Annual Labor & Employment Seminar Returns in Person

Procopio’s annual Labor & Employment Seminar is back, and for the first time in three years it’s in person! If you're a business owner, human resources professional, or in-house employment counsel, join our Employment Law attorneys in San Diego November 3 as they catch you up on the latest changes to the legal landscape for employers.

You’re focused on doing right by your employees, but are you complying with the latest state and federal laws? Are you taking the steps necessary to avoid unwanted litigation, including wrongful termination and wage and hour lawsuits? Our Labor and Employment Law attorneys want to help you answer YES to both of those questions and many more.

What's it like to attend our seminar? Take a look.

Don’t Miss Procopio’s Second Annual Construction Law Seminar

For a second straight year, experienced attorneys from Procopio’s Construction Law team will host a half-day webinar November 10 on the latest in construction law.

Topics include:

• California prevailing wage law challenges;
• Recent changes to insurance coverage and payment/performance bonds;
• Handling supply chain disruptions, labor shortages and price escalations;
• Industry cybersecurity risks; and
  
• A roundup of critical state legislation.

Articles

Progressive Design-Build Takes Another Step Forward in California

A new California law expands the use of progressive design-build (PDB) project delivery in the public sector for certain water projects, Mary Salamone explains, part of a longstanding effort by the state to allow local agencies to pursue alternatives to the design-bid-build delivery method. PDB is well-regarded for its balanced risk allocation.

Awards & Accolades

Brook Barnes Recognized for Freeing a Wrongfully Convicted Man From Prison

For securing the freedom of a man wrongly convicted of a crime he didn't commit, Procopio Partner Brook Barnes was honored by the California Innocence Project with its XONR8R ("Exonerator") Award. Efforts by Brook and the California Innocence Project over several years played a critical role in securing the release and winning compensation for Guy Miles, who served 18 years of a 75-years-to-life sentence.

Procopio Life Sciences IP Litigators Recognized for ANDA Litigation

Procopio’s growing Life Sciences practice has been named a highly active ANDA (“abbreviated new drug application”) litigation firm by intellectual property research firm Patexia, in part with the addition earlier this year of two seasoned Washington, D.C., IP litigators, Steve Maddox and Jeremy Edwards. Patexia analyzed 267 law firms and 1,857 attorneys involved in ANDA litigation in determining to list Procopio among highly active ANDA firms. It noted the addition of Steve and Jeremy to Procopio as significant, naming Steve’s move one of the top lateral law firm moves of the last year.

Meet Xiaofan “Frank” Yang: Procopio Patent Attorney and Scientist with a Passion for Innovation

It’s a safe bet most attorneys don’t trace the inspiration for their professional journey back to a visit with giant pandas. That’s the case with Xiaofan “Frank” Yang, however. Born and raised in Chengdu, China, it was a few middle school field trips to the nearby Giant Panda Bases and Sanctuaries that inspired his passion for science and later patent law.

This profile is part of a series introducing Procopio attorneys.

More Events

Embracing the Future State of Life Sciences | Webinar

Access to capital markets for life sciences companies has proven challenging in 2022. M&A and Strategic Joint Ventures co-leader Paul Johnson joins other speakers on the topic in a California Life Sciences webinar.

IP Strategy Summit West | Palo Alto, CA

Trade secrets challenges are on the rise. Trade Secrets practice leader Mindy Morton joins other seasoned attorneys at this CenterForce conference to discuss how trade secret breaches can be avoided and how to prove a breach has occurred.

International Tax Symposium | Webinar

International Tax Partner Raúl Villarreal Garza speaks at the 2nd International Tax Symposium organized by Freeman Law. The program will address global tax reform, cross-border tax planning opportunities, cryptocurrency, and more.

Client News

Therapeutics Innovator Merges to Form New Company; Original Founder Wins Prestigious Bioresearch Award

In a big win for cancer research, two clinical-trial biotech innovators—privately held Procopio client Cend Therapeutics and publicly traded Caladrius Biosciences—have completed a merger to create a publicly traded company focused on advancements in oncology. Newly born Lisata Therapeutics now has approximately $76 million in cash and investments following the close of the merger, and will trade on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol LSTA. Representing Cend in the complex merger transaction was M&A and Strategic Joint Ventures Co-Leader Paul Johnson, with Life Sciences Co-Leader Bob Ramos serving as the IP attorney on the deal.

Days after the deal closed, Cend founder Dr. Erkki Ruoslahti was named a recipient of the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award, the most prestigious prize in the United States for biomedical research. His discovery of cell adhesion receptors, now called integrins, has aided researchers studying cancer, sepsis, fibrosis, viral infections and autoimmunity.

Logistics Specialist Obtains Majority Investment from Supply Chain Capital Specialists

Kudos to client and complex logistics provider Boa Logistics, which specializes in refrigerated less-than-truckload (LTL) freight consolidation, in obtaining a majority investment from specialists in supply-chain companies, Cambridge Capital. The investment will enable Boa to continue to expand its dedicated cold-chain freight consolidation platform and capitalize on its large market opportunity.

Procopio Partner and M&A and Strategic Joint Ventures Co-Leader Jason Femrite led the M&A transaction for Boa, working with corporate law attorneys Trent Andrews, Gabriela Turner and John Miles. Other Procopio attorneys assisting Boa included Gary Kennedy, Eli Mansour, Travis Jang-Busby, John C. Lee, Matt Short, Sasha Selfridge, Eric Swenson, David Boatwright, Todd Neal, Chris Jaczko, and Anne Do.

Sports and Active Lifestyle a $5.1-Billion Industry in San Diego, Nonprofit Says in New Study

The annual total economic output of San Diego’s Sports and Active Lifestyle (SAL) industry is $5.1 billion, involving over 42,000 jobs, according to a study by San Diego Sport Innovators (SDSI), a nonprofit supported by Procopio’s Sports and Active Lifestyle group led by Kathleen Brown and Lisel Ferguson.

SDSI represents 130 SAL companies both large and small, and the study’s data derived from a survey of members. SDSI Executive Chairman and Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Walton told the San Diego Business Journal that many individuals in San Diego County were spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic to adopt a more active lifestyle.

Social Media

Please welcome our newest corporate law attorney, Dennis M. Grady, Jr. He advises clients with corporate formation and operation, governance, venture capital financings, M&A, public company disclosure, and securities offerings, and has served as a strategic consultant for several startup companies.

As superstar singing sensation Shakira faces tax fraud charges in Spain, Procopio International Tax leader Pedro E. Corona de la Fuente breaks down for NBC News the tax and criminal cases prosecutors are waging and steps they'll have to take to convict the pop star, with penalties including multimillion-euro fines and jail time.

While an expected appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court by Novartis in a patent invalidation case could lead patentees to undertake more robust prior art evaluations, Procopio Life Sciences IP litigator Jeremy Edwards told Rani Mehta of Managing IP, some concerns suggesting harm to the pharma and biotech industries may be overstated.

Following a precedential Section 101 patent case reversal by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Jeff Morton told Managing IP that the U.S. Supreme Court or Congress needs to provide more Section 101 clarity to avoid so many conflicting court decisions.

We're a proud supporter of San Diego Sport Innovators (SDSI), including its mentoring efforts. IP attorney Neil A. Salyards attended yesterday's SDSI Mentor Forum featuring the group's Executive Chairman Bill Walton in Solana Beach and found the event highly inspiring.

Singing IP litigator Mindy Morton directed and performed with other IP attorneys Sept. 20 in "You Give Law a Bad Name," a campy 80's-style performance during the San Francisco Bay Area IP Inn at Court's "Inter Partes Revue" at Angelica's in Redwood City, CA. Meet Mindy.

Let's Work Together.