Dickinson Wright will present a webinar titled “Peeling Back the Curtain: Working with Your Legal Department to Optimize Your Relationship With Your Outside Law Firms” on four dates: June 2, 5, 10 and 11.

James Stapleton, Chief Business Development and Marketing Officer at Dickinson Wright, will be the presenter.

On its website, the firm says the pressure between managing external legal costs and efficient execution of your company’s legal tasks while maintaining a successful relationship with your outside law firms can be a challenge.  This webinar will examine the role that purchasing can fulfill to help satisfy your legal needs on an efficient and cost-effective basis.

The discussion will cover:

• The elements of successful RFPs
• Selection of candidate law firms
• Pricing
• Applying decision criteria and balancing workload between law firm and legal department.

Registration:

June 2, 2015 – Noon EST – Click here to register
June 5, 2015 – 1:00 EST – Click here to register
June 10, 2015 – Noon EST – Click here to register
June 11, 2015 – 4:00 P.M. EST – Click here to register

Farrell Fritz commercial litigation partner Peter B. Zlotnick has been selected to serve as a member of the Fourth cohort of the Berrie Fellows Leadership Program (BFLP) affiliated with the Hartman Institute in Jerusalem and with the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey.

The highly-selective, eighteen month Program is dedicated to developing Fellows’ leadership and organizational skills to be applied to their community, religious and professional organizations.

Zlotnick, a Tenafly, NJ, resident, earned his J.D. degree from Yeshiva University’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, his Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and his B.A. degree from Colgate College.

The First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in First State Ins. Co. v. National Casualty Co., a case involving reinsurance and retrocessional agreements, that the agreements between the parties contained an honorable engagement provision, which directs the arbitrators to consider each agreement as an honorable engagement, not merely a legal one.

A post by Baker & McKenzie and posted on Lexology discusses the case in detail.

The court hadn’t considered such a clause before, but the clause empowers arbitrators to grant forms of relief not explicitly mentioned in the underlying agreement. “Thus, because the arbitrators were authorized to grant equitable remedies, and because the reservation of rights procedure in the award was such a remedy, there was no basis to vacate the award,” the post explains.

Read the article.

In an article published on Butler Snow’s website, Lauren Patton describes a contract situation in which an executive has signed a contract “on behalf of” the company, but did not sign the contract individually. During the course of the matter, the third party brings claims in court against the executive in his individual capacity, and the executive wants to force those claims to arbitration.

She discusses whether the fact that the executive did not sign the contract containing the arbitration provision in his individual capacity is fatal to enforcement of the provision.

She cites prior cases and common law in her discussion.

Read the white paper.

A federal court has upheld a jury’s nearly $500-million award to medical device firm Masimo Corp. in a win in a long-running patent dispute, reports The Los Angeles Times.

In 2009, Masimo sued Philips Electronics North American Corp. and Philips Medizin Systeme Boblingen, both subsidiaries of Royal Philips, alleging they infringed patents for non-invasive technology that monitors oxygen in patients’ blood.

A federal judge in Delaware upheld the award and denied Philips’ request for a new trial.

Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP represents Masimo. In a release, the firm said the infringement case between Masimo and Philips remains ongoing, with more trials anticipated regarding other patents Masimo contends Philips has infringed.

Read the story.

MasterCard Inc. has reported that the proposed $19 million settlement with Target Corp. over  the retailer’s 2013 data breach fell through because not enough banks accepted the deal, Reuters reports.

The agreement, announced in April, would have provided up to $19 million to banks and credit unions that sued Target in federal court in Minnesota over the breach.

The banks had argued that the settlement with MasterCard, which was not a party to the lawsuit, was an attempt to undercut their claims for damages.

But a federal judge earlier this month rejected the banks’ attempt to block the deal, though he expressed concerns about its fairness. Reuters reports.

Read the story.

Merrill Datasite offers a free online assessment designed to give a business manager a better understanding of a company’s internal business need and help make a business case for a new contract management system.

“You know your organization needs a better contract management solution,” Merrill says on its website. “For months, maybe even years, you’ve been trying to make the case, but you’re still running in circles; the challenges and potential problems of your current system continue to mount.

“What will it take to finally convince senior management that it’s time to take action? First, you need to identify the driving business need in your organization. Then, you can use it to make the case for a new contract management system.”

Take the assessment.

Gartner’s recently published 2015 Magic Quadrant for E-Discovery Software details the results of the company’s research and analysis of 20 vendors in the e-discovery software field. Exterro has made the report available through its website.

The report analyzes the landscape of the e-discovery software market and factors driving market growth and technology advancement.

It also discusses which vendors were positioned as leaders for their completeness of vision and ability to execute.

Download the report.

The National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), in collaboration with select, leading boardroom experts, compiles its fourth annual compendium of insights and practical guidance on areas believed to be challenges for directors and boards in the coming year.

The 2015 report stresses the importance of early engagement in discussions of strategy, risks, and succession planning in the boardroom, as well as the need for proactive communication and engagement with shareholders and other key stakeholders.

Get a free copy of the report.

The government’s right to terminate a contract for default carries the underlying principle that a default termination is a drastic sanction that should be imposed or sustained only for good grounds and solid evidence, writes Watson & Associates of Colorado and Washington, D.C.

When appealing the contracting officer’s decision, contractors should make sure that they have sound documentation of communications that could work in their favor on appeal.

“Also included in the limitations on the government to terminate a contract for default, case law requires that that the government bear the burden of proof as to whether a termination for default was justified,” the article continues.

Read the article.

A Delaware judge on May 20 approved a $275 million shareholder settlement involving videogame maker Activision Blizzard Inc. and awarded the small law firms that brought the case a $72.5 million fee, Reuters reports.

The company, which develops the “Call of Duty” game, agreed to the settlement last year, which ended a shareholder lawsuit challenging Activision’s $8 billion deal to acquire its stock held by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. The lawsuit alleged that Activision’s chief executive and co-chairman benefited unfairly from the deal, and the settlement barred them from gaining control of Activision, Reuters reports.

Four-attorney firm of Friedlander & Gorris of Wilmington, Delaware and six-lawyer firm Bragar Eagel & Squire of New York led the plaintiffs’ case.

The fee award for the small law firms works out to $9,500 an hour, according to court records.

Read the report.

A judge has approved a $200 million settlement for victims of a deadly fungal meningitis outbreak in 2012, reports Michigan Radio.

A Massachusetts pharmacy called the New England Compounding Center was accused of making massive amounts of back pain shots in a dirty lab, according to the report.

The drugs were then shipped all over the country, allegedly sickening almost 1,000 people and killing 64.

Southfield, Mich., attorney Marc Lipton worked on the settlement.

Read the report.

Transocean Ltd. has agreed to a nearly $212 million settlement with Gulf Coast individuals and business owners over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, plaintiff’s lawyers said May 20, according to a report in TheTimes-Picayune.

Transocean owned the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, which sank after the April 20, 2010 blowout at BP’s Macondo well. The disaster killed 11 workers and set off the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

The newspaper quoted co-lead plaintiffs’ attorneys Stephen J. Herman and James P. Roy as saying, “We applaud Transocean for adding to the settlement funds established in the Halliburton settlement to help compensate people and businesses for their losses.”

Read the report.

In view of the importance of contract analysis for determining joint infringement, practitioners would do well to obtain contracts early in discovery to determine the strength of their positions, and practitioners drafting contracts should be mindful of potential joint infringement implications, reports Foley & Lardner LLP in a new white paper.

Justin M. Sobaje writes that the recent decision by the Federal Circuit in Akamai v. Limelight on remand that predictions attention would shift to contract analysis for determining direct, rather than induced, infringement in these multi-actor method situations, known as joint or divided infringement.

“Given the increased scrutiny of contract terms for determining instances of joint patent infringement, practitioners providing advice in the drafting of contracts should be aware of the potential issues and provide guidance aimed at avoiding anticipated dangers,” the paper says.

Read the white paper.

Two Farrell Fritz lawyers have received appointments to the New York State Bar Association Commercial & Federal Litigation Section.

Effective June 1, 2015, James M. Wicks will begin his one-year term as chair of the NYSBA’s Commercial & Federal Litigation Section. Concurrently, Jeremy M. Corapi will become the section’s secretary.

Wicks, an East Setauket, NY, resident, is a commercial litigation partner. He also serves as co-chair of the Ethics & Professionalism Committee of the NYSBA’s Section on Commercial & Federal Litigation. He is a contributor to the firm’s New York Commercial Division Case Compendium blog. He earned his J.D. degree from St. John’s University School of Law and his B.A. degree from Wheeling College.

Corapi, a New York, NY, resident, is a commercial litigation associate. He earned his J.D. degree from Fordham University School of Law and his B.S. degree from New York University.

In a new complimentary webinar posted by Tensoft Inc., Jeffrey Werner, Silicon Valley software revenue recognition expert and lecturer, discusses revenue recognition for services and contracts.

In the presentation, Werner talks about time and materials contracts and fixed fee contracts. He also discusses the percentage of completion method, the completed contract method, and the zero margin method among other ways of accounting for service and contract accounting projects for companies.

Watch the on-demand webinar or download the slides.

User-friendly mobile apps make it easier to broadcast live videos, but, unfortunately for intellectual property rights holders, these apps also make it easier to for users to stream third-party content without permission.

A paper published online by Primary Opinion takes a look at the issue facing IP rights holders, as well as employers that could find work place incidents broadcast live online.

“Instead of battling against this trend, many IP rights holders and employers are being encouraged to avoid harsh knee-jerk reactions.” the paper says. “Unfortunately for broadcasters that rely on the exclusivity of time-sensitive content, matters aren’t so straightforward.”

Read the white paper.

The national law firm of Quarles & Brady LLP today announced that 44 attorneys from the firm’s offices have been ranked in the 2015 edition of the esteemed Chambers USA directory.

“We are honored to have our attorneys recognized for their excellence in Chambers,” said Kimberly Leach Johnson, firm chair of Quarles & Brady. “The rankings provide an affirmation of the firm’s sustained efforts toward excellence.”

Quarles & Brady attorneys were ranked as follows:

• Jean C. Baker – Intellectual Property
• David Beyer – Franchising
• Daniel E. Conley – Litigation: General Commercial
• John F Dienelt – Franchising
• Joseph A. Drazek – Environment (including water rights)
• Robert H. Duffy – Labor & Employment
• Steven P. Emerick – Corporate/M&A
• Mary N. Fertl – Real Estate
• Michael J. Fischer – Labor & Employment
• Diane Haller – Real Estate
• Patricia M. Hutter – Corporate/M&A
• Michael A. Jaskolski – Intellectual Property
• David B. Kern – Labor & Employment
• Janine Landow-Esser – Environment: Mainly Transactional
• Paul Langer – Insurance: Dispute Resolution
• Scott L. Langlois – Real Estate
• Ely A. Leichtling – Labor & Employment
• Don P. Martin – Litigation: General Commercial
• Adrianne Mazura – Labor & Employment
• Thomas P. McElligott – Natural Resources & Environment
• Robert Messerly – Real Estate
• Brian K. Moll – Corporate/M&A
• Roger Morris – Healthcare
• David P. Olson – Labor & Employment: Employee Benefits & Compensation
• Michael J. Ostermeyer – Real Estate
• Nancy K. Peterson – Natural Resources & Environment
• Jon E. Pettibone – Labor & Employment
• Jeffrey Piell – Labor & Employment
• Pamela M. Ploor – Labor & Employment
• Joseph E. Puchner – Real Estate
• Stephanie J. Quincy – Labor & Employment
• Robert D. Rothacker – Labor & Employment: Employee Benefits & Compensation
• John A. Rothstein – Litigation: General Commercial
• James A. Ryan – Litigation: General Commercial
• Donald Schott – Litigation: General Commercial
• Sean M. Scullen – Labor & Employment
• Walter J. Skipper – Corporate/M&A
• Derek L. Sorenson – Real Estate
• Grant S. Sovern – Labor & Employment: Immigration
• Peter Tomasi – Natural Resources & Environment
• Christopher Townsend – Energy & Natural Resources: Regulatory
• Arthur A. Vogel, Jr. – Natural Resources & Environment
• Ted Yi – Real Estate
• Michael D. Zeka – Real Estate

About Chambers USA

Chambers USA ranks attorneys and law firms based on reputation. Researchers spend six months speaking with clients and lawyers across the United States and conduct thousands of in-depth telephone interviews. Law firms and individual attorneys are then ranked based on the interviews. Ranking criteria includes technical legal ability, professional conduct, client service, commercial awareness and astuteness, diligence, commitment and other qualities most valued by clients. Inclusion in the guide is based solely on the research team’s findings. No one can buy their way in.

About Quarles & Brady LLP

Quarles & Brady is a full-service law firm with more than 475 attorneys offering an array of legal services to corporate and individual clients that range from small entrepreneurial businesses to Fortune 100 companies, with practice focuses in health care and life sciences, business law, data privacy and security, and complex litigation. The firm has offices in Chicago; Indianapolis; Madison; Milwaukee; Naples, Florida; Phoenix; Scottsdale; Tampa; Tucson; and Washington, D.C. Additional information can be found online at quarles.com, as well as on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

Dykema, a leading national law firm, announced that Gina Torielli has received the Barbara R. Smith Award from Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit for her role as a member of the Grand Bargain Mediation Team for the City of Detroit Bankruptcy. She and other team members were honored during the Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit’s Awards Luncheon on May 18, 2015 at the Detroit Athletic Club.

The Barbara R. Smith Award is given in recognition of those individuals who have made a significant community contribution to the Southeast Michigan region. The annual luncheon recognizes the volunteers, employers, trainees, leaders and businesses that are dedicated to putting Metro Detroit residents back to work.

Torielli is a Senior Counsel in Dykema’s Ann Arbor office. Her practice focuses on taxation and public finance, and in that capacity she has advised many nonprofit organizations and governmental entities on issues relating to tax exemption, tax-exempt financing and state and federal tax issues.

Beyond her practice, Torielli is very active with community organizations. Earlier this year, she was also awarded the United Way of Washtenaw County’s Volunteer of the Year award for her role serving as the organization’s volunteer site coordinator and trainer for its IRS-sanctioned Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program. She is also a board member of the Solar Circle, a non-profit organization which promotes solar power in Tanzania.

Goodwill works to enhance the dignity and quality of life of individuals and families by strengthening communities, eliminating barriers to opportunity, and helping people in need reach their full potential through learning and the power of work.

About Dykema

Dykema serves business entities worldwide on a wide range of complex legal issues. Dykema lawyers and other professionals in 15 U.S. offices work in close partnership with clients – from start-ups to Fortune 100 companies – to deliver outstanding results, unparalleled service and exceptional value in every engagement. To learn more, visit www.dykema.com and follow Dykema on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Dykema.

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DLA Piper announces that Earl Adams, Jr., of counsel in the firm’s Baltimore and Washington, DC offices, has been named a member of Bowie State University Board of Visitors.

The Bowie State University Board of Visitors serves as an advisory group that assists with the advancement of the university’s mission and vision. They work directly with the university president and provide feedback on the university’s initiatives and strategic direction.

In his law practice, Adams represents national clients before all branches of federal, state and local government, including various administrative agencies, and in development transactions involving public-private partnerships. Adams is active in a range of civic organizations, serving on the boards of the Seed School of Maryland and the Parks Foundation of Prince George’s County. He was also appointed by the Governor Maryland to be a director on the board of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. His other activities include serving on the 2008 Obama-Biden Transition Team for the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Boston College Law School National Alumni Assembly.

About DLA Piper

DLA Piper is a global law firm located in more than 30 countries throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East, positioning it to help companies with their legal needs around the world. In certain jurisdictions, this information may be considered attorney advertising.

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