Kansas bundle (2024)

This course will provide an overview of issues related to the gender gap and patents as well as patent law. The course will focus on the 2019 “Progress and Potential: A Profile of women inventors on U.S. patents” published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) as well as the 2020 update on women inventor-patentees. The course will then look at the gender gap and patent law, both in terms of practicing before the USPTO as well as attorneys involved in patent litigation. The course will also highlight efforts being made to close the gender gap when it comes to patents and what else may be done.

On June 15, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) issued a landmark decision regarding the scope of protections afforded under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, for gay, lesbian and transgender employees in a trio of consolidated cases: Bostock v. Clayton County, GA., Altitude Express, Inc. v. Zarda and R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes, Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission et al., 140 S.Ct. 1731, 2020 U.S. LEXIS 3252 (Jun. 15, 2020) (consolidating No. 17-1618 (Bostock), No. 17-1623 (Zarda) and No. 18-107 (R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes). In a 6-3 decision authored by Justice Neil Gorsuch, SCOTUS found that the plain meaning of Title VII’s prohibition making it illegal for an employer to discriminate against an individual employee “because of such individual’s . . . sex” [42 U.S.C. §2000e-2(a)(1)], was sufficiently broad to prohibit an employee from being discharged merely for being gay or transgendered. Id. at 1739. As a result of that decision, and prior directives from the Department of Labor (“DOL”), and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), federal law bars discrimination and harassment on the basis of sex to protect employees and applicants for employment from being harassed, denied employment or promotion, or otherwise subject to adverse treatment because they do not conform to societal gender expectations. This program will help employers to make sure that their workplace conforms to federal law and provides a safe space for employees to express their gender identity.

This webinar lays out the elements of arbitration and compares the major provisions between court proceedings and the arbitration process. The regular people on the street often believe that court proceedings provide them with their day in court. However, arbitration may provide an easier and less expensive process to vindicate their rights and receive a decision. The arbitration process has evolved in the last twenty years to ensure that parties with disputes are provided due process rights but has this made the process litigation light? The benefits and drawbacks between court proceedings and arbitration will be discussed at length.

This program will focus on Workers Compensation, Social Security Disability Benefits, and Unemployment Benefits. After an overview of each program’s basics, we will begin with a recapturing public benefits policies from the Covid-19 Pandemic. We will review and assess the current state of these benefits programs in terms of both legal changes and operational changes. The final portion of the program will look at the political, global, and economic factors impacting these programs. We will focus on predicting the impacts on public benefits and proactive steps we can take to best prepare your clients.

Climate change is the term on everyone’s tongue, but the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, with its goals to half US carbon emissions by 2030 and become a net-zero emissions economy by 2050, is not the only major federal law that continues to shape land use in the United States. From the now defunct navigable waters protection in the 1899 Rivers and Harbors Act to the alive and kicking 1973 Endangered Species Act, a web of evolving laws and regulations touches upon every square inch of land in the country. This course offers an overview of the federal framework for such laws, including enforcing agencies (Hint: It’s not just the EPA) and their more detailed regulations interpreting the laws. We will also touch upon the big 6: Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, CERCLA, Coastal Zone Management Act, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and the Endangered Species Act. Finally, we conclude with historical context, including former president, Teddy Roosevelt, and how Rachel Carlson’s Silent Spring galvanized the nascent environmental movement in the United States and led to many of the subsequently adopted laws.

The presentation explains the legal background and purpose of the current Title IX regulations governing sexual harassment, sex discrimination, and sexual misconduct complaints in educational programs. The program summarizes the core regulatory components and outlines the Title IX investigation process from complaint through hearing with a focus on key compliance standards.

Abuse of domestic partners in the form of physical, psychological, financial, sexual, and related forms of abuse tends to be systemic in nature causing complex trauma to the victim who suffers overwhelming psychological and emotional stress leading to various psychiatric issues forcing the victim to contend in unhealthy ways while experiencing deep feelings of helplessness, hopeless despair, and pain. This program will provide a detailed understanding of the victim’s experiences and challenges for the criminal defense lawyer in such cases.

This course is designed as a basic course for counsel with limited knowledge of franchise law and will introduce the basic legal considerations in franchising, whether you are representing a franchisor or a franchisee. We will cover the legal definition of a franchise and review the federal and state laws governing the franchise relationship. We will also explore where to find information regarding franchise brands, the dangers of becoming an accidental franchise, and some other legal considerations, beyond contract law, to keep in mind when representing the franchisor or the franchisee.

In this one-hour CLE course, attorney David Johanson, will provide an overview of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) as an option for succession planning. This course will explore best practices for developing ESOPs that maximize the potential in succession planning, benefit the participants, and follow all ERISA requirements. This course will review the best practices of using an ESOP for succession planning and discuss potential traps attorneys should look out for when developing a plan.

Recently, there have been questions regarding income inequality that have fueled trends in questioning the wisdom and fairness of today’s executive compensation practice. In this course, we will dive into the latest ESG updates and review significant litigation highlights and case law, as well as examine recent compliance obligations and best practices.

Opening your own law firm? Congratulations! You are officially an entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur you will face many challenges and you must operate your practice ethically and professionally. The law is a profession, but it is also a business and to maximize your chances of success you must have a plan. In the conclusion of this exciting two part presentation, hosted by a leading legal author, columnist and media personality who has operated a solo law practice out of his home for the past 25 years, you will learn best practices for dealing with clients and making sure your operations are profitable at all times.

Attorneys in firms of all sizes – from solo practitioners to lawyers are multinational Big Law firms - face a number of ethical issues relating to cybersecurity, and preserving the confidentiality and security of their clients’ data. Contrary to what some lawyers may believe, law firms are often a valuable target for hackers because they can hold vast collections of sensitive and highly valuable client-related data. These cybersecurity threats come from individual hackers, international cybercriminals, and even a firm’s own attorneys and other employees. This program provides a basic primer on attorneys’ ethical obligations to understand and address the cybersecurity risks they face, and provides practical advice for attorneys in addressing issues that arise will undoubtedly arise in their legal practice.

With cyber the distinctions between legal malpractice, ethics, and cyber risk are becoming more & more blurred. This course will provide an in-depth discussion of cyber incidents, including the rules and responsibilities that apply to lawyers in safeguarding against a cyber breach.

As the housing market sours, there has been an uptick in homesellers refusing to pay their real estate brokers commissions. This has rendered the timing of when commission vests a hotly contested and litigated issue. In this course, you will learn the default rules for when commission vests, the meeting of the minds, and what options brokers and sellers have to change that default rule by supplanting the listing agreement with other triggers to commission. We will delve into how the default rule is modified when a real estate broker is cut out of a transaction as well as when a broker's breach of statutory / common law duties impacts their ability to claim commission. This is your one stop shop to learn how to litigate real estate brokerage law.

Humans are hard-wired to connect. We are biologically programmed to need other humans, and a feeling of belonging and connection drives our happiness and well-being. Despite this, many of us will know what it's like to be lonely. Loneliness arises from either a lack of social relationships or a lack of close emotional bonds with those we have relationships with. It can occur because we work from home and don't interact with colleagues often or have the time to pursue social connection, we live alone and rarely see others, or it may be that we just don't have the quality of connection in our everyday lives, we don't have people we feel close to or share values with. Connection exists between people when they feel seen, heard and valued, when they can give and receive without judgment and when they derive sustenance and strength from that relationship.

Although increased use of technology has brought people virtually closer, it has reduced the opportunities for face-to-face communication and instilled a sense of psychological loneliness. No screen interaction can ever equal the connections made in real time and space. While it is normal to occasionally feel lonely, long-term loneliness is associated with an increased risk of certain mental health problems, including depression, anxiety and increased stress. During this program, we will consider the risk factors for loneliness, what loneliness looks like in the legal landscape, what legal employers and individuals can do to combat loneliness, and how to build a culture of connection and community.

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.

Online legal products being built in all areas of law. The possibilities are limitless. In this enlightening course, Dorna Moini will address the current state of online legal services and how the traditional attorney-client relationship is shifting with the use of online services.

The most probative piece of evidence a long term disability insurance company will present in a lawsuit regarding disability benefits is the report of the company’s doctor. This course will outline strategies to limit the weight given to such a report or to get the report thrown out entirely. We will cover attacks on the credibility of the insurance. company doctor, attacks on the opinion itself, and attacks on the methods used to arrive at those opinions.

Discover from corporate insider and attorney Douglas Gordon, in a nationally recognized program, the best corporate governance practices for the board of directors of any size corporation, large or small, public or private. Learn why the board of directors is the most powerful force in the corporation and why it should act accordingly. Get the tools the board and individual directors need to do their job such as Mr. Gordon’s exclusive “Ten Commandments for the Board” (as a group) and the “Director Bill of Rights” (for individual directors). If you’ve ever served on a board, would like to serve on a board, or you're an attorney with corporate clients or director clients, or you’re an attorney who would like to have those types of clients, this course is for you.

A client approaches you to represent him for the purchase of a home from an estate whose executor is undergoing an exhausting divorce proceeding. Will marital separation have any affect on the fulfillment of his executor responsibilities? On top of that, the property is a condominium unit from an association in the midst of being sued by the town for an improper subdivision. What impact, if any, will this have on your client’s right to peacefully enjoy the property? Intricate and complex title issues can arise from even the most basic residential real estate transactions. This is true in New Jersey as well as everywhere else in the nation. New Jersey has its own particular process, established by custom, common law, caselaw, statutes and variations at the county and local levels. We will review the basic steps in the New Jersey real estate process, such as attorney review (for realtor-driven residential purchases), inspection, title search, mortgage commitment, judgment search, flood zone search, tidal and riparian search, obtaining a certificate of occupancy and the closing itself. We will touch upon the purpose of these contingencies: establishing a clear chain of title, free of encumbrances, securing adequate financing for the buyer, determining if easements and other property interests affect a parcel, and determining if judgments, divorce decrees and a host of other factors affect the seller’s capacity to convey a parcel and the buyer’s capacity to complete the purchase. We will also survey some of the primary things that can go wrong, such as finding mold in the attic or discovering an open permit when applying for a certificate of occupancy, and how to most expeditiously resolve these setbacks and keep the deal moving forward Finally, we will review the hallmarks of a thorough and effective real estate contract of sale.