Texas Family Sues U.S. Over Church Massacre
Reuters is reporting that a couple whose nine relatives were among the 26 people fatally shot in a Texas church massacre in November has sued the U.S. government for $50 million, saying its “institutional failures” played a part in the murders.
The lawsuit in federal court claims the U.S. Air Force acted negligently when it failed to report the criminal record of gunman Devin Kelley to a U.S. database, which could have prevented him from legally purchasing an assault rifle used in the killings, reports Jim Forsyth.
He writes that legal experts have said the Air Force would not be able to claim federal immunity in the case, but cautioned any lawsuits faced a prolonged battle.
Read the Reuters article.
Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants Receive Class Action Status in VA Overtime Suit
A federal judge has certified a class action lawsuit involving nurse practitioners and physician assistants accusing the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs of failing to pay overtime since 2006, according to a post on the site of Androvett Legal Media and Marketing.
Judge Elaine D. Kaplan of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims granted certification in an action brought by class representatives Stephanie Mercier, Audricia Brooks, Deborah Plageman, Jennifer Allred and Michele Gavin on behalf of nurse practitioners and physicians assistants at 85 different facilities across the country.
Provost Umphrey attorneys Michael Hamilton of the firm’s Nashville office and Guy Fisher in the Beaumont, Texas, office are among the attorneys working on the lawsuit along with counsel David Cook and Clement Tsao of Cincinnati’s Cook & Logothetis, LLC, Douglas Richards of Lexington, Kentucky and Robert Stropp of Washington DC’s Mooney Green, P.C.
“These health care professionals dedicate their time for the well-being of our veterans, and by law, are entitled to overtime when they are required to work beyond their work schedules,” said Hamilton. “We believe this lawsuit to be critical for veteran patient safety and health. To expect these employees to work extended hours without overtime pay is wrong. With the class certification, we can now proceed onto the next step in this lawsuit.”
The lawsuit seeks compensation for employees who worked overtime processing electronic and computer patient records using VA facility computers, VA laptops and sometimes personal computers, work that is critical to the medical treatment of patients. Nurse practitioners and physician assistants say the work is considered mandatory. Those who failed to complete the assignments were subject to disciplinary measures for poor time management.
“I’m grateful that the judge agreed with us and certified the lawsuit as a class action,” said Cook. “It is wrong for any employer to expect people to work for free.”
Hamilton and Cook estimate that as many 10,000 VA employees could be represented in the class action lawsuit, according to the Androvett post.
The case is Stephanie Mercier, Audricia Brooks, Deborah Plageman, Jennifer Allred, Michele Gavin v. The United States of America, No. 1:12-cv-00920 in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
Resigned Pruitt EPA Aide Lands GC Job in Oklahoma
A former aide to embattled EPA director Scott Pruitt who has come under scrutiny for getting a significant pay bump has been hired to a position with the Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Commission, reports KFOR-TV.
The commission voted unanimously to hire Sarah Greenwalt as the agency’s new general counsel.
“Greenwalt made headlines after she received a 52 percent raise, bringing her salary to $164,200 while at the Environmental Protection Agency before Pruitt reversed it amid public outcry,” according to the report.
Read the KFOR article.
Federal Prosecutors Poised to Get More Than 1 Million Files Seized From Michael Cohen’s Phones
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The Washington Post is reporting that federal prosecutors investigating President Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen are poised to receive on Wednesday 1 million files from three of his cellphones seized last month, according to a filing submitted to the court Tuesday night by special master Barbara Jones.
Jones said investigators have already been given access to nearly 300,000 pieces of potential evidence seized from Cohen’s office and residences in an April raid, according to reporters Philip Bump and Mark Berman.
Cohen’s attorneys initially said thousands of the seized documents might be covered by attorney-client privilege, but Jones noted that so far only 252 items have been flagged by Cohen’s or President Trump’s attorneys as privileged.
Read the Post article.
Government Disclosures Shed Light on Big Law Salaries
Law firm partnerships fiercely guard against disclosing what they pay their principals, points out Bloomberg Law. But partners must disclose compensation when opting for a government appointment.
“Top partners at major law firms can earn between $3 million to $10 million, according to compensation experts, while even career government lawyers with long service records rarely make more than $250,000,” writes reporter Elizabeth Olson.
As an example, the article reports that Dan M. Berkovitz, a partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Door, listed $1.18 million in partnership income for 2017 and a few months of 2018. Berkovitz was recently appointed one of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s commissioners.
And Robert Khuzami created waves a few months ago when he disclosed $11.1 million in partnership income over about a year’s period as a partner in Kirkland & Ellis’s white-collar practice. He is a deputy attorney general in the Southern District of New York.
Read the Bloomberg article.
Make Releases Work for You in Government Contracting
Michelle E. Litteken of PilieroMazza PLLC writes that releases have proven to be the double-edged sword of government contracting.
“In some cases, a release can prevent a contractor from successfully submitting a request for equitable adjustment or a claim to the Government,” she explains. “At the same time, a prime contractor can use releases to its advantage—requiring a subcontractor to sign releases during performance and at contract closeout. These releases can be used to easily defeat subsequent subcontractor claims if a dispute arises. Contractors should be familiar with releases in both contexts and use this knowledge to make releases work to their advantage.” Read the article.
A Lawyer for Payday Lenders Is Confirmed for FTC Job
The new director of the Federal Trade Commission’s consumer protection unit, a watchdog with broad investigative powers over private companies, stands out even in an administration prone to turning over regulatory authority to pro-industry players, reports The New York Times.
Andrew M. Smith was part of the legal team that in 2012 defended AMG Services, the payday lender founded by the convicted racketeer Scott Tucker, whose predatory practices against impoverished borrowers eventually led to a $1.3 billion court-ordered settlement, the biggest in the commission’s history, , according to reporters Glenn Thrush and Jack Nicas.
Because of his representation of companies like Facebook, Uber and Equifax, banks, lenders and credit-reporting agencies — all companies with matters before the commission — he will have to recuse himself from dozens of cases.
Read the Times article.
Could the Sports Gambling Ruling Pave the Way for Other Legal Battles?
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court played the right card for sports gamblers as it ruled that a federal gambling statute known as the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act violated the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution, also called the commandeering clause. As explained in a post on the website of Androvett Legal Media & Marketing, the decision gives states the authority to pass their own laws with regard to sports betting.
So what does the ruling mean for the future? Constitutional law attorney David Coale places his bet.
“There will be a lot of issues about the intellectual property of sports leagues and teams,” said Coale of the Dallas law firm Lynn Pinker Cox & Hurst. “For example, a gambling company will naturally want to put the Cowboys logo in its ads; the Cowboys will want to stop that without control over the conditions of use and payment of a proper fee.”
Giuliani’s Confusing Media Statements May Hurt His Business
The Associated Press is reporting that lawyer Rudy Giuliani’s decision to join President Donald Trump’s legal team could backfire on the former New York mayor if potential clients of his international consulting business view him as too erratic and go elsewhere for representation, according to legal experts.
Reporter Richard Lardner quotes Kathleen Clark, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis: “Giuliani’s television appearances do not inspire confidence in his ability as a lawyer or as a public relations professional.” She said she could understand why the powerhouse law firm Greenberg Traurig, where Giuliani worked until last week, “would want to distance itself” from Giuliani’s on-air performance.
Norm Eisen, who chairs the left-leaning Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, commented: “It could be good for Giuliani’s consulting and legal work if he were doing a better job. But no clients are going to be won over by the fact that he’s implicated Trump.”
Read the AP article.
AT&T CEO: Hiring Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen Was ‘a Big Mistake’
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AT&T’s chief executive said Friday that the company made a “serious misjudgment” to seek advice from President Trump’s personal attorney and announced that its top lobbying executive in Washington would be leaving the firm, reports The Washington Post.
AT&T chief executive Randall Stephenson wrote in a companywide internal email that hiring Cohen “was a big mistake.”
AT&T agreed to pay $600,000 to Cohen last year in exchange for advice on dealing with the Trump administration. Internal AT&T documents outlined how Cohen was expected to provide guidance on matters facing the company at the Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department, specifically mentioning AT&T’s $85 billion Time Warner merger, according to reporter Brian Fung.
The executive who is leaving is Bob Quinn, AT&T’s senior executive vice president of external and legislative affairs.
Read the Post article.
Giuliani Resigns from Greenberg Traurig to Focus on Trump
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Rudy Giuliani is leaving his job at a powerhouse law firm, citing the “pressing demands” of special counselRobert Mueller‘s investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 presidential election, reports The Hill.
“In light of the pressing demands of the Mueller investigation, I believe it is in everyone’s best interest that I make it a permanent resignation,” Giuliani said inn a statement. “This way, my sole concentration can be on this critically important matter for our country.”
Reporter Max Greenwood writes that Giuliani’s resignation from Greenberg Traurig signals that he may anticipate a more prolonged engagement with Mueller’s investigation than previously thought. Read The Hill article.
Analysts: Giuliani’s Media Blitz Gives Investigators New Leads, New Evidence
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The Washington Post is reporting that legal analysts are saying Rudolph W. Giuliani’s media blitz to convince the public that neither Donald Trump nor his lawyer had violated the law by paying a porn star to keep quiet about an alleged affair might have backfired, giving investigators new leads to chase and new evidence of potential crimes.
“His comments to media outlets underscore a growing tension for the White House: The FBI investigation of [lawyer Michael] Cohen presents a legal problem for the president that his own lawyer might have exacerbated,” the report says.
As an example, Giuliani contradicted Trump’s earlier assertion that he was unaware of a payment to an adult-film actress. “He might have been trying to get ahead of investigators in making public facts they already know, though legal analysts said his statements could reinforce any case they might bring.”
Read the Post article.
Dallas Lawyer Who Planted Niece in Government Job As a ‘Mole’ Gets 10-Year Max for Medical Fraud
Dallas lawyer Tshombe Anderson had his niece obtain an internship at the U.S. Labor Department so she could snoop through claims files, learn the system and act as a “mole,” prosecutors say.
The Dallas Morning News reports that on Thursday a U.S. district judge sentenced Anderson to the maximum punishment of 10 years in prison and ordered him to pay more than $26 million in restitution minus what the government has already collected from him.
“Anderson stole patient information from over 200 injured federal workers and then used the information to fraudulently bill OWCP [workers’ comp], enriching himself and others with taxpayer dollars intended for the treatment of injured federal workers,” said Steven Grell, Special Agent in-Charge for the Dallas Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General.
Read the Dallas News article.
The Biglaw Firms Potentially Caught in the Cohen Raid
Above the Law reports that the names of some of the biggest law firms in the country have come to light after the Department of Justice seized records from the home and office of Donald Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.
“The first Biglaw firm caught up in the mess is Squire Patton Boggs. Last year the firm announced a strategic alliance with Cohen, but as the heat’s been turned up, they’ve sought to distance themselves,” writes editor Kathryn Rubino.
Other firms’ materials could have been caught in the raid, including Morgan Lewis, Gerstman Schwartz Malito, and Cole Schotz, the article states.
Read the Above the Law article.
Lawyer Convicted of Abetting Tax Evasion By Wall Street Executive’s Adult Children
The lawyer who taught New York’s first family of tax evasion the tricks of the trade might be spending his golden years in prison, according to Crain’s New York Business.
A Manhattan jury found Michael Little, 67, guilty of helping the adult children of a Wall Street executive tap into their Swiss bank accounts, which held millions in inheritance money, without alerting the IRS.
Reporter Aaron Elstein writes that the case appears to mark the end of an extensive government crackdown on wealthy families and their advisers who avoided paying taxes by parking money offshore. Federal authorities have charged more than 60 account holders with tax evasion and 30 bankers or lawyers with enabling them during the past eight years.
Little’s troubles began in 2001 when the children of Harry Seggerman, who’d made his fortune at Fidelity investing in Japanese and later Korean companies wanted to access their late father’s $24 million estate, about half of which was tucked away in a Zurich vault.
“Little advised the Seggermans that they could get their inheritance dollars back into the United States without alerting authorities by taking ‘little chunks’ using travelers checks or disguising transfers by saying they were related to sales of art or jewelry,” writes Elstein.
Read the Crain’s article.
Federal Bar Association’s Capitol Hill Day
The Federal Bar Association during its Capitol Hill Day on April 26, 2018, will urge President Trump and the United States Senate to honor their Constitutional responsibilities to nominate judicial nominees and promptly act upon those nominations, in response to a growing vacancy crisis afflicting the federal courts.
“Today there are nearly 150 judicial vacancies in our nation’s courts, representing 18 percent of all Article III federal judgeships, said Kip Bollin, president of the Federal Bar Association. “Judicial vacancies mean that our federal courts are not being staffed at the level Congress intended, triggering the slower dispensation of justice.”
In addition to judicial vacancies, FBA leaders participating in Capitol Hill Day will urge Congress to adequately fund the federal courts, establish additional federal judgeships in high-caseload judicial districts, and establish an Article I immigration court.
W. West Allen, chair of the FBA Government Relations Committee, stated, “The Federal Bar Association represents the foremost constituency of our federal courts. As its practicing bar, we have a responsibility to remind Congress of the critical role the courts play, the challenges they face, and their ongoing needs.” Last year, the annual FBA advocacy event broke all-time attendance records involving FBA national, circuit, chapter, section, and division leaders. Working off a common agenda of FBA policy priorities, FBA leaders participated in over 200 meetings with House and Senate offices across the Hill.
Read more about Capitol Hill Day.
Judiciary
Federal Contractors’ Guide to SBA Set-Aside Contracts, Size Standards, Size Protests, and Affiliation
Fox Rothschild LLP has posted its Federal Contractors’ Guide to Small Business Administration Set-Aside Contracts, Size Standards, Size Protests, and Affiliation.
The federal government sets aside a significant portion of its procurement dollars each year for purchasing goods and services from small businesses. Small business set-aside procurements and small business contract awards (“Set-Aside Procurements” and “Set-Aside Contracts,” respectively) provide substantial opportunities for a certified small business concern (SBC) to compete for and perform federal contract work. However, SBCs awarded Set-Aside Contracts are frequently subjected to size protests filed with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) by disappointed competitors looking to challenge the awardee’s size, and if successful, to disqualify the awardee from the procurement.
The Fox Rothschild LLP Guide advises federal contractors on the following issues and concepts:
●SBA Set-Aside Procurements, Set-Aside Contracts, and Size Standards; ●The parameters and purposes for SBA size protests, how they are filed, and how contractors can avoid and defend against such protests; and ●The parameters of SBA affiliation, which contractors can use to challenge Large Businesses masquerading as small business concerns, and, as importantly, must understand to protect themselves from being adversely affected by a finding of affiliation at the hands of a size protest.
Download the guide.
How Big Could Facebook’s Fine Theoretically Get? Hint: Four Commas, and Counting
Former Federal Trade Commission officials have been pulling out their calculators in recent weeks trying to figure out just how big a fine the commission could levy against Facebook for its latest privacy mishaps, The Washington Post reports.
White former FTC chairman William Kovacic joked that the potential fine could total “more money than there is on the planet,” it’s unlikely the FTC would levy a fine so large that it would imperil the future of Facebook, report Craig Timberg and Tony Romm.
They write that David Vladeck, a former FTC director of consumer protection who oversaw the consent decree with Facebook, says he expects the commission to find new violations in light of the company’s revelations last week. Vladeck estimates the probable fines in the vicinity of $1 billion, a record for FTC privacy fines.
Read the Post report.
Renewable Energy Deals Targeted for More Scrutiny in New Trade Report
The renewable energy industry, now designated as a technology and innovation-related area of special concern to the protection of the U.S. industrial and scientific base, is one of seven sectors that the U.S. Trade Representative recently identified as being of significant national security concern, writes Stephen Paul Mahinka in the Power & Pipes blog for Morgan Lewis.
“The USTR’s primary concern in its investigation was with acquisitions and investments related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation in seven industry sectors that it specifically identified as being of significant national security concern. Renewable energy is one of the seven sectors highlighted for increased scrutiny, through expanded reviews of certain types of deals by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States,” according to the post.
Although the report focused on Chinese acquisitions and investments, the identification of renewable energy as one of the seven main industry sectors of concern means that acquisitions and investments by entities in other foreign nations may also be subject to heightened scrutiny by the committee, explains Mahinka.
Read the article.
Mueller’s Assurances That Trump is Not a ‘Target’ Don’t Mean Much
Robert S. Mueller The recent assurance that President Trump is not officially a target n Robert Mueller’s investigation may not be worth much, reports Politico. Mueller may not be able to secure an indictment against a sitting president, but his report could serve as a trigger to impeachment proceedings.
Reporter Josh Gerstein interviewed lawyers who told him that it’s more significant that Mueller reportedly plans to writes a report about Trump’s potential obstruction of justice in the probe.
“The key isn’t that Trump is not (yet) a ‘target’ but that he IS a SUBJECT of Mueller’s investigation & that Mueller will write a REPORT on what Trump did, why, and what it adds up to. That is HUGE,” Harvard Law Professor Laurence Tribe wrote on Twitter.
Read the Politico article.