“A federal judge approved a deal Wednesday for Maryland to settle a long-running lawsuit over the state’s treatment of its four historically Black universities with $555 million in extra funding over 10 years, clearing the last major hurdle to end a legal battle launched in 2006,” reports Bryn Stole in the Baltimore Sun’s Politics.

“The lawsuit, filed by alumni and supporters of the schools, argued the state systematically undermined the institutions even after the end of legal segregation and made it difficult for Bowie State University, Coppin State University and Morgan State University in Baltimore, and the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore, to compete with the state’s other public universities for students and resources.”

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“Maryland has finalized a $577 million settlement to end a 15-year federal lawsuit relating to underfunding at the state’s four historically Black colleges and universities, state officials announced Wednesday,” reports Brian Witte in ABC News’ U.S. News.

“The Maryland Attorney General’s Office signed the agreement with attorneys for the plaintiffs to settle the case. Lawmakers passed legislation earlier this year to set aside the money, and Gov. Larry Hogan signed the bill last month.”

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“The former co-chairman of a major New York law firm has been suspended from practicing law for two years after pleading guilty and spending time in prison over his role in the U.S. college admissions scandal,” reports Nate Raymond in Reuters’ U.S. News.

“Gordon Caplan, who had been co-chairman at Willkie Farr & Gallagher, avoided disbarment despite his efforts to avoid “getting caught,” according to a Thursday decision by a New York appellate court imposing the suspension.”

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“Legal Innovators, an alternative legal services provider focused on innovative talent management solutions, and Orrick, a global law firm known for talent innovation, are collaborating on a pilot program through which two Legal Innovators lawyers will join Orrick’s incoming class of law school graduates as ‘Orrick Legal Innovators’ Fellows.’ In addition, a larger group of diverse lawyers joining Orrick this year will participate in a Legal Innovators-led training program,” posts Legal Innovators in their News.

“Through this collaboration, Orrick’s Legal Innovators Fellows will be fully integrated into Orrick client teams while continuing to receive the support of Legal Innovators’ unique training and mentorship program. After their second year with the firm, the Fellows may be offered full-time associate positions.”

“Under the pilot, five new Orrick associates also participated in the Legal Innovators training program, which helps lawyers develop analytical, writing and business development skills. The Legal Innovators’ training program was designed by David Cruickshank, Principal at Edge International and the former head of Professional Development for Paul Weiss, and Legal Innovators co-founder and Chairman, Jonathan Greenblatt.”

Read the release.

“An appellate panel ruled Elizabeth’s School Board must pay roughly $260,000 in damages after findings its in-house counsel was improperly fired midway through a three-year contract,” reports Nikita Biryukoy in New Jersey Globe’s Local News.

“The school board fired Kirk Nelson after he was arrested in April 2013 as part of an investigation into the school board’s administration of the National School Lunch Program.”

“The body received several state and federal subpoenas on its administration of the program in 2011 and 2012 that led to criminal charges against several of its members.”

“Nelson told the court he was arrested because he failed to produce a document in response to a subpoena.”

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“Approximately 1,000 former ITT Tech students in South Carolina were part of a $330 million settlement for debt relief after a lawsuit against the for-profit school,” reports Tony Fortier-Bensen in ABC 4 News.

“Attorney General Alan Wilson said the 1,000 South Carolina students were able to receive $8.6 million. Across the nation, 35,000 students will share $330 million.”

“According to a press release, the settlement is with PEAKS Trust, a private loan program run by the college. ITT Tech filed for bankruptcy in 2016 after investigations into their federal student aid.”

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“Judge Darleen Ortega has spent 17 years on the Oregon Court of Appeals and she’s learned a thing or two about the bar exam as she’s watched from her judicial perch. So when Oregon opted to join Utah and Washington in granting emergency diploma privilege in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and she saw mainstream outlets write the usual jeremiads about the “danger” to the public of a world without a bar exam, Judge Ortega let everyone know exactly what she’s learned about the bar exam,” reports Joe Patrice in Above the Law’s Law Schools.

“It’s pretty much useless.”

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“A historic settlement reached between the state and Detroit students calls for $94.5 million in future literacy funding, a $280,000 payout among seven plaintiffs and the creation of two Detroit task forces to help ensure a quality education for students,” reports Jennifer Chambers and Beth LeBlanc in The Detroit News.

“News of the agreement came after the Detroit students were locked in a nearly four-year legal battle with the state for better school and learning conditions. The lawsuit was brought by seven students who argued they were deprived access to literacy because of a lack of books, teachers and poor building conditions.:

“Despite the state’s position to defend itself against the students’ accusations of inequality over literacy access, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Thursday she has maintained that every student, no matter where they come from, has a birthright to a quality public education.”

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“The Ohio State University announced today details of a $40.9 million settlement reached with 162 survivors in 12 lawsuits related to sexual abuse by Richard Strauss, a university-employed physician from 1978 to 1998 who died in 2005,” was reported in Ohio State News.

“An independent investigation launched by the university determined in 2019 that Strauss abused students during his time at Ohio State and the university administration failed to appropriately respond at the time.”

“In March, Ohio State announced a monetary settlement with nearly half of the individuals who brought claims against the university related to Strauss. All have now signed on to the terms of the settlement.”

“Ohio State continues to participate in good faith in the mediation process with the survivors involved in the remaining lawsuits, and remains committed to a resolution with plaintiffs, including a monetary resolution.”

Read the article.

Read the article.

“An East Bay school district has agreed to pay $665,000 to settle a free-speech suit by a former student who was suspended from a leadership class, and briefly barred from serving as student body president, after posting a video that showed him as a James Bond hero fighting off terrorists, the youth’s lawyers said Tuesday,” reports Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle.

“The video by Nathaniel Yu was a parody, and the supposed terrorists were played by two of Yu’s Muslim friends, his lawyers said in announcing the settlement with the San Ramon Valley Unified School District. They said district officials falsely described the production as hate speech, and that the ensuing publicity led to threats of violence against Yu.”

“In an apology that was part of the settlement, the district said the video was not hate speech and that it ‘egrets the negative consequences associated with mischaracterizations regarding you and the content of the video.’ But Mark Davis, a lawyer for the district, said the apology was only for the harm that Yu suffered, and the settlement does not include any admission of violating the youth’s rights.”

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“Higher education is facing a tsunami of litigation. In addition to the standard docket of lawsuits claiming that a university discriminated against applicants who were denied admission or that a faculty member was unfairly turned down for tenure, a wave of high-profile cases have resulted in universities offering large settlements or having multi-millon dollar verdicts returned against them,” reports Michael T. Nietzel in Forbes’ Education.

Thirty small “colleges reported they had hired someone to be General Counsel or to fill that role, but with a different title. In most cases, the position focused exclusively on legal representation, but in some institutions, the job was combined with additional responsibilities like Executive Director for Risk Management and Legal Affairs or Chief Policy Officer/General Counsel.”

“Smaller institutions may worry about the added costs of hiring a general counsel, but Coyle and Neal argue that going in-house ultimately results in substantial savings in contracted legal work. Because college general counsels often are able to resolve issues themselves, many proactively, they can be more conservative in their use of external counsel and the amount an institution spends on them.”

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“Cynthia Marie Rodgers, the Capital University School of Law graduate who got dinged on her Ohio character and fitness application for having almost $900,000 in school debt—and seemingly no clear plan to ever repay it—can sit for the bar exam, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled March 5,” reports Stephanie Francis Ward in ABA Journal’s News.

“The court based its finding on Rodgers being candid about her financial situation and complying with the terms of her student loan repayment plan.”

“Rodgers’ current student loan payment is zero because her income is so low, according to the Ohio Supreme Court’s board of character and fitness report. She became disabled after a 2001 tree-trimming accident, and she can’t work a 40-hour week, the report stated. Rodgers’ school debt is consolidated with her husband’s, and he also is not making loan payments because he’s semi-retired and seeking disability, according to the report.”

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“While organizations make significant investments in protecting their data from outside infiltration, they can often overlook the serious threats that exist within their own workforce. According to a 2020 study released by the Ponemon Institute, the biggest threat in terms of disclosure of sensitive information comes from so-called “insider threats,” in the form of employees who disclose protected information or provide a means of access to that information to third parties, either unwittingly or otherwise. That threat has only grown in recent years, increasing by 47% in the last two years alone,” reports Risa B. Boerner in Fisher Phillips Newsletters.

She further breaks down her article into the following sections:

• The Costs Can Be Staggering
• Why The Recent Surge?
• First Steps: Awareness + Training
• Advanced Tactics

Read the article.

Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery LLP will present a free webinar, “Linking an Invention to the Evidence: Strategic Considerations from Prosecution to Litigation,” featuring Fitch Even attorneys Mark A. Borsos and Evan Kline-Wedeen.

The webinar will take place on Thursday, April 23, 2020, at 9:00 am PDT / 10:00 am MDT / 11:00 am CDT / 12 noon EDT.

Evidence that others value an invention can be used by a patent owner for many purposes, including demonstrating that the invention was not obvious, or that infringement has damaged and will continue to damage the patent owner. Yet that evidence may be of little value without the ability to tie it to the specific inventions set forth in the claims of a patent. When there are numerous reasons that customers might purchase or desire a product sold by a patent owner or infringer, establishing a nexus between the claims of the patent and real-world evidence becomes complicated.

During this webinar, our presenters will discuss the following:
• Establishing a nexus between evidence of commercial success of real-world products and the patented invention
• Demonstrating a connection between patented features and lost profits
• Proving there is a causal nexus between irreparable harm and the patented invention that justifies an injunction
• Drafting claims with forethought to future evidentiary requirements

CLE credit has been approved for California and Illinois and is pending in Nebraska. Other states may also award CLE credit upon attendee request.

Following the live event, a recording of the webinar will be available to view for one year at www.fitcheven.com.

Register for the webinar.

“What makes an expert witness persuasive to a jury? Is it their background and training? The work that they did on the case? Their communication skills in teaching the jury?” asks Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm in the Persuasive Litigator.

“The research suggests that expert influence depends on a variety of factors, and a scale even exists to measure these factors: the Expert Persuasion Expectancy (ExPEx) framework. That framework includes many of the variables that experts and the attorneys who sponsor them would expect: Foundation, Field, Specialty, Ability, Opinion, Support, Consistency, and Trustworthiness. Even as the items are potentially unsurprising, it is still helpful to keep the whole list in mind.”

“Recent research  shows that these factors matter, and also suggests that there may be a ‘Big 3’ in this list.”

Read the article.

“The president of Texas Southern University may be out of a job after TSU regents alleged that he failed to promptly report information about an admissions scandal at the Thurgood Marshall School of Law.” reports Debra Cassens Weiss in the ABA Journal.

“The regents said in a Feb. 4 termination notice that Lane failed to promptly report to the board or internal auditor allegations of fraudulent and dishonest conduct by an assistant law dean.”

“The assistant law dean was accused of taking a $14,000 payoff for facilitating a scholarship and fraudulent admission for a law student. The assistant law dean was also accused of facilitating a fraudulent transfer application for a second student.”

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.

“When business deals are concluded verbally or with a gentleman’s agreement solely, the results can later on be very detrimental. Oral agreements are inadmissible in the court of law and if you happen to be ripped off by a business associate, the chances are slim to win that case. Therefore, drafting a business agreement and documenting it is very important to secure the deal that you will be conducting.” advises Margaret Francis in the Southeast Missourian’s Career Advice.

“To clearly state each party’s rights and obligations, you need to draft an agreement that will be agreed upon by all stakeholders. However, drafting a business deal contract agreement can be tricky, especially if you don’t have a lawyer on your side.”

Read the top 5 tips for a fair business contract agreement.