Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP

As we approach a new year, and a new administration, now is the perfect time to take a moment and review your organization's AI strategy and assess the challenges and opportunities that 2025 might bring. Kilpatrick Connect can help.   Kilpatrick Connect is our legally focused consulting and advisory offering designed to help you address and leverage all aspects of AI. Our offerings are customized to guide you through the complex legal, regulatory, and policy environment related to AI. We support the creation of practical and actionable strategies and solutions, ensuring your business stays compliant, mitigates risks, and is positioned for growth. Kilpatrick Connect is built upon Kilpatrick’s AI, legal, and industry expertise and delivered through a confidential attorney-client relationship.   Kilpatrick Connect can support all aspects of your AI initiatives, offering comprehensive legal guidance, crisis management, and issue-specific counsel, as well as complementary services in parallel with traditional consulting firms.   Learn more about the service in the brochure below and reach out to one of our primary contacts—Stephen Anstey, Michael Breslin, Meghan Farmer, or Joseph Petersen—to discuss how Kilpatrick Connect can help your organization navigate the legal complexities of AI and position your business for success. https://lnkd.in/e9asd7de

"Takeaway: Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, 563 U.S. 333 (2011), numerous courts have upheld class action waiver clauses in mandatory arbitration agreements. But relatively few decisions have addressed the enforceability of class action waivers untethered to arbitration agreements. Earlier this year, however, the New Jersey Supreme Court upheld a class action waiver in a residential lease agreement that did not contain an arbitration agreement. Pace v. Hamilton Cove, 317 A.3d 477 (N.J. 2024). The Pace decision introduces a new variable into the calculus of whether companies that face class actions must utilize mandatory arbitration agreements to avoid class litigation." Read the Class Action blog from Allen Garrett here: https://lnkd.in/eQDu5WuW

"Takeaway: The Sixth Circuit recently emphasized how demanding Rule 23’s commonality requirement can be. In In re Nissan North America, Inc. Litigation, --- F.4th ----, No. 23-5950, 2024 WL 4864339 (6th Cir. Nov. 22, 2024), the panel eviscerated a district court’s certification of ten statewide classes, finding the district court glossed over material differences arising from changes made to an allegedly defective product over time. Even beyond the commonality requirement, Nissan provides a roadmap for class action defendants to follow." Read the Class Action blog from Jay Bogan here: https://lnkd.in/eCwcFNT2

Samera Syeda Ludwig, who was selected to the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity's 2024 Class of Fellows earlier this year, has received the 2024 LCLD Atlas Award. The LCLD Atlas Award was designed to recognize Fellows who showed the highest levels of engagement throughout the Program. To receive the honor, each Fellow participated in nine or more programming components. This year, 40 Fellows were named Atlas Award winners, representing just 9% of their cohort. Congratulations, Samera! To learn more about the program, please click here: https://lnkd.in/eBBnH22J

Congratulations to Kilpatrick Partner Charlie Henn for joining the Atlanta Tipoff Club's (ATOC) Board of Directors! The ATOC, founded in 1956, administers the Naismith Awards®, the most prestigious individual national honors in high school and college basketball. Named in honor of Dr. James Naismith, inventor of the game of basketball, the family of Naismith Awards annually recognizes the most outstanding men's and women's high school and college basketball players and coaches and gives lifetime achievement awards to basketball contributors and college officials. Learn more about the ATOC here: https://lnkd.in/eA5eyR83

Kilpatrick is excited to announce that Fredrik Ahlqvist has been named Office Managing Partner in Stockholm, effective January 1, 2025. Mr. Ahlqvist assumes the leadership role from Mattias Wittgren, who served as the Office Managing Partner since 2018. In addition, Johan Wedsberg has been elected to partner in the Stockholm office. Mr. Wedsberg’s practice focuses on construction law and dispute resolution. Read the full press release here: https://lnkd.in/e32pN7U6

TOMORROW | Please join Kilpatrick's Justin Krieger and John Alemanni on Tuesday, December 17th for the Strafford webinar, "Building a Winning Evidentiary Record at the PTAB (and Surviving Appeal)." This course will provide patent counsel with guidance for navigating evidentiary issues in PTAB trials. Panelists will look at PTAB evidentiary standards, address types of permitted discovery, contrast the weight versus admissibility of evidence, review timing requirements, and examine evidentiary objections. The panel will also discuss best practices for the use of expert witnesses and considerations for ensuring that an evidentiary record stands up to Federal Circuit review. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/dB6bd3bp

TOMORROW | Please join Kilpatrick's Justin Krieger and John Alemanni on Tuesday, December 17th for the Strafford webinar, "Building a Winning Evidentiary Record at the PTAB (and Surviving Appeal)." This course will provide patent counsel with guidance for navigating evidentiary issues in PTAB trials. Panelists will look at PTAB evidentiary standards, address types of permitted discovery, contrast the weight versus admissibility of evidence, review timing requirements, and examine evidentiary objections. The panel will also discuss best practices for the use of expert witnesses and considerations for ensuring that an evidentiary record stands up to Federal Circuit review. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/dB6bd3bp

"A California federal court denied a Japanese convenience store chain’s motion to dismiss and to strike classwide allegations of food mislabeling, finding the named plaintiff had standing to assert claims for injunctive relief and that defendant Daiso Holding USA Inc. (“Daiso”)’s requests to strike the class allegations and disgorgement remedy were premature. Fukaya v. Daiso California LLC, et al., No. 23-cv-00099-RFL, 2024 WL 4784420 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 12, 2024)." Read the Class Action blog from Stephanie Bedard here: https://lnkd.in/e66_974M

I’m excited to moderate a panel with Alexander Brougham at The Chicago Bar Association for the Bankruptcy & Reorganization Committee meeting on Wednesday, December 18 at 12:15 pm! I’ll be joined by two highly esteemed panelists, Suzanne Koenig and Robert Richards for an in-depth discussion on Navigating Healthcare Issues & Insolvency, including receiverships and more. Looking forward to a lively and informative session — I hope to see you there! Register here: https://lnkd.in/gSfkSWc9 Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP