Afternoon Briefs: GCs are overloaded with coronavirus webinars; former judge dies at 88
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General counsels are overloaded with COVID-19 emails and webinar invites
Corporate clients are inundated with emails and webinar invitations from law firms offering information on the novel coronavirus, according to Caitlin “Cat” Moon, director of innovation design for the program on law and innovation at Vanderbilt Law School. Moon says she spoke with two corporate clients who are getting more than 250 emails per day from law firms offering webinars and updates. “They don’t have time to attend your webinars,” Moon tweeted. “What they want? Max 1-page summary of what they need to know. You’re welcome.” Several in-house lawyers agreed with Moon in the Twitter thread that followed. (Corporate Counsel, Moon’s tweet)
Stanley Sporkin, former judge and SEC enforcer, dies at 88
Stanley Sporkin, a former federal judge and chief enforcement officer at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, has died at age 88. His son said the cause was congestive heart failure. At the SEC, Sporkin took bold actions against companies for attempted bribery of foreign officials. He went on to become general counsel of the CIA; a federal judge in Washington, D.C.; and a partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges. (The Washington Post via How Appealing, the New York Times)
US indicts president of Venezuela and its chief justice
President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela and several government officials in the country have been indicted in the United States on narco-terrorism and cocaine-trafficking conspiracy charges. The U.S. government is offering up to $15 million for information leading to the capture or conviction of Maduro, whom the United States does not recognize as Venezuela’s president. Also charged is Venezuela’s chief justice, Maikel Jose Moreno Perez, who is charged with money laundering for allegedly accepting bribes to fix cases. (The New York Times, the Washington Post, Department of Justice press release)
PacerPro offers free service for three months
PacerPro is offering its federal court document service free to lawyers for three months to help them transition to working at home. The service emails Pacer filings and PDFs to litigation teams within moments of a new filing. It also allows lawyers to check dockets and documents on its website. (LawSites)
Education Department makes finding in Title IX probe at Pennsylvania college
On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Education announced that its Office for Civil Rights is requiring “major changes” at Pennsylvania State University that are related to a finding that the school failed to protect students from sexual misconduct involving athletic staff. The complaint, filed in 2014, stemmed from the child sex-abuse case involving Jerry Sandusky, who was an assistant football coach at the college. “With the conclusion of this investigation, OCR is holding Penn State accountable for its failures to have systems in place that protect students, including when sexual misconduct involves athletic staff,” a press release said. Requirements of the resolution agreement entered by the school and the department include revising school Title IX policies and recordkeeping, creating additional Title IX training for university staff, and providing individual remedies when appropriate. (March 26 press release)
