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The False Claims Act was passed by Congress and signed into law in 1863. The statute has been amended multiple times but it is most well-known for its resource constraints and other considerations, often qui tam provisions, which allow private citizens to bring suit in the name of the government to recover dollars lost as a result of fraud. While the government may elect to intervene in an FCA case and run the litigation, resource constraints and other considerations often leave private counsel to pursue the case on their own. This one-hour CLE will provide a soup-to-nuts guide on litigating FCA cases. From determining when to take a case through case investigation, pleading considerations, motions practice, the use of experts, and readiness for trial. It will weave practical considerations into a narrative with the procedural and evidentiary rules. In an era where more and more solid FCA cases are being litigated without government intervention, this program provides essential guidance.

This presentation will shy away from more cutting edge topics, sometimes of fleeting importance and, instead, will re-center lawyers’ attention to what the presenter has proposed are the five core components providing the “recipe” for ethical lawyering. While limiting its scope to broad topics that are alliterative, this presentation will manage to discuss many more ethics rules than just five, including Model Rules 1.1, 1.2, 1.4, 1.6, 1.7-1.10, 1.15, 1.18, 3.3, 4.1, 7.1, and 8.4 among several others.

Representing clients in immigration court requires skill, innovation, and perseverance. In this program, immigration attorney Ruby L. Powers will lay the groundwork for understanding the elements of the removal hearing process, considerations during each stage, and best practices for success as an effective litigator in immigration court. Powers will share from her 14 years in practice, having represented clients in more than eight states in this Federal area of practice, in the detained and non-detained setting.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many lawyers began working remotely from home every day. How do the ethics rules apply to long-term remote or “hybrid” practice? In this course, we will explore some of the rules of professional responsibility implicated by long-term remote and hybrid practice—including the rules of confidentiality, communication, supervision, and competence—and offer practical tips for ethical compliance. We will end with a discussion of the rules on unauthorized practice of law and the ethics opinions offering guidance to lawyers who may be living and working remotely from a state in which they are not admitted to practice.

Brand owners in the packaged food business often contract out many of their essential functions – from product development to manufacturing, sales, and distribution. This course introduces participants to several of the most common contracts that CPG food brands need, especially in their early stages. Lauren Handel of Handel Food Law LLC will provide background on important aspects of the food business that must be considered in crafting and negotiating contracts for brand owners. She also will explain key provisions of five common agreements: non-disclosure, product development, co-manufacturing, sales representation, and distribution.

You’ve identified a great client, but now you need make sure that you’re properly establishing that attorney-client relationship. You’ve withdrawn from a case, but now you need to make sure the client understands that your representation has ended. As with any relationship, knowing how to establish the parameters of an attorney-client relationship, and how to successfully terminate that relationship, is key. Participants in this course will gain an understanding of the importance of successfully establishing an attorney-client relationship, and how to address the end of that relationship.

Working well with others is one key to a successful business. Drafting strategically prepared collaboration agreements can be one of the most valuable services you can provide to your small business and startup clients. This course explains how to prepare for, and then draft agreements, collaboration agreements that will keep your clients’ businesses running effectively and keep them out of court.

Employers must comply with a litany of federal, state and local laws which govern virtually every aspect of the employer-employee relationship. Most employers wish to communicate the steps they will take to comply with the law in an employee handbook. This crucial document is responsible for distilling a variety of complex and constantly-changing legal topics into one easy-to-read guidebook for employees, and managers. We introduce a variety of concepts which counsel preparing these critical documents should be aware of, and how handbooks can be used as both a sword and a shield later in litigation. In doing so, we highlight a number of hot topics in the employment law space, including teleworking, medical and adult-use cannabis, and paid sick leave laws.

No two brains are the same. An estimated 1 in 7 people are neurodivergent, including those with autism, ADHD, mental health disabilities, learning disabilities, intellectual disabilities or acquired brain differences. Given this prevalence, why are conversations around neurodiversity nonetheless so difficult, especially in the context of law practice? How can we dismantle the barriers for neurodiverse clients to ensure they have equitable access to justice? In this session, Haley will unpack the nuances of accommodations, ethical considerations for representing neurodivergent clients, navigating disclosure, advocating for ourselves and others, and building accessibility into our understanding of “inclusion” and access to justice. Come prepared for lightbulb moments, and leave feeling more empowered to tackle stigma.

An employee stock ownership plan or ESOP can be a powerful succession planning tool for business owners to consider for their ownership transition planning. ESOPs are highly regulated and require careful planning for implementation but also have the potential to offer meaningful tax benefits to the selling shareholder and the corporate sponsor of the ESOP. An ESOP can also provide significant employee benefits on a tax favored basis for employees. We will review the types of companies that are ideal candidates to consider an ESOP as well as poor candidates for an ESOP and review highlights of the process of evaluating and planning an ESOP transaction.

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act -- otherwise known as CERCLA or Superfund – is the federal statute that provides a funding mechanism to clean up uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste and accident sites. In this course, Connie Sue Martin will lead you through the CERCLA liability framework, contribution and cost recovery, and the roles of key players such as EPA, states, and Indian tribes.

Many legal consumers are only familiar with traditional, full-scope legal representation. However, this is not practical or affordable for many, and perhaps even most, Americans. This leads many to decide to “go it alone” and represent themselves. However, some representation is almost always better than no representation at all. Offering flexible representation, also called unbundled, limited scope, or à la carte services, allows you to connect with legal consumers who may otherwise feel priced out of the legal market. During this hour long seminar, we will address what precisely “unbundled” and limited scope services are (and are not) and what benefits can be achieved not only to the consumer but also to you as an attorney in offering these options. We will also provide you with resources, from the relevant ethical rules to tips on how to identify appropriate candidates for unbundled or limited scope services.

In this course, we will cover the basics of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Attendees will gain a working knowledge of the FMLA and important terminology used in that statute. We will also review the process for notification, certification, and designation under the FMLA.

Our country’s criminal justice policies intersect with voting rights through felony disenfranchisement. Voting is a fundamental right and the cornerstone of democracy. Yet over 5 million U.S. citizens are denied the right to vote due to a previous conviction, even though many of them have returned to their communities or completed their full sentence. This CLE will first provide a definition of felony disenfranchisement and the process of rights restoration. We will then summarize felony disenfranchisement policies and their practical effect on our democracy. The course will then discuss case law on felony disenfranchisement and focus on the difficulty of protecting the voting rights of those with a prior conviction in federal courts. We will then turn to state court challenges to felony disenfranchisement and differing state policies on rights restoration. We will end with a discussion of developing litigation strategies, and opportunities for protecting the right to vote of citizens with a conviction through advocacy.

According to the ABA, women make up approximately 37% of the legal profession. Yet, research indicates that female lawyers are much more likely to suffer from mental distress and contemplate leaving the profession. Struggles with earning less, decreased advancement opportunities and pressure to choose between family and career, are only a few root causes behind the mental health crisis women lawyers are experiencing. This unique course offers neuroscience nutrition and natural health strategies designed to help women thrive. Learn emotion regulating tools that can help us maximize our mindset for improved outcomes and discover self-care concepts every woman can incorporate for professional wellness.

One of the challenges faced when attempting to treat or assist an individual suffering from a mental illness is a lack of insight into having such an illness. The individual may deny suffering from a mental illness and therefore refuse treatment or the assistance of a family member or loved one, insisting that he/she can function independently, despite evidence to the contrary. The individual may prevent others from accessing medical and financial information, thereby making it impossible to speak to care providers and financial institutions to protect, advocate and plan for the future. Even if the individual has the capacity to sign advance directives such as a Power of Attorney or Health Care Proxy, he/she can either refuse to do so or revoke those documents after execution. The circumstances might require a more restrictive type of intervention.

There are 574 federally recognized Indian Tribes in the United States, and approximately 300 reservations covering nearly 55 million acres. Under the Environmental Protection Agency’s 1984 Policy for the Administration of Environmental Programs on Indian Reservations, EPA recognizes Tribal Governments as sovereign entities with primary authority and responsibility for the reservation populace, and the appropriate non-Federal parties for making decisions and carrying out program responsibilities affecting Indian reservations, their environments, and the health and welfare of the reservation populace. This course will explain the unique role of Indian Tribes in environmental law: in resource use, protection, and regulation under federal statutes, treaties, and Tribal law both on and off the reservation

Fifty years ago, the Supreme Court declared in the landmark case Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District that students “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” But is that still true — and if so, what does the First Amendment mean in today’s world of Snapchat, TikTok, Twitter? As book-banning sweeps the nation, what about school libraries — are they protected by the First Amendment? Do students have a First Amendment right to access certain titles? And how about attendance and curricular issues? And how about when students arrive on college? Do their rights change? In this course, we’ll review all of these questions and more. Students: Know your rights!

This course is designed for attorneys who already practice in state court. It will emphasize how litigating personal injury cases in federal court is different than in most state courts. Legal issues will be discussed as well as custom and practice, including examples from the presenter’s own experience.

The changing reproductive health landscape has created confusion and fear among individuals identifying as female as to the privacy and security of their sensitive health data. Following the Dobbs decision, many women have abandoned their period tracking and female health technology (femtech) apps out of fear that their health data could be used to prosecute them for an abortion-related crime. This presentation (i) provides an overview of the shifting reproductive health landscape and privacy laws applicable to healthcare providers and femtech companies, (ii) describes how reproductive health data may be accessed and used by law enforcement officers, and (iii) provides suggestions for practical steps that femtech companies and healthcare providers can take now to help the women’s health industry regain consumer trust.

This program will briefly discuss the purpose of the IDEA and the standard for individualized education programs (IEPs), and will discuss more in-depth the sections of IEPs and what they should entail. This program will also cover evaluations, and what districts are required to do, as well as parent’s rights. The program will be New York based, but New York’s regulations strongly mirror federal law, and differences will be noted. It will also cover updates in special education law, including the COVID pandemic and its impact. This program will benefit new attorneys to the special education field, and attorneys who are seeking to better understand what an IEP is, how it is created, and what it is based on in order to be appropriate.

In this discussion of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (the “Clean Water Act”), 33 U.S.C. § 1251, et seq., we will address the Clean Water Act and the Supreme Court’s “functional equivalent” standard established in the Supreme Court’s County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife decision. We will cover the history of the Clean Water Act with respect to point sources, the evolution of how point sources have been defined since the Clean Water Act was established, and the newly adopted “functional equivalent” standard. We will focus our discussion on the County of Maui decision and address what the standard means for the environmental law practitioner.

This course provides a solid overview of the history of litigation finance, from its early days in Australia and the United Kingdom, to its current robust existence in the United States. Litigation finance opens up new avenues to capital for businesses and law firms with meritorious claims, but who otherwise would not have been able to pursue them due to the costs associated with doing so. Viewers will leave this lecture with a clear understanding of how litigation finance operates, what challenges it used to be faced with, and how the legal industry has opened up to it. We will also cover the questions practitioners should ask and answer when looking at litigation finance.

Many times, clients come to lawyers and firms looking for advice in the fields of copyright and trademark. This course hopes to help familiarize practitioners with some common issues and terminology in those fields so they can at least be somewhat conversant with their clients on the topics. Will this course turn you immediately into an IP lawyer? No, but it will allow you to learn how to handle basic IP issues like registering a copyright or trademark. It will also allow viewers to learn about common issues that could help guide clients in the right direction. After watching the course, practitioners will also be able to steer clients to websites and sources that can address many of the issues new businesses or entrepreneurs need to understand the issues involved. Finally, it will provide viewers with basic knowledge about the differences between copyright and trademark and what goals each of those devices serve.

When we think of criminal antitrust enforcement, we often think of monopolies and widespread price-fixing schemes by behemoth-sized companies. However, over the last few years, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division has become increasingly aggressive, particularly as it relates to alleged antitrust violations by employers of all sizes in the labor market. In this discussion of the DOJ’s renewed antitrust enforcement efforts, we will focus on recent cases involving wage fixing, no poach, and non-solicit agreements. Our presenters, who served as defense counsel in the DOJ’s first-ever criminal wage fixing case, will also share lessons that they and their colleagues have learned trying cases against the DOJ’s [markedly more aggressive] Antitrust Division.

Truck accidents are different than car accidents. There are added regulations, additional evidentiary issues, and the regular need for experts. Because of this, it is difficult to tackle a truck accident case without significant experience. This course will provide an overview of the basic steps in how to litigate a truck accident case. We will start at the time the call is first received, the initial investigation, pleading, discovery, and commonly litigated issues. We will cover this from both the Plaintiff (injured party) and Defendant (truck driver) perspective. There is, obviously, much more to litigating a truck accident than we can cover in 1 hour. If you have any questions on your truck case, please feel free to email me ([email protected]) or call me 404-793-0026.

With so many hearsay exceptions, where is a busy litigator to start? This refresher course breaks down Federal Rule of Evidence 804 and its exceptions in a comprehensive and clear manner. Fun pop culture examples are used to reinforce the material after the review. Brush up on these useful hearsay exceptions and be better prepared for your next trial.

The pandemic forced lawyers and clients to use virtual platforms to resolve their legal disputes. Although courts and ADR Provider Organizations are opening their facilities for arbitration proceedings on location; lawyers, their clients, and arbitrators are finding ways to leverage the benefits of a virtual technology into their case presentations. This course will provide lawyers with strategies and tactics to optimize the integration of a virtual platform into their cases so their message is persuasive and cohesive. The course covers the use of technology and the substantive as well as procedural issues that must be covered.

This presentation will discuss the causes of the current supply chain logjams, put them into historical context, and discuss some of the ways forward to help attendees better deal with supply chain partners, solve problems expeditiously, and be knowledgeable about commercial rights and responsibilities.

This course explores the concept of civility and what that looks like in daily legal practice and times of crisis. We will use recent events to define and set the context for upholding civility in the legal profession. We will also review the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct relating to civility and sanctions for failure to uphold it, as well as relevant caselaw.