Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C. is pleased to announce that Jared E. Hedman has joined the firm as counsel in its Intellectual Property practice group.

Hedman, a talented litigator with an engineering technology background, complements the IP group’s focus on experience, efficiencies and economics to guide clients in their day-to-day operations. He is based in Greensfelder’s Chicago office.

“Jared’s experience in a wide range of roles and industries will support our clients and help guide practical and business-driven solutions,” said Greensfelder President and CEO Kevin T. McLaughlin. “He is an outstanding addition to our IP practice and the firm as a whole.”

Hedman’s background includes an engineering technology degree and a consulting role in the food, beverage, personal care and distribution industries, and enables him to provide comprehensive counsel on complex technical matters and business and management strategies.

He has participated in multiple trials and arbitrations in federal venues with litigation involving patent, copyright and trademark transactions, trade secrets and breaches of contract. Client representation includes complex sectors, including medical, dental and surgical devices; telecommunications, smartphones and PDA communications systems; computer vision, processors and memory; filtration systems and gaming.

Before joining Greensfelder, Hedman founded a private practice, J.E. Hedman Law LLC, and practiced at several prominent national firms. He earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from Loyola University Chicago School of Law and his B.S., summa cum laude, in Engineering Technology from Northern Illinois University.

Eversheds Sutherland is pleased to announce that Alex A. Goldberg has joined the firm’s Energy Practice Group as senior counsel. With more than 30 years of experience in the energy industry, most recently as general counsel of Continuum Energy, LLC, previously known as Seminole Energy Services, LLC, Mr. Goldberg will advise clients in all matters of energy and energy regulation on the federal and state level.

“Alex brings the kind of deep energy industry experience to the table that perfectly complements our existing practice in this fast-moving regulatory landscape,” said Lino Mendiola, Co-Head of Global Energy at Eversheds Sutherland. “With so many changes on the horizon for the industry, his extensive knowledge and experience are an excellent fit for our practice.”

Mr. Goldberg counsels clients in all matters of energy and energy regulation as they relate to administrative and civil litigation management, federal and state regulatory issues related to rates, tariffs and certificate application, compliance, day-to-day and strategic transactions, company governance, investor and financial community communications, and strategy formulation.

Throughout his career, Mr. Goldberg has provided counsel on matters of energy regulation, including regulatory enforcement and compliance matters before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), state regulatory commissions, and federal and state courts, including significant administrative trial experience and appeals. He has extensive experience advising companies in the power marketing and transmission business and in the natural gas business from the wellhead to the burner tip. Mr. Goldberg has served as lead counsel in significant matters at FERC including interstate natural gas pipeline rate cases, and defending enforcement actions in both the power business and the natural gas business. He has also provided regulatory and general legal services related to crude oil and products pipelines and logistics businesses.

He advises his clients in these processes on a stand-alone basis and as they relate to crisis and litigation management, M&A, asset dispositions, commercial contracts, debt and equity financing, and joint venture formation, transactions, and operations.

Prior to joining Eversheds Sutherland, Mr. Goldberg was general counsel at a large privately held energy company and, prior to this, assistant general counsel at one of the nations’ largest publically held integrated energy companies where he led all legal activities associated with its energy marketing and trading subsidiary and corporate regulatory and litigation management. Prior to his in-house positions, Alex worked as an associate in a mid-sized DC law firm focused on the energy industry.

Mr. Goldberg is also the senior notes editor of the Energy Law Journal where he has been on the editorial board for many years.

About Eversheds Sutherland
As a global top 10 law practice, Eversheds Sutherland provides legal services to a global client base ranging from small and mid-sized businesses to the largest multinationals, acting for 70 of the Fortune 100, 61 of the FTSE 100 and 128 of the Fortune 200.

With more than 3,000 lawyers, Eversheds Sutherland operates in 74 offices in 35 jurisdictions across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States. In addition, a network of more than 200 related law firms, including formalized alliances in Latin America, Asia Pacific and Africa, provide support around the globe.

Eversheds Sutherland provides the full range of legal services, including corporate and M&A; dispute resolution and litigation; energy and infrastructure; finance; human capital and labor law; intellectual property; real estate and construction; and tax.

Eversheds Sutherland is a global legal practice and comprises two separate legal entities: Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP (headquartered in the UK) and Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP (headquartered in the US), and their respective controlled, managed, affiliated and member firms. The use of the name Eversheds Sutherland is for description purposes only and does not imply that the member firms or their controlled, managed or affiliated entities are in a partnership or are part of a global LLP. For more information, visit eversheds-sutherland.com.

Sidley Austin LLP is pleased to announce that Michael Devins has joined the firm as a partner in the New York office. Mr. Devins will be a member of the global Insurance practice, and will support clients in a wide range of domestic and international insurance and reinsurance industry transactions. Mr. Devins joins from Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, where he was a member of its Financial Institutions Group.

Mr. Devins is a leader in the insurance industry and has significant transactional experience, including representing private equity and other non-traditional investors in insurance companies and insurance related assets. For more than 20 years, he has worked in the insurance transactional space and has tremendous M&A and regulatory experience, including with reinsurance M&A transactions.

“Mike is a great addition because he has the skills to support, manage and execute a wide variety of transactions,” said Perry Shwachman, leader of Sidley’s global Insurance group and a member of the firm’s Management and Executive Committees. “Many of our lawyers have worked across from Mike and we all have great respect for the work he does representing his clients. We are thrilled that he has chosen Sidley to continue growing his practice.”

“Our M&A deal flow has continued to grow substantially,” said Jonathan Kelly co-leader of the firm’s Insurance practice and leader of the New York Insurance group. “Mike’s experience will immediately enhance our ability to offer the best client service and continue our expansion.”

Sidley’s multidisciplinary global Insurance practice has nearly four decades of experience and more than 85 lawyers that provide transactional and regulatory advice to the industry. It has been at the forefront of the formation and capitalization of new insurance companies, public and private debt and equity financings and complex insurance company investment transactions.

With 2,000 lawyers in 20 offices around the globe, Sidley is a premier legal adviser for clients across the spectrum of industries. Follow Sidley on Twitter @SidleyLaw.

Top 100 U.S. law firm Akerman LLP is pleased to announce that it has achieved Mansfield Plus Certification for 2021. The Mansfield Rule, widely considered a benchmark for law firm diversity, equity, and inclusion, measures law firms’ record of considering and appointing lawyers from underrepresented categories for leadership, partnership, and significant roles in client work.

“We are very proud that our firm has achieved this recognition from the Mansfield Rule arbiters, Diversity Lab,” said Chairman and CEO Scott Meyers. “It is central to our firm’s indelible commitment to true equality and inclusion throughout our ranks, and it is wonderful to be recognized for fostering an environment of inclusivity for our Akerman family,” he added.

The goal of the Mansfield Rule is to boost the representation of historically underrepresented lawyers in law firm leadership, Diversity Lab writes. “Now entering its fifth year, the Mansfield Rule has become the standard by which law firms track and measure that they have affirmatively considered at least 30 percent women, lawyers from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups, lawyers with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ lawyers for top leadership roles, senior-level lateral hiring, promotions into the equity partnership, and participation in client pitch meetings.”

Akerman’s Mansfield Rule certification follows closely on the firm’s ranking in August, 2021 among the Top 10 large law firms (of 600 or more lawyers) in Law360’s 2021 Diversity Snapshot. The firms on this list have the highest representation of minorities in their equity partnerships, and are outpacing their peers as the legal industry works towards increasing minority representation in their top ranks.

Akerman partner Pedro A. Freyre, Chair of the firm’s Equality and Inclusion Committee and Chair of its International Practice Group, said the certification “marks a great day for Akerman, and another indication that the firm is on the right path seeking, finding, promoting, and sustaining excellent lawyers from all backgrounds.

I am both honored and thrilled by the Mansfield Rule Certification result, much work remains to be done but the Mansfield certification is critical in measuring our progress” Freyre added.

Diversity Lab noted that all firms that meet or exceed the required Mansfield Rule Certification parameters, which are measured twice yearly through a data collection process and structured check-in meetings, are provided with an opportunity to send their newly promoted underrepresented partners to Client Forums to meet and learn from hundreds of influential legal department leaders.

About Akerman

Akerman LLP is a top 100 U.S. law firm recognized among the most forward thinking firms in the industry by Financial Times. Its more than 700 lawyers and business professionals collaborate with the world’s most successful enterprises and entrepreneurs to navigate change, seize opportunities, and help drive innovation and growth.

“Diversity continues to be a difficult concept for law firms to wrap their arms around, and to do so during a pandemic seemed all but impossible, but somehow, someway, they did it. More than 100 firms were able to deliver on their commitment to diversity during the worst of times, all thanks to,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above The Law.

“Back in 2017, the Diversity Lab came up with the idea to hold Biglaw firms accountable for their diversity goals by employing a program modeled after the NFL’s Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview a minority candidate for head coach or general manager vacancies. Here, the Mansfield rule named for Arabella Mansfield, the first.”

Read the article.

“Former Kontoor Brands NYSE. KTB Vice President and General Counsel Laurel Krueger has landed with another clothing company. a fashion retailer based in Columbus, Ohio, has named Krueger senior vice president, chief legal officer and corporate secretary. Krueger became the first C-suite,” reports Andy Warfield in The Business Journals.

“After joining Kontoor Brands in January 2019, Krueger played a key role in the company’s spinoff of the Lee and Wrangler brands from former parent company VF Corp. into an independent, publicly held company. She oversaw Kontoor’s legal functions, including compliance, corporate governance and mergers and acquisitions.”

Read the article.

“AbbVie faced no shortage of criticism and questioning over its decision to abandon its proposed $55 billion Shire buyout back in 2014. But after years of legal back-and-forth, the company has escaped one high-profile case from hedge funds that alleged the company misled them about its true,” reports Eric Sagonowsky in Fierce Pharma.

“When AbbVie unveiled its proposed Shire deal in July 2014, the company cited a “strong strategic rationale” for the move—not just the tax benefits of acquiring an Irish drugmaker. But shortly after the U.S. Treasury Department rolled out new rules in September 2014 to crack down on controversial so-called tax inversions, the company gave.”

Read the article.

“A legal battle against IBM accusing the company of failed performance on a project to upgrade Pennsylvania’s unemployment computer system resulted in a multi-million-dollar settlement in favor of the commonwealth. According to the settlement agreement obtained through a Right,” reports Jan Murphy in Pittsburgh Post Gazatte.

“IBM agreed to pay $33 million to the state Department of Labor & Industry to end the litigation filed in 2017. A department spokeswoman confirmed on Monday the settlement payment has been received. The department filed the lawsuit in Dauphin County Court after it paid IBM $170 million to modernize the system used to process.”

Read the article.

“In the latest episode of The Jabot podcast, I speak with Lindsay Cameron, author of the new thriller, Just One Look. The action in the book takes place against a backdrop of the most boring of legal work document review and the juxtaposition really works to heighten the stakes. I chat with Lindsay,” reports Kathryn Rubino in Above The Law.

“Her law degree as a great tool that opens up a lot of doors and opportunities. We also chat about her pivot to writing from her career in law. We discuss Lindsay’s process of writing her second novel and how different it is from the process of her first book. Lindsay also shares her advice for lawyers and legal professionals who are looking to.”

Read the article.

“The Pace Gallery LLC, a large contemporary and modern art gallery with outposts around the world, recently hired Halie Klein to be its general counsel. Klein, who spent the past seven years as a corporate associate at the law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher in New York disclosed her new in-house role at,” reports Brian Baxtor in Bloomberg Law.

“Her move comes amid Pace’s plans to expand into the realm of digital art and non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, with several projects in that space underway. Marc Glimcher, a veteran art dealer who serves as CEO of Pace, told Bloomberg News in July that digital art NFTs can be a transformative change for the art business. Pace accepts.”

Read the article.

“The Kansas Attorney General’s Office has agreed to pay the American Civil Liberties Union and other attorneys $1.9 million in fees and expenses for a five-year legal battle over an unconstitutional restriction on voter registrations. The high-profile lawsuit was filed 2016 in response to former Secretary,” reports Sherman Smith in Kansas Reflector.

“Kris Kobach’s signature law, which required residents to prove their citizenship before registering to vote. The law blocked more than 35,000 eligible voters from participating in elections. U.S. District Court Judge Julie Robinson held Kobach in contempt of court following his embarrassing performance in a 2018 trial. The judge determined.”

Read the article.

“Bayada, a national home health care company based in Moorestown, agreed to pay $17 million to settle allegations of illegal kickbacks in exchange for patient referrals, U.S. Justice Department officials said Wednesday. A whistleblower suit filed in New Jersey in 2017 alleged that,” reports Harold Brubaker in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

“three years earlier Bayada had acquired two home-health agencies in Arizona from an operator of retirement communities to induce referrals of Medicare beneficiaries for home health services at the seller’s retirement facilities nationwide. Details of the alleged kickbacks from early 2014 until October 2020 were not available because.”

Read the article.

Turner Padget is pleased to announce that Frank Stern, associate in the firm’s Greenville office, has been named as one of Greenville Business Magazine’s 2021 Best & Brightest 35 and Under – an elite group of young professionals who are making a difference in their workplace and community. Now in its 27th year, the annual Best & Brightest 35 and Under award celebrates the men and women who are rising stars in the Greenville business community. Stern will be honored at an event on September 23 at Southern Bleachery and is profiled in the September issue of Greenville Business Magazine. The full list of award recipients can be found here.

As a member of the Litigation Team, Stern served as first chair in nearly 20 jury trials – most of which have resulted in complete defense verdict trials. While the vast majority of cases filed in Greenville County never make it to the courtroom, he has led up to six jury trials each year for the last several years. Stern represents national insurance carriers, leading trucking and transportation companies, and other businesses in courtrooms across upstate South Carolina, including Greenville County. He focuses his practice on defending clients in insurance disputes; product liability, personal injury and premises liability suits; and construction litigation.

Stern co-chairs the firm’s Associate Committee. In this role, he organizes Continuing Legal Education programs and social events, mentors other associates, and serves as a liaison to the firm’s partner and Executive Committee.

Stern earned his undergraduate degree from Clemson University and his law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law.

Turner Padget exceeds expectations by taking your interests, your business and our relationships personally. Our depth of knowledge, technical strength and diverse experience makes us sharp, talented business thinkers able to see our clients’ needs holistically and get to the core of the problem quickly. As one of South Carolina’s largest law firms, Turner Padget has expanded into neighboring states with offices located in Augusta, Charleston, Columbia, Florence, Greenville and Myrtle Beach, along with strategic alliances in Florida and North Carolina. http://www.turnerpadget.com/

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Hanzo, a technology pioneer in preserving, collecting, reviewing, and exporting dynamic, complex collaboration and web-based data sources, today announced securing substantial investment from Recurring Capital Partners totaling $10.5 million.

Hanzo brings simplicity and control to legal and compliance teams over dozens of dynamic and complex data sources such as Slack, Google Workspace, Confluence, Jira, and Trello, among others. The company plans to invest significantly in product development to expand and enhance Hanzo’s easy-to-use collaboration application ediscovery and compliance platform.

“Remote working and enterprise collaboration applications that power many of the increasingly digital-first workplaces of today, have fundamentally changed the way we create, transmit, retain, and interact with information. Legal, compliance, HR, and security teams face significant challenges searching, analyzing, and identifying the vast volumes of information within these complex data sources, leading to enterprises collectively spending hundreds of millions managing discovery and compliance processes,” said Hanzo, CEO, Julien Masanès. “Hanzo’s mission is to simplify the complexity of managing this data so that companies can manage their risk affordably.”

Hanzo also intends to invest in its sales, marketing, and support organization to meet the enthusiastic market demand for a purpose-built ediscovery solution that simplifies workflows for complex data sources and streamlines access to vital data for early case assessment and efficient investigations.

Masanès, commented, “We were looking for a financing partner experienced with supporting the unique needs of SaaS enterprises and the flexibility to provide structured capital that aligns to our growing needs as we scale the company. Recurring Capital checked all the boxes.”

Hanzo’s announcement of growth funding comes amid its significant business momentum as collaboration application growth drives the adoption and use of Hanzo’s innovative technology. In recognition of this growth trajectory, Recurring Capital Partners, an investment firm specializing in flexible debt financing for technology-driven companies, has added Hanzo to its investment portfolio.

“Hanzo is an exciting company in the unstructured data management space known for its history of innovation and delighting customers by making the complex simple,” said Brian Henley, Managing Partner, at Recurring Capital Partners. “We are delighted to partner with the Hanzo team and supply them with growth capital to accelerate and scale their product and market initiatives.”

About Recurring Capital Partners
Recurring Capital Partners specializes in growth capital for Software as a Service (SaaS) and other recurring revenue model technology-driven companies. Our team, advisors, and investors combine significant operating experience with growth-stage investing expertise to drive a focus on results founders and management teams care about: accelerating growth, controlling business and personal risks, and maximizing personal equity stakes. https://www.recurring.capital/

About Hanzo
Hanzo brings context and a greater understanding of enterprise data to corporate legal and compliance teams by providing in-house control over dynamic and collaborative data sources. This control allows organizations to reduce billions of dollars in risk, litigation, and compliance costs and elevate their corporate legal and regulatory compliance responses. Hanzo’s software empowers defensible preservation, targeted collection, and efficient review of dynamic content from enterprise collaboration applications and complex websites. Hanzo is SOC 2® Type 2 certified, demonstrating its commitment to data security and serves large corporations worldwide. Learn more at hanzo.co and follow updates on Twitter: @gethanzo or on LinkedIn.

The International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC) has announced that Thomas J. Forestier, a shareholder at Winstead PC in Houston, Texas, has accepted an invitation to join the IADC, the preeminent invitation-only global legal organization for attorneys who represent corporate and insurance interests.

“I am honored and humbled to be invited to join this group of outstanding and accomplished lawyers,” Mr. Forestier said. “I look forward to being an active member of the IADC and building lasting relationships with my fellow members.”

Mr. Forestier focuses his practice on business, energy, eminent domain and land use, and first amendment/media defense litigation.

Mr. Forestier is a member and past chair of the board of directors of Wesley Community Center, and a board member for the Hispanic Bar Association of Houston, from which he received its Lifetime Achievement Award. He is a past board chair for Northwest Assistance Ministries, the Houston Golf Association, and the Houston Club, and a former trustee for the Lone Star College System. He is a past recipient of the Texas Minority Counsel Program (TMCP) Trailblazer Outside Counsel of the Year Award. The State Bar of Texas and the TMCP established the Trailblazer Outside Counsel of the Year Award to recognize an outside counsel who has consistently supported the TMCP’s goals of diversity and inclusion.

Mr. Forestier received his J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law and his Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

About the International Association of Defense Counsel
The IADC is the preeminent invitation-only global legal organization for attorneys who represent corporate and insurance interests. Founded in 1920, the IADC has members who hail from six continents, 51 countries and territories, and all 50 U.S. states. The core purposes of the IADC are to enhance the development of skills, promote professionalism, and facilitate camaraderie among its members and their clients, as well as the broader civil justice community. For more information, visit www.iadclaw.org.

Singapore is ranked the top jurisdiction for multinational companies to base subsidiaries or ‘entities’ from a governance and regulatory standpoint, according to an inaugural report ranking over 160 jurisdictions globally on both the cost and speed of doing business.

The Mercator Entity Management (MEM) Report 2021 outlines the challenges that business leaders, General Counsels and corporate secretarial teams face in countries where multinationals with global portfolios have their entities. It includes the busiest regions in terms of regulatory activity, the average cost of regulating entities in each jurisdiction and the overall time taken to complete activities (click here to download the report). The rankings are based on data from Mercator®’s proprietary Global Entity Portfolio Management (GEPM) platform, Entica™, which holds data on thousands of entities globally – down to the number of hours it takes for regulatory filings.

Singapore was followed closely by Australia and the United Kingdom as the most favourable jurisdictions. The report highlights that all three have the ideal combination of low cost levels and shorter timeframes for completing a range of regulatory activities such as Board of Director/ shareholder decisions, officer changes and Power of Attorney activities. Kazakhstan had the lowest ranking, with South Korea as the next lowest, followed by Indonesia; all have a combination of relatively higher cost levels, and less competitive timeframes or ‘duration’.

Kariem Abdellatif, Head of Mercator, said: “It should be noted that the purpose of this inaugural report is not to advise multinationals on where to base entities or subsidiaries – this is obviously dictated by necessity – but to set expectation and provide foresight on the relative cost and time it will take to manage entities in each jurisdiction.

“Singapore, Australia and the United Kingdom are all global financial centres with a long-established history of managing international trade, and this translates into the ease with which multinationals can manage entities in these locations. Interestingly, Singapore is often cited for its government’s efforts in working with businesses and industry partners to step up their resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic and this is no doubt reflected in its ranking.

“We hope this data will assist multinational companies in serving as a benchmark for their company secretarial expenditure and efficiency in operating globally; it may also serve as a useful practical guide when setting up new overseas entities in their structure.”

The report shows that while Europe has the highest number of entities overall – based on client portfolios featured on Entica™ – activity per entity is comparable to the Middle East and North America. Europe is followed by APAC, which has half as many entities based there – but these have an overall activity rate of almost two-thirds that of European levels. APAC was also the top region overall on cost and duration.

The cost of operating in different regions is affected by factors including the complexity of local legislation and the language requirements for filings; for example, relatively high prices in the LATAM region are influenced by higher local professional costs due to complex procedures and requirements for documents to be in the local language. Subsequently, translations and legalizations for bilingual documents need to be arranged.

Mercator is named after Gerardus Mercator (1512- 1594), a cartographer most famous for the “Mercator Projection” – regarded as the greatest advance ever made in marine cartography; it facilitated navigation on trans-oceanic voyages and played a significant role in shaping global trade today. As the trans-oceanic merchants of the past are the multinational conglomerates of the present, Mercator aims to provide them with the metrics they require to manage their global portfolio of entities.

Perkins Coie is pleased to announce that Belinda E. Nixon has joined the firm’s Technology Transactions & Privacy Law practice and Communications industry group as a partner in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office.

Belinda joins Perkins Coie from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) where she served as the deputy division chief of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau’s Competition and Infrastructure Policy Division which develops and implements competition and infrastructure policies to support the deployment of commercial wireless networks and services.

“The communications industry is rapidly evolving, and is at the forefront of many emerging and disruptive new technologies that are sweeping the economy and attracting billions of dollars of new investment,” said Justin Moon, the firmwide chair of Perkins Coie’s Technology Transactions & Privacy Law practice. “Belinda has played a critical role in this industry transformation, helping to guide government policy with respect to wireless infrastructure, 5G, and broadband deployments, and she will be able to offer insightful and effective legal counsel to our clients. We are excited to add her to our growing Chambers USA-ranked communications industry-focused cohort in the Washington, D.C., office.”

As a senior FCC attorney, Belinda provided strategic counsel and guidance on wireless telecommunications infrastructure policy to FCC commissioners and agency leaders. She also oversaw and worked on FCC reviews of media mergers and acquisitions, regulatory and enforcement proceedings, and infrastructure deployment policies with respect to National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements.

“Belinda’s impressive background at the FCC and deep understanding of government oversight will benefit our clients in navigating a complex business and regulatory environment,” said Bruce Spiva, Perkins Coie’s Washington, D.C., managing partner. “Her understanding of the communications and media industries will help us to continue to provide our clients with both effective and valuable legal counsel.”

Belinda joined the FCC as an attorney advisor in 1996 after working as an attorney for Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman. She holds a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, and a B.A. in international relations from Stanford University.

Perkins Coie is a leading international law firm that is known for providing high value, strategic solutions and extraordinary client service on matters vital to our clients’ success. With more than 1,200 lawyers in offices across the United States and Asia, we provide a full array of corporate, commercial litigation, intellectual property, and regulatory legal advice to a broad range of clients, including many of the world’s most innovative companies and industry leaders as well as public and not-for-profit organizations.

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is pleased to announce that Connie Lewis Lensing has been selected to Corporate Counsel’s 2021 Women, Influence and Power in Law Awards as an honoree in the Lifetime Achievement – Law Firm category.

“Connie’s career has been an exceptional example of innovation, mentorship and service, and we are proud of her recognition in this prestigious list of women being honored by Corporate Counsel,” said Bradley Nashville Office Managing Partner Lauren B. Jacques.

The Women, Influence and Power in Law Awards recognize individuals who have demonstrated a commitment to advancing the empowerment of women in law, while the Lifetime Achievement award recognizes women who have made a lasting mark on the legal profession throughout their years of hard work. The honorees will be recognized as part of Corporate Counsel’s Women, Influence & Power in Law Conference in Washington, D.C. in October.

Ms. Lensing is a member of Bradley’s Nashville office and is a nationally recognized litigator. She is the vice chair of the Board of Directors and chair of the Executive Committee of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Legal Reform, the organization’s primary policy advocacy body. Ms. Lensing is also a member of the Boards of Directors and Executive Committees for Lawyers for Civil Justice and for the National Civil Rights Museum.

Prior to joining Bradley, Ms. Lensing worked for almost 30 years for FedEx Express as a senior vice president responsible for U.S. litigation and led the company’s Environmental, Risk Management and Compliance groups within the legal department. She pioneered the “in-housing” of all litigation and trial responsibility for corporate legal departments and was recognized for her corporate innovation during her tenure with the company.

About Bradley
Bradley combines skilled legal counsel with exceptional client service and unwavering integrity to assist a diverse range of corporate and individual clients in achieving their business goals. With offices in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and the District of Columbia, the firm’s nearly 550 lawyers represent regional, national and international clients in various industries, including banking and financial services, construction, energy, healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing, real estate, and technology, among many others.

The 25th anniversary of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) underscores the critical importance for healthcare organizations to modernize their contract lifecycle management (CLM) practices by replacing manual, document-centric processes with dynamic, data-driven, and secure cloud-based solutions. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, 96% of American health systems reported either not having a contract management system and entirely using manual processes or having an outdated and inadequate system to address value-based care. In healthcare, contracts are integral to employment, care transfer, technology licensing, experimental treatments, confidentiality, and telehealth, among others, and the average healthcare organization might have tens of thousands of contracts covering multiple departments and facilities, as well as payers, providers, and other third parties. The manual approaches to contract management that many healthcare organizations currently use are not only highly inefficient and costly, but they also put those same organizations at risk.

Contract Logix, a leading provider of data-driven contract management software, has fifteen years of experience working with healthcare providers including hospitals, mental health organizations and skilled nursing facilities to digitally streamline and automate the way they manage patient, payer, provider, and facilities contracts, as well as satisfy new and existing regulatory compliance requirements. Over the past 12-months, the company has seen a rapid increase in the number of contracts and documents, digital contract requests, completed tasks, and automatic workflows triggered by its healthcare provider customers.

The Contract Logix CLM platform empowers healthcare organizations to digitize all contracts and contracting processes and get complete visibility into contract types such as Business Associate Agreements (BAAs), Statements of Work (SOWs), and Physician Participation Agreements with advanced search, reporting, and analytics. This data-driven approach gives healthcare providers actionable insights that can be used to track key performance indicators (KPIs), medical fee schedules, coding, and other billing and contract requirements.
The platform’s robust automation and security features address key healthcare privacy needs by ensuring compliance with internal business processes and external regulatory requirements such as HIPAA, Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH), and Medicare billing. Automated workflows efficiently follow business rules for contract approvals, automated alerts eliminate missed contract obligations and dates, and automated document versioning accurately track contract revisions and changes. The platform’s security-first approach safeguards all contract-related patient, vendor, and provider data from unauthorized access via role-based and feature-based permissions with critical certifications including SOC 2 Type II and HIPAA.

“Moore County Hospital District is committed to putting patients first by delivering high quality care. It’s critical that our business processes such as contract management are modern, efficient, and compliant, so that this can happen,” said Cody McCutchan, Risk Manager, Moore County Hospital District. “The ease, intelligence, and automation of Contract Logix’s platform as well as the company’s approach to customer service has allowed us to digitally transform our CLM and focus on high-value activities while assuring compliance and minimizing risk.”

Eastman & Smith LTD is pleased to announce the expansion of the firm’s medical malpractice and professional liability practices with the addition of Elizabeth (Lisa) E. Baer, Laurie J. Avery, Garrick O. White, and Charles E. Hatch in the firm’s Toledo office. Baer, White, and Hatch joined effective September 1, 2021; Avery will join effective October 1, 2021.

“We are excited to welcome Lisa, Laurie, Garrick, and Charles to the firm,” said Fadi V. Nahhas, chair of Eastman & Smith’s Executive Committee. “They will help the firm to continue to provide our health care and other professional services clients with the highest level of legal services and contribute to a substantial expansion of our Medical Malpractice and Professional Liability groups. These additions are a direct result of the firm’s strategic focus on improving and expanding our full-service market capabilities and enhancing the depth and breadth of our market reach.”

With more than 25 years of experience, primarily in the area of medical malpractice defense, Baer focuses her practice on litigation, claims management, and insurance defense for physicians of varying specialties, nurses, hospitals, rehabilitation facilities, and nursing homes. She was most recently an attorney at Lyden, Chappell & Dewhirst, Ltd. Baer received her J.D. from the University of Toledo College of Law and her B.A. from Michigan State University.

Avery has successfully defended clients in matters including employment discrimination, legal and medical malpractice, and commercial premises liability, among others. She also frequently lectures on employment law, professional liability, and technology topics. After spending 23 years at Reminger Co., Avery most recently was a commercial docket staff attorney with the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas. She received her J.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Law and her B.A. from the University of Rochester.

White focuses his practice on civil litigation involving claims of medical malpractice in federal and state courts throughout Ohio and Michigan. For more than 20 years, he also has represented clients in the transportation, insurance, and construction industries. His experience includes handling complex and sensitive matters such as wrongful death, employment injuries, and sexual misconduct. Prior to joining the firm, White worked in-house at an insurance company and in private practice at Anspach Meeks Ellenberger, LLP. White received his J.D. from the University of Toledo College of Law and his B.A. from Albion College.

Hatch focuses his practice on the defense of professional, product and general liability claims and commercial litigation. He clerked for Judge Stacy L. Cook of the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas. Prior to his law career, Hatch worked in the criminal justice system as a corrections officer and a probation officer. He received his J.D. from the University of Toledo College of Law and his B.Sc. from the University of Toledo.

The firm’s medical malpractice and professional liability attorneys, including Stephen E. Chappelear, M. Charles Collins, Robert J. Gilmer, Jr., Reginald S. Jackson, Jr., Jared J. Lefevre, Adam S. Nightingale, James F. Nooney, Rudolph A. Peckinpaugh, Jr., Michael W. Regnier, and Mark W. Sandretto, serve clients throughout Ohio and Southeast Michigan in state and federal courts, administrative agencies, and the licensing boards of both states. They regularly defend physicians of all specialties and other health care practitioners against malpractice and wrongful death actions, as well as before state boards in licensing and disciplinary matters. The attorneys also defend health care institutions – including hospitals, nursing homes, and mental health providers – against medical and general negligence claims and advise these institutions on a variety of risk management issues, ranging from best practices to peer review to credentialing activities. In addition, the group defends attorneys and other non-health care professionals against professional negligence claims.

About Eastman & Smith Ltd.
Founded in 1844, Eastman & Smith is a leading consultant, counselor, and advocate on personal, business, nonprofit and governmental challenges. Client satisfaction. Reliability. Innovation. Creative approach to problem-solving. These are cornerstones of Eastman & Smith. The firm’s 75+ dedicated attorneys serve clients from offices in Columbus, Findlay and Toledo, Ohio, and Detroit, Michigan. For more information, visit the firm’s website at https://www.eastmansmith.com.