Steptoe & Johnson LLP is pleased to announce the further expansion of its premier Energy Group with the arrival of William Keyser as a partner in the firm’s Washington office. Keyser focuses his practice on federal electric regulation and litigation and transactions involving the nation’s electricity and capacity markets. His arrival follows that of Donna Byrne and John Perkins, who joined Steptoe’s Energy Group in February.

Keyser represents clients before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the Department of Energy, federal and state courts and state public utility commissions. His clients include electric utilities, transmission providers, independent power providers, and energy storage developers. Keyser helps clients address the ever-changing landscape of the energy grid. His practice includes integrating new technology into clients’ portfolios and understanding the application of new market rules to their operations. He has represented and counseled clients on an extensive array of matters including mergers and acquisitions, transmission rates and cost allocation, interconnection procedures, market-based and cost-based sales of energy, and participation in regional transmission organizations. Keyser has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America for the past three years.

Steptoe has one of the most respected energy practices in the United States. For nearly a decade, the practice and its lawyers have received the highest rankings in the legal directories Chambers and The Legal 500. In the 2020 guides, Steptoe was the only firm to receive top-tier rankings from Chambers USA in both the nationwide electric and pipeline categories, and the only firm to receive top-tier rankings in electric litigation and regulation and pipeline regulation by both Chambers and The Legal 500.

Keyser received his B.S. from Pennsylvania State University and his J.D. from the University of North Carolina. Prior to going into private practice, Keyser served as a law clerk for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel.

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is pleased to announce that nine of the firm’s partners have been named by Who’s Who Legal as among the world’s leading product liability defense practitioners. The Bradley attorneys listed in the Who’s Who Legal: Product Liability Defence 2020 are Lindsey C Boney IV, W. Wayne Drinkwater, James W. Gewin, William F. Goodman III, Tripp Haston, Lela Hollabaugh, Kim Bessiere Martin, Charles A. “Chuck” Stewart and R. Thomas Warburton.

Bradley’s acclaimed Product Liability team members represent clients in a variety of industries and jurisdictions throughout the state and federal court systems. Their representations involve litigation over a diverse range of consumer products, including tires, construction equipment, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, vehicles (both on- and off-road), component parts, industrial equipment, power tools, and building products. Many of the firm’s attorneys have leadership roles on clients’ legal defense teams for litigation in various multidistrict litigation and mass claim matters.

The Who’s Who Legal: Product Liability Defence seeks to identify the top lawyers in all aspects of the defense of product liability claims, including mass tort, class action and cross-border litigation. Only lawyers who receive the highest number of recommendations from peers and clients as determined through independent research are listed in the publication. The Who’s Who Legal guides are intended to serve as reference sources for companies seeking to corroborate the reputations of lawyers recommended by another party.

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.

Despite COVID-19 travel restrictions, quarantine, travel insurance claim denied  

MARSHALL, Texas – An East Texas woman has filed a proposed class action lawsuit against the company that serves as the VRBO travel website’s exclusive travel insurance provider. The lawsuit alleges that CSA Travel Protection, the American affiliate of Italy-based Assicurazioni Generali Group, has refused to honor its policy and refund more than $3,500 for a cancelled booking of oceanfront property in Florida. 

 Tralisa Sheridan, a resident of White Oak, Texas, made a reservation through VRBO in March 2019 for accommodations in Navarre, Florida, to host multiple family members for her daughter’s destination beach wedding, planned for March of 2020. At the time of the booking, Ms. Sheridan paid $180 for a travel insurance coverage plan from CSA. 

Sheridan and the wedding party planned to drive to and from the destination, beginning on March 21, the same day Santa Rosa County officials suspended all access to Navarre’s beaches. Because of this action and the prior rollout of other COVID-19 travel restrictions, including the imposition of 14-day quarantine requirements for interstate travel between Texas and Florida, Sheridan promptly notified VRBO and CSA of the need to cancel the booking and provide a refund. 

 CSA responded by email 38 days later that the claim was being denied, and despite multiple subsequent requests by Sheridan, the insurer has provided no further details or rationale for the denial. 

 “Unfortunately, we’re seeing too many examples of insurers in the travel and hospitality sector attempting to shirk their responsibilities and failing to honor rightful claims,” said Derek Potts, the attorney for Ms. Sheridan. “Through a class action against these defendants, we will seek the compensation that thousands of individuals who booked through VRBO and purchased this insurance are due.” 

 The case is Tralisa Sheridan et. al. v. Assicurazioni Generali et.al., No.220-CV-244, filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Marshall.  

Hinshaw & Culbertson, a national law firm, today announced that Lauren Campisi, Stephen P. Strohschein, Stewart Spielman, Eric J. Simonson, and Heather LaSalle Alexis have joined the firm as partners to further support the firm’s Consumer Financial Services and Bankruptcy and Restructuring practice groups. Formerly with McGlinchey Stafford in Louisiana, the group has extensive experience advising financial services companies and institutions nationwide on issues including federal and state regulatory compliance, lending matters, consumer and commercial bankruptcy, workouts, restructuring and distressed debt turnarounds. The group will operate from an office in New Orleans, Louisiana, and their addition expands the firm’s national platform and South Florida roots to a significant new regional market in the South.

Campisi is a national leader in the field of consumer financial services. She advises clients on regulatory and compliance matters and strategy, including product creation, documentation, licensing, federal and state enforcement actions and supervisory examinations, and single-party and class action litigation. Strohschein focuses on a broad array of commercial lending issues including real estate, automotive floor plan finance, asset-based and small business lending. Spielman brings extensive experience in the middle market sector advising clients on commercial debt matters (restructuring, workouts, and turnarounds) including floor plan workouts and front end financing, small business banking, and Small Business Administration (SBA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) guaranteed loan programs. Simonson is an experienced trial attorney representing companies in the financial, technology, construction, and other industries in a wide range of commercial contract disputes, lease disputes, and related litigation. He also has extensive class action experience. Alexis advises clients on a wide array of commercial and consumer bankruptcy matters, and brings extensive experience advising clients with commercial debt matters in the energy, middle market and small business banking sectors.

The addition of new capabilities that this team provides include litigation involving creditor rights matters, commercial loan workouts, business restructurings, liquidation of distressed assets, and all aspects of bankruptcy from pre-planning to post-confirmation implementation and bankruptcy compliance advice, all areas which are expected to experience significant activity beginning in Q4 and going into 2021 and beyond.

The team collectively is currently advising clients on compliance with federal and state laws and emergency orders related to COVID-19 relief.

Lauren E. Campisi
Campisi, a leading national consumer financial services lawyer, represents a diverse and broad range of financial services providers. She provides strategic, practical advice on federal and state law compliance matters regarding licensure, product creation, documentation and servicing, due diligence, and vendor management, as well as federal and state enforcement actions and supervisory examinations and single-party and class action litigation. Campisi’s clients include national and state-chartered banks, national mortgage lenders and servicers, automotive and personal property finance companies, installment lenders and online lenders. She is also deeply experienced in counseling companies on issues related to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and has filed multiple petitions before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on TCPA issues. She routinely provides guidance on the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Truth in Lending Act (TILA), Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), prohibitions against unfair, deceptive and abusive acts and practices (UDAAP) and state lending, licensing and debt collection laws and regulations.

In 2018, Chambers USA selected Lauren as a Recognized Practitioner in the field of national consumer financial services compliance, one of only thirty-four attorneys to receive individual recognition and in 2019 and 2020, Chambers recognized Lauren as an ‘Up and Coming’ attorney within the industry. Campisi is also a Fellow of the American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers, Secretary of the Governing Law Committee of the Conference on Consumer Finance Law, Vice-Chair of the Truth in Lending Subcommittee of the American Bar Association Consumer Financial Services Committee and Chair of the Bank Counsel Committee of the Louisiana Bankers Association. Campisi was selected as a Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Fellow (LCLD) in 2011, the inaugural year of the program. She received a B.B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Loyola University New Orleans and a J.D. from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law.

Stephen P. Strohschein
With almost four decades of experience, Strohschein’s national practice focuses on a wide range of matters in the banking and commercial lending sectors, with an emphasis on floor plan lending. His team represents major automotive captive lenders and banks across the country. In addition, he advises lenders on commercial loan origination, workouts, foreclosures, collections and bankruptcy issues and has litigated commercial lending cases before numerous federal and state courts.

Strohschein is qualified as a specialist in Business Bankruptcy Law by the American Board of Certification and his numerous accolades include being selected among The Best Lawyers in America® Bankruptcy and Creditor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Litigation – Bankruptcy 2006-2020. He received his B.S. in Business from Louisiana State University and his J.D. from the Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center. Previously he served as a law clerk to the Honorable LeRoy Smallenberger in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Louisiana.

Stewart Spielman
With a focus on commercial debt restructuring in the middle market, Spielman represents institutional lenders and equity funds on a wide variety of front end and back end commercial lending matters, including floorplan documentation and closings, as well as, complex commercial loan workouts, restructurings, modifications and enforcement matters. In addition, he advises creditors on best practices and policies for servicing commercial loan portfolios, form development and implementation, as well as ordinary course amendments, extensions, waivers and recapitalizations. He advises creditors on a variety of issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including heightened servicing standards, loan deferrals and the Main Street Loan Program.

Spielman is certified as a Business Bankruptcy specialist by the American Board of Certification and the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization. He was selected as an LCLD Fellow in 2014. He received a B.S. in psychology from Louisiana State University and a J.D., with a Maritime Law Certificate, from Tulane University Law School.

Eric J. Simonson
Simonson advises businesses on commercial litigation both at the district court and appellate level in state and federal courts throughout the country. He represents companies in the financial, technology, construction, and other industries, in a wide range of commercial contract disputes, lease disputes, and also construction litigation. Simonson represents mortgage lenders and mortgage loan servicers defending claims brought under RESPA, TILA, FDCPA, FCRA and related federal and state statutes. He also represents mortgage lenders, mortgage servicers and other clients in a variety of bankruptcy matters.

Simonson was named “Ones to Watch” by New Orleans CityBusiness in 2017 and is a member of the Mortgage Bankers Association. He received a B.S. in finance from Louisiana State University, an M.B.A. from the University of New Orleans, and a J.D. from Loyola University New Orleans School of Law.

Heather LaSalle Alexis
Alexis has extensive experience in all aspects of commercial restructuring and loan workouts involving energy, middle market and small business loans as well as agented and syndicated loans and asset-based lending facilities. She also represents creditors, both secured and unsecured, in all aspects of commercial and consumer bankruptcy cases, including the defense of adversary proceeding. She also advises clients on various matters involving bankruptcy law including bankruptcy accounting, repossession, and escrow issues. She is well-versed in the enforcement of security interests and other loan remedies in Louisiana state and federal courts involving a range of collateral including real estate, financed and leased equipment, titled vehicles, vessels and UCC collateral.

Previously, she was on secondment in the Special Assets legal department of a large national bank, where she worked with the bank’s distressed loans in the middle market and energy sectors. Alexis was selected as an LCLD Fellow in 2016. She received a B.A. and M.P.A. from Louisiana State University, and a J.D., cum laude, from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law.

Cornell Boggs, who will be based in the firm’s Chicago office, will play an integral role in the firm’s Diversity & Inclusion and client-relations efforts. He was recognized as a “Legend in Law” by receiving the prestigious Burton Award from the Library of Congress and the American Bar Association, and Savoy magazine named him among the “Most Influential Black Corporate Directors” in 2017 and 2016, one of the “Most Influential Black Lawyers” in 2015, and as one of the “Top 100 Influential Blacks in Corporate America” in 2014.

Boggs will bring his unique background and vantage point to his work with the firm’s attorneys in building teams and promoting collaboration to provide the best client experience and outcomes. He will also work closely with the firm’s leadership and diverse lawyers to create pathways for success, improve their experience and increase diversity in the firm.

Boggs is currently the vice chair of the board of directors and chair of the governance committee at Thrivent Financial, a Fortune 500 company, where he will continue to serve. His previous roles include serving as General Counsel at both Toys “R” Us and Dow Corning, Chief Responsibility and Ethics Officer for MillerCoors, as well as prominent leadership positions at other Fortune 500 companies.

Boggs holds a Juris Doctor from Valparaiso University, where he is a long-time board member. He is also on the board of directors of the nonprofit International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution.

About Quarles & Brady LLP
Quarles & Brady is a full-service AmLaw 200 firm with nearly 500 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, labor and employment, real estate, intellectual property, data privacy and security, and complex litigation. The firm has 10 offices across the U.S.: Chicago; Indianapolis; Madison, Wisconsin; Milwaukee; Minneapolis; Naples, Florida; Phoenix; Tampa, Florida; Tucson, Arizona; and Washington, D.C. Additional information can be found online at quarles.com, as well as on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Facebook.

Joseph A. Matteo, an accomplished commercial litigator, has joined Barnes & Thornburg as a partner in the firm’s Litigation Department. Matteo will be based in the firm’s newly opened New York office, where he joins six new lateral partners and several other attorneys from some of the city’s most elite law firms.

Matteo has deep experience representing clients in a wide range of disputes, including securities litigation and bankruptcy-related matters, which are expected to be increasingly prevalent in the current economic environment. He also has significant experience helping clients with business torts and employment claims.

Matteo has represented investment funds, commercial and boutique investment banks, broker dealers, and corporate clients in a variety of matters in the state, federal, and bankruptcy courts in across the country, as well as in front of various arbitration tribunals.

Matteo earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia and his B.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.

With more than 700 attorneys and other legal professionals, Barnes & Thornburg is one of the largest law firms in the country. The firm serves clients worldwide from offices in Atlanta, California, Chicago, Delaware, Indiana, Michigan, Minneapolis, New York, Ohio, Texas and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit us online at www.btlaw.com or on Twitter @BTLawNews.

A highly acclaimed lawyer, Mr. Ford has tried more than two dozen cases before judges, juries and arbitrators around the United States. He has successfully represented businesses and individuals, both plaintiffs and defendants, in a wide range of civil litigation including in cases worth more than $40 million. 

“Sammy is a superb lawyer, bringing intelligence, creativity and deep experience to every case he touches. He is a natural in front of juries,” said AZA co-founder John Zavitsanos. “He cares not only about his clients but also about the profession and has been active in local and state bar associations.” 

Mr. Ford is board certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He was elected to the prestigious American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) and named among The National Trial Lawyers Association’s “Top 40 under 40.” He has been recognized by attorneys across the United States, earning a place on the list of the Best Lawyers in America 2020 for commercial litigation, and he’s been named  a “Top 100 Texas Up & Coming” lawyer on the Texas Rising Stars list for his business litigation skills every year since 2017. 

“He is the most unflappable and mentally tough lawyer I’ve ever seen,” said AZA partner Todd Mensing, who has worked closely with Mr. Ford. 

Mr. Ford previously practiced law at Abraham Watkins and at Susman Godfrey. He clerked for U.S. Circuit Judge Jerry E. Smith of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He is an honors graduate of the University of Texas School of Law and graduated with high honors from Harvard University. 

A Houston native, Mr. Ford is active in legal and educational charitable organizations and special projects. He served on the board at his high school alma mater because he believes strongly that education and mentoring can make a difference and provide young people with the spark or the confidence that carries them through life. Through his work with the Houston Bar Association, he helped create a contest for special needs kids, and he has been active in an anti-drug program in which he accompanies a doctor to schools to explain the negative effects that drugs can have on people’s lives. 

Mr. Ford is a member of the State Bar of Texas Computer Law and Technology Council and numerous committees of the Houston Bar Association. He has also developed and presented at dozens of legal seminars over the last eight years. 

AZA, or Ahmad, Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing P.C., is a Houston-based law firm that is home to true courtroom lawyers with a formidable track record in complex commercial litigation, including energy, intellectual property, and business dispute cases. AZA is recognized by Chambers USA 2020 among the best in Texas commercial law; by U.S. News – Best Lawyers’ Best Law Firms as one of the country’s best commercial litigation firms for eight years running; was named 2019 Litigation Department of the Year by Texas Lawyer; and was previously dubbed by Law360 a Texas Powerhouse law firm. National corporate counsel named AZA one of the country’s best in client service among law firms serving the Fortune 500 and 1000. 

The International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC) has elected new IADC Board of Directors members for 2020-21, including new board leaders. The elections were announced at the IADC’s 2020 Annual Meeting. The IADC is the preeminent invitation-only global legal organization for attorneys who represent corporate and insurance interests.

The IADC board oversees activities that benefit the organization’s members and their clients, as well as the civil justice system, the legal profession, and society in general. In addition to its core purpose involving professional development for members, the IADC takes a leadership role in many areas of legal reform. IADC members are among the world’s leading corporate and insurance lawyers at large and small law firms and senior counsel in corporate law departments, as well as corporate and insurance executives. Members represent the largest corporations around the world, including the majority of companies listed in the FORTUNE 500.

The new IADC board leaders, along with their law firm affiliations, are:

President
Andrew S. Chamberlin
Ellis & Winters LLP
Greensboro, North Carolina

President-Elect
Spencer H. Silverglate
Clarke Silverglate, P.A.
Miami, Florida

Immediate Past President
Amy Sherry Fischer
Foliart, Huff, Ottaway & Bottom
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Vice President of International
Paul Lefebvre
Hanotiau & Van Den Berg
Brussels, Belgium

Secretary Treasurer
Donna Lamontagne
Lamontagne, Spaulding & Hayes, LLP
Cranston, Rhode Island

The new IADC board members, along with their law firm affiliations, are:

Christopher S. Berdy
Butler Snow LLP
Birmingham, Alabama

James F. Rogers
Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP
Columbia, South Carolina

Alba Arriaga Romano
Riley, Hewitt, Witte & Romano, P.C.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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, 54 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.

Century City – Sidley Austin LLP is pleased to announce that Nicolai Schwarz-Gondek has joined the firm as a partner in Century City. Mr. Schwarz-Gondek will be a member of Sidley’s Private Equity practice. He was previously a partner at O’Melveny & Myers LLP.

Schwarz-Gondek concentrates his practice on private equity and M&A transactions, with a particular focus on the representation of private equity sponsors and other institutional investors in connection with mergers, stock and asset acquisitions and divestitures, and leveraged and management buyouts. He also represents target and acquiring companies, including the portfolio companies of private equity firms, in a broad range of M&A transactions. His practice has included a variety of industries, such as information services and technology, manufacturing, media, software, and renewable energy.

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.
Attorney Advertising – Sidley Austin LLP, One South Dearborn, Chicago, IL 60603, +1 312 853 7000. Sidley and Sidley Austin refer to Sidley Austin LLP and affiliated partnerships as explained at www.sidley.com/disclaimer.

Foley & Lardner LLP announced today that Katharine Beattie, an experienced labor and employment litigator and counselor, has joined the firm’s Boston office as a partner in its Labor & Employment Practice Group.

Beattie represents and counsels employers on a wide range of employment issues, including discrimination and harassment, leaves of absence, wage and hour disputes, employment classification, wrongful termination, trade secret protection, and the enforcement of noncompetition and nondisclosure agreements. She has extensive experience representing clients in cases before federal and state courts, arbitrators and administrative agencies, including state fair employment and human rights agencies.

Beattie’s practice also includes managing and conducting internal investigations of harassment and discrimination claims, wage and hour compliance issues, whistleblower claims, and allegations of ethics and code of conduct violations. She frequently advises clients on a range of collective bargaining issues and appears before the National Labor Relations Board with respect to unfair labor practice charges and union election proceedings.

In addition, Beattie provides labor and employment guidance on corporate merger and acquisition transactions, and she regularly negotiates and drafts executive employment agreements on behalf of both publicly and privately held companies.

Beattie comes to Foley from Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C., where she was a member of the Employment, Labor & Benefits Practice Group. Before that, she served as vice president at NTT DATA, Inc., where she managed commercial and employment litigations, advised human resources and business executives on all aspects of employment law, and handled internal investigations, training and compliance.

The International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC) has announced that Andrew S. Chamberlin, a partner at Ellis & Winters LLP in Greensboro, North Carolina, has been elected president of the IADC for the 2020-21 term. The IADC, which is the preeminent invitation-only global legal organization for attorneys who represent corporate and insurance interests, has provided and continues to provide influential leadership on legal reform issues.

Chamberlin, who served as IADC president-elect for 2019-20, was formally installed as president as the IADC celebrated its 100th anniversary at the IADC’s 2020 Annual Meeting. The IADC also elected new board members for 2020-21, including new board leaders.

“I am honored to serve the IADC as its president at this critical juncture in our history and to help set the course for the future.” Chamberlin said. “I look forward to furthering the IADC’s mission of serving our members, the legal profession and civil justice systems throughout the U.S. and the world, by enhancing the development of skills, professionalism, diversity, and camaraderie in the practice of law.”

In his practice, Chamberlin is a trial lawyer with a broad national and international practice. He has handled product liability and catastrophic injury defense cases as well as the prosecution and defense of commercial, construction and intellectual property disputes. He has appeared in state and federal courts across the United States.

In addition to his leadership role with the IADC, Mr. Chamberlin is an active member of the Defense Research Institute and the North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys. Chamberlin has been recognized among the “Best Lawyers in America” and has been selected as a “North Carolina Super Lawyer.”

Chamberlin received his J.D. from the University of Georgia School of Law and his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Georgia.

In addition to its core purpose involving professional development for members, the IADC takes a leadership role in many areas of legal reform. IADC members are among the world’s leading corporate and insurance lawyers at large and small law firms and senior counsel in corporate law departments, as well as corporate and insurance executives. Members represent the largest corporations around the world, including the majority of companies listed in the FORTUNE 500.

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, 54 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.

Buchalter is pleased to welcome and announce that Joshua Robbins has joined the Firm as Chair of its newly formed White Collar & Investigations practice. He will work out of both the Los Angeles and Orange County offices. Robbins, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, previously led the white-collar defense practice at boutique firm Greenberg Gross LLP.

While in private practice and government, Robbins led large-scale trials, appeals, and investigations, many drawing national and international media attention and raising novel legal issues. His cases, which often focus on claims of fraud, corruption, and theft, have spanned industries from health care to finance to technology, and involved representation of Fortune 500 companies, sovereign governments, and prominent individuals. Examples include the prosecution of a $900 million health care kickback scheme involving Pacific Hospital of Long Beach described as the largest insurance fraud case in California history, and the trials of $170 million securities fraud and $200 million tax fraud schemes.

Robbins is a graduate of Harvard Law School, Harvard College, and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and is the President of the Harvard Law School Association of Orange County. He previously served as a law clerk for the Honorable Stanley Marcus of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is pleased to announce that George R. Parker and Davis H. Smith, partners in the Montgomery office, were among the recipients of the 2020 President’s Award given by Alabama State Bar President Christy Crow.

As co-chair of the Member Benefits Committee, Mr. Parker helped identify and implement numerous member benefits and discounts that are now available to members of the Alabama State Bar. Mr. Smith serves as co-chair of the Insurance Committee and was recognized for playing an integral role in the process that resulted in the Alabama State Bar’s ability to offer a Blue Cross/Blue Shield Health Insurance Plan to its members.

“We congratulate George and Davis on their recognition,” said Bradley Montgomery Office Managing Partner Robert Emmett Poundstone IV. “We are proud of their outstanding commitment to the state bar and the legal community.”

A member of Bradley’s Litigation Practice Group, Mr. Parker represents clients in a variety of matters in state and federal courts. He has spent a significant portion of his career representing Fortune 500 pharmaceutical manufacturers and medical device companies in individual and mass tort actions as both national and local counsel in state and federal courts across the country. He also represents clients in product liability, premises liability, insurance, and class action matters. Mr. Parker is listed in The Best Lawyers in America® for Product Liability, Commercial Litigation, and Insurance Litigation.

A member of Bradley’s Corporate and Securities Practice Group, Mr. Smith advises captive insurance companies, risk retention groups and self-insured funds on transactional, regulatory and tax matters. He counsels clients on tax and business strategies in a variety of industries, with a particular focus on participants in regulated industries, including insurance companies and investment advisors, and the professional services industry. He has extensive experience advising businesses on structuring and growing their businesses in a tax-efficient manner. Mr. Smith was a co-author of the 2016 update to the Alabama Captive Insurers Act, and he is a frequent speaker and writer on tax planning for businesses, including strategies for captive insurance companies.

The ASB is dedicated to promoting the professional responsibility and competence of its members, improving the administration of justice, and increasing the public understanding of and respect for the law.

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.

Anastasia N. Kaup has joined Duane Morris LLP as a partner in the firm’s Corporate Practice Group in its Chicago office. Prior to joining Duane Morris, Kaup practiced at Mayer Brown LLP.

Kaup has represented financial institutions, funds and other corporate clients in financing transactions across the private equity, real estate, hedge fund, private credit and distressed lending spaces. Kaup structures, negotiates and documents complex financing transactions domestically and internationally, at all levels of the organizational structure, with specific focuses on fund finance, sponsor finance, and financing in distressed situations. Her fund finance experience covers a wide spectrum of transactions to meet the financing needs of various types of funds at every phase of their existence. She also assists with the analysis and negotiation of investor documents with institutional, governmental, high-net-worth, and sovereign wealth investors. Kaup has represented private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies in nearly every industry, as well as lenders to such entities, in a wide array of financing transactions. Kaup also has significant experience counseling clients in distressed situations, in bankruptcy as well as out-of-court restructurings, and has represented clients in some of the most complex restructuring cases in the last decade. She has negotiated and documented countless transactions involving multiple creditors, and has substantial knowledge of intercreditor and subordination arrangements and agreements. Kaup’s experience with transactions during downturns as well as growth cycles distinctively positions her to assist clients with a broad range of financing-related needs at any time.

Kaup is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School (J.D., cum laude, 2010) and the University of Utah (honors B.S., cum laude, 2008).

The Supreme Court recently determined that a generic term combined with a top-level domain designation can be protected as a trademark. Hotel booking website Booking.com B.V. sought to register its “Booking.com” domain name as a trademark. The Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) refused registration, taking the position that a generic terms such as “booking” combined with a top-level domain such as “.com” is necessarily generic and unregisterable. On judicial review, however, the District Court determined that “Booking.com” was not generic, even though “booking” standing alone would be. The District Court further found that the mark had acquired secondary meaning based on survey evidence that had not been before the PTO that 74.8% of participants identified the mark as a brand name, and ordered the PTO to register the mark. The PTO appealed only the holding that the mark was not generic, conceding that the survey evidence was sufficient to establish secondary meaning, and the Fourth Circuit affirmed the District Court’s ruling.

The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that a generic term followed by a top-level domain is not automatically generic. The Court instructed that the proper analysis is whether the proposed mark, taken as a whole, signifies to the relevant class of consumers a class of goods or services as opposed to signify a particular company, rejecting the PTO’s bright-line rule. Justice Ginsburg, writing for the 8-1 Court, stated that consumers do not refer to the class of hotel booking service providers as “booking.com” companies, which means that the mark is not generic. Justice Ginsburg further noted that the PTO had not previously followed their proposed bright-line rule, pointing to the registration of “ART.COM” on the principal register and “DATING.COM” on the supplemental register.

The PTO analogized this situation to the addition of “Company,” Corporation” or the like to a generic name, which has long been held unregisterable; Justice Ginsburg, however, noted that, as there can only be a single entity using a particular domain name at a time, the addition of the top-level domain necessarily points to a single specific entity rather than a generic class of goods or services. She was quick to state that this does not mean that a generic term combined with a top-level domain is automatically non-generic, but instead depends on whether consumers perceive the term as naming a class of goods or services or as capable of distinguishing among members of the class. In making this determination, courts and the PTO can look to consumer surveys, dictionaries, usage by both consumers and competitors, or any other source of evidence bearing on consumer perception.

The Court also discounted the PTO’s concern that the registrant of a “generic.com” mark would seek to preclude others from using the generic term or similar terms in domain names, such as “ebooking.com” or “hotel-booking.com.” The Court noted that this concern exists with respect to any descriptive mark, and that the weakness of the mark would preclude findings of customer confusion.

While the majority asserts that the addition of a top-level domain to an otherwise generic mark does not automatically make the combination non-generic, it is difficult to imagine a circumstance where such a domain name would fail to pass the test set forth in the opinion. As Justice Breyer asserts in his dissent, there will never be instances in which consumers literally refer to a class of goods as “goods.com,” “goods.com” will not appear in dictionaries, and there will always be but a single owner of a “goods.com” domain name. He also notes that survey evidence could result in generic terms being associated with a single source where the source has enjoyed a period of exclusivity in the marketplace or has spent significant money and effort in securing such public identification, and that such an association has never before allowed for registration of a generic term. Justice Breyer further considers the risk of anticompetitive harm through allowance of such a mark. As he notes, why would a firm want to register a domain name, which it already has exclusive use of, as a trademark unless it wished to extend its area of exclusivity to preclude the use of similar domain names? He points to the owner of “ADVERTISING.COM” having obtained a preliminary injunction against a competitor’s use of “ADVERTISE.COM” (later overturned when the Ninth Circuit determined that “advertising.com” was generic for on-line advertising) as an example of this type of harm. This concern did not, however, carry the day.

Thomas McNulty is counsel at Boston intellectual property law firm Lando & Anastasi, LLP. He can be reached at TMcNulty@LALaw.com or 617-395-7040.

By Nathan Harris and Peter Lando

Though it has gone largely unnoticed in the press, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) took effect on July 1. Ratified in January, the USMCA represents a modernization of the 1995 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Chapter 20 of the USMCA touches on all areas of intellectual property law, harmonizing many of the member country’s provisions for protecting and enforcing patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets.

Here is a summary of some of the more notable intellectual property provisions of the USMCA.

Longer Copyright Terms

The USMCA requires its members to offer copyright protection for a term of at least 70 years after the author’s death, an increase over the 50-year requirement set by NAFTA. Where an institution is the author, the term is extended to the longer of 75 years after the work was first published or 70 years after creation of the work.

Safe Harbors for ISPs

The USMCA requires countries to offer a “safe harbor” provision that incentivizes Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to cooperate with copyright owners in battling infringement. In particular, ISPs are excluded from monetary liability if they provide a notice-and-takedown mechanism for receiving reports of infringing material on their systems and act quickly to remove the materials. An ISP seeking safe harbor must not receive a direct financial benefit from the infringement.

Notably, Canada has negotiated an exemption for itself from this notice-and-takedown requirement in view of its own notice-and-notice provision, under which it simply notifies the accused infringer of the complaint and monitors its activity for a time.

Protections for Pharma Companies and their Generic Competitors

Pharmaceutical companies developing new biologics are often required to submit clinical and other test data to regulators. While such test data is of great value to generic competitors, the USMCA requires that regulators treat such test data as confidential for at least five years after marketing approval for the new pharmaceutical product. On the other hand, the USMCA allows manufacturers of generic pharmaceuticals to import or use a patented product in order to perform testing and generate information to prepare to seek marketing approval for their product.

Patent Term Extension

The USMCA calls for countries to grant an extension of patent term where a country’s IP office has unreasonably delayed in granting the patent. An extension may be had of up to five years from the date of filing, or three years after a request for examination is made, whichever is later.

Harmonized Trademark Registration and Enforcement Practices

Under the USMCA, countries must allow for electronic filing of applications and maintenance of registrations. Trademark registration terms must be at least 10 years. The USMCA also calls upon countries to protect non-traditional marks such as sound marks and scent marks, as well as certification marks and collective marks, and ensures that anti-dilution remedies are available for well-known (or “famous”) marks.

Stronger Protection for Trade Secrets

The USMCA requires countries to strengthen their trade secret provisions to the standard followed in the United States. For example, members may not have national laws limiting the term of protection for properly maintained trade secrets or curtailing voluntary licensing of trade secrets. Judges involved in trade secret cases must follow strict confidentiality guidelines. Penalties including monetary fines, termination of employment, and imprisonment must also be implemented for cases of willful misappropriation of a trade secret.

Criminal Liability for Infringement

Countries are required under the USMCA to implement criminal penalties for willful importation or exportation of counterfeit trademark goods or pirated copyrighted goods “on a commercial scale,” a low standard that includes any acts carried out for commercial advantage or financial gain.

Enhanced Statutory Damages

The USMCA also strengthens provisions for statutory damages for infringement. It specifies that available damages must be both fully compensatory and sufficient to serve as a deterrent. At the same time, safeguards must be implemented to prevent their abuse.

Protection Against Enforcement Abuse

Countries must allow for compensation when a party has been the subject of abusive enforcement procedures by a plaintiff, such as an improper injunction. Provisions must be implemented that would allow courts to order the plaintiff in such cases to pay the defendant’s expenses, including attorneys’ fees.

Ex Officio Border Enforcement

The USMCA requires provisions that allow customs and other law enforcement officials to act on their own initiative (i.e., without a prior court order) to stop suspected counterfeit or pirated goods being imported, exported, or in transit through the country. Countries must then have a process in place for assessing whether the goods actually infringe.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – July 1, 2020 – Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman PC is pleased to announce that Shanlon Wu and Julie Grohovsky have joined the firm as partners in the Washington, D.C. office. Wu will lead Cohen Seglias’ new White Collar Defense & Government Investigations Group, which will also include Grohovsky, along with former state prosecutors Christopher Carusone and Brionna Denby, as well as the new Student Defense Group. Grohovsky will lead the firm’s new False Claims Act & Whistleblower Group, which will also include Wu. The new partners were previously at their own firm, Wu Grohovsky PLLC.

Wu is a former federal prosecutor experienced in handling high-profile white collar criminal matters, student defense, and legal issues facing higher education institutions. Drawing on his experience in conducting criminal investigations and trying such cases, Wu has represented clients such as former Trump aide/political consultant Rick Gates in the Robert Mueller investigation of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. His white collar practice involves advising individuals and companies facing investigations and prosecutions for federal and local criminal violations including health care fraud, defrauding the government, conflicts of interest, and allegations of bribery.

Wu counsels higher education institutions on investigations and policies, as well as the new Title IX regulations that go into effect in August 2020. With his significant background representing college and university students facing potential disciplinary proceedings or criminal investigations brought by institutions, Wu offers a unique perspective on the university hearing process, and the implementation of the new regulations, including the requirement for cross-examination.

Wu also pioneered the practice area of college student defense, which has grown to encompass defending college, graduate school and high school students in the face of potential disciplinary charges arising from academic misconduct, Title IX allegations and other student conduct code violations. He leads the firm’s new Student Defense Group, which regularly defends students in disciplinary proceedings for academic violations including online cheating during remote exams, plagiarism, alcohol and drug violations, hazing and assault, as well as Title IX matters.

Wu served as counsel to Attorney General Janet Reno, advising her on criminal and civil investigations, e-commerce issues, congressional oversight, and legislative review, and liaised with the FBI, DEA (Criminal Division), National Institute of Justice, and the White House Counsel’s office. As an Assistant United States Attorney, he served as a supervisor in the District of Columbia United States Attorney’s Office, led a Police Corruption Task Force, and served as a senior supervisor on an Independent Counsel investigation regarding a Cabinet official. Wu is a legal analyst on CNN, regularly appearing to discuss notable developments on a wide variety of legal issues.

Grohovsky represents crime victims in criminal, civil, and Title IX proceedings, as well as whistleblowers who bring cases under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act (FCA) or other laws with whistleblower provisions. She leads the firm’s new False Claims Act and Whistleblower Group. Grohovsky advises individuals, particularly government workers, in investigations conducted by Inspector Generals’ Offices and the Department of Justice Office of Professional Responsibility. In addition, Grohovsky regularly represents individuals and businesses involved in white collar criminal investigations and students facing criminal and disciplinary proceedings.

Grohovsky previously served as an Attorney Advisor in the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Justice, where she investigated allegations of fraud, waste, and abuse within the Department. She also served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Columbia, during which time she also held the role of Director of Training and was responsible for training all of the lawyers and support staff in the largest U.S. Attorney’s Office in the country.

Corporate attorney also joining business, entertainment firm’s Dallas office

DALLAS – Business and entertainment law firm Shackelford, Bowen, McKinley & Norton, LLP has expanded its intellectual property and corporate legal expertise with the addition of six IP professionals and a veteran corporate law attorney in Dallas and Houston.

In a major expansion of the firm’s intellectual property expertise, attorneys Ross Robinson, David Lovell and David Odom join the Dallas office as partners, with Henry “Bud” Ehrlich joining as a partner in Houston. Of Counsel Stan Moore and patent agent Shoaib Mithani are joining the Dallas office. The firm also welcomes Robert McCormick as a partner in its Dallas-based corporate group. All join Shackelford from Winstead PC.

“We are excited by these additions. Robert is an exceptional attorney with a broad range of corporate experience and while we have a number of attorneys who provide our clients with ongoing IP assistance on many fronts, never before have we had the depth of expertise that this group represents,” says firm founder John Shackelford. “With the breadth of knowledge they bring, their addition is almost like introducing a new practice area to the firm.”

The attorneys’ practices incorporate all areas of IP law, including transactional and litigation work as well as strategic IP guidance, portfolio due diligence, and patent preparation and prosecution for a diverse range of industries.

“Shackelford is a dynamic and client-focused firm and we look forward to doing our part to help coalesce the IP practice while also expanding the range of services available to the firm’s clients,” said Robinson.

Robinson’s practice emphasizes U.S. and foreign patent preparation and prosecution, preparation of opinions regarding patent infringement and validity, and client counseling. He has drafted and prosecuted numerous complex patent applications.

Lovell’s practice focuses on patents, trademarks, and trade secrets. He works closely with clients to help strategically develop and grow their portfolios, and has extensive experience in all stages of patent procurement, including preparation, prosecution, and appeals before the U.S. Patent Office’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

Odom counsels clients involved in information technology, electronic, electrical, mechanical, computer hardware and software, telecommunications, energy, medical devices, and oil and gas in patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret rights, as well as in portfolio and related docket management.

Ehrlich’s practice is focused on counseling clients on all aspects of portfolio development and management, including worldwide patent and trademark preparation and prosecution and providing legal opinions and studies in regard to patent infringement, validity, and product clearance. In addition, he counsels clients with regard to technology development agreements and licensing.

Moore’s primary practice area is patent and trademark law. His practice also includes domestic and international patent preparation, prosecution and licensing in mechanical, telecommunications, electro-mechanical, and computer technologies.

McCormick’s corporate practice focuses on complex mergers, acquisitions, and reorganizations; real estate acquisitions, dispositions, leasing and financing; general business counseling and strategic planning; and secured, mortgage and specialty financing.

Shackelford, Bowen, McKinley & Norton, LLP is a general business, aviation and entertainment law firm with attorneys and offices in Dallas, Houston, Frisco, Fort Worth, and Austin, Texas, Nashville, Tennessee, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Learn more about the firm at http://www.shackelford.law.

Eversheds Sutherland is pleased to announce the further expansion of the firm’s Chicago office with the arrival of three attorneys in the Real Estate Practice Group. Ruth A. Schoenmeyer has joined the firm as partner, and Kathleen Dempsey Boyle and Stephanie J. Kim have joined the firm as counsel.

Schoenmeyer is the fifth partner to join the firm in Chicago, and the third real estate partner added there since the office opened in May 2019. The Real Estate Practice Group has added ten new attorneys in New York and Chicago since the beginning of 2019 – five partners, three counsel and two associates.

Schoenmeyer, who joins from White & Case, has more than 25 years of experience in commercial real estate, both in-house and in private practice. She advises clients on a variety of transactions, including leasing, redevelopment, disposition and acquisition matters. Her clients include retailers, developers, quick-service restaurant chains, and logistics companies. She frequently speaks and writes about commercial real estate leasing topics and is a member of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers.

Boyle, who joins from Meltzer, Purtill & Stelle, has more than 35 years of experience counseling clients on all aspects of commercial real estate leasing, development and redevelopment. She represents developers, landlords and tenants regarding retail, mixed-use, office, warehouse and industrial projects. Prior to private practice, she spent several years as associate general counsel at one of the largest shopping mall operators in the US, and as of counsel at the world’s largest tire sales and auto service retailer. Boyle is a member of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers.

Kim, who also joins from White & Case, has more than 20 years of experience in commercial real estate. Her experience includes commercial real estate leasing on behalf of property owners and tenants of retail, shopping centers, office, industrial and other commercial properties. She also has experience representing developers, property owners and purchasers in the development, acquisition, disposition and management of office, commercial, industrial, condominium, vacant and residential properties.

CHICAGO – Barnes & Thornburg has added labor and employment attorney Terese M. Connolly as partner in the firm’s Labor and Employment Department. Ms. Connolly, who joins in Chicago, advises multinational corporations on a full spectrum of employment-related issues that arise when managing a global workforce.

Connolly works with clients throughout all aspects of the employment life cycle. Over the years, she has built a global network of contacts to provide multinational organizations with both domestic and international employment law counseling, training, and advice on domestic and cross-border employment law issues related to mergers, acquisitions, corporate reorganizations and other transactions. She joins the firm from Culhane Meadows, where she was Chair of the Labor and Employment practice group.

In addition to supporting multinational corporations’ daily workforce-related operations, Connolly represents clients in a number of matters, including those that emerge under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the WARN Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the National Labor Relations Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and various state wage and hour laws among others.

Connolly earned her J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law, with honors, earning C.A.L.I. awards in both Disability and Privacy Rights in Employment Law.