Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is pleased to announce that Stephanie C. Gaston, a partner in the firm’s Houston office, has been elected as a Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation.

Founded in 1965, the Texas Bar Foundation is the largest charitably funded bar foundation in the country and is dedicated to assisting the public and improving the profession of law. Fellows are elected based on outstanding professional achievements and a demonstrated commitment to the improvement of the justice system throughout Texas.

“We are proud of Stephanie for her election to this position which is a testament to her professionalism and her dedication to the practice of law,” said Bradley Houston Office Managing Partner Ian P. Faria.

Ms. Gaston focuses her practice on resolving labor and employment matters for private employers, public entities and nonprofits. She also represents school districts and governmental entities. An experienced counselor and litigator, Ms. Gaston regularly defends companies facing discrimination, harassment, retaliation, class actions, and other claims under federal, state, and local laws, including the Fair Labor Standards Act, Title VII, ADA, FMLA, USERRA, and the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act. She is a member of the State Bar of Texas, the Texas Young Lawyers Association, and the American and Houston Bar Associations. In 2020, Ms. Gaston was recognized in Benchmark Litigation as a “Labor & Employment Star” and in Lawdragon 500 among the Leading U.S. Corporate Employment Lawyers.

IPRO Acquires Amsterdam-based ZyLAB, Industry’s Most Advanced eDiscovery and Legal Hold SaaS Provider

Combined company to offer AI-driven, real-time hold-in-place and search-in-place eDiscovery and Information Governance Platform.

TEMPE, Ariz., and AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands, July 7, 2021 — IPRO, the market leader in predictive eDiscovery and Information Governance software solutions for corporations, government agencies, and legal partners, is proud to announce the acquisition of ZyLAB, creators of the ZyLAB ONE and ZyLAB Legal Hold products. The combination provides IPRO’s clients with extended capabilities in legal hold automation, advanced analytics, and cloud capabilities.

ZyLAB’s fully automated notifications and custodian acknowledgements mitigate against accidental data loss and evidence spoliation. With this acquisition, IPRO now delivers early data assessment (EDA) with real-time, hold-in-place data preservation. This simplifies legal and compliance processes, resulting in the seamless automation of organizational information governance.
“This is a truly exciting next step for IPRO and our customers,” said Dean Brown, CEO of IPRO. “Joining forces with the incredible team of people at ZyLAB enables us to provide uniquely innovative product capabilities AND expand our geographic footprint in Europe and the UK. With this acquisition, we are even better positioned to deliver upstream solutions to help our clients and partners manage the risks and costs associated with the continued growth of their unstructured data and legal discovery costs.”
According to the 2021 Market Guide for E-Discovery Solutions, Gartner found that “Organizations are using e-discovery software vendor and service provider offerings that “extend left” in the Electronic Discovery Reference Model to establish proactive information governance.” Integrating ZyLAB’s best-of-breed Legal Hold and analytics solutions directly within the IPRO governance and eDiscovery platform will provide clients with the most flexible, scalable, and powerful Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) workflow in the legal industry.
“Founded in 1983, ZyLAB’s software has been battled tested in some of the largest corporate fraud investigations and government inquiries and was deployed during the historic international war crime tribunals. ZyLAB has been working on large scale Data Science in eDiscovery, especially with the contributions of Professor Johannes (Jan) Scholtes, who has been involved with the company since 1988,” said ZyLAB CEO, Dennis van der Veeke. “We chose IPRO, after considering all major players on the market, because of its commitment to innovation, security, and customer success.”
In Europe, ZyLAB will continue operations using the well-respected and recognized ZyLAB brand. As a Netherlands registered corporation, ZyLAB will continue to respect all EU’s rules regarding data jurisdiction and sovereignty, for on-premises software and cloud-based or hosted solutions. ZyLAB key product development will remain based in The Netherlands, and all European sales and support operations will remain unchanged.

ParkerGale Capital, a Chicago-based investment firm that acquired IPRO in 2017, provided new capital to execute on the ZyLAB acquisition. Marks Baughan served as exclusive financial advisor to ZyLAB and IPRO. DLA Piper served as legal advisor to ZyLAB, while Kirkland & Ellis and De Brauw served as legal advisors to IPRO.

This is IPRO’s third major investment in recent years. Its earlier acquisitions include NetGovern, an Information Governance solution, and inData, a trial and deposition management solution. The result is an industry-leading solution for customers combining AI powered information governance, legal hold, and eDiscovery solutions.

Foley & Lardner LLP, an international law firm with 1,100 lawyers in 24 offices, together with Boys & Girls Clubs of America, is proud to announce today that it has signed a national partnership supporting the youth development organization’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts, rooted in its commitment to promoting safe, positive and inclusive environments for all. Foley is the first law firm to partner with Boys & Girls Clubs of America on a national scale.

Together as partners and thought leaders, Foley and Boys & Girls Clubs of America will elevate the powerful message of diversity, equity and inclusion, and activate the potential of kids, Clubs and communities to build more inclusive and equitable futures.

Through Foley’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, the firm committed to provide outreach to the communities in which the firm practices, with a focus on providing support to advance equity for Black communities that have been historically under-resourced. All of Foley’s 21 offices across the United States will partner and engage with their local Clubs on initiatives that include mentoring, read-aloud programs, school supply drives and playground improvement projects.

This national partnership builds on and continues the work that Foley and Boys & Girls Clubs of America have been doing regionally together for the last few years.

Through this partnership with Foley, Boys & Girls Clubs of America will advance its diversity, equity and inclusion initiative, which offers inclusive and culturally relevant programs and resources that help nurture and elevate youth voices. The initiative includes a focus on racial equity as an imperative effort to reach its overall vision.

In addition to the direct work with the children, Foley also engages in pro bono work for Boys & Girls Clubs of America on legal matters, including human resources and employment, real estate and corporate non-profit issues that will allow local Clubs to offer more programs to a broader range of children.

“For corporate law departments, doing more with less became a pandemic-era cliche, as many faced the combination of increasing legal challenges and reduced organizational revenue. While this led to a heightened focus on legal operations in 2020, a new survey shows that it also failed to slow the continued rise of Biglaw billing rates,” reports Jeremy Barker in Above The Law.

“The report also showed the 50 largest firms again taking a commanding share of this work, with 49 of outside counsel spending going to this group. The report wasn’t all bad news for budget-conscious GCs, however. The use of alternative fee arrangements also continued its steady growth for corporate counsel, with 16.8 of matters having a billing arrangement not entirely composed of hourly billing.”

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“Today Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx announced the hire of Suzanne Spellacy as the organization’s new General Counsel. In her role, Spellacy will oversee areas related to and involving risk management, employment law, contract negotiations, dispute resolution, and league rules and regulations. Spellacy will also play a pivotal role in the planned transition of ownership,” reports Timberwolves PR in Minnesota Timberwolves.

“We are thrilled to welcome Suzanne to the Pack, Said Timberwolves and Lynx CEO Ethan Casson. She brings a wealth of legal expertise and institutional knowledge to our organization during a very exciting time. Spellacy’s career includes 19 years at Taylor Corporation where her responsibilities included providing legal advice to the Timberwolves and Lynx franchises. Prior to joining Taylor Corporation, she was a shareholder with Twin Cities law firm Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A.”

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“WWE and a group of investors have been given approval by a judge to move forward with a $39 million settlement regarding a class action lawsuit filed by the Firefighters Pension System of the Kansas City, Missouri Trust. The group alleged that WWE executives deceived investors regarding their business in Saudi Arabia by artificially inflated their stock and that senior execs sold more than $280 million of their shares at fraud inflated prices,” reports Andrew Ravens in Wrestling News.

“The lawsuit also alleged the company did not disclose failed negotiations with the Saudi government over their TV deal as well as WWE not being able to expand in that region, despite claiming otherwise to their investors. Last November, an SEC filing by WWE revealed that the company closed on a $39 million settlement for a class action lawsuit.”

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“The Department of Defense is canceling a $10 billion cloud computing contract with Microsoft, the military announced Tuesday, ending years of legal battles after Amazon wasn’t awarded the 2019 contract. In a statement, the DOD said the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) contract a 10-year deal offering classified data storage and cloud computing services to the military does not meet its current needs, citing evolving requirements, increased cloud conversancy, and industry advances,” reports Joe Walsh in Forbes.

“The military did not directly mention Amazon’s lawsuit in its statement Tuesday, but Pentagon officials have hinted for months that they’re reconsidering the JEDI contract, partly due to litigation from Amazon. Amazon told Forbes it agrees with the DOD’s decision, claiming its bid for the JEDI contract was rejected due to outside influence that has no place in government procurement.”

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Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is pleased to announce that Andrew Tuggle, an associate in the firm’s Huntsville office, has been admitted to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) as a registered patent attorney. The firm now has 22 attorneys who are registered with the patent bar.

The USPTO is the federal agency for granting U.S. patents and registering trademarks and acts as a mechanism to protect new ideas and investments in innovation and technological progress.

“Andrew is an exceptional attorney with a deep understanding of the policies regarding intellectual property and we are proud of his accomplishment,” said Bradley Huntsville Office Managing Partner Frank M. Caprio.

Mr. Tuggle focuses his practice on technology and intellectual property law, helping clients protect their innovations and comply with laws about data and technology through patents, trademarks and trade secrets. Prior to law school, he worked for a large, multinational hardware manufacturer, for a small engineering-design startup, and in academic DARPA-and-G8-funded research, giving him a strong technical background and unique insight into laws regarding cybersecurity, data privacy, digital assets, and exports.

Sidley Austin LLP is pleased to announce that William Levi, who previously served in senior roles at the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Senate, has rejoined Sidley’s Litigation practice as a partner in Washington, D.C., where he will represent clients in a broad range of complex litigation, enforcement actions, regulatory disputes, and appellate matters.

During his time at the Department of Justice, Mr. Levi served as chief of staff with responsibility for a range of matters across the Department. As senior counselor and counselor to the Attorney General, he supervised high-stakes litigation and complex enforcement and regulatory matters.

He previously served as staff director of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, which oversees the federal antitrust enforcement agencies, and as chief counsel to Senator Mike Lee. He also clerked on the U.S. Supreme Court for Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. and on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit for Judge Anthony J. Scirica.

PORTLAND (July 6, 2021) – Perkins Coie is proud to announce that it is working with Albina Vision Trust (AVT) in Portland to help restore the historic cultural hub of the city’s Black community within the former Lower Albina neighborhood.
The Albina neighborhood was the leading center of Black life and culture in northeast Portland for decades, but in the late 1950s and 1960s, the neighborhood was razed in the name of urban renewal and replaced by what is now the Rose Quarter.
“We are committed to partnering with the Albina Vision Trust and to providing legal counsel to support its mission of redeveloping the Lower Albina neighborhood and business district into a diverse and welcoming hub,” said Chris Rich, Perkins Coie’s Portland office managing partner. “The Albina Vision Trust’s development plan seeks to reconnect the community to the neighborhood and to be a socially and economically inclusive community.”
As part of the firm’s pro bono support, Chris and Devin McComb, a Perkins Coie real estate partner, have helped negotiate an agreement for AVT to gain the “Right of First Offer” for purchase of the current Portland Public School headquarters building in the former Lower Albina neighborhood. Chris and Devin will represent AVT throughout the transaction.
Significantly, the Portland Public School Board recently voted unanimously to approve AVT’s “Right of First Offer” for the district headquarters building during a recent meeting where Black community leaders voiced the profound need for restorative economic and social justice in the neighborhood that was once central to Black life in Portland. Multnomah County, which was in first position to purchase to district headquarters building, provided critical support to allow AVT to step into “Right of First Offer” position.
Chris and Devin, along with other Perkins Coie team members, will work with AVT on the next phases of the transaction, including advising AVT on general real estate, land use and other aspects of its mission as it moves forward with its broader redevelopment plans for the Albina neighborhood.
Perkins Coie is committed to advancing racial equality and to doing its part to end racism and to help create a more just and equal society. The firm has announced a number of actions and pledges as part of its ongoing commitment, including new pro bono initiatives focused on addressing racial inequality and economic justice. In 2020, Perkins Coie attorneys dedicated their most hours ever—nearly 80,000—to pro bono representation. Other members of the firm’s pro bono team supporting AVT include partner Chris Hall, associate Nikesh Patel, and senior attorney John Halski.

Eversheds Sutherland is pleased to announce that Ellen Sheridan-Cona has joined the firm’s Litigation Practice Group as counsel in the New York office, bolstering the firm’s financial services litigation practice particularly in enforcement, compliance and regulatory matters. Ms. Sheridan-Cona joins Eversheds Sutherland from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), where she was senior regional counsel in the Department of Enforcement for over four years.

With more than 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, Ms. Sheridan-Cona will guide clients through every aspect and type of litigation and enforcement matter, including arbitrations, mediations, civil litigation, and enforcement proceedings. In representing investment advisers, broker-dealers and their associated persons in Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and FINRA regulatory investigations and inquiries, as well as in federal and state inquiries on a variety of compliance and regulatory issues, Ms. Sheridan-Cona will help clients negotiate settlements, limit testimony and document requests, and resolve their high-stakes matters expeditiously.

“I am thrilled to welcome Ellen to the firm and our litigation team,” said Kymberly Kochis, Co-Head of Global Litigation. “Her extensive knowledge of SEC, FINRA, and state regulatory investigations and enforcement proceedings, along with her experience and relationships with the Department of Enforcement, will be a tremendous asset to our clients working through sensitive and complex enforcement matters.”

Prior to working with FINRA, Ms. Sheridan-Cona spent over eight years as Managing Director and Counsel of a national New York-based broker-dealer where she conducted and directed internal investigations regarding potential regulatory violations, as well as employment-related issues; counseled on regulatory initiatives, applicability of security laws and regulatory rules; and successfully first-chaired the defense of numerous arbitrations and expungement proceedings. She also gained experience advising clients in state and federal employment-related matters and responding to employment-related inquiries. Earlier in her career, Ms. Sheridan-Cona worked at another large New York-based broker dealer. Her time as both a regulator and an in-house counsel will allow her to provide clients with unique perspectives as they address their regulatory issues.

About Eversheds Sutherland’s Litigation Practice Group

With more than 100 litigators, Eversheds Sutherland’s Litigation Group has tried and argued cases in the US Supreme Court, all 13 circuits of the US Court of Appeals, the Court of Federal Claims, the Tax Court and hundreds of federal district and state trial and appellate courts. Eversheds Sutherland’s litigation team represents regional, national and international clients from a broad range of industries, including energy, financial services, securities, insurance, construction, manufacturing, automotive, distribution, education, professional services, data privacy, electronics, technology and defense.

CHAD RUBACK was elected President of the Mac Taylor Inn of Court. Ruback is a former Fort Worth Court of Appeals briefing attorney, and he founded his own Dallas-based appellate law firm sixteen years ago. He is a former President of the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers and a former member of the Dallas Bar Association’s Board of Directors.

JUDGE MARTIN HOFFMAN was elected as the Inn’s Counselor, which is the title conferred upon the person expected to become the next Inn President. Judge Hoffman has presided over the 68th District Court for fourteen years. Among other accolades, he has been named Trial Judge of the Year by the American Board of Trial Advocates Dallas Chapter, has been named the Outstanding Jurist of the Year by the Dallas Women Lawyers Association, and has received the Outstanding Mentor Award from the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers. He is a member of the Dallas Bar Association’s Board of Directors.

HOUSTON – Experienced trial attorney John B. Strasburger has joined Houston’s Bissinger, Oshman & Williams as a name partner. Effective July 1, the litigation boutique will be known as Bissinger, Oshman, Williams & Strasburger LLP.

Firm founder David Bissinger remarked that “John is a preeminent bet-the-company lawyer with a demonstrated track record of success in leading the prosecution and defense of numerous high-profile complex commercial disputes. He is a perfect match for, and will substantially augment, our existing practice, which focuses on providing seasoned first-chair trial experience in cases involving large, difficult, urgent, and sensitive matters.”

Mr. Strasburger has unique experience in complex disputes involving private equity, hedge funds, financial derivatives, and other trading and supply-contract matters, including his leading roles in the Enron and Lehman Brothers bankruptcies and many matters thereafter. He has extensive experience in cases involving employment covenant and trade-secret disputes, particularly in the energy sector. He has handled corporate-governance disputes, including his representation of SemGroup during its Chapter 11 bankruptcy. He has deep experience in handling sensitive internal investigations. He has trie d international banking, real-estate, and construction disputes and has successfully defended numerous catastrophic tort cases and litigated related insurance-coverage disputes arising from these cases.

Licensed in Texas and New York, Mr. Strasburger has tried jury and non-jury cases as lead counsel in state and federal courts across the nation. He has represented some of the world’s largest companies, as well as mid-market companies and high-net-worth individuals. His practice includes matters involving novel, urgent, and sensitive disputes that are often the subject of governmental and media scrutiny.

He is recognized by The Best Lawyers in America in three substantive areas: commercial litigation, bankruptcy litigation, and mass tort/class action litigation defense. His work also consistently earns Texas Super Lawyers and Benchmark Litigation honors.

A graduate of the University of Texas School of Law and Tulane University, he joins Bissinger, Oshman, Williams & Strasburger from Winston & Strawn. He is the former managing partner of the Houston office of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, where he also chaired the firm’s nationally recognized pro bono committee. Active in many professional organizations, he co-chaired the 2021 American Bar Association Litigation Section Annual Conference and is a past chair of the Houston Volunteer Lawyers board of directors. He began his practice at Fulbright & Jaworski.

“Millions of dollars in opioid lawsuit settlement money are expected to start flowing into Wisconsin in late 2021or early 2022. Distributors of opioids are close to agreeing on a plan to pay $26 billion as part of a national lawsuit alleging the makers and sellers of opioids knowingly supercharged the opioid epidemic that has ravaged large parts of the United States. Lawsuits against manufacturers and retailers are ongoing and could result in similar sized settlements,” reports Zac Schultz in PBS Wisconsin.

“Four years ago, Wisconsin counties were some of the leaders in the country in filing the lawsuits, said Mark O’Connell, executive director of the Wisconsin Counties Association. After 71 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties united in filing suit, they were eventually joined by 2,400 units of government from around the nation.”

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“TikTok Inc., a social networking service owned by China’s ByteDance Ltd. that’s faced scrutiny from U.S. regulators and policymakers within the past year, has brought on a new legal chief for its Americas arm,” reports Brian Baxter in Bloomberg Law.

“Matthew Penarczyk, who spent nearly 19 years in-house at Microsoft Corp., recently left the company to become Americas head of legal for TikTok. Penarczyk’s new position makes him TikTok’s top lawyer in the U.S. and broader Americas region, which includes South America, said company spokesman Josh Gartner.”

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“Even though July 1 has come and gone, Biglaw firms are still announcing compensation moves. This weekend, yet another firm made fireworks when it notified associates that salaries would be exploding, as well as bonuses. Exciting news all around, but there’s a little caveat on the salary news: nothing will be happening until 2022,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above The Law.

“Vedder Price, a firm that grossed $255,000,000 in 2020, landing it at No. 127 on the most recent Am Law 200, announced a new bonus program for associates on Saturday. Those with at least 1,800 annualized chargeable hours as of December 31, 2021 (including up to 100 pro bono hours) as well as a performance rating of 3 or better will receive base performance bonuses on the following scale.”

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“As a result of the pandemic, businesses have been forced to rethink their operational resilience — especially when you consider 2020 was a record year for data breaches, despite seeing an increase in cybersecurity spending,” reports Gaurav Kapoor in Forbes.

“Adjusting governance, risk management and compliance (GRC) systems is one way that organizations can bounce back and transform potential problems into an advantage — even small adjustments made organization-wide can lead to millions of dollars in recovered revenues if the right risks are mitigated. Take note of these five post-pandemic trends that will be shaping GRC over the next several years.”

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“Today is Bobby Bonilla Day, when the Mets issue a $1.19 million check to their former slugger, even though he hasn’t played for them in 26 years. Bonilla will receive this annual payment through 2035 because he agreed to defer the remainder of the $5.9 million owed to him in 2000 at an interest rate of 8 percent. At the time, the Mets wanted to free up money to pay other big-salaried players like Mike Hampton and Derek Bell, who helped them win the pennant that year,” reports Max Rieper in their SB Nation.

“Some criticize Bonilla for getting money for doing nothing, but the fact is that was money owed to him, and no one forced the Mets to offer him this deal. Freeing up that money did allow the Mets to make a serious run at a pennant. And it was hardly the worst deferred deal from that era. The Braves are still paying Hall of Fame reliever Bruce Sutter – who retired in 1988, Bonilla’s third year in the league $1.12 million each year through 2022.”

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“The Maine Public Utilities Commission this week awarded contracts for six new solar-power projects and an existing wind-power project in the state’s second renewable energy procurement, required under a 2019 law. This week’s announcement comes after 17 renewable projects were chosen in the first procurement under the statute last September,” reports Maine Biz in their blog.

“The full list of projects approved this week can be found here. Winning bidders include New York City-based C2 Energy Capital LLC, Helix Maine Wind Development LLC and a host of others. Bidders estimate the projects will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by around 260,000 tons per year.”

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“The Chicago Blackhawks utilized their cap space well last season when the team acquired Brett Connolly from the Florida Panthers. However, the team used his contract as leverage to acquire former 1st round pick Henrik Borgstrom in the deal as well. With the Blackhawks still have ample cap space they could look to acquire another bad contract or two along with some additional assets,” reports Jake Wheeler in Black Hawk Up.

“First, is Tyler Johnson from the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tampa currently sits about $5 million over the salary cap, with several players still needing to be signed. Johnson has been relegated to a 4th line role the last season or two as his point totals, and play in general, have dropped off dramatically. Due to his reduced role and how Johnson’s contract pays him $5 million over the next three years, means Tampa simply cannot afford him anymore.”

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