as deeply as Anita, making her strategic guidance an immediate asset to clients. We’re excited to welcome Anita to Manatt.”

“I was drawn to Manatt’s seasoned network of financial services professionals and their synergistic practices,” Boomstein said. “Manatt’s broad-based yet sophisticated capabilities in the sector make the firm a well-positioned adviser to clients navigating a transformative financial industry. I’m excited to be a part of such an accomplished group.”

Join Our LinkedIn Group

Stradley Ronon announced today that patent attorney Paul K. Legaard, Ph.D., has joined the firm as a partner in its Malvern, Pennsylvania, office. He was most recently a partner at Pepper Hamilton.

In a release, the firm said Legaard, a registered patent attorney, handles all aspects of intellectual property with a focus on the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, biotechnology, chemical, biomedical device and scientific instrumentation industries. He has experience in patent procurement, prosecution, reissues, reexaminations and appeals before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He also works with clients on intellectual property due diligence matters such as inventorship and ownership analyses; portfolio analyses; and freedom-to-operate and validity searches, analyses and opinions for licensing and financing deals, the firm said.

The release continues:

“Paul’s deep patent experience, particularly in the pharmaceutical, biomedical and biotechnology industries, make him a terrific fit for our client base and our burgeoning IP group,” said Stradley Ronon Chairman William R. Sasso. “Given the critical importance to our clients of protecting and enforcing intellectual property rights, Paul’s in-depth knowledge of the patent process and the underlying sciences will allow us to strengthen and expand our scope of services.”

Legaard is Stradley Ronon’s third significant lateral hire in recent weeks. Prominent white-collar criminal defense and government investigations attorney Michael J. Engle joined the firm in December, followed earlier this month by leading financial services litigator Joe N. Nguyen.

“I was attracted to Stradley Ronon because of its entrepreneurial culture, impressive client base and strong reputation for providing pragmatic, value-driven service,” said Legaard. “The firm’s roster of talented attorneys across many practice groups and industries is a great complement to my practice and aligns well with my clients’ needs.”

Stradley Ronon’s intellectual property practice group has decades of experience protecting clients’ IP assets and handling the full scope of their IP matters, including all aspects of patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets. The group’s attorneys regularly assist clients with drafting and prosecuting U.S. or international patent and trademark applications; filing copyright registration applications; conducting due diligence reviews and analyses; providing infringement and validity legal opinions; managing trade secret matters; IP trial level and appellate level litigation; IP alternative dispute resolution; portfolio strategy development and counseling; licensing; and protecting IP assets or avoiding the IP rights of others.

The Legal Intelligencer named the firm’s IP group a finalist in the publication’s first-ever “Best Law Firm Corporate Practices” awards, noting that the practice has “grown quickly and confidently.” Stradley Ronon’s IP client roster boasts a diverse range of successful companies, including Air Products, Martin Guitar, Pentech and Titan Spine.

“Paul is highly regarded within the IP bar for his experience with the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, and we are proud to welcome him to the firm,” said Stradley Ronon Intellectual Property Practice Group Chair Kevin R. Casey. “His addition furthers our strategic plan of growing our IP practice with high-quality lawyers who are dedicated to protecting and defending the IP rights of our clients.”

Legaard received his B.A. in biology and chemistry from Gustavus Adolphus College, his Ph.D. in molecular microbiology and immunology from the University of Missouri, Columbia, and his J.D. from Temple University Beasley School of Law.

Join Our LinkedIn Group

Thomson Reuters Practical Law will present a complimentary webinar titled “Addressing Environmental Claims and Obligations in Chapter 11.”

The event will be Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017, beginning at 1 p.m. Eastern time.

In a release, the company said many companies with significant environmental compliance and clean-up obligations have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in recent years due to decreased demand for oil & gas, coal, steel, and other mined assets. The tension between environmental regulation and bankruptcy law makes environmental liability an issue that must be considered as part of any bankruptcy strategy. A Chapter 11 debtor-in-possession must comply with environmental laws and regulations during bankruptcy. Many environmental claims and obligations cannot be discharged in bankruptcy and contaminated property can be difficult to dispose of; however, a carefully constructed bankruptcy strategy can minimize the negative impact of environmental liabilities on the ongoing business and the restructuring process itself.

Practical Law and IWIRC NY will present the complimentary 75 minute webinar in which leading bankruptcy attorneys and advisors from Debevoise & Plimpton, Morrison & Foerster, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, and AlixPartners will discuss strategies for addressing environmental claims and obligations in Chapter 11. During this webinar, attendees will hear insights on ways in which companies are addressing environmentally contaminated property, claims and obligations through Chapter 11 in recent and pending oil & gas, mining, and manufacturing cases, including:

-How environmental claims and obligations are treated in bankruptcy.
-The diligence that a company should perform to assess potential environmental liability and business options.
-How environmental regulators exert influence in Chapter 11 and how companies address their claims.
-Chapter 11 exit strategies for dealing with contaminated property.

A short question-and-answer session will follow.

Presenters:
Jennifer L. Marines, Partner, Morrison & Foerster LLP
Claudia R. Tobler, Counsel, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
Pilar Tarry, Director, AlixPartners, LLP
M. Natasha Labovitz, Partner, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP

Moderator:
Lara R. Sheikh, Senior Legal Editor, Practical Law Bankruptcy

Register for the webinar.

Join Our LinkedIn Group