Banking and Finance Law Report : Banking & Finance Lawyer & Attorney : Porter Wright Morris & Arthur Law Firm : Bankruptcy, Commercial Lending

Below are several of the latest posts from the Porter Wright blog network. They cover diverse topics ranging from protecting your trademark with the new adult entertainment industry domain names to say-on-pay and EU data protection to "Facebook firings."

Act now to prevent use of your trademark with the new adult entertainment industry TLD

A new top level domain will soon be available for use by adult entertainment providers. In order to address concerns from trademark owners not in the adult entertainment industry, a sunrise reservation period has been established to enable trademark owners to reserve or "block" the new adult entertainment industry domain names that correspond to their registered trademarks. The period for trademark owners to reserve such domain names runs through October 28, 2011. Read more.

Ohio Federal Judge Allows Say-on-Pay Lawsuit to Proceed

In a September 20, 2011 Opinion, Judge Timothy Black of the Southern District of Ohio ruled that a lawsuit brought against senior executives and directors of Cincinnati Bell, Inc. alleging a breach of fiduciary duty regarding compensation would be allowed to proceed. The lawsuit focuses on the "say-on-pay" provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act: specifically, attacking the Board's decision to increase 2010 executive compensation in light of the nonbinding vote by 66% of the voting shareholders to reject that increase. Read more.

Basic Principles of European Union Consent and Data Protection

Any US company that receives data about individuals living in the European Union must be familiar with the basic principles of consent and data protection within the EU to avoid costly mistakes that are easily made in obtaining consent, should the validity of such consent be challenged by the EU data protection agencies. Read more.

First "Facebook Firing" Case Decided by NLRB Administrative Law Judge

Earlier this year, speculation and educated guesses gave way to NLRB General Counsel Advice Memoranda on how the NLRB will address unfair labor practice charges challenging so-called Facebook firing cases. Now we have our first charge that actually has gone to hearing and resulted in an Administrative Law Judge decision. Read more.

Is The Judicial Ping Pong Game Over Health Care Reform Coming To A Merciful Close?

The Obama administration was faced with a deadline to ask for an en banc review by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals of a decision that declared the health care reform legislation’s individual mandate unconstitutional. Under applicable court rules, such a request had to be filed by Monday, September 26. A decision to seek such a review would have caused further delay, and very likely would have delayed the timing of a decision on the legislation by the Supreme Court until after the 2012 national elections.  Read more.

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The Banking and Finance Law Report is pleased to share with you the launching of Porter Wright's latest blog – Employee Benefits Law Report– which we have created as a resource to help guide employers of all sizes through the complex administrative and legal challenges facing their employee benefit plans.

This blog – edited by my partners Ann Caresani and Rich Helmreich – will provide the latest information in a wide range of areas related to Employee Benefits including:

• ERISA and employee benefits litigation
• Health care reform
• Retirement plans
• Audits and correction
• Benefits issues related to mergers and acquisitions
• Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)
• ERISA fiduciary compliance
• Health and Welfare Plans
• Nonqualified Deferred Compensation/Executive Compensation
• Tax-exempt/government employers

If you would like to subscribe to Employee Benefits Law Report and receive e-mails regarding blog updates, please visit the blog and enter your e-mail address. Alternatively, you may add www.employeebenefitslawreport.com to your RSS/XML feedreader.

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Below are several of the latest posts from the Porter Wright blog network. They cover diverse topics ranging from the recent Wal-Mart Supreme Court decision to ensnarement and SEC witness immunity to nanotechnology inclusion in the National Defense Authorization Act.

Wal-Mart v. Dukes: Supreme Court Rejects "Expansive" Gender Bias Class Action In Absence of "General Policy of Discrimination"

The much-awaited decision of the United States Supreme Court is here. Dubbed by Justice Scalia as "one of the most expansive class actions ever," the Supreme Court unanimously reversed the decision of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals which had affirmed the certification of a class of approximately 1.5 million current and former female employees alleging discrimination in pay and promotion. Read more.

Discovering Ensnarement 

Ensnarement is a powerful defense in any patent case where the doctrine of equivalents is at issue. It's time for defendants to "discover" this under-utilized defense.    Despite litigating numerous doctrine of equivalents cases, I've only litigated one case where an ensnarement defense was vigorously asserted. Read more.

SEC Delegates Authority To The Director of the Division of Enforcement To Issue Witness Immunity

On Monday June 13, 2011, the SEC announced that it was amending its rules to delegate authority to the Director of the Division of Enforcement to issue witness immunity orders to compel individuals to give testimony or provide other information. This rule will go into effect for an 18-month period once it is published in the Federal Register. Read more.

FY 2012 National Defense Authorization Act: The Senate

On June 17, 2011, the Senate Committee on Armed Services announced that S. 1253, the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2012 had been passed unanimously and had been reported out of Committee and sent on to the Senate for debate. S. 1253 provided $200 million in funding for the "Rapid Innovation Program" established by PL 111-383, the 2011 National Defense Authorization Act. $50 million of this is directed to the development of advanced materials, including nanomaterials, as described in S. Report 112-26. Read more.

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February was a busy month on the Porter Wright blog network. Below are several of the highlights that cover diverse topics ranging from investor status to identity fraud and immigration compliance to nanotechnology grants. Also, be sure to check out the Law Alert that covers a landmark antitrust case and the Law Alert that provides information about becoming a supplier to one of the world's largest oil companies.

Accredited Investor Status

In late January, the SEC proposed a new rule to formerly change the definition of “accredited investor” to exclude the value of a person’s primary residence for purposes of determining whether the person qualifies as an “accredited investor” on the basis of having a net worth in excess of $1 million. Read more.

Identity Fraud down 28% in 2010; Consumer Costs Up!

According to Javelin Strategy & Research's 2011 Identity Fraud Survey Report, there was a 28% drop in the number of victims of identity fraud in 2010.  Additionally, the number of reported data breaches dropped significantly (404 reported breaches in 2010, down from 604 in 2009).  Read more.

 The Evolving Ramifications of I-9 Compliance

Investors likely gave no thought to I-9 compliance when buying shares in the Mexican fast food restaurant Chipotle. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement I-9 audits of the company's restaurants that began late last year and are ongoing already have resulted in hundreds of allegedly unauthorized workers losing their jobs. That was just the beginning. With the ever-widening government investigations and audits of the company's workforce, investors are starting to take notice. Read more.

Three US-UK Consortia Receive EPA Grants for Nanotech Research

On February 17 2011, the EPA, in conjunction with the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the UK's Natural Environmental Research Council, announced the awarding of $12 million to three consortia to fund research aimed at providing a greater understanding of potential risks to human health and the environment posed by engineered nanomaterials and their increasing use in a wider variety of products. Read more.

Supreme Court Denies Certiorari in the Leegin Follow-up Case

The United States Supreme Court recently declined a petition for writ of certiorari, which requested review of a subsequent lower court decision in its landmark vertical minimum price fixing decision in Leegin Creative Leather Products, Inc. v. PSKS, Inc. Click here to download the Law Alert.

How to Become a Registered Supplier to One of the World’s Largest Oil Companies

With the recent discovery of vast oil reserves off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the country is poised to become the world’s fourth largest oil producer by 2030. It is not widely known but foreign companies are allowed to register as suppliers of Petrobras, a Brazilian oil & gas company, through an online database of registered suppliers of services and goods. Petrobras’ demand for products and services is enormous, from simple products like pieces of furniture to biochemicals, information technology products and heavy equipment. Click here to download the Law Alert.

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Congratulations to my long-time colleague James (Jim) Botti on his 2011 Best Lawyers Banking Lawyer of the Year recognition. According to Best Lawyers, Jim was chosen based on his particularly high ratings in Best Lawyers' surveys by earning a high level of respect among his peers for his abilities, professionalism, and integrity.

After more than a quarter of a century in publication, Best Lawyers is designating “Lawyers of the Year” in high-profile legal specialties in large legal communities. Only a single lawyer in each specialty in each community is being honored as the “Lawyer of the Year.”

Jim has spent nearly all of his 28-year career representing banks and other financial institutions in negotiating and documenting complex commercial loan transactions and in handling troubled loan or “workout” situations both inside and outside of bankruptcy. He also represents many non-financial institution lenders in collecting money owed to them by commercial borrowers of all types. In addition, he represents a number of borrowers in negotiating complex commercial loan transactions and assisting them in troubled loan or workout situations.

Congratulations, again, Jim. To see a full list of the Porter Wright partners with the 2011 Best Lawyers Lawyer of the Year distinction, please visit our website.

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We are pleased to share with our Banking & Finance Law Report friends that Chambers USA has ranked Porter Wright’s Banking & Finance practice among the leading practices in Ohio in their most recent report.

To read about our review, please click here:

Banking & Finance - Ohio

Chambers USA also ranked Tim Grady individually for his experience and reputation in Banking & Finance Law.

Timothy Grady - Banking & Finance - Ohio

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Porter Wright is deeply honored to be ranked among the 30 elite firms in the country when it comes to client service.  In a national survey of in-house counsel at Fortune 1000 companies conducted byThe BTI Consulting Group (BTI), Porter Wright ranked 22 out of 505 core firms named by in-house counsel.

Porter Wright was honored as a “Leader of the Best” when it comes to advising clients on business issues. According to the report, “Porter Wright differentiates itself with clients by translating legalese into business speak — a key method to prove your commitment to help clients.” The report also cites specific comments from corporate counsel about Porter Wright’s commitment to client service, specifically, “They know our business and us. They have skilled people in a number of areas critical to our business.”

Based out of Boston, BTI is the leading provider of strategic market research to law firms and professional services firms. BTI’s analysis draws on candid feedback from 240 corporate counsel at Fortune 1000 companies to determine which law firms among 505 core firms nationally top the charts in client service. Corporate counsel ranked Porter Wright among the best in the country in 14 areas:

1. Anticipates the Client’s Needs
2. Breadth of Services
3. Brings Together National Resources
4. Commitment to Help
5. Deals with Unexpected Changes
6. Helps Advise on Business Issues
7. International Capability
8. Keeps Clients Informed
9. Legal Skills
10. Meets Scope and Budget
11. Provides Value for the Dollar
12. Quality Products
13. Understands the Client’s Business
14. Unprompted Communication

For more information about this survey, visit www.bticlientservicesateam.com.

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