Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP

We are thrilled to present our 335 attorneys that have been honored in the 2025 editions of Best Lawyers and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch! Each attorney has been recognized by their peers for their professional abilities and legal prowess. Read the full Best Lawyers press release: https://lnkd.in/ezb6FbiZ Read the full Ones to Watch press release: https://lnkd.in/eTjDgKaR Special congratulations to the attorneys recognized as "Lawyer of the Year" in their respective practice areas and regions: Ben Barkley, Farah Cook, Wab Kadaba, Scott Marrah, Tina McKeon, Robbie Poplin, Susan Hearne Richardson, David Stockton, James Trigg, Joe Huff, Susan Boyles, Charles Calkins, Steve Gardner, Will Joyner, Richard J Keshian, and Laura Craver Miller.

Since 2004, we have had an annual tradition of wearing our school colors and team apparel to celebrate College Colors Day. Check out each office’s team pride during the festivities this week. #CollegeColorsDay2024

“This is an update to our firm’s previous article covering the creation of Texas’ new business court system and Fifteenth Court of Appeals. These new courts were created in 2023 by the 88th Texas Legislature and will begin accepting cases on September 1, 2024.” Read the Legal Alert from Christin Jones, Karly Rodine, and John Robinson here: https://lnkd.in/ddMRDSWV

Congratulations to Kilpatrick's Sarah Spangenburg for being named Chair of Wake Forest University School of Law’s Rose Council! During her 2-year term as Chair, Sarah also has a seat on the Executive Committee for the Board of Visitors. Named after Professor Emeritus Charlie Rose, the Rose Council aims to build community by encouraging recent graduates to increase their involvement with Wake Forest Law by volunteering, attending law school events, staying informed, and giving back. The Rose Council serves as the primary young alumni group, helping to keep the School of Law informed of new trends and practices in the legal profession.

"In July 2024, the Fourth Circuit affirmed the denial of class certification for a group of Chinese investors who were allegedly duped into entering a Ponzi-like investment scheme to purchase two dozen golf courses and other real estate in South Carolina. Cheng v. Liu, No. 23-1806, 2024 WL 3579606 (4th Cir. July 29, 2024). In an unpublished opinion, the Fourth Circuit held that the class plaintiffs failed to meet the requirements of Rule 23(b) because a single injunction could not provide relief to the class, which primarily sought money damages, and because a class action was not the superior method of litigation. 2024 WL 3579606, at *5." Read the Class Action blog from Michele Floyd here: https://lnkd.in/eDWHPgsZ

"Takeaway:  Courts are continuing to take a hard look at class action fee awards, and in In re T-Mobile Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, --- F.4th ----, 2024 WL 3561874 (8th Cir. July 29, 2024), the Eighth Circuit joined the Third, Sixth, Seventh and Ninth Circuits’ recent trend of vacating excessive awards. See In re WaWa, Inc. Data Sec. Litigation, 85 F.4th 712 (3d Cir. 2023) (vacating $3.2 million fee and remanding with instructions); Linneman v. Vita-Mix Corp., 970 F.3d 621 (6th Cir. 2020) (vacating $3.9 million fee as unreasonable); In re Broiler Chicken Antitrust Litigation, 80 F.4th 797 (7th Cir. 2023) (vacating $57.4 million fee award and remanding with instructions); Lowrey v. Rhapsody Int’l, Inc., 75 F.4th 985 (9th Cir. 2023) (reversing $1.7 million fee and remanding)." Read Michele Floyd's Class Action blog: https://lnkd.in/eJFA4_iH

"Issues surrounding unconscionability and severance are commonplace in motions to compel arbitration, especially in California.  Under California Civil Code section 1670.5, a court has three options when presented with an unconscionable contract provision:  it can refuse to enforce the contract; it can sever the unconscionable provision and enforce the remainder of the contract; or it can limit the application of the contract provision to avoid unconscionable results.  While the statute gives courts broad discretion to choose among the three options, case law instructs that invalidating the contract should be reserved for situations where the contract is “permeated” with unconscionability." Read the Class Action blog from Michele Floyd here: https://lnkd.in/e92XmnHK

Kilpatrick’s Raleigh Office Managing Partner Ford Robertson has been appointed to the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce Executive Committee. In his role, Ford will serve as General Counsel for 2024-2025 fiscal year. The Chamber is the Triangle’s largest business membership organization with over 1,800 member firms representing two-thirds of the private sector employment in Wake County.   Congratulation to Ford!

It was great to hear remarks yesterday evening from Dr. Raphael Bostic (Stanford University PhD 1995) the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta at a Stanford Alumni Association event held at the Atlanta office of Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP. Dr. Bostic shared insights into his career and how collaborating as a young economist on research papers with co-authors of different perspectives helped him understand the value of diversity of thought in decision-making. He also shared his thoughts on possible interest rates that have been covered in the news today, and that could be summarized as it may possibly be “time to move” on rate cuts subject to what upcoming job reports and inflation data show. Something that stood out to me about Dr. Bostic is that he exhibits that rare blend of being a deeply substantive subject-matter expert and leader who also has the charisma to engage a crowd of more than 100 attendees. Thanks to the wonderful Angel D. (Stanford 2006) of the Stanford Black Alumni Association of Atlanta for moderating the discussion – she was so natural and engaging, and many of us came away thinking that Angel has a potential second career as a TV interviewer. Thanks also to Kimberly Zeh and Monique Broughton Knight on Dr. Bostic’s team for their help in arranging the discussion. They brought to the event the sort of attention to detail that you expect in bankers. Thanks also to my Stanford Club of Atlanta Co-President Carole Sams Hoemeke and Treasurer Erik Fortner. Being able to work alongside them in the club is really a lot of fun. The Stanford Alumni Association provides fantastic support to our Atlanta club, and we are grateful for the wisdom and guidance of Howard E. Wolf, Judy Heller, and Damien Basey in connecting Stanford's Atlanta alumni back to The Farm. Thanks also to Kilpatrick for hosting the event. Firm Chair Wab Kadaba and Atlanta Office Managing Partner Burleigh Singleton do a wonderful job of connecting the firm to the Atlanta community. Caroline Karpiak Howard, Jennifer Daughtry, John Page, Eric McLemore, and Marvin M Maye made all aspects of the event welcoming and run wonderfully. Thanks also to my law partners and colleagues Edgar Callaway, Henry Walker, Pam Murrell, and Lou Barbieri for joining to welcome Dr. Bostic. Finally, thanks to my law partner Sandy Smith, a forty-year volunteer with Stanford who with his typical wisdom encouraged me years ago to become involved with Stanford alumni activities because he thought I would enjoy it and of course he was right as always.  

Kilpatrick’s David Hughes and Jordan Goodman recently joined BDO for a discussion of trends around state unclaimed property enforcement measures, including audits, voluntary disclosure agreements, and other outreach inquiries. Check out their 5 Key Takeaways here: https://lnkd.in/em5tHP5q