Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery LLP will present a free webinar, “Effective Trade Secret Practices: What You and Your Employees Need to Know,” featuring Fitch Even attorneys Thomas F. Lebens and Donald “Bob” Bunton.

The event will be on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019, at 9 am PDT / 10 am MDT / 11 am CDT / 12 noon EDT. It will also be available as an on-demand webinar after the presentation.

With the passage of the America Invents Act and the Defend Trade Secrets Act, as well as recent case law creating uncertainty in some areas of patent law, many intellectual property owners have expressed a renewed interest in trade secret protection for innovations and information. However, very few of these IP owners have a well-developed program for identifying, classifying, and intentionally protecting these trade secrets. And even for those owners with such a program, establishing a record of training leaders and employees in trade secret protection can be important to show that the owner has engaged in “reasonable efforts” to protect its trade secrets.

During this webinar, our presenters will discuss the following:
• Best practices for identifying and classifying trade secrets
• Key features of a trade secret program
• Internal ongoing education on trade secret protection needed to support a showing of “reasonable efforts”

Register for the webinar.

Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery LLP will present a free webinar, “How Late Is Too Late? Setting the Timeline for Patent Protection,” featuring Fitch Even attorneys Mark A. Borsos and Vincent R. Meyer.

The event will be on Thursday, August 29, 2019, at 9 am PDT / 10 am MDT / 11 am CDT / 12 noon EDT. It will also be available as an on-demand webinar after the presentation.

Patent considerations do not always align with commercial realities. Although pursuing patent protection as early as possible is generally preferred, at times product development, financial issues, and other factors get in the way. In some circumstances, inventors do not even think about patenting an invention until they are sure that their idea is practical and there is sufficient commercial interest to warrant investing the necessary time and resources into reducing the invention to practice. This webinar will explore considerations affecting the timing of patent filings and what to do if an inventor’s prior actions have potentially put their patent rights in jeopardy.

During this webinar, presenters will discuss the following:

• Supreme Court and Federal Circuit decisions regarding statutory bars
• When an invention is “ready for patenting”
• Potential scenarios that could endanger patent rights
• Factors that may weigh for and against patentability once an invention has been disclosed or offered for sale
• Strategies for coordinating patent filings with development efforts

Register for the webinar.

Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery LLP will present a free webinar, “Not So Obvious: Secondary Considerations at the PTAB,” featuring Fitch Even attorneys Dave A. Gosse and Evan Kline-Wedeen.

The event will be on Thursday, July 18, 2019, at 9 am PDT / 10 am MDT / 11 am CDT / 12 noon EDT. It will also be available as an on-demand webinar after presentation.

Objective evidence of non-obviousness can overcome a prima facie case of obviousness, both in district court litigation and at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. These “secondary considerations” are an important tool that patent owners can use to defeat obviousness challenges. Historically, the PTAB has not often been persuaded by such evidence. But in recent years, patent owners have found some success when presenting compelling objective evidence of commercial success, copying, long-felt need, and other secondary considerations.

During this webinar, presenters will discuss the following:
• Developing trends at the PTAB concerning secondary considerations
• How to insulate your petition from secondary considerations
• Best practices for patent owners developing evidence related to secondary considerations

Register for the webinar.

Duane Morris will present a complimentary webinar on the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) on Thursday, June 20, 2019, at 9:30 a.m. Pacific time.

Led by an interdisciplinary team of Duane Morris attorneys, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 Webinar Series offers an in-depth discussion and analysis of the CCPA, along with timely and practical strategies to prepare your business for compliance with this complex rule, the firm said in a release.

The CCPA of 2018 is the strictest privacy law in the United States and has national impact for anyone doing business in California. The new law takes effect Jan. 1, 2020, and gives consumers greater control over their personal information while establishing stringent rules and significant penalties for the companies that handle consumer information.

The second session topics include:

– Brief CCPA overview
– Examination of the CCPA requirements for privacy policies and third-party agreements
– Practical strategies for reviewing and updating your privacy policies and third-party agreements to comply with the CCPA

The first session of the series, Understanding the New California Consumer Privacy Act: Why The CCPA Applies to You and Practical Steps You Can Take Now to Comply, can be viewed on the firm’s website.

Register for the June 20 webinar.

Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery LLP will present a free webinar with Chicago Women in IP (ChiWIP), “Understanding Women’s Conflict in the Legal Workplace and the Bias That Built It,” featuring attorneys Andie Kramer and Alton Harris, with attorney Nikki Little as moderator.

The event will be on Thursday, June 13, 2019, at 10 am PDT / 11 am MDT / 12 noon CDT / 1 pm EDT. It also will be available as an on-demand webinar after presentation.

A common misconception is that women inherently have challenging relationships with other women at work, the firm said in a release. But the research of the speakers, Andrea Kramer and Alton Harris, has shown this is patently untrue. They will provide real-world advice and tactics for how both women and men in the legal profession can avoid workplace conflict and overcome deeply rooted biases in a traditionally male-dominated industry.

During this webinar, the presenters will share insights on the following:

• Gender bias in the workplace, including women’s same-gender conflicts
• How gendered workplaces disadvantage women
• How to build supportive work environments to help women succeed and advance

Register for the webinar.

The University of California at Berkeley School of Law will present a Berkeley Boosts webinar, “When Icahn Comes Knocking,” to explore best practices and recent developments in shareholder activism.

The free one-hour webinar will be May 29, 2019, 10 a.m. Pacific time.

Speakers will be Kenton King and Thomas Ivey of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.

Register for the webinar.

Lex Machina will present a present a webinar on the company’s latest research on contracts litigation.

The 30-minute event will begin at 10 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. EDT) on Tuesday, May 7, 2019.

Lex Machine legal data expert Karen Chadwick, the author of the report, and Abena Mainoo, partner at Cleary Gottlieb, will discuss the latest findings and trends on top law firm and party data, timing metrics, case resolutions, damages awards, and more.

The webcast will cover:

• Case Filings
• Case Timing to Key Milestones
• Top Districts and Judges
• Most Active Parties
• Top Law Firms
• Case Resolutions and Findings
• Damages Awards

Register for the webinar.

Expert Webcast will present an interactive roundtable discussion municipal restructuring on May 2, 2019, 1-2 p.m. Pacific Time, with Andy J. Dillon, executive director at Conway MacKenzie, and Karol K. Denniston, partner at Squire Patton Boggs, and moderated by Alex Kasdan, senior managing director, DelMorgan & Co.

Dillon acted as treasurer for the state of Michigan, managing 1,450 employees, where he was responsible for collecting more than $50 billion in annual revenues, tax administration, collections, bond finance, school loan programs, local government oversight, and served as the sole fiduciary of $60 billion in pension, 401K, state trust and cash assets. While treasurer, Dillon also led two state reviews of the City of Detroit’s finances, negotiated a consent agreement between the city and state and transitioned the city into receivership. Dillon also provided hands on oversight of dozens of troubled cities, counties and school districts, Expert Webcast said in a release.

Denniston, a bankruptcy and restructuring lawyer for more than 30 years, has experience representing debtors, creditors, bondholders and other parties in a wide variety of litigated bankruptcy cases and out of court transactions. Denniston has been working in the distressed municipal sector since 2009 and routinely represents cities, special districts, indenture trustees, bondholders, taxpayers and monoline insurers in a variety of municipal restructuring engagements throughout the US. She has represented clients in municipal insolvency proceedings with a focus on negotiating resolutions, including in Puerto Rico PROMESA restructurings for the Government Development Bank and COFINA.

Register for the roundtable.

Hanzo and Duane Morris, LLP will present a joint webinar, “The Impact of Meritless Claims on Multidistrict Litigation And How Social Media Investigations Can Help,” on May 16, 2019 at 1 pm ET. The event will include a discussion about multidistrict litigation, the challenge of meritless claims, and strategic insights about how social media investigations can help.

Multidistrict litigation (MDL), came into being in 1968 with the intent to make it more efficient for parties to litigate complex cases where there is a common question of fact that are pending in different districts. Since then, MDLs have surged to more than 50 percent of all federal civil cases, of which product liability cases now comprise the vast majority of MDLs. Aside from being great for plaintiff’s counsel, however, it’s questionable whether they are good for anyone else, Hanzo says in a news release.

“Unfortunately, what was originally intended to streamline processes has turned into a magnet for meritless claims, where around a third of the MDL claims turn out to be unsupportable. Adding to the injury, these are often discovered at the settlement stage,” according to Hanzo.

In this webinar, industry leaders Sean Burke, partner, and Ryan O’Neil, both of Duane Morris, and Evan Gumz of Hanzo will discuss the problem meritless claims pose to the multidistrict litigation process and explore proactive solutions to help identify frivolous claims early in the process.

The discussion will include:

– The prevalence of meritless claims and their impact on the MDLs
– The problem with discovering meritless claims at the settlement stage
– Legal reform and possible solutions proposed by the subcommittee of the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules
– Bellwether trials
– How social media investigations can help

Speakers

– Sean Burke, Partner, Duane Morris, LLP
– Ryan O’Neil, Associate, Duane Morris, LLP
– Evan Gumz, Senior Account Executive, EDiscovery, Hanzo

Register for the webinar.

Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery LLP will present a free webinar, “Ensuring Copyright Protection in a Changing Legal Landscape,” featuring Fitch Even attorneys Alisa C. Simmons and Kerianne A. Strachan.

The event will be on Thursday, May 2, 2019, at 9 am PDT / 10 am MDT / 11 am CDT / 12 noon EDT. It also will be available as an on-demand webinar after presentation.

The recent Supreme Court decision in Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, LLC, established that a copyright owner may not file an infringement suit until the U.S. Copyright Office has acted on the copyright owner’s application to register its copyright in the work. Moving quickly to register copyrights is now an important step in safeguarding your rights.

During this webinar, presenters will share insights on the following:
• The practical effects of the Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com decision and other benefits of early registration
• Strategies for protecting copyright rights in work product produced by employees
• Strategies for obtaining and maintaining necessary permissions to use third-party materials in advertisements and promotions
• Recent updates enacted by Congress to benefit music publishers through the Music Modernization Act

Register for the webinar.

Berkeley Law professor Amelia Miazad will analyze how the #MeToo movement has impacted foundational aspects of corporate governance when Berkeley Boosts presents a free webinar on April 23, 2019, at 10 a.m. Pacific time. MCLE credit will be available.

Those aspects to be discussed include board composition, how the board oversees risk, CEO selection and compensation, and M&A deals.

Berkeley Boosts is a monthly series of free webinars (with MCLE credit) and articles for legal practitioners and organizational leaders. Berkeley Boosts content is curated by the Berkeley Center for Law and Business and Berkeley Law Executive Education.

Register for the webinar.

Past Berkeley Boosts webinars have covered a range of topics, including:

The Wild World of Class Actions
March 20, 2019
Presenters: David Singh, Partner and Hannah Jones, Associate at Weil

The Rise of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS)
February 26, 2019
Presenter: Mario Mancuso, Kirkland & Ellis (formerly Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security)

Blockchain Explained
January 22, 2019
Presenters: Ian Lee, IDEO CoLab, and Nancy Wojtas, Cooley LLP

To access recordings of these presentations, as well as receive notice of upcoming webinars, sign up for the mailing list.

Leading ethics and compliance software and services company NAVEX Global announced the release of its 2019 Ethics & Compliance Hotline Benchmark Report. The report, which includes the first full year of results since the #MeToo era began, shows an overall 18 percent increase in harassment reports during 2017 and 2018 with 41 percent of these reports substantiated.

“These findings reflect strong growth in the number of employees willing to speak out against harassment – and they should serve as notice to employers that #MeToo is a fundamental shift in employees’ willingness to tolerate harassment,” said Carrie Penman, chief compliance officer and senior vice president, Advisory Services, NAVEX Global. “That said, the problem of harassing conduct is larger than these numbers reflect as many employees still fear reporting. Failed cultures, ineffective internal processes, fear of retaliation and lack of leadership support will continue to result in numbers that do not reflect the true pervasiveness of workplace harassment.”

In addition to claims of sexual harassment, employees are also reluctant to raise reports of retaliation when they lack trust in internal processes. “Reports of retaliation remain extremely low in comparison to the trends we are seeing in external reporting to government agencies,” said Penman. “The gap between internal and external retaliation reporting should be concerning to all boards, executives and compliance professionals. It is time to focus the attention and resources needed to identify, address and prevent retaliatory behaviour.”

The report also found a substantial 18 percent increase in discrimination reports in 2018. However, the substantiation rate of these cases remains significantly lower than the overall case substantiation rate of 29 percent. This is likely because discrimination claims, like retaliation claims, are often based on perceived behaviour rather than on a clear statement or evidence, making these types of cases more difficult to prove.

The 2019 hotline report is the first in which NAVEX Global received and analysed over 1 million employee reports in a single year. One of the key findings is that availability and tracking of all report intake methods matters. Organizations that offer and track the full range of intake methods (hotline, web, open door, etc.) show a much higher reporting rate than do organizations that track only phone and web: 2.1 per 100 employees versus 1.1 per 100. Organizations in the latter category are missing a significant percentage of concerns and risks that employees could be raising.

Finally, this year’s hotline benchmark report included several other results that organizations should consider as they look to improve their own programs.

•Follow-ups to anonymous reporting dropped to a disappointing level, from a median 32 percent in 2017 to 20 percent in 2018. This is particularly striking given that overall report substantiation for anonymous reporters remained high at 38 percent, only slightly lower than the overall rate of 42 percent. “More than half of reports received on hotlines are made by anonymous reporters, so employee failure to follow up on those reports can impact the ability to successfully resolve an issue,” said Penman.

•There was some improvement in case closure time with a median rate of 40 days in 2018, compared with 44 in 2017 and the all-time high of 46 days in 2015. But the 2018 median was still far higher than a best-practice average of 30 to 32 days. Given that employees can become cynical if reports aren’t handled promptly, these findings show that many organizations should review their case-handling and investigation procedures, while also consulting with senior leadership about gaps in available resources.

•Reports made to hotlines that were inquiries, not allegations, decreased to an all-time low of 15 percent. Accepting questions before action is taken is the best way to avoid a problem later. Organizations should encourage employees to use the hotline as a helpline that can offer advice and assistance – and not just a place to file reports.

NAVEX Global will present a webinar covering the survey results. The full 2019 Hotline Benchmark report will be available for download during the webinar.

Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP has promoted 11 lawyers.

Capital Finance & Real Estate
Matthew R. Halal, New York
Robert A. Rich, New York
Conor M. Shary, Houston

Corporate
James V. Davidson, Richmond
David Dumont, Brussels
Alex R. Velinsky, Charlotte
Beth A. Whitaker, Dallas

Energy & Infrastructure
Geoffrey C. Lorenz, Washington

Litigation
Timothy J. Fazio, Boston
Abigail M. Lyle, Dallas

Tax & ERISA
Jessica N. Agostinho, Washington

Jessica N. Agostinho (Washington) focuses her practice on the complex and evolving area of employee benefits law, including health care reform, tax-qualified retirement plans and executive compensation. She also is highly skilled in handling employee benefits issues arising in corporate transactions. She received her undergraduate degree from Georgetown University Walsh School of Foreign Service and her law degree from Columbia Law School.

James V. Davidson (Richmond) focuses his practice on all aspects of capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, and real estate transactions, with a particular emphasis on REITs. An undergraduate of Miami University, Davidson received his law degree from New York University School of Law.

David Dumont (Brussels) advises large, multinational clients on various aspects of European Union privacy and data protection law and has worked extensively in preparing clients for all aspects of the new EU General Data Protection Regulation. Dumont received his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Brussels.

Timothy J. Fazio (Boston) is a trial lawyer who maintains a diverse national practice, concentrating in complex commercial litigation as well as corporate and government investigations. Fazio received his undergraduate degree from Hamilton College and his master’s degree from Hofstra University Frank G. Zarb School of Business. He earned his law degree from Hofstra University School of Law.

Matthew R. Halal (New York) practice focuses on advising lenders and investors in all aspects of secured financings, with an emphasis on representing institutional lenders in the origination of commercial mortgage and mezzanine loans. Halal is a graduate of Binghamton University, State University of New York, and received his law degree from New York Law School.

Geoffrey C. Lorenz (Washington) primarily focuses his practice on the acquisition, financing and development of electric-generating facilities employing both conventional and renewable technologies. He received his undergraduate degree from Duke University and earned his law degree from George Washington University Law School.

Abigail M. Lyle (Dallas) focuses her practice on regulatory compliance and defending financial institutions in enforcement actions and litigation related to consumer protection laws. Lyle received her undergraduate degree from Furman University and her law degree from University of Miami School of Law.

Robert A. Rich (New York) primarily represents corporate debtors, secured and unsecured creditors, indenture and securitization trustees, lessors, and other parties in interest in Chapter 11 bankruptcies. Rich received his undergraduate degree from Boston College and his master’s degree from Fordham University Graduate School of Business. He earned his law degree from Fordham University School of Law.

Conor M. Shary (Houston) represents buyers, sellers and developers of commercial real estate, landlords and tenants in office and retail leasing transactions, lenders and borrowers in secured lending transactions and financial institutions in project financings and commercial loans. He received his undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and his law degree from Harvard Law School.

Alex R. Velinsky (Charlotte) has represented borrowers and lenders on a wide variety of structured finance transactions. His particular focus is on financings involving residential and commercial mortgage loans and related assets. Velinsky received his undergraduate degree from Princeton University and his law degree from Columbia Law School.

Beth A. Whitaker (Dallas) focuses on corporate transactions and securities and regulatory representation of commercial banks, holding company, thrifts and other financial institutions, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, debt and equity offerings, and corporate finance transactions. Whitaker received her undergraduate degree from Elon University and her law degree from Charleston School of Law.

Expert Webcast will present a complimentary webinar roundtable titled “The Role of Financial Experts in Commercial Litigation.”

The event will be Tuesday, March 26, 2019, 1-2 p.m. Eastern time.

Speakers will be Dan Boland of Pepper Hamilton, Jeff Litvak of FTI Consulting, Clara Chin of FTI Consulting, and Alex Kasan of DelMorgan & Co.

Anyone who wants access to the replay of the webinar may indicate that preference in the last field of the registration form.

Register for the webinar.

Business law firm HunterMaclean announced that Randall A. Jordan has recently joined the firm as a partner in the Litigation Practice Group.

Jordan’s practice focuses mainly on business litigation pertaining to transportation and logistics. In a release, the firm said he has tried more than 100 jury cases in state and federal courts throughout the United States. Jordan has defended some of the country’s largest railroads in a wide array of business and tort matters, including the defense of hundreds of asbestos and other toxic exposure claims. He also is a frequent speaker to groups across the country on issues facing the transportation and logistics industries.

“Randy is recognized throughout the southeastern United States for his invaluable knowledge and experience,” said HunterMaclean managing partner Brad Harmon. “His addition to HunterMaclean will be an asset to our firm and clients.”

He has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America© for the past seven years and recognized as a Super Lawyer within the State of Georgia. He is also AV Rated by Martindale-Hubbell.

Jordan received a Bachelor of Arts from Duke University and graduated from Mercer University Walter F. George School of Law. He is a member of the Brunswick Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Georgia, the National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel, and the Defense Research Institute.

Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery LLP will present a free webinar, “Navigating Open Source Risk with Tools for Usage Evaluation and License Compliance,” featuring Philip Odence of Black Duck On-Demand and Fitch Even partners Amanda Lowerre O’Donnell, Joseph F. Marinelli, and Steven G. Parmelee.

The event will be Thursday, February 28, at 9:00 am PST / 10:00 am MST / 11:00 am CST / 12 noon EST.

Software is increasingly incorporated into products released into the market, and more companies are releasing mobile applications every day. As the percentage of open source content in use rises, the legal and security risks accompanying such use needs to be actively managed. During this webinar, presenters will provide background information and actionable advice that will assist in handling open source.

Among other insights, presenters will discuss the following:

• Assessing license compliance and compatibility
• Leveraging tools to monitor and assess risks associated with software deals and open source software incorporated into a company’s code
• Creating programs and policies to effectively manage a company’s incorporation of open source into its code
• External web service call-out or API identification and management of associated obligations, risks, and privacy concerns

Register for the webinar.

Hanzo will present a webinar on the dynamic relationship between compliance and marketing on Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, at 2 p.m. EST.

In today’s increasingly digital, collaborative, interactive, and social media-driven business landscape, the role of marketing and the campaigns, content, and messaging these professionals create can produce significant, unintended financial and reputational risks, the company said in a release. That risk is magnified when compliance is siloed from key functions, decisions, and business processes.

While it’s true that marketers can create problems and regulatory headaches for compliance professionals, it’s also true that compliance professionals can learn how to become more effective from their marketing peers, the release continues.

Tom Fox and Louis Sapirman will present the live, one-hour webinar .

All registrants will receive a recording of the webinar and copy of our presentation, and this webinar is currently pending approval by the SCCE for 1.2 live and non-live CCB CEUs.

In this webinar, experts discuss:

• Common risks and compliance violations that can stem from digital marketing activity.
• How compliance teams can become more effective through marketing best practices.
• The benefits and risks of social media for compliance teams.
• How compliance and marketing teams can form more transparent, collaborative relationships so both can succeed and do their best work.

Register for the webinar.

Exterro will present a complimentary webinar examining how legal professionals are using O365 in tandem with their own e-discovery software to create a streamlined, comprehensive e-discovery program.

The online event will be Wednesday, Feb. 20, at 1 p.m. Eastern time (10 a.m. Pacific time).

Participants will learn:

• How in-house legal professionals are incorporating O365 into their e-discovery process
• Best practices for leveraging O365’s e-discovery capabilities to secure and search documents without collection
• Practical considerations to remember when incorporating O365 into your broader e-discovery process

Register for the webinar.

Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Aughtry announced the addition of Jeffrey Hord as an Atlanta-based senior associate in the firm’s labor and employment section.

Hord’s practice will focus on defending employers nationwide in litigation matters regarding Title VII, the FLSA, ADA, NLRA, FMLA and ADEA. He will also counsel and advise clients on employment issues, including worker classification, DOL and OFCCP compliance, employee separation, shareholder disputes, and restrictive covenants.

Hord is admitted to practice law in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. He holds an AV Preeminent Rating from Martindale Hubbell and has been recognized as a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers eight times across three states. From 2009 to 2012, he served as an adjunct faculty member of the American University Washington College of Law’s trial advocacy program.

Hord earned his undergraduate degree from The College of William & Mary and his law degree from the University of Richmond School of Law.

RFP Advisory Group will present a complimentary webinar where attendees will learn best practices and obstacles to avoid when issuing a request for proposal (RFP) to law firms.

The webinar will be Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2019, beginning at 1 p.m. EST.

RFP Advisory Group says that RFPs can allow a legal department to:

* Identify how many, and which law firms are the best fit for your business goals
* Incorporate the latest technology and innovations into your legal strategy
* Negotiate rates that will ensure that you are getting the most value for your dollar
* Convert your billing structures to alternative fee arrangements (“AFAs”)
* Increase diversity of the lawyers working on your companies matters
* Create a consistent set of outside counsel guidelines

However, RFPs can be labor intensive and a disaster to manage when done incorrectly, especially when done by general counsel with no legal operations or procurement staff to support the process, the RFP Advisory Group says. This webinar is ideal for general counsel who have been considering issuing an RFP but need to learn more about the latest trends and best practices.

Register for the webinar.