“The Surfside collapse litigation reached an almost $1 billion settlement, a landmark development in the court battle to bring some justice to the families of the 98 people who died less than a year ago. The milestone agreement follows weeks of mediation between attorneys for the plaintiffs and the slew,” reports Katherine Kallergis in The Real Deal.

“The parties sued over allegedly contributing to the deadly collapse of Champlain Towers South last summer. The settlement is for $997 million, although it could exceed $1 billion as negotiations continue with one remaining defendant. More than 25 entities and companies opted to settle the suit, including the Terra-led development team.”

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“Could the person who leaked U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s draft abortion opinion be charged with a crime?,” reports Debra Cassens Weiss in ABA Journal.

“It’s possible, even though the Espionage Act wouldn’t apply, say experts who wrote for Bloomberg Law and spoke with Reuters, Wired, PolitiFact and the Washington Post. That law applies to classified information, and a court opinion is not classified.”

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“I used to look out at the Hudson from the window of my beautiful office at a Biglaw firm in Manhattan and pinch myself, not believing that I had made it. As a young associate, I had a passion for making connections and building relationships. I quickly realized that such skills would set me up for success,” reports Jill Woods in Above The Law.

“I was newly married and had just bought a house in the suburbs without any kids.  Before I took the job, my husband and I had a serious conversation, where we candidly discussed what our future would look like if I took this job and if we started a family. I would be over an hour away from our kids, and my husband would be the one.”

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“Podium, a communication and payments platform for local businesses, announced today that it has hired Mariam Sattar as its first-ever general counsel. In this newly created role, Mariam will be responsible for running Podium’s legal department. She will be a member of Podium’s executive team and report,” reports PR Newswire in their blog.

“Mariam brings extensive legal expertise to Podium with nearly two decades of experience in the legal field, working in areas such as securities, M&A, finance and corporate governance. She comes to Podium from Twilio, where she was Vice President of Legal, Corporate. Prior to Twilio, she was Senior Corporate Counsel at Atlassian.”

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“A national plaintiffs’ firm on Wednesday asked a U.S. appeals court in California to uphold a nearly $80 million legal-fee award that was part of a $310 million settlement resolving class claims over the performance of certain Apple Inc iPhones. In the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals,” reports Mike Scarcella in Reuters.

“Mark Molumphy of Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy spurned objectors’ allegations that the attorneys’ fee award, which was 26% of the settlement, was too high, depriving the class of tens of millions of dollars, and other claims over the settlement notice process. U.S. District Judge Edward Davila in San Jose, California, held two days of hearings.”

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“In a surprisingly swift resolution of the Champlain Towers South class-action lawsuit, relatives of the victims and survivors of the Surfside condo collapse have reached a settlement that will pay them nearly $1 billion, a state court judge was told Wednesday. The comprehensive settlement announced,” reports Linda Robertson in Miami Herald.

“The comprehensive settlement announced in Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Michael Hanzman’s courtroom effectively closes the litigation phase of the case. Still to be decided: the individual shares the plaintiffs, including family members of the 98 people who died in the collapse, will receive. We have gotten $997 million in proposed.”

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“The term “digital transformation” often gets thrown around in our ever-changing business environment. It’s a catch-all term that describes new and emerging digital technologies to improve business processes, achieve higher efficiencies, and satisfy customers.,” reports Devin Partida in Forbes.

“Most customers expect companies to have a strong digital presence through means such as social media platform posting, a website, and quality content. However, as digital technology becomes more widely used, it can open up businesses to compliance issues.”

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“This may sound hard to believe, but some Biglaw firms are still matching Cravath. We’re not talking about Am Law 200 firms here; we’re talking about worldwide heavy hitters ranked near the tippy top of the Am Law 100. So, which firm is just now getting around to offering market compensation? That,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above The Law.

“It would be Norton Rose Fulbright — a firm ranked at #14 in the most recent Am Law 100, after bringing in $2,100,000,000 gross revenue in 2021. The firm recently notified associates that it would, in fact, be matching the prevailing Cravath salary scale. Sources at the firm tell us that their raises quietly went into effect a few weeks ago.”

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“General Mills Inc. named Karen Wilson Thissen as its new general counsel on Tuesday. Wilson Thissen will take over the position from Richard Allendorf, who is expected to retire in August. Karen brings a proven track record of strategic thinking and global experience which is critical for General,” reports Naasir Akailvi in Business Journal.

“Karen’s sophisticated global legal experience will help move us forward across the many geographies we are honored to serve. And above all, her passion for developing people and culture makes her a natural addition to our team. Wilson Thissen began her career at law firm Faegre & Benson now Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath before.”

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“Keith Cooper, who spent more than eight years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of an armed robbery in Elkhart, announced Wednesday he will receive $7.5 million in a settlement agreement with the city. The city’s settlement with Cooper is the largest amount paid to a plaintiff in,” reports Marek Mazurek in South Bend Tribune.

“The record-breaking settlement follows a series of other wrongful conviction proceedings and lawsuits in Elkhart. Cooper’s co-defendant in the 1996 robbery, Christopher Parish, was exonerated and awarded nearly $5 million in a 2014 settlement. In March, Andrew Royer filed a lawsuit saying police and prosecutors coerced him into a false.”

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“Apple is preparing to pay out $14.8 million as part of a settlement of a class-action lawsuit that alleged the company stored iCloud subscribers’ data on third-party servers without informing them. The free version of Apple iCloud comes with 5GB of storage, but additional space requires a paid iCloud Plus,” reports Dan Avery in CNET.

“Plaintiffs in Williams v. Apple alleged that Apple made no mention of outside servers in its marketing materials or terms and conditions. The current iCloud customer agreement does refer to third-party servers. Though Apple did not admit to wrongdoing, the company agreed to the settlement in January. A final approval hearing.”

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“Senior executives at USAA ignored warnings from compliance staff and consultants for years regarding multiple violations of U.S. federal banking laws and “intentionally” hid from regulators the scope of the company’s illegal practices, a former USAA compliance officer turned whistleblower told Compliance Week,” reports Jaclyn Jaeger in Compliance Week.

“The $225 million in combined civil penalties USAA has received, to date—$85 million in 2020 and $140 million in March—from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) for compliance failures could portend more enforcement activity to come, the whistleblower suggested.”

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Stinson Partner Michelle Corrigan Erikson and attorney Renee Henson successfully defended their client, Safariland LLC, maker of law enforcement body armor, in product liability claims asserted against it in St. Louis, Missouri. A 12-person jury found that Safariland was not responsible for a former police officer’s paralysis suffered when he was shot in the line of duty.

Plaintiffs brought a lawsuit, Michael Vernon v. Ed Roehr Safety Products and Safariland Group, LLC, in St. Louis County Circuit Court against Safariland on a product liability matter regarding a bullet-resistant vest, claiming negligence, failure to warn and design defects. In defense, Corrigan Erikson and Henson presented evidence that showed that the Safariland product met all industry standards, contained appropriate warnings for all potential hazards, and did not cause the injuries claimed by plaintiffs. After 90 minutes of deliberation, a St. Louis County jury ruled in favor of Safariland, rejecting the plaintiffs’ claim that the product was defective and the cause of the officer’s paralysis.

“A case like this is obviously very difficult. The plaintiff police officer was doing his job and unfortunately suffered this tragic injury in the line of duty,” Corrigan Erikson said. “It’s terrible, but I am confident that it was not our client’s fault. Our client’s product did not contribute to the officer’s injury, nor could it have prevented his injury given the way he was shot.”

Safariland, pleased with outcome of the trial, said that Corrigan Erikson and Henson were “great representatives” of the company. “In their work and trial presentation, they reflected our company’s values, integrity, curiosity, excellence and servant leadership. I am truly grateful that we had such great people, not just great lawyers, as our public voice in the trial.”

Additional Stinson personnel involved in this matter include attorneys Alexander Barrett and Joyce Kim, paralegals Judy Bradley and Dianna Rodenburg, and eDiscovery and Practice Support consultant Robin Ferrell.

Corrigan Erikson has 25 years of experience in the area of product liability, including claims involving consumer products, children’s products, and industrial products, as well as in general business litigation. She has successfully represented manufacturers and distributors of a wide range of products in litigation involving claims of personal injuries and property damages. She also represents many clients in federal and state regulatory matters related to consumer products and children’s products.

Henson focuses her practice on products liability litigation, complex commercial litigation, and intellectual property litigation. She works with a broad array of clients, including manufacturers, distributers, commercial liability insurers, industrial commodity merchandisers and private equity firms.

“It will be beneficial for companies making decisions such as estimating the market demand for technologies and materials, making expansion and upgrade plans for existing facilities, deciding on investments in renewable energy sectors, etc. This report deals intensively with power generation through,” reports Yahoo Finance in their blog.

“The scope of this report is intentionally broad. We cover the major sources of renewable energy as primary fuels—hydroelectric, wind, solar, geothermal, oceanic sources (wave, tidal and thermal), bioenergy, and focus on liquid biofuels for transportation. There is no shortage in the marketplace of reports on each source. However.”

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“The WNBA is back for its 26th season and this year looks poised to be one of its most intriguing campaigns in recent memory. The Chicago Sky edged past the Las Vegas Aces to claim its first time in franchise history last season. Kahleah Copper won Finals MVP, Candace Parker shed tears and the,” reports David Suggs in The Sporting News.

“It was a summer filled with transactions: the Sparks added Liz Cambage and Katie Lou Samuelson, reinvigorating a talented squad; Diamond DeShields joined Phoenix, adding to the Mercury’s impressive depth. And guard Rhyne Howard went No. 1 overall to the Atlanta Dream. The W has continued to steadily grow in popularity over the year.”

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“The 2022 NFL Draft has come and gone. Now that teams have claims on players they’ve selected throughout the three-day spectacle in Las Vegas, they’ll now head to the negotiating table to hammer out their rookie contracts. Of course, these negotiations are unlike those from over a decade ago when Sam,” reports Tyler Sullivan in CBS Sports.

Sauce Gardner Contract

“Bradford was inking a $78 million deal with $50 million guaranteed after being the first overall pick. Now, thanks to a new CBA, rookie contracts are a lot more tied to the player’s slotted draft position and there really isn’t too much to be negotiated. That said, it is notable when the two sides do come to terms on what is a fully guaranteed deal.”

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“Consumer contracts and privacy policies are inaccessible, long, complex, and tedious. It is not surprising that very few people read contracts let alone understand them before signing them or clicking I accept. This so called no reading problem poses a fundamental challenge for understand,” reports Samuel Becher in The Regulatory Review.

“Scholars have written long volumes on the no-reading problem. Worried about the potential for abuse and exploitation, scholars and policymakers have devised various interventions. Proposals include banning specific egregious terms, mandating that key terms be conspicuous, labeling and ranking contracts and privacy policies.”

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“Disproportionate attrition of female attorneys in Biglaw is hardly a new problem. As a 2019 ABA and ALM report on the issue noted, entering associate classes have been comprised of approximately 45% women for several decades. Indeed, at five of the top 20 Am Law firms (by gross revenue), female,” reports Lauren Smith in Above The Law.

“But when it comes to partnerships, representation of women is substantially lower. Among those top 20 Am Law firms, here are the four with the greatest proportion of female partners. Ropes & Gray is the standout performer, as the only top 20 firm with greater than 30% female representation in its partnership. Interestingly, unlike the other.”

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“Target Corp. said Thursday it’s promoting senior vice president Matthew Zabel to executive vice president and general counsel as the company seeks continued growth in the face of rising wages and higher freight costs. Zabel, a former Justice Department lawyer and chief of staff to Sen. John Thune,” reports Brian Baxter in Bloomberg Law.

“In his new role, Zabel will be a member of the senior leadership team and oversee legal operations at the company, according to Target. Zabel’s promotion follows the company’s forecast in March for an operating profit increase, defying Wall Street expectations for declines in that metric. Target also said it would add $300 million in wage.”

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“Last Friday, app developers engaged in a class action with Apple Inc. concerning allegations that the company maintains unfair leverage as the sole iOS app intermediary, standing between developers and customers, pushed for final approval of their $100 million settlement. The motion said that so far,” reports Christina Tabacco in Law Street.

“The administrator has received about 8,200 claims of the 67,440 application developer accounts identified, only one class member has objected, and Apple’s concerns about counsel’s fee request are misguided. Last November, the court granted preliminary approval to the settlement, which he parties agreed to while class certification briefing.”

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