Pot companies flock to Canada as U.S. federal law stymies share listings

When Hadley Ford created a company for investing in the fast-growing business of legal marijuana, the former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. investment banker left New York and headed north of the border.

While more than half of U.S. states allow marijuana for medical or recreational use, the drug is still outlawed by the federal government, starving pot entrepreneurs of institutional capital. Major stock exchanges won’t accept listings for businesses that Washington deems illegal, and banks and other lenders have stayed mostly on the sidelines.

So Ford created a public company that raises money in Canada, where medical marijuana is allowed, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau supports full legalization and bankers, lawyers and accountants operate without fear of prosecution. The move gave Ford entree into a vibrant public market for cannabis and a way to fund investments in the U.S.

“We have a $50 billion playing field all to ourselves, and the prices are ridiculously cheap,” Ford said in an interview. ”You could not have created a better business model for a reformed Goldman Sachs banker to wade into.”

Ford, 57, is among a growing list of entrepreneurs who are capitalizing on the difference between the two nations when it comes to marijuana. Two other U.S.-focused pot companies have followed him to the Canadian Securities Exchange, which caters mostly to small-cap mining, technology and biotech firms. CannaRoyalty Corp. began trading in December, and Canadian Bioceutical Corp. started in January.

No Hoodies

“The industry has gone from a Ziploc bag with a hoodie on the corner to now where you’ve got publicly listed companies in Canada acquiring assets in the United States using European money,” said Canadian Bioceutical Chief Executive Officer Scott Boyes. London-based investors bought the majority of the company’s recent $27 million private placement of shares, he said.

IAnthus Capital Holdings Inc., the company Ford leads, listed shares on the CSE in September. It’s raised more than C$50 million ($37 million), including C$20 million from a public offering underwritten by Canaccord Genuity Group Inc., Canada’s largest nonbank brokerage. IAnthus uses the money to invest in cannabis growers and retailers in the U.S., including dispensaries in Colorado, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Mexico.

Shares of Vancouver-based iAnthus have gained 16 percent this year, and are up 86 percent since they began trading in 2016. The company has a market capitalization of C$43 million.

The legal marijuana industry in North America grew 34 percent last year to $6.7 billion, and sales topped $56 billion with the black market included, according to Arcview Market Research. 

Recreational States

Although Canada is beating the U.S. on the road to full legalization, states like Colorado, Oregon and Washington — where recreational use is allowed — are leading the world in development of new cannabis products, said Don Robinson, CEO of Golden Leaf Holdings Inc. The CSE-listed company focuses on edibles, concentrates and other products sold in the U.S. recreational market, with plans for international expansion.

CannaRoyalty also focuses on the U.S., said CEO Marc Lustig. That’s because states with recreational use are at the leading edge of a market that Trudeau promises to bring to Canada, he said. Companies in Canada are currently barred from opening dispensaries and instead supply buds to customers through the mail. High-margin products like edibles and extracts that can be used in a vaporizer are all banned.

Trudeau’s Vow

That will change if Canada legalizes recreational cannabis, which is likely. Since winning election in 2015, Trudeau and the ruling Liberal Party have vowed to legalize and regulate pot use for adults. Legislation is due next week to get it done by July 2018.

With that in mind, CannaRoyalty invests in U.S. marijuana products such as transdermal patches, infused candy, disposable vape pens and metered-dose inhalers, Lustig said. It also licenses its intellectual property to larger Canadian companies, such as Aphria Inc., to help it prepare for the Canadian recreational market, he said.

Before the surprise election of President Donald Trump in November, U.S. companies that cater to the legal marijuana market were surging, including pot packager Kush Bottles Inc. Trump’s appointment of ardent marijuana foe Jeff Sessions as attorney general, however, tempered some of the industry’s enthusiasm. Since the election, Kush shares have dropped 43 percent.

Because of the U.S. prohibition, companies that grow or sell pot rely on private investors to finance expansions or acquisitions. Most publicly traded companies in the U.S. that cater to the marijuana industry, including Kush Bottles and Scotts Miracle Gro Co., are careful to say they don’t “touch the plant” — even if they provide growers with fertilizers, lighting and other ancillary products.

At least one U.S. marijuana grower, Terra Tech Corp., has been able to list its shares domestically, though only over the counter. The Securities and Exchange Commission accepted the company’s stock-registration filings, even though Terra Tech cultivates marijuana in California and Nevada and sells through licensed stores. Terra Tech has raised more than $40 million since it began life as a publicly traded company five years ago, CEO Derek Peterson said.

Even so, Terra Tech faces obstacles. The shares trade over the counter because Nasdaq won’t accept a marijuana listing. It took a year to hire a new auditor, a process that would normally take a day, Peterson said. And landlords are hesitant to rent space for corporate offices, while attorneys are reluctant to provide services, he said.

Big Players

Peterson, 42, said he went to the public markets because that’s how he knew to raise money from his prior career at Morgan Stanley, Wachovia Securities and Crowell Weedon & Co. While the federal ban in the U.S. creates headaches, he said there are also major benefits.

“It’s kept the big players out, which has allowed companies like ours to actually build,” Peterson said. “If this weren’t the situation, we might have woken up and it would be Constellation Brands or Phillip Morris. Who knows? It just wouldn’t have been us.”

For Ford, the U.S. prohibition is a dream come true because it keeps asset values down and successful companies seeking investment capital. He was a vice president at Goldman Sachs and a managing director at Bank of America Corp. before becoming CEO of ProCure Treatment Centers Inc., a closely held provider of proton therapy for cancer patients.

“The long-term trend is cannabis is going to be legal in all 50 states,” Ford said. “The increase in asset value as the industry becomes legal is going to be tremendous.”

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Integrates with DocuSign to Simplify Signature Management for Corporate Law Transactions

Integration brings increased security, compliance and efficiency to
corporate transactions

Doxly,
a secure portal for end-to-end corporate transactions, today announces
its integration with DocuSign,
the pioneer and global standard for eSignature
and Digital
Transaction Management (DTM), to streamline the signature management
process for corporate transactions.

Doxly’s seamless integration of DocuSign into its signature management
solution eliminates the cumbersome, time-consuming and manual signature
process of printing and either scanning, faxing or mailing of executed
signature pages needed to close a transaction. The integration enables
law firms to streamline the signature process and improve the overall
client experience by allowing people to electronically sign anytime,
anywhere, on any device. The combination of DocuSign’s signature
tracking feature with Doxly’s signature grid provides attorneys and
clients real-time visibility into the closing process, helping deals get
done faster.

“When looking to partner with an eSignature platform, DocuSign was an
obvious choice as the industry leader,” Doxly CEO, Haley Altman said.
“Historically, the signature process has been difficult to accomplish
without eroding associate morale, partner demeanor and client experience
to some degree. By combining DocuSign with Doxly’s signature management
solution, which helps create signature pages and packets, we’re able to
provide our customers and their clients peace of mind that signatures
can be obtained quickly, securely and effectively with closings
happening on time.”

With the DocuSign integration, the entire signature packet process can
be completed simply by inputting the necessary signer information into
Doxly’s Signatures Simplified platform one time, which then
automatically sends and tracks the necessary pages and signatures from
document-to-document in real-time.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Doxly to the DocuSign Global Trust Network of
more than 250,000 companies and more than 100 million users across 188
countries,” said Mark Register, SVP of Business Development and Channels
at DocuSign. “As a referral partner, Doxly is helping bring the power of
DocuSign’s Digital Transaction Management platform and eSignature
service to more law firms and in house counsels around the world.”

This announcement follows Doxly’s recent
launch of Deal Insights and Digital Closing Books.

To learn more about how Doxly and DocuSign help organizations accelerate
and secure the digital signature process, visit www.doxly.com/product.

About Doxly

Doxly transforms the complex, chaotic process of managing legal
transactions into a streamlined, efficient process. Built by corporate
attorneys for corporate attorneys, Doxly’s secure cloud-based platform
automates workflows for diligence and closing checklists, provides
transaction-specific analytics and reports, enables legal teams and
clients to collaborate on documents, automates electronic signature
collection and archives transaction-related information to create
digital “closing books” in a secure and trusted environment. Visit doxly.com
or follow Doxly on Twitter at @DoxlyApp
for more information.

About DocuSign, Inc.

DocuSign® is changing how business gets done by empowering
anyone to send, sign and manage agreements anytime, anywhere, on any
device with trust and confidence. DocuSign and Go to keep life and
business moving forward for more information on DocuSign, visit www.docusign.com call
+1-877-720-2040, or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

Copyright 2003-2016. DocuSign, Inc. is the owner of DOCUSIGN® and all
of its other marks (
www.docusign.com/IP).
All other marks appearing herein are the property of their respective
owners.


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Croatia passes law to protect economy from Agrokor-like crisis

By Igor Ilic
| ZAGREB

Croatia passed an emergency law on Thursday aimed at protecting the economy from big company failures as Agrokor, the country’s largest private firm, seeks to resolve its debt crisis.

The center-right majority in parliament approved the law, which will be implemented if Agrokor [AGROK.UL] fails to reach a deal with banks and suppliers on a cash injection and restructuring.

Under the law, devised to deal with problems at companies with at least 5,000 employees and debts of 1 billion euros ($1.07 billion), the state will be able to appoint an executive to steer a restructuring at the request of a debtor or at creditors’ request with the company’s agreement.

The law envisages a company reaching a restructuring deal within 15 months.

Agrokor is the biggest food producer and retailer in theBalkans with 60,000 employees. It accumulated debts of about 45 billion kuna ($6.4 billion), or six times its equity, as it expanded rapidly, notably in Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia and Bosnia.

Agrokor, whose annual income equals 15 percent of Croatia’s gross domestic product, struck a deal on Sunday with six lenders led by Russia’s Sberbank and VTB to freeze debt repayments and get an unspecified cash injection.

In line with that, a restructuring expert was appointed to rescue the business. Antonio Alvarez III, of consultants Alvarez&Marsal, said on Tuesday there was no guarantee that the company could be saved.

Alvarez said on Thursday that his team had met representatives of six banks, including Austria’s Erste Bank and Raiffeisenbank and Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit, to discuss providing Agrokor with more financial backing.

“A decision depends on approval by boards in each of those institutions and procedures are now on a fast track… The company is considering all available options,” Agrokor said in a statement.

Local food firms that supply Agrokor’s retail chain Konzum, which controls 30 percent of the local market, are owed 16 billion kuna and they fear demands for payment could be affected by the restructuring.

One of the main problems between the banks and suppliers is factoring of promissory notes which suppliers received from Agrokor for delivered goods and then exchanged for cash, which the banks are seeking to get back from suppliers as they cannot be repaid by Agrokor.

“If there is no deal with banks today, we would support any other solution that leads towards helping suppliers to survive in all this,” said Alen Fontana, chief executive of local dairy Dukat. Suppliers could be forced to stop delivering goods to Agrokor within the next 24 hours, he said.

Opposition lawmakers in parliament criticized the new law, saying it would favor creditors at the expense of small suppliers and could threaten the state budget if the government is forced to guarantee liquidity injections to avert a corporate failure.

The Zagreb police force said in a statement on Thursday that it had launched an enquiry into Agrokor, but declined to provide any details.

Local media reported that the police action came after parliament’s speaker Bozo Petrov said last Friday that he had asked the Zagreb state attorney’s office to investigate Agrokor’s owner, local businessman Ivica Todoric, about alleged irregularities in Agrokor’s financial reports. Agrokor declined to comment.

Croatia’s central bank governor said on Thursday that the Agrokor crisis will hurt the country’s economy this year, but could not yet determine by how much.

(Reporting by Igor Ilic; Editing by Susan Fenton)


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My Local Bobby: meet the brave new world of elite law enforcement

A drizzly night in Belgravia and the streets are deserted. A cab pulls up before Eaton Square’s stuccoed columns. The passenger in the back is metres from her front door — but drenched in De Beers and toting a £10,000 handbag, she doesn’t feel safe walking the distance alone. Thankfully she and her neighbours have their own immaculately turned-out private ‘policeman’ on speed dial to escort them safely home, an ex-copper or soldier who keeps an eye on their properties all day and who, should an ‘incident’ occur, has the power to arrest the perpetrator and launch his or her own investigation. 

This is — or, at least, will be — My Local Bobby, a subscription-based service offering ‘high-end security, with the full support of experienced detectives and the capability of prosecuting offences’, says David McKelvey, 54, who co-founded the service with Tony Nash, 52, both of whom are former Met officers. From this month it will offer to patrol some of London’s most expensive streets in Belgravia, Mayfair and Kensington. Each uniformed ‘bobby’ will have a ‘microbeat’ covering up to 250 houses, the owners of which will pay a subscription fee of approximately £100-£200 a month. 

In return, clients receive a ‘meet-and-greet service’ from their car or the Tube, and will have access to a hotline to their bobby, whose location they can track on their iPad. If there’s a crime, says McKelvey, ‘we would have a bobby on scene within minutes’. My Local Bobby also offers a full surveillance fleet and its own undercover unit to investigate crimes — ‘the only other undercover unit outside of law enforcement’, according to McKelvey. ‘In this day and age, we’ve got better resources than the police,’ he says. As well as being equipped with body cams for recording evidence, the ‘bobbies’ will be able to apprehend suspects using a citizen’s arrest. And, if necessary, they can bring a private prosecution (that is, one brought by a private individual not acting on behalf of the police). 

In doing this, My Local Bobby will introduce a bold new concept to the streets of the capital. Against a backdrop of stretched resources, private security has become a booming business. The Met has been forced to make £600m of savings since 2010, in part by reducing overtime and cutting managers, and according to an HMIC report last month on police effectiveness, London alone is 700 detectives short. Research done by the British Security Industry Association suggests, meanwhile, that the private security industry was worth more than £6bn to the UK economy — approximately 0.55 per cent of GDP — in 2015. 

david-mckelveytony-nas..jpg

David McKelvey and Tony Nash

My Local Bobby’s parent company, private investigation firm TM Eye, as McKelvey explains, ‘has, through a strict process involving its legal team and the Acro Criminal Records Office, access to the offending history of those it prosecutes. This is only ever used for the benefit of the court in deciding on sentence. It also ensures all TM Eye convictions are recorded on the PNC [Police National Computer] for the information of law enforcement. Access is strictly monitored.’ He adds that ‘there’s no one else in the UK who brings private prosecutions. There are some law firms, but to my knowledge there are no other investigation companies that do.’ On its website, the Acro Criminal Records Office confirms that ‘we maintain a number of information-sharing agreements with [non-police prosecuting] agencies to provide criminal conviction information solely for the purposes of the prosecution of offenders, legal proceedings or obtaining legal advice’. It clarifies that it maintains two agreements with TM Eye in partnership with two law firms and that ‘under the terms of these agreements, Acro provides criminal conviction information to the courts via the law firms for the express purpose of supporting the prosecution of offenders.’ The agreements do not allow for the general disclosure of PNC information for the purpose of conducting checks on members of the public. 

Understandably, the news that so-called ‘private police’ will be patrolling London has proven controversial. The Met Police Federation Chairman, Ken Marsh, warned on BBC radio that trying to ‘recreate other policing actions or organisations becomes a very, very thin line and very dangerous’, adding that ‘the Office of Constable is held by the people who swear to serve the Queen… so they are completely transparent, they have to answer to every single action.’

Others have questioned whether a private company should have access to criminal records. But ‘the PNC thing was a red herring’, insists McKelvey, who argues that the use of the PNC is ‘purely and simply when we prosecute someone, and it’s only for the benefit of the court, so that the court is aware of the previous criminal history for that person’. Crucially, as Acro makes clear, its agreement with TM Eye (founded by McKelvey in 2007 and hitherto specialising in intellectual property theft and counterfeit luxury goods) doesn’t ‘allow for the general disclosure of PNC information for the purpose of conducting checks on members of the public’. 

eatonsquare.jpg

Eaton Square in exclusive  Belgravia (Alamy Stock Photo)

Others have voiced concerns that such developments are tantamount to high-end ‘vigilantism’. Belgravia resident Katrina Kutchinsky, a 35-year-old PR director, worries about the risk of people being harmed as well as ‘legal questions as a result about who can legally use force. We don’t want mob rule.’ McKelvey counters such criticisms by highlighting the expertise of himself and his bobbies (at least 20 of whom have already been hired and trained). ‘Almost everyone involved has been a serving police officer for 30 years… You’re not getting some probationary police officer with less than six months’ service walking around the streets, you’ve got people with years of experience who know the law inside out. The bobbies have to be Security Industry Association-approved, have a Close Protection licence [required for all bodyguards] and we’ve got our own vetting and training process.’ 

Still, McKelvey is aware of the importance of winning trust. ‘We’re going out, knocking on doors, going to local churches and residents’ groups,’ he says. And while news of the launch may have been controversial, it means ‘hundreds’ of applications for policing jobs have already been received. One such hopeful, Koon Wai To, 51, has 12 years of experience in the military as well as experience in the police force. Close Protection-trained and currently working in private security, Koon thinks there’s a ‘real need’ for My Local Bobby. ‘The forces are so stretched. Having been in the police force, I’ve got [former] colleagues in there who are saying, “We need a solution”.’ 

Both McKelvey and Nash are adamant that what they are offering is a supplement to conventional policing; they are not trying to supplant the existing force. ‘The Met has some great officers — with Cressida Dick coming in, they’ve got a fantastic commissioner. But they’ve already had £600m worth of cuts, it appears there’s about another £400m gap in finances… Something’s got to change.’ Nash also takes issue with the media characterisation of My Local Bobby as a ‘private police force’, pointing out that the bobbies ‘will have the same powers as you and I have — but they are trained to deliver them’. A large part of what they do is providing a deterrent. ‘With government cuts to resources, you don’t see policemen walk around any more’, says McKelvey. 

The pair are still trying to finesse some elements. For example, they haven’t pinned down the logistics of one bobby trying to perform a meet-and-greet service for up to 250 people all arriving home at 10pm in different places. But there’s no doubt that, should it take off, the business model could prove lucrative. 

McKelvey frequently emphasises the ‘old-fashioned’ aspect of having a bobby on the beat, and My Local Bobby’s logo shows a quaint illustration of one. His officers will wear a blue-grey military-style uniform, which McKelvey compares to a 1950s-style police tunic, designed after consultation with the London School of Fashion and former Jaeger boss Harold Tillman. 

Nash, who retired as detective chief superintendent of the Met last month after 31 years in the service, readily recognises My Local Bobby’s commercial potential. As well as the basic subscription services, My Local Bobby will offer what Nash calls ‘bolt-ons’. For additional security and investigation —private criminal prosecutions, a bodyguard for events — there will be extra charges. Starting out in London’s richest residential neighbourhoods was a ‘commercial decision’ to get the business up and running, he says. Should it expand to other areas, there will be a ‘sliding scale’, with residents in expensive areas paying more. Nash also suggests that ‘in the future, potentially we could go to local authorities and look at them outsourcing their patrols’. That, of course, could bring more controversy, though Nash argues they’re filling ‘a gap in the market’. 

‘Education and health already have the private aspects. The police haven’t and I think this is the first step in opening that up to the market,’ he says. ‘It’s like people buy private health insurance… the concept of people paying for something above what the state provides — this is no different.’ 


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Law society of Scotland under fire over tax haven firms

SCOTLAND’s solicitor’s body has been warned against defending “aggressive tax avoidance” after it was revealed Scots “zero-tax” firms were used in the £6.4 billion takeover of Formula One.

The Law Society of Scotland yesterday took a stand against any specific measures to prevent controversial Scottish Limited Partnerships or SLPs being used as fronts for global money-launderers and other gangsters.

It did so after The Herald revealed America’s Liberty Media had bought F1 with the help of two SLPs after declaring it had found a way of avoiding “incremental taxes for many, many years”.

Roger Mullin, the SNP MP who has led the campaign in the Commons for reform of SLPs, said: “It is rather sad that the Law Society should be so complacent about the extent of criminality associated with SLPs. One wonders if the Law Society is more interested in defending aggressive tax avoidance strategies of wealthy clients, rather than ensuring Scotland builds a reputation for ethical practice.”

The Law Society was responding a UK Government consultation on how to stop mass criminal abuse of SLPs – which are advertised across the former Soviet Union and beyond as “zero-tax Scottish offshore companies”.

In a formal submission, the body stressed the structures played a key role in Scotland’s cottage industry providing tax-efficient platforms for private equity funds and other investors.

Green MSP Andy Wightman, who has also campaigned for action on SLPs, added: “The Law Society has a statutory duty to work in the public interest. In responding to this consultation, the society appears to have forgotten this important duty.

“By focusing on the legitimate uses of SLPs and by deflecting concerns to other types of corporate structures, it is ignoring the widespread criminality associated with SLPs that appears to have become endemic in recent years.”

Scottish law firms create scores of such partnerships every year as tax avoidance vehicles for private equity funds. Last year there were 300 such entities created for financial services, including the F1 shell firms. However, these were dwarfed by nearly 5,000 SLPs formed by opaque partners in traditional tax havens, many then sold off-the-peg as secrecy vehicles.

Current Westminster laws allow the owners of SLPs to be anonymous, file no accounts and pay no taxes but still own assets – such as shares – just like an ordinary company. This makes the entities attractive to both equity funds and gangsters and corrupt officials who wish to hide behind a respectable looking Scottish front.

The Law Society fears closing the specific SLP loophole will prevent competition with tax haven jurisdictions such as Luxembourg.

Michael Clancy, its director of law reform, said “We are fully committed to measures which would prevent SLPs being used for criminal purposes.

“To ensure such measures are effective, any review must be expanded to look at other UK-wide business structures. After all, any review or reform which is too limited or narrow could simply end up displacing criminal activity rather than preventing it.”

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Gov. Rick Scott's search for agency law firms with legislative connections comes up empty

Hunting for what it calls potential conflicts of interest, Gov. Rick Scott’s office asked every state agency to disclose a case in which it employs a law firm that has a state legislator on its payroll. More than 30 agencies responded, but none said it has such an arrangement.

RELATED NEWS/ARCHIVE

Only the Department of Corrections appeared to hedge somewhat, telling Scott’s office that “it does not appear to have any current contracts with a law firm that employs a current Florida legislator.”

Scott’s chief of staff, Kim McDougal, asked agencies to respond after learning from a Times/Herald report that Broad & Cassel, the law firm that employs House Speaker Richard Corcoran, has received more than $235,000 in legal work from Enterprise Florida since 2014. A top Corcoran priority is to abolish Enterprise Florida, which he has repeatedly cited as an example of waste and “corruption” in state government.

In response, Scott’s office said Corcoran’s connection to Broad & Cassel “could easily be perceived as a conflict of interest” under state ethics laws, but Enterprise Florida has given no indication that it intends to sever its relationship with Broad & Cassel as a result. (The question is, if such a relationship is an apparent conflict of interest, why does Enterprise Florida do business with the firm?)

Corcoran said he could be fairly accused of a conflict of he was protecting Enterprise Florida. He described his determination to abolish a client of his law firm as “noble behavior” and proof that no conflict exists. “If every legislator is going to sacrifice their financial interest for the betterment of public good, that’s a good thing … For him (Scott) to call that bad, it’s just not right.”

Besides Corcoran, 36 of the 160 members of the Florida Legislature are attorneys, including 25 other House members and 11 senators. Most are employed by small law firms. It’s illegal for a lawyer-legislator to personally represent a client before a state agency, but law partners and associates can.

“We will continue to ensure all agencies are in compliance with our state contracting laws,” Scott’s office said. “We are also continuing to look at all possible avenues where law firms conduct business with the state and we are looking at further potential executive action concerning these contracts.”

Ironically, Enterprise Florida did not have to respond to Scott’s edict on agency law firm contracts, because it is a “public private partnership” and not a state agency by law.

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Scott's hunt for agency law firms with Capitol connections comes up empty

Hunting for what it calls potential conflicts of interest, Gov. Rick Scott’s office asked every state agency to disclose a case in which it employs a law firm that has a state legislator on its payroll. More than 30 agencies responded, but none said it has such an arrangement.

Only the Department of Corrections appeared to hedge somewhat, telling Scott’s office that “it does not appear to have any current contracts with a law firm that employs a current Florida legislator.”

Scott’s chief of staff, Kim McDougal, asked agencies to respond after learning from a Times/Herald report that Broad & Cassel, the law firm that employs House Speaker Richard Corcoran, has received more than $235,000 in legal work from Enterprise Florida since 2014. A top Corcoran priority is to abolish Enterprise Florida, which he has repeatedly cited as an example of waste and “corruption” in state government.

In response, Scott’s office said Corcoran’s connection to Broad & Cassel “could easily be perceived as a conflict of interest” under state ethics laws, but Enterprise Florida has given no indication that it intends to sever its relationship with Broad & Cassel as a result. (The question is, if such a relationship is an apparent conflict of interest, why does Enterprise Florida do business with the firm?)

RichCorcoran020817_18766492_8colCorcoran said he could be fairly accused of a conflict of he was protecting Enterprise Florida. He described his determination to abolish a client of his law firm as “noble behavior” and proof that no conflict exists. “If every legislator is going to sacrifice their financial interest for the betterment of public good, that’s a good thing … For him (Scott) to call that bad, it’s just not right.”

Besides Corcoran, 36 of the 160 members of the Florida Legislature are attorneys, including 25 other House members and 11 senators. Most are employed by small law firms. It’s illegal for a lawyer-legislator to personally represent a client before a state agency, but law partners and associates can.

“We will continue to ensure all agencies are in compliance with our state contracting laws,” Scott’s office said. “We are also continuing to look at all possible avenues where law firms conduct business with the state and we are looking at further potential executive action concerning these contracts.”

Ironically, Enterprise Florida did not have to respond to Scott’s edict on agency law firm contracts, because it is a “public private partnership” and not a state agency by law.

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Gov. Rick Scott's search for politically-wired agency law firms comes up empty

Hunting for what it calls potential conflicts of interest, Gov. Rick Scott’s office asked every state agency to disclose a case in which it employs a law firm that has a state legislator on its payroll. More than 30 agencies responded, but none said it has such an arrangement.

RELATED NEWS/ARCHIVE

Only the Department of Corrections appeared to hedge somewhat, telling Scott’s office that “it does not appear to have any current contracts with a law firm that employs a current Florida legislator.”

Scott’s chief of staff, Kim McDougal, asked agencies to respond after learning from a Times/Herald report that Broad & Cassel, the law firm that employs House Speaker Richard Corcoran, has received more than $235,000 in legal work from Enterprise Florida since 2014. A top Corcoran priority is to abolish Enterprise Florida, which he has repeatedly cited as an example of waste and “corruption” in state government.

In response, Scott’s office said Corcoran’s connection to Broad & Cassel “could easily be perceived as a conflict of interest” under state ethics laws, but Enterprise Florida has given no indication that it intends to sever its relationship with Broad & Cassel as a result. (The question is, if such a relationship is an apparent conflict of interest, why does Enterprise Florida do business with the firm?)

Corcoran said he could be fairly accused of a conflict of he was protecting Enterprise Florida. He described his determination to abolish a client of his law firm as “noble behavior” and proof that no conflict exists. “If every legislator is going to sacrifice their financial interest for the betterment of public good, that’s a good thing … For him (Scott) to call that bad, it’s just not right.”

Besides Corcoran, 36 of the 160 members of the Florida Legislature are attorneys, including 25 other House members and 11 senators. Most are employed by small law firms. It’s illegal for a lawyer-legislator to personally represent a client before a state agency, but law partners and associates can.

“We will continue to ensure all agencies are in compliance with our state contracting laws,” Scott’s office said. “We are also continuing to look at all possible avenues where law firms conduct business with the state and we are looking at further potential executive action concerning these contracts.”

Ironically, Enterprise Florida did not have to respond to Scott’s edict on agency law firm contracts, because it is a “public private partnership” and not a state agency by law.

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Intellectual Property Law Firm Brinks Gilson & Lione Expands Office in Tampa

Apr 05, 2017 (Marketwired via COMTEX) —
Top U.S. IP Firm Sees Opportunity in Florida IP Market

TAMPA, FL–(Marketwired – April 05, 2017) – Brinks Gilson & Lione, one of the largest intellectual property law firms in the United States, is relocating its Tampa, Fla.-based team to new downtown office space at 401 East Jackson Street.

The move follows Brinks’ 2016 expansion to Florida, when the firm added four Tampa-based attorneys experienced in patent and trademark law to address an increasing number of intellectual property law cases in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. The Middle District of Florida ranks among the more attractive of the 94 federal district courts across the U.S. to entities filing patent infringement cases.

“Florida’s Middle District is recognized by companies trying to combat infringement as an expedient court, in terms of the likelihood of getting to trial, speed of getting to trial, trial win rates, and damages awarded,” said Brinks president James R. Sobieraj.

“Having qualified, experienced counsel licensed to practice in and situated near one of the nation’s growing venues for patent litigation is a logical move as we continue to expand,” adds Sobieraj.

Alejandro J. Fernandez, former managing partner of the Tampa office of a Miami-based firm, is the managing partner of Brinks’ Tampa office. Patent litigators Joseph R. Sozzani and Stephen J. Leahu and patent prosecutor Dr. Walter C. Frank round out Brinks’ Tampa-based team.

“The Middle District continues to grow in popularity as a forum for patent, trademark, and copyright cases,” said Fernandez. “It is an important advantage for our clients to be represented by litigators with a deep knowledge of the Middle District’s judges, local rules, and legal community.” Brinks’ new office is a short walk from the Tampa division and a convenient drive to Orlando and other divisions of the Middle District.

Alex Fernandez’s practice focuses on patent, trademark, trade dress, and copyright litigation in areas including pharmaceuticals, medical supplies, telecommunications, and energy. Fernandez earned his J.D. and Franklin Pierce Intellectual Property Law Certificate from the University of New Hampshire School of Law, and holds a B.S. in biology with a minor in chemistry from Palm Beach Atlantic University.

Joseph Sozzani’s practice spans litigation, licensing, and counseling, including IP-related advice in connection with transactions. He represents clients in fields including banking, digital storage, e-commerce, electronics, manufacturing, lighting, IT, lasers, medical devices, mobile telecommunications, payment systems, pharmaceuticals, plastics, power electronics, software, and silicon chips. Sozzani has particular experience litigating business method patents. He earned an M.J. with highest distinction from Bond University School of Law and graduated cum laude with a J.D. from the Levin College of Law at the University of Florida.

Stephen Leahu is a registered patent attorney whose practice focuses on litigation, prosecution, and transactional matters in all areas of intellectual property law. He has represented clients in litigation in various state and federal courts and before the U.S. International Trade Commission. With degrees in biochemistry, computer science, and engineering, Leahu also holds an MBA from Loyola University Chicago, and a J.D. and LLM in intellectual property law from The John Marshall Law School.

A research chemist before becoming an attorney, Dr. Walter Frank has significant experience in prosecuting U.S. and foreign patents related to small molecules, pharmaceutical compositions, and methods of use, and in drafting freedom-to-operate analyses and invalidity opinions. Dr. Frank earned his J.D. from the Beasley School of Law at Temple University. He holds a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Virginia, an M.S. in organic chemistry from the University of Delaware, and a B.S. in chemistry from Shepherd College.

Brinks Gilson & Lione’s new office address is 401 East Jackson Street, Suite 3500, Tampa, Florida, 33602. The phone number is 813-275-5020. Brinks has six other offices in the U.S. and is in the process of securing approval for an office in Shenzhen, China.

Brinks Gilson & Lione

Celebrating its centennial year in 2017, Brinks Gilson & Lione is one of the largest intellectual property law firms in the US, and helps clients around the world to protect and enforce their intellectual property rights. Our more than 140 lawyers, patent agents and scientific advisors assist clients in all aspects of patent, trademark, unfair competition, trade secret, and copyright law. Brinks attorneys provide informed counsel with respect to innovations in a range of complex and valuable technologies, including pharmaceuticals, chemicals, bioengineering, industrial manufacturing, electronics and software, and medical devices. More information is at www.brinksgilson.com.

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CONTACT
Cheryl Kennedy
Clovis, Inc.
312.346.1700 x2002

Sheetal Shah
Brinks Gilson & Lione
312.840.3165

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