Houston Partner Sarah Smith will speak at 2023 ClaimsXchange Annual Conference, hosted at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Philadelphia on October 12 at 10:15 a.m. ET.

New York Partner Ariadne Panagopoulou was appointed Budget Officer of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice, for a second consecutive year, at the section’s annual meeting earlier this month.

Los Angeles Partner Craig Holden and San Diego Partner Gary Brucker secured a favorable jury verdict on behalf of a client who invested in a beef slaughterhouse and was defrauded. In this case, the investors entered into a joint venture to fund the slaughterhouse’s government procurement project, which focused on providing ground beef to public schools for their school lunch programs. However, the slaughterhouse’s owner misrepresented the value of the business, misused the investment funds, prevented the investor from accessing joint venture records, failed to pay profits, and commingled the joint venture assets with unrelated assets. As such, Lewis Brisbois’ client filed suit against the slaughterhouse, and the case ultimately proceeded to trial.  

Houston and Salt Lake City Partner William (“Bill”) S. Helfand recently secured a significant appellate victory when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the lower court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Lewis Brisbois’ client in an employment discrimination matter. 

Los Angeles Trial Partner Dana Alden Fox was recently appointed a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers (IATL), the most prestigious organization of trial lawyers in the world.

New York Appellate Associate Dean Pillarella recently authored an article for the New York Law Journal (part of Law.com) titled, "A Fatal Attraction: ‘Aho’ Meets ‘Bonczar,’” which discusses whether and when the entry of final judgment renders an interlocutory order denying summary judgment unreviewable.

Atlanta Partner Jonathan D. Goins will join an entertainment law-focused panel at the 14th Annual BronzeLens Film Festival, which is a designated OSCAR Qualifying Festival for the Academy Awards. Scheduled to take place August 23-27, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia, the film festival will showcase over 120 screenings of films produced in over 17 countries.  

Los Angeles Partner Tony M. Sain and Associate Abigail R. McLaughlin recently secured a precedent-setting appellate victory: making new law when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit clarified the availability of civil claims arising from alleged failures to disclose exculpatory evidence in a criminal case under Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963). The new Ninth Circuit case law holds that a plaintiff cannot state a viable claim for an alleged Brady violation unless the failure to disclose exculpatory evidence affected the outcome of a pretrial criminal proceeding, or resulted in a conviction at trial or by plea. Since our client’s plaintiff could not meet the new threshold, our Los Angeles team won judgment for the defense via appeal. 

On August 9, 2023, President Biden issued Executive Order 14105 (E.O.), an outbound investment regulation limiting United States persons’ investment in certain ”countries of concern.” The E.O. specifically addresses the administration’s concerns over China’s advancing technology industry, including semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies, and artificial intelligence, and the effects it could have on the national security of the United States.

75 Lewis Brisbois attorneys across 25 offices have been named to the 4th edition of "Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America." Congratulations to the following attorneys on this recognition!

Best Lawyers has selected 172 Lewis Brisbois attorneys across 46 offices for its 30th edition of The Best Lawyers in America. It has also recognized four Lewis Brisbois partners on its "Lawyers of the Year" list: Akron Managing Partner David Kern (Mergers and Acquisitions Law); Newark Partner Meredith Kaplan Stoma (Professional Malpractice Law - Defendants); Philadelphia Partner Steven D. Urgo (Litigation – Insurance); and Roanoke Managing Partner John T. Jessee (Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants).

Government Investigations & White Collar Defense Practice Co-Chair Sean P. Shecter and Vice Chair Steven H. Lee recently spoke with Law360 for an article which discusses the ongoing criminal case in the state of Georgia against former President Donald Trump, which includes a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) charge.

Lafayette Associate Kaylin E. Jolivette was recently named Practice Chair of the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel (LADC) Construction and Commercial practice.  

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed House Bill 0219 into law on August 11, 2023, effective immediately. The statutory change will allow heirs of decedents to recover punitive damages in wrongful death actions filed on or after August 11, 2023.

In an unprecedented move, both the New York Senate and Assembly have approved Senate Bill 995, also referred to as the “LLC Transparency Act,” which would require the disclosure of the beneficial owners of limited liability companies (LLCs) in the State of New York. The LLC Transparency Act defines a “Beneficial Owner” to include any individual who, directly or indirectly: (a) exercises substantial control over the LLC; or (b) owns or controls not less than 25% percent of the ownership interests of the LLC. The LLC Transparency Act is currently awaiting Governor Kathy Hochul's signature to become law.