“The Biglaw firm of Dentons is facing a $25 million lawsuit alleging self dealing, conflict of interest, and gross overbilling. ” reports Kathryn Rubino in Above the Law’s BigLaw.

“The lawsuit alleges that both Dentons and partner Shane Stevenson told Venning that “within a short period of time” of the Regent Energy sale, Stevenson would come in-house at Venning Group. While that move never materialized, the complaint alleges that in anticipation of the move, Stevenson became involved as a shareholder or director in numerous of its companies.”

“Additionally, the complaint alleges that Stevenson has a substance abuse problem and that Dentons was aware of the issue and failed to provide proper supervision of his legal work. The allegations against Stevenson include ones that he provided legal advice under the influence of alcohol and cocaine and that Venning was not warned the legal work they got from Stevenson may be under the influence.”

Read the article.

“Legal technologies promise to flourish in the coming decade, and although it is not possible to predict all the innovations that are likely to become mainstream, the use of smart contracts appears to be on the rise. A typical smart contract uses computers and code to automate performance of some or all of the parties’ obligations. However, the legal terms of the contract are likely to remain in written form in a contract that people can read. If a dispute arises, the parties may prefer arbitration as an alternative to court, but arbitration doesn’t happen on its own – it typically requires a properly drafted arbitration clause.”

Steven K. Davidson, Michael J. Baratz, Jared R. Butcher and Molly Bruder Fox provide some tips in Steptoe’s News/Publications to keep in mind when considering how to draft these clauses.

Read the article.

“It is important for contractual language to be not only precise but also accurate. Many agreements govern multiple individuals, some of whose gender is unclear or variable. This article will give you advice and guidance on how to adjust contract language to be gender-neutral. As society moves towards treating all genders equally, legal contracts should too.” advises Kati I. Pajak in Mintz’s Insights Center.

“Conversations around gender and gender neutrality are becoming more and more mainstream. Thompson Reuters reported that in the past year (2018), there has been an increase in the number of clients requesting gender-neutral documents. Start-ups are at the forefront of change and industry disruption, so it is logical that they stay ahead of the trend.”

“Now, the shift towards non-gendered pronouns and away from binary choices of “he” or “she” means attorneys need to adopt new drafting techniques. As entrepreneurs and leaders of your own business, you can encourage this shift.”

Read the article.

“Have you recently made a career move — maybe going in-house?  Or shifting from a firm to government work?  When you’re dealing with a work-life change, watch out for details that can too-easily fall through the cracks — like your license to practice, the date it expires, and whether you are in line to get an expiration notice.” reports Karen Rubin in The Law for Lawyers Today In-House Counsel.

“Illustrating the possible pitfalls:  a high-level Justice Department  lawyer was in the spotlight this week because he practiced for two months while unaware that his license had lapsed.  He issued apology letters, including to the Ninth Circuit, where he had presented an oral argument while unlicensed.”

“The lawyer heads the DOJ’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.  He has been a member of the D.C. bar since 1997, and worked at Kirkland & Ellis before joining the DOJ in 2018.  His license was deactivated October 1 for not paying his annual bar dues.”

Read the article.

Faegre Baker Daniels is being sued for legal malpractice by a company that says the firm provided “erroneous” legal services relating to the launch and operation of a fund set up to acquire and manage crypto assets, according to a Bloomberg Law report.

Digital Capital Management’s complaint alleges that the law firm provided “inaccurate analysis and advice” to Digital Capital’s predecessor, Crypto Asset Management, LP, regarding how to register under the Investment Advisers Acts of 1940.

Crypto Asset Management alleges the firm advised the plaintiffs that “Crypto Assets are not securities” and to thus structure the fund’s business “accordingly.” The advice was “erroneous,” the complaint says, resulting in a censure and penalty from the SEC.

Read the Bloomberg Law article.

Image by William Munoz

Former secretary of state Rex Tillerson is again at the center of the climate change debate, as the former Exxon Mobil CEO prepares to take the witness stand regarding allegations his former company deceived shareholders about the financial risks posed by climate change, reports the Houston Chronicle.

Tillerson is scheduled to make an appearance at the New York Supreme Court Wednesday to answer questions about missing emails and varying carbon pricing schemes amid a growing wave of climate change litigation against the oil industry, according to the Chronicle‘s James Osborne.

The New York attorney general wants to answer the question of whether Exxon defrauded investors when it used one carbon price to estimate the potential taxes or fees the company might have to pay on greenhouse gas emissions from oil drilling projects and another in the economic modeling it presented to investors regarding future oil and gas demand.

Read the Houston Chronicle article.

Compliancy Group will present a webinar on HIPAA compliance and cybersecurity on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019, at 2 p.m. Eastern time.

Enacted in 1996, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), established industry standards that every healthcare organization is required to adhere to. Throughout the years, HIPAA regulation has been modified, as such it is essential to keep up-to-date with the latest regulatory changes. Since its inception, HIPAA law has become part of an organization’s culture, affecting how to do business and how a practice is run. Learn the ins and outs of HIPAA compliance and cybersecurity.

Webinar presenters will discuss how HIPAA compliance and cybersecurity go hand-in-hand and will simplify HIPAA compliance. They will walk viewers through the full extent of the regulation, including the revisions and amendments that have been added over the years.

Register for the webinar.

The Associated Press is reporting that sworn statements supporting search warrants allege that six of seven Mississippi chicken processing plants raided last week were “willfully and unlawfully” employing people who lacked authorization to work in the United States.

Some of the workers were wearing electronic monitoring bracelets at work for previous immigration violations, according to unsealed court documents.

“The statements unsealed Thursday allege that managers at two processing plants owned by the same Chinese man actively participated in fraud,” writes the AP’s Jeff Amy. “They also show that supervisors at other plants at least turned a blind eye to evidence strongly suggesting job applicants were using fraudulent documents and bogus Social Security numbers.”

Read the AP article.

A brief published by the National Association of Corporate Directors takes a serious look at the critical interaction between the general counsel and the board during a crisis.

The information contained in the brief was captured from an in-depth discussion of Fortune 500 board leaders.

The publication, titled “Communicating in Times of Crisis: Insights From Fortune 500 Committee Chairs,” can be downloaded from the NACD website at no charge.

It addresses the question: How can the general counsel manage the timing of communications with stakeholders and balance the need for transparency with the organization’s risk appetite—amid an ongoing investigation?

Download the brief.

The former compliance officer and president of pharmaceutical distributor Miami-Luken were charged alongside two West Virginia pharmacists by federal prosecutors in Ohio Thursday with conspiring to distribute controlled substances.

ABC News reports Miami-Luken’s former compliance officer, James Barclay, and former president, Anthony Rattini, were charged.

“In one instance, prosecutors claim that Miami-Luken distributed 3.7 million hydrocodone pills to a single pharmacy in Kermit, West Virginia — a town with a population of about 400 people from 2008 to 2011. That averages out to 9,250 hydrocodone pills for every resident of the town,” reports ABC’s Luke Barr.

Read the ABC News article.

Although the United States does not have a uniform set of privacy laws and regulations for websites, it is still important to understand the current legal landscape when creating or updating a privacy policy, including the specific jurisdictions, types of data, or industries that apply to the company, warns a post by Morgan Lewis.

Writing in the firm’s Tech & Sourcing blog, Peter M. Watt-Morse and Valerie A. Gross caution that “failing to be aware of laws and regulations pertinent to your particular industry and business and ultimately implementing inaccurate or misleading privacy policies could expose your company to liability from regulatory and legal actions.”

In the article, they list some items that should be covered in a company’s privacy policy.

Read the article.

A webinar on compliance, ethics, and risk presented by Hanzo will discuss the key themes, takeaways, and lessons from the most significant new publications of Q2 2019.

The event will be July 17, 2019, at 2 p.m. Eastern time.

The one-hour webinar will be hosted by Tom Fox and Hanzo.

It will include analysis and discussion of:

1. The Department of Justice (DOJ) Updated Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs

2. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Compliance Commitments Framework

3. NAVEX 2019 Hotline Benchmark + Compliance Benchmark Reports

4. Ethisphere World’s Most Ethical (WME) Insights

5. LRN 2019 Program Effectiveness Index Report

6. KPMG 2019 Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) Survey

7. PWC 2019 State of Compliance Study

A question-and-answer session will follow the presentation, and each registered attendee will receive a written PDF report summarizing all the key findings, a copy of the presentation, a recording of the webinar.

Register for the webinar.

In an article in the ABA Banking Journal, Brad Rustin and Samer Roshdy of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough discuss the FDIC’s financial institutions letter FIL-19-2019, highlighting contractual deficiencies in banks’ contracts with technology service providers.

“The FDIC letter reaffirms the long-standing regulatory notion that a financial institution cannot discharge its responsibilities, which includes managing its business continuity and incident response processes, by outsourcing activities to third-party service providers,” they explain.

The authors also add that the letter serves as a reminder to the industry that federal banking regulators will continue to scrutinize relationships with technology service providers.

Read the article.

Seeking bankruptcy and scrambling to complete a $1.3 billion state-mandated wildfire prevention plan, Pacific Gas & Electric will now have to prove that its newly hired directors are fit to transform the mega-utility blamed for starting the 2018 Camp Fire in Northern California, reports Courthouse News Service.

While the new members have “impressive resumes,” said Commission president Michael Picker, it’s not clear they have the safety experience or time to manage the overhaul of a publicly traded utility facing an estimated $30 billion in wildfire liabilities.

Courthouse News Service reporter Nick Cahill writes that many state lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom have been skeptical of the additions, citing the new members’ ties to Wall Street.

Read the Courthouse News article.

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.

Bloomberg Law reports that Walmart has hired former Justice Department prosecutor David Searle as its international ethics and compliance officer.

The former assistant U.S. attorney prosecuted cases involving fraud, money laundering, extortion, export violations, worksite violations and human trafficking, as well as evaluating corporate compliance programs to make sure they conformed with the law.

Bloomberg’s Elizabeth Olson writes that Walmart has been adding experienced lawyers in recent months, hiring three female general counsel since last year, starting with Rachel Brand, formerly No. 3 at the Justice Department.

Read the Bloomberg Law article.

Hanzo has introduced Hanzo Dynamic Investigator for Compliance, an AI-powered online investigations technology that is designed to automate social media and web investigations, according to the company.

“This new data and evidence can help substantiate allegations of misconduct, unethical behavior, and regulatory failure,” Hanzo said in a release. “Corporations can improve their response to the growing volume of hotline reports of harassment, misconduct, bribery, fraud, and other illegal and non-compliant activity that undermine employee confidence and damage a corporation’s culture and reputation.”

The release continues:

Harassment reporting is growing more prevalent in the wake of the #MeToo movement. October 2018 data from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) shows there’s been a 12 percent yearly increase in sexual harassment charges filed with the agency.1 The reporting category of “HR, Diversity, and Workplace Respect,” which sexual harassment and misconduct fall under, accounts for 70 percent of all hotline activity in NAVEX Global’s data set, comprised of over 1 million compliance hotline reporting data points from thousands of global organizations. 2

With the increasing volume of whistleblowing and hotline reports of misconduct and newly published guidance from the Department of Justice (DOJ)3, compliance investigators are under pressure to promptly and thoroughly investigate and substantiate claims. Unfortunately, only 41 percent of harassment reports and 29 percent of discrimination reports were substantiated in 2018.4 Moreover, case closure for these types of investigations has crept upwards of 40 days—well exceeding best practice case closure of 30-32 days.5

In short, compliance teams are struggling to promptly confirm a majority of the reports they investigate, due in part to their inability to quickly and easily find the requisite evidence, which undermines program effectiveness and increases long-term corporate risk beyond any specific allegation of misconduct.

With Hanzo Dynamic Investigator, compliance departments can increase investigation efficiency and speed, and equip teams with the knowledge to conduct more thorough interviews.

Duane Morris will present a webinar titled “Understanding the New California Consumer Privacy Act: Why The CCPA Applies to You and Practical Steps You Can Take Now to Comply.”

The event will be Thursday, May 23, 2019, beginning at 1 p.m. Pacific time.

The firm said the California Consumer Privacy Act (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 January 1, 2020, and gives consumers greater control over their personal information, including the right to:

•Be informed which categories of their data will be collected by a business before it is collected;
•Opt out of the sale of their personal information;
•Delete their data from a business’ database;
•Be informed of any changes to categories of their data a business collects;
•Know the categories of the third parties with whom their data is being shared;
•Know the categories of sources of information from whom their data is acquired;
•Know the business purpose for collecting their data;
•Be aware of all their data a business has collected (annually and free of charge at the consumer’s request).

Enforcement of the CCPA will be through consumer lawsuits for data breaches, along with enforcement action by the California attorney general, who can impose fines of up to $2,500 per violation or $7,500 per intentional violation of the CCPA.

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

The first session will discuss:

•Understanding the CCPA
•How this law affects your business
•What steps can a business take to ensure compliance?

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.

Reuters is reporting that a group of U.S. state attorneys general are investigating Expedia Group and hotel chains like Hyatt Hotels Corp and Marriott International Inc for alleged violations of antitrust law in online travel booking, according to a court filing.

“The filing in a state court in Utah relates to a dispute originally filed in Texas in which Travelpass accused the hotel chains last year of agreeing with each other, and with online travel groups like Expedia, to not advertise to consumers who searched for another company’s hotel,” according to the report.

Court documents name the hotel chains Hyatt, Marriott, Caesars Entertainment Corp and Choice Hotels International Inc.

Read the Reuters article.