Attorneys Wesley Hill of Longview, Texas-based Ward, Smith & Hill, PLLC, and Christopher Banys of Palo Alto, California-based Banys, P.C., have won a $9.25 million patent infringement verdict on behalf of the surviving family members of Dallas inventor Charles Freeny Jr.

Hill and Banys represented Freeny’s three adult sons, Brian, James and Charles III, in the trial heard in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Marshall. The lawsuit against El Dorado, Arkansas-based Murphy USA Inc. accused the company of infringing two patents owned by the three brothers that cover technology used in fuel pricing systems, U.S. Patent No. 6,076,071 and No. 6,513,016 (both titled “automated synchronous product pricing and advertising system”).

“We are very thankful the jury recognized Murphy USA’s wrongful use of the Freenys’ intellectual property,” says Hill. “This was a hard fought case that ended with the correct decision.”

Jurors appearing before Judge Roy Payne returned the verdict on June 11 following approximately 3.5 hours of deliberations. The $9.25 million awarded to the Freeny brothers followed the jury’s finding that the four claims of the contested patents were valid and that Murphy USA had infringed all four of the claims. The case is Charles C. Freeny, III, et al. v. Murphy USA, Inc., No. 2:13-CV-791.

Hill, a veteran of East Texas courts, has successfully tried numerous cases to verdict, including more than a dozen patent infringement trials. His trial expertise has helped him earn selection to the annual Texas Rising Stars list of the state’s top young lawyers since 2011 and membership in the American Board of Trial Advocates.

Longview, Texas-based Ward, Smith & Hill, PLLC, has tried more than 350 cases to verdict, earning a national reputation in high-stakes claims involving complex commercial litigation, intellectual property law, oil and gas matters, bad faith insurance claims, and serious personal injury claims. The firm frequently assists lawyers nationwide in complex cases before Texas juries.

The Houston trial law firm Ahmad, Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing P.C., or AZA, is one of only 10 boutique firms nationally being recognized by the legal publication Law360 for successfully challenging the country’s biggest law firms.

Law360 says the 2015 list of leading trial boutiques includes firms “that have established brands on par with the biggest firms” and are “less expensive and easier for clients to get on the phone.”

The Law360 article, “10 Boutiques Giving BigLaw a Run for its Money” (subscription required), notes AZA’s focus on energy and intellectual property law, saying the firm has “built on an already strong reputation by securing a $16 million jury verdict in February against Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. on behalf of Rembrandt Wireless Technologies LP. The win increased its strong trial reputation, which also got a boost last year from an $11.4 million verdict for client Function One Consulting Group LLC.”

The article also points to the firm’s impressive roster of high-profile clients, which include Halliburton Co., Apache Corp., and Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., among others.

Jack Hopper of Texas-based Kinney Recruiting, one of the independent experts quoted, says AZA’s success has him believing the boutique trend will continue in Texas: “If you can get the same or better quality lawyering in a more nimble environment with less bill rate pressure, why wouldn’t it continue?”

Earlier this year, AZA was recommended among the top seven U.S. plaintiff patent firms by Intellectual Asset Management, which publishes a guide to the world’s leading patent lawyers. AZA has built an impressive record litigating patent infringement, trademark, copyright and trade secret cases.

Ahmad, Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing P.C., or AZA, is a Houston-based law firm.

The Dallas-based law firm Gruber Hurst Elrod Johansen Hail Shank LLP, one of the largest litigation-focused boutique practices in Texas, has added two high-profile attorneys as partners.

“Samuel M. Stricklin and Tricia R. DeLeon together offer more than 40 years of combined legal experience, enhancing the firm’s growing practice representing bankruptcy plan trustees and others in major bankruptcy litigation,” the firm said in a release. “Ms. DeLeon and Mr. Stricklin previously were partners in the Dallas office of Bracewell & Giuliani.”

“Tricia and Sam each offer a diverse and impressive record of success in courtrooms throughout Texas and across the nation,” says firm name partner Mark Johansen. “Their collective accomplishments, commitment to effective client service, and history of professional and community involvement reflect the values and qualities of our firm. We’re delighted they made the decision to join us.”

Sam Stricklin

Stricklin has served as lead trial attorney in a wide range of business bankruptcy and litigation matters during the past 25 years, representing debtors, trustees, creditor committees and individual creditors in negotiations and contested hearings. Board Certified in Business Bankruptcy Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, Stricklin earned his law degree from the University of Houston Law Center in 1987 and his undergraduate degree from Texas A&M University in 1984.

Tricia DeLeon

DeLeon has tried numerous jury trials in state and federal courts, focusing her practice on complex commercial litigation in financial, banking and securities matters, as well as director and officer insurance disputes, commercial bankruptcies and class-action defense. Active in a number of legal and civic organizations, DeLeon earned her law degree from Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law in 1999 after securing her undergraduate degree, with honors, from DePauw University in 1996. She also served as a briefing attorney for the Hon. James A. Baker at the Texas Supreme Court during the 1999-2000 session.

In its release, Gruber Hurst Elrod Johansen Hail Shank LLP said the firm represents clients in complex commercial litigation in Texas and across the nation. “The firm’s experience includes litigation involving energy, contract disputes, pipeline construction, partnership dissolutions, fiduciary matters, labor and employment, securities and shareholder disputes, intellectual property, bankruptcy and other business and commercial cases. Clients include leading companies and individuals as both defendants and plaintiffs across a broad range of industries,” the release continues.

Managing legal documents and transactions across an enterprise of any size is complex and challenging, but the systems supporting the effort don’t have to be, according to a statement from Onit. A new class of Enterprise Legal Management (ELM) solutions, designed for the way people and companies work, is changing the way legal departments manage matters, budgets and processes.

Download this white paper to learn more about why many legal departments are paying for features they don’t need inside products their lawyers don’t use. Find out how smarter technologies are bridging the gap between the promise and reality of ELM systems.

The white paper covers:

• Background on legal systems and the new technology curve
• Driving operational improvements with the right systems
• Using easy-to-use Apps to supplement the capabilities of a current ELM system with advanced automation
• Getting started with Apps to begin a legal operations improvement initiative

Not all construction contracts are written, and contractors don’t always provide a written policy at the end of a project, writes Austin B. Calhoun of Florida-based Jimerson & Cobb. This raises the question: are oral multi-year warranties enforceable?

The article discusses a case involving Florida’s Statute of Frauds, which bars the enforcement of oral agreements that are not to be performed within one year. But Loper v. Weather Shield Mfg., a recent Florida First District Court of Appeals case, appears to have opened the door to enforcing oral multi-year warranties.

The article focuses on the Loper holding, as it applies to the Statute of Frauds and oral warranties for more than one year.

Read the article on Lexology.com.

Law Ruler Software, LLC announces its new SMS Text Marketing feature that allows a law firm to conduct direct communication with its existing and future clients.

SMS Text Message Marketing offers eight times the response rate of email, the company says in a release, adding the company educates its clients on the proper use of SMS Text Message technology, and that it should be used within the bounds of state and federal laws.

More from the release:

Benefits of Law Ruler Software’s SMS Text Message Marketing Features:

• Create paperless business cards to generate more referrals or advertise on billboards using SMS Text Codes
• Build an “Opt-in” list and mass SMS Text message clients with important legal announcements, reminders, or to drastically increase lead conversion
• Create law firm client and lead generation forms for users to opt-in to the list
• Generate unique mobile auto-responders to “set it and forget it” to offer mobile phone users customized information specific to your area of law, Ex: Accident Information
• Appointment scheduling and client appointment reminders
• Get more get more retainer contracts signed using SMS Text Messages

“Law Ruler legal case intake management software offers the features of many separate systems in one, and can do it all. Law Ruler offers staggering practice growth and lead management results and now offers both SMS Text and Email Marketing features that are very powerful for a law firm when used in compliance with state and federal laws,” said Daniel S. Jacobs, Chief Executive Officer of Law Ruler Software, LLC.

The purpose of Law Ruler Software is to bridge the gap between the advertising/marketing of a law firm and their legal case management software to increase productivity and revenue for the firm and its associates. The addition of advanced SMS Text Messaging features inside Law Ruler Software makes the communication gap a lot smaller between law firms and their existing and future clients and can increase response rates by eight times.

Also, Law Ruler Software, LLC announces the addition of Richard “Rick” Kaufman to its management team.  Kaufman has more than 20 years of experience serving the legal market and more than 10 years of executive leadership. He has an extensive background in legal case and practice management software sales, service, and support leadership both in and outside the legal industry.

Kaufman comes to Law Ruler Software after working at Thomson Reuters and WestLaw. Most recently he served as the North America Sales Manager for Action Step case management software. Kaufman led several diverse teams serving customer’s needs for practice know how, practice management, legal research, and knowledge management.

Partners Group, the global private markets investment manager, has agreed to acquire Knowledge Universe’s US early-childhood education business (KUE LLC) on behalf of its clients. KUE LLC is the largest for-profit provider of early childhood education in the United States and the parent company of KinderCare Learning Centers, as well as the brands Children’s Creative Learning Centers (CCLC) and Champions. The transaction is expected to close later this year.

Latham & Watkins LLP represented Knowledge Universe in the transaction with a corporate team led from the firm’s Los Angeles office by partner Brad Helms, with associates Jordan Miller and Alyssa Chi. Advice was also provided on finance matters by partner John Jameson and associate Mark Morris in Los Angeles; on real estate matters by partner David Meckler and associate Hilary Shalla in Orange County; on employee benefits matters by partner Laurence Seymour in Los Angeles and associate Julie Crisp in San Francisco; on tax matters by partner Samuel Weiner in Los Angeles and associate Enrique Rene de Vera in Chicago; on intellectual property matters by counsel David Kuiper in Orange County; on environmental matters by partner Michael Feeley, with associates Aron Potash and John Morris in Los Angeles; and on antitrust matters by counsel Sydney Smith in Washington, D.C.

KinderCare Learning Centers has been educating and caring for children for over 45 years and has a strong reputation for delivering high-quality educational programs through approximately 1’400 centers in 38 states. KinderCare is on track to achieve 100% national accreditation of its centers in 2016. In May 2015, the company saw its 1’000th center achieve this prestigious accreditation milestone, which signifies a program is of the highest quality recognized nationally in the early-childhood education field. KinderCare is KUE LLC’s largest subsidiary.

KUE LLC owns two additional education businesses, CCLC and Champions. CCLC provides early-childhood care and educational services similar to those offered by KinderCare, in partnership with corporate clients, government agencies and leading universities. It currently provides programs for more than 200 clients and operates approximately 100 centers. Champions partners with schools to offer before- and after-school educational and developmental programs. It currently runs over 400 programs across the US.

Following the investment, Partners Group will work with the KUE LLC management team on several initiatives to expand its programs and enhance the experience for families enrolled at its centers, drawing on its long track record of investment in the education sector globally.

Tom Wyatt, CEO of KUE LLC, comments: “Partners Group shares our passion for positively impacting the lives of children and families every day through quality education. Families will see the same experienced, dedicated teachers and the same exceptional programs as we continue to build on our strong foundation. I’m extremely proud of our employees’ hard work over the past three years in transforming our company financially and culturally. It’s rewarding to now have the potential to support even more children within our programs.”

Joel Schwartz, Managing Director, Private Equity at Partners Group, will join the Board of KUE LLC once the transaction completes. He states: “KUE LLC is an innovative market leader that has achieved measurable impact with its early-childhood educational programs. Since 2012, Tom Wyatt and the rest of the executive team have increased the focus on engagement amongst both employees and families, leading to increased enrollment. They have also invested in a new curriculum and increased support for professional development, leading to a rapid climb in the number of centers gaining national accreditation through professional organizations such as the National Association for the Education of Young Children. We are looking forward toworking alongside the executive team to build on this momentum and further raise the bar for standards in early-childhood education in the US.”

The transaction has fully committed financing from Credit Suisse, Barclays and Bank of Montreal and is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. Credit Suisse, Barclays, BMO Capital Markets, Goodwin Procter LLP and KPMG LLP are advising Partners Group on the transaction.

Scott & Scott has published a list of the steps that companies usually can take when faced with a software audit – regardless of which publisher is conducting the audit – to help contain the risks and introduce a little predictability into the audit process.

“No one likes to be audited. In most cases, there is little that a business can do at the outset of an audit to avoid licensing exposure, if that business has historically inadequate software asset management processes,” Scott & Scott says in the post on its Software Audit Blog.

The first step listed is” Confirm you really need to participate. That step if followed by: Verify the audit scope … or not.

Finally, the firm suggests: Memorialize the right to review.

The article offers detailed suggestions for each step of the process.

Read the article.

eTERA Consulting will present a free webinar on the benefits of forensic accounting firms partnering with a data and technology management company.

The webinar will be Thursday, July 23, at 1 p.m. Central time.

“Many times, projects that begin in a forensics practice end in attorney review,” the company said in a release. “By creating a close partner relationship between your forensics practice and a data and technology management company, you can create results that include increased revenue for you, lower costs for your clients, and a better relationship with the legal team. This relationship can provide custom solutions that fit seamlessly with your current forensics services. Enjoy the benefits of the latest legal technology and data experts without the cost of bringing them in-house.”

The release continues:

As a leading data and technology management company, eTERA Consulting has successfully worked with forensic accounting firms, including the 11th largest in the country. This webinar will provide you with important business information about the following:

• The link between forensics and litigation technology
• Why partner with a data and technology management company
• Why eTERA Consulting is the best partner for your team
• The Electronic Discovery Reference Model services that can grow your practice
• Examples of how this relationship has benefited partners and clients
• The various benefits you will receive as an eTERA Consulting All1ance One Partner
• How to get started as an All1ance One eTERA Partner

A current All1ance One Partner will also share his experiences to-date including why he chose to join, the easy process in becoming a partner, and the benefits behind the program.

Register for the webinar.

Venio Systems will present a complimentary webinar July 16 at 1 p.m. Eastern time fon eDiscovery Defensibility. The webinar will focus on the risks of spoliation and data loss during the processing and review phases of eDiscovery that get very little attention in the eDiscovery press.

1. Processing Extraction Levels
2. Multiple Processing Applications
3. Technology Selection
4. Human Participation
5. Keyword Searching

The discussion will be led by Babs Deacon, Venio’s Vice President of Training & Education. She will be joined by Chuck Kellner, Senior Vice President at D4 LLC, and Ellen “Elle” Pyle, Discovery Counsel at McDermott Will & Emery.

Register for the webinar.

Exterro, a provider of e-discovery and information governance software solutions, is offering participants a chance to win a $400 gift card from American Airlines.

Participants are invited to answer a single question about e-discovery to be entered into the contest.

“Exterro was founded with the simple vision that applying the concepts of process optimization and data science to the way companies respond to litigation would drive more successful outcomes at a lower cost,” the company says on its website. “To this day, we remain committed to this vision as we deliver E-Discovery and Information Governance software solutions that help you manage your information assets more efficiently.”

Register for the gift card.

Hatmaker Law Group will present a complimentary webinar designed to help participants avoid claims arising from allegations that a business facility is not compliant under the American with Disabilities Act.

In a release, the firm writes, “Did you know that 40 percent of the ADA accessibility lawsuits filed in the U.S. are filed in the state of California? Have you taken the necessary steps to ensure compliance at your facility for your employees and patrons? Join us for this free one-hour webinar and learn the most common allegations charged against businesses, how to comply with the regulations and the possible extent of financial damages you can experience if found to be non-compliant, and what actions to take to avoid a claim.”

The webinar will be Wednesday, July 15, from noon until 1 p.m. Pacific time.

The guest speaker for the event will be Daniel Zoldak, Professional Engineer, Certified Access Specialist, of Lars Andersen & Associates.

Register for the webinar.

Oil industry technology has improved over the last five years since the BP drilling platform explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, writes Mintek Mobile Data Solutions in a paper published on its website.

“Enhanced blow-out protectors, built by BP, are in place to prevent these measures from hopefully not happening at this magnitude, and, even internationally, new technology is being handled remotely to control the oil and gas networks. Also, oil rigs are being secured by energy sectors, but this still doesn’t protect them from cyber-attacks,” the paper says.

“In fact, ‘32% of attacks on critical national infrastructure were targeted on energy firms in 2014.’ This is due to hackers being able to get into the system and override it, however with Government involvement and better maintenance practices in place, we should be able to get our waters to a cleaner state and keep it that way for years to come.”

The paper lists five improvement made to prevent similar disasters in the future.

Read the article.

Although, typically, a commercial general liability insurance policy doesn’t cover breaches of contract, there are exceptions to that rule, and according to one recent decision those exceptions include breach of warranty claims, according to an article published by Spencer Fane Britt & Browne.

In Continental Cas. Co. v. Greater Omaha Packing Co., Inc., a wholesaler sued its supplier, asserting claims for breach of contract, breach of express warranty (premised on the product guarantee), and breach of the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for particular purpose.

The court found that the contractual liability exclusion didn’t apply and, even if it did, the exception to the exclusion applied.

Read the article.

A recent settlement by a private defense and government contracting company should put government contractors on notice of the corruption risks and the potentially severe consequences of FCPA violations, writes Fatema Merchant of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton.

She describes how IAP Worldwide Services Inc., a private defense and government contracting company, agreed to pay $7.1 million to settle criminal charges of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) related to bribing Kuwaiti government officials to secure a Kuwaiti government contract.

And on the same day IAP’s Former Vice President of Special Projects and Programs also pleaded guilty to FCPA charges.

“For U.S. government contractors, the opportunities to provide services and expertise to foreign governments are lucrative, but this enforcement action also highlights the risks associated with obtaining such contracts,” Merchant writes.

Read the article.

Nord Anglia Education, Inc., the world’s leading operator of premium schools, has announced in a press release dated June 25, 2015, that it completed its acquisition of six schools from Meritas, LLC and certain affiliates for net cash consideration of US$534 million plus US$25 million of deferred consideration, as detailed in the company-issued press release below. The schools are located in North America, Europe and China.

Latham & Watkins advised Nord Anglia Education in the acquisition and its concurrent equity offering, CHF denominated notes offering and amendment and restatement of its senior secured credit facilities, which the company used to finance the acquisition.

Bryant Edwards, Chair of Latham & Watkins’ Asia practice, said, “We are delighted to continue our long-standing relationship with Nord Anglia Education in this landmark series of transactions.”

“The simultaneous execution of a major acquisition, equity offering, high yield notes offering and bank financing, all involving complex cross-border issues, demonstrates Latham & Watkins’ unique global platform and broad expertise across our practice groups,” added Edwards.

Latham & Watkins advised Nord Anglia Education in these transactions with a M&A team led by Chicago partner Brad Faris and associate Jonathan Solomon with associates Alan Bakhos and Laura Janowitsch; a capital markets team led by New York partner Marc Jaffe, Hong Kong partner Eugene Lee and associate Dominik Sklenar; and a finance team led by New York partner David Teh, with associates Nicole Fanjuland Colin O’Regan in New York and Shahid Jamil and Tanim Rahman in London.

Lawyers from Latham & Watkins’ London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai and Madrid offices advised on local law matters related to the notes offering and credit facilities amendment.

Farrell Fritz partner Jason S. Samuels was recently appointed Chair of the Nassau County Bar Association’s (NCBA) Construction Law Committee. He will serve a two year term.

Samuels, a Roslyn Heights, NY, resident, concentrates his practice in construction law. He represents contractors, owners and developers in a variety of matters. He earned his J.D. degree from Hofstra University School of Law and his B.A. degree from the State University of New York at Albany.

The Construction Law Committee is a forum for the discussion of construction-related topics.

A group of airline customers has filed a federal class-action lawsuit in Dallas accusing four major U.S. airlines of violating antitrust laws by conspiring to artificially inflate airfares in order to reap huge profits.

The lawsuit filed July 8 says Texas-based Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) and American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL), Atlanta’s Delta Airlines (NYSE:DAL) and Chicago’s United Airlines (NYSE:UAL) conspired to restrict capacity by limiting routes and the number of available seats in order to charge artificially high prices.

“The defendants are so intent on raising profits that they appear to have colluded to gouge customers’ pocketbooks and keep airfares sky high,” says Dallas attorney Warren T. Burns of Burns Charest LLP, who represents the plaintiffs. “Agreeing to restrict capacity to keep your profits high marks the very definition of an antitrust violation.”

In a release, Burns Charest describes a series of economic conditions that should have resulted in more available airline seats and lower ticket prices, including increasing public demand for airline seats and the fact that airlines paid at least $1.50 per gallon less for jet fuel in 2014 compared to 2013. Instead, the supply of seats has remained virtually flat and airline fares skyrocketed at an inflation-adjusted rate of 13 percent from 2009 to 2014, the lawsuit says.

The filing follows last week’s announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice that it is investigating the airlines’ tactics. Similar lawsuits on behalf of airline customers have been filed in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. Burns and Burns Charest have moved to transfer and consolidate all the civil cases in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, where today’s lawsuit was filed, according to the firm’s release.

The case is Cumming, et al. v. American Airlines, Inc., et al., No. 3:15-cv-02253.

Burns Charest is a Dallas and New Orleans-based trial law firm with a national practice representing consumers and businesses. The firm represents clients in large, complex class actions; antitrust claims; oil and gas royalty disputes; environmental pollution cases; and asbestos exposure claims.

Beck Redden LLP Partner Alistair Dawson and his wife Wendy are featured in the current issue of The Houston Lawyer magazine. The couple is recognized for their unwavering dedication and passion for helping others, especially children and adults with special needs.

In addition to their renowned efforts and success within the legal and commodities trading professions, both Alistair and Wendy are deeply committed to the Social Motion Skills, a non‐profit organization that Wendy founded in 2010, and to the H.E.A.R.T. program where Alistair serves as Chairman. Social Motion Skills is aimed at teaching life and social skills to autistic children and adults, and the H.E.A.R.T. program provides education, training, and jobs to developmentally challenged young adults.

Beck Redden is a litigation firm that handles a wide range of disputes including commercial, oil and gas, product liability, antitrust, securities, environmental, insurance coverage, legal and accounting malpractice, white collar crimes, patent and other intellectual property cases.

DLA Piper has published a paper about the Supreme Court’s ruling upholding a long-standing precedent that restricts the ability of a patent holder to charge a royalty beyond the term of a patent. In a 6-3 decision, the court in Kimble v. Marvel Entertainment declined to overrule Brulotte v. Thys Co., a 1964 decision in which the Court ruled that an obligation to pay royalties for use beyond the expiration of the patent was unenforceable.

“The Court acknowledged that Brulotte restricts a patentee’s and an accused infringer’s right to freely contract to a royalty that runs beyond the patent’s term and noted that extending the term of the patent, in some circumstances, ‘may better allocate the risks and rewards associated with commercializing inventions,’ ” the paper explains.

Kimble turns on the principle of stare decisis.

Read the article.