Insurers Back Dentons in Appeal Over $32M Malpractice Verdict: The Morning Minute
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June 16, 2022 at 06:00 AM
6 minute read
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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING
A FIRM WARNING - Two professional liability insurers have thrown their weight behind global law firm Dentons, as it fights a high-profile malpractice verdict and loss on appeal, Law.com's Bruce Love reports. The Attorneys' Liability Assurance Society and the Ohio Bar Liability Insurance Co. have both submitted amicus briefs in support of Dentons' petition as it asks for the Ohio Supreme Court to review an intermediate appellate court's April decision against the firm in RevoLaze v. Dentons US LLP. Dentons, which after a jury verdict is on the hook for a $32 million award, characterizes its loss in front of a three-judge panel as having "far-reaching consequences for all law firms, large and small," if the decision is upheld. At the heart of the matter are claims from plaintiff RevoLaze that Dentons should not have taken on a representation in a patent infringement case because Dentons' Canadian firm represented RevoLaze's adversary—Gap Inc.—in other matters. In February 2020, a Cuyahoga County, Ohio, jury sided with RevoLaze and awarded $32.3 million in damages against the firm. "If a client's written consent is meaningless, then every lawyer and every law firm are threatened by this ruling," said Joe Andrew, global chairman of Dentons, in a statement.
EVERYTHING TO EVERYONE - During the pandemic, everybody wanted a piece of legal departments, dragging them into every corporate decision, large and small, law-related and not. That reality helped put in-house attorneys even more at risk of burnout and mental health strains than other employees during the past two years. That, as Law.com's Greg Andrews reports, was the assessment of in-house attorneys who spoke on a panel Tuesday at the General Counsel Conference Midwest in Chicago titled "The Great Reflection: Burnout & the Growing Demands on In-House Counsel." "You get asked to do everything," said Alex Breland, litigation and employment counsel for Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based CDK Global, which makes software for the auto industry. Added Trisha Cole, chief operating officer and general counsel for Chicago-based Medtelligent, which makes software for assisted living centers: "They can be pulled into anything—that's what people value about in-house counsel." But adding all that value can subtract from in-house lawyers' mental health and wellbeing. With that in mind, panelists agreed that it is on them as legal department leaders to set a tone that encourages their employees to strive for work-life balance. That can include everything from avoiding sending late-night or weekend emails to setting an example by stepping away during the day to take a run.
WHO GOT THE WORK?℠ - Anna Kurian Shaw, Patrick Michael and Lauren B. Cury of Hogan Lovells have entered appearances for Uber in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The complaint, filed May 12 in California Northern District Court by Core X Legal and Stanton IP Law Firm on behalf of UberRE Inc., asserts the 'Über' mark in connection with the company's real property marketing services. The complaint contends that the ride-hailing giant uses a 'confusingly similar' logo and trademark. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero, is 3:22-cv-02806, uberre Inc. v. Uber Technologies Inc. >> Read the filing on Law.com Radar and check out the most recent edition of Law.com's Who Got the Work?℠ column to find out which law firms and lawyers are being brought in to handle key cases and close major deals for their clients.
ON THE RADAR - Unilever and certain of its top officers were slapped with a securities class action Wednesday in New York Southern District Court. The suit, brought by Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd and other counsel, centers on a 2020 resolution issued by Unilever subsidiary Ben & Jerry's to stop selling products in Palestinian territories that the ice cream seller's board considers to be illegally occupied by Israel. The defendants are accused of misleading investors regarding the resulting risks of reduced sales amid customer backlash. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendants. The case is 1:22-cv-05011, City of St. Clair Shores Police and Fire Retirement System v. Unilever PLC et al. Stay up on the latest deals and litigation with the new Law.com Radar.
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EDITOR'S PICKS
'Very Problematic' Facebook Deposition Could Add to Gibson Dunn's Sanctionable Conduct By Amanda Bronstad |
How to Make It: Master Business Development—the Three Keys to Open Doors and Opportunities By Tasha Norman |
Brooklyn Law School Dean Cahill Stepping Down in 2023 By Christine Charnosky |
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Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
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Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
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Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
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David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
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Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
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