Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP

MARGARET MCHUGH, Samera Syeda Ludwig, Wen-Hsien (Wendy) Cheng and Nicole Allen attended the 2024 National Association of Women Lawyers Annual Meeting in Chicago on July 24-24. NAWL marked its 125th anniversary celebrating in purple, white and gold to honor NAWL’s suffragist founders. This year’s theme was “Reflecting on Our Legacy, Advancing Toward Equality” and focused on the pivotal role of the right to vote in achieving equal rights for women. The Annual Meeting honored lawyers who have made a significant impact to improve and diversify the profession and NAWL members who made exceptional contributions to fulfilling NAWL’s mission. There were creative networking opportunities, professional development sessions, including Elevate Your Personal Brand to Shape Your Legacy, and substantive panels on reproductive rights, immigration, safeguarding elections, negotiation, and leadership. The lunch plenary included a fireside chat with Stacey Abrams. 

Raleigh Office Managing Partner Ford Roberston was recently included in Capital Analytics Associates' "Invest: Raleigh-Durham" report. This report is an in-depth review of the key issues facing Raleigh-Durham’s economy, featuring exclusive insights from prominent industry and regional leaders. "How have transactions evolved with the digitalization of industries and the rise of cybersecurity concerns? Cybersecurity is a critical concern for almost every company today. The likelihood of encountering privacy issues or cyber threats is high, and we have been proactive in this area. Our firm established a dedicated data privacy team early on, which stays abreast of new regulations both nationally and internationally..." Read Ford's full insights here: https://lnkd.in/ewS5hTt9

Kilpatrick's David Ruskin recently introduced Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, the keynote speaker at the Cannabis Law Institute held at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law in Chicago. Several Kilpatrick attorneys are attending, representing the firm as a gold sponsor of the conference. Co-chaired by David, the two-day conference offers valuable legal education and networking opportunities for cannabis attorneys. Check out the photo from the event below! ⬇️ Pictured left to right: Geoffrey Curley (Associate), David Ruskin (Partner), Mike Breslin (Partner), and Claudia Suszczynska (Associate).

Meet the Dealmakers | Kelsey Donnalley is the deputy team leader of Kilpatrick’s Corporate Mergers & Acquisitions (MASC) Team. She focuses her practice on domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, corporate restructurings, strategic transactions, and general corporate matters. Get to know Kelsey: https://lnkd.in/dj5Ci3JT

"In Cody v. City of St. Louis, 103 F.4th 523 (8th Cir. 2024), the Eight Circuit maintained its position that admissibility standards do not apply strictly at the class certification stage, thereby solidifying a circuit split on whether expert evidence must be admissible for purposes of class certification. While the issue of admissibility had been simmering in lower courts, the split formed with a now famous comment made in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 564 U.S. 338, 350 (2011): “The District Court concluded that Daubert did not apply to expert testimony at the certification stage of class-action proceedings.  We doubt that this is so . . . .” Read the Class Action blog from Michele Floyd here: https://lnkd.in/de99tsND

We are happy to share that Kilpatrick has added Dylan Reel in Raleigh as a Senior Government Relations Advisor. Mr. Reel assists clients with lobbying and advocacy before the North Carolina General Assembly and state agencies with a focus on health care, financial services, energy, local governments, transportation, and education. In 2023, he was the youngest ranked “Top Lobbyist” in the state of North Carolina by the North State Journal. Learn more about Dylan and his practice here: https://lnkd.in/dBQ4Tszg

"A federal court has rejected an attempt by former First Republic Bank employees to recover assets held in a rabbi trust that funded deferred compensation benefits.  In Harrington v. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the court found that the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 (“FIRREA”) established an absolute bar to any action that restrains or affects the ability of the FDIC to fulfill its receivership duties, including the plaintiffs’ attempt to recover their benefits." Read the latest Banking & Financial Services blog from Eric Kracov here: https://lnkd.in/euYGuTdY

We are excited to announce the addition of Keval Patel as a Government Relations Advisor in the firm’s Washington D.C. office. Keval joins as a seasoned government relations and public affairs strategist who will advise clients on federal funding issues, technology including broadband issues, and navigating state and federal grant programs. Keval most recently served as a Government and Public Affairs Specialist at Cox Communications, the largest private broadband provider in the United States. As a key member of the Market Expansion Team, he played a pivotal role in coordinating and supporting government and community engagement efforts aimed at promoting broadband expansion into new markets. Learn more about Keval and his practice here: https://lnkd.in/eBr-5cQy

"The Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) of the US Department of Health and Human Services recently released a final rule (“Final Rule”) to update the HIPAA Privacy Rules for reproductive health care information.  The Final Rule also updates the Notice of Privacy Practices for both reproductive health care information and for the final rules published earlier this year for the Confidentiality of Substance use Disorder Patient Records – otherwise known as the “Part 2 Rules.”  Compliance with the Final Rule is required by December 23, 2024, except for the changes to the Notice of Privacy Practices, the compliance for which is required by February 16, 2026 (which is meant to coincide with the compliance date for the Part 2 Rules)." Read the latest ERISA blog from Martha Sewell and Mark Stember: https://lnkd.in/eRtzpmcc

As previously reported, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) finalized a sweeping rule that, if effective, would ban nearly every post-employment non-compete provision. Lawsuits challenging the rule, which is scheduled to go into effect on September 4, 2024, were commenced in various federal courts around the country immediately following the FTC’s vote to adopt the rule." Watch the Legal Alert video from Brodie D. Erwin and Drew Williamson here: https://lnkd.in/eWrn5ZFz