Business Better

In this episode, we discuss how the $4.2 billion authorized in New York’s Environmental Bond Act will be spent. We talk about the types of projects that will be funded and financial benefits to the State, including short-term job creation and the longer-term benefits to residents and visitors of having improved infrastructure, as well as the ability to leverage these funds for billions of additional dollars.

Bill Estes, Of Counsel in our New York office and a member of our P3/Infrastructure Practice Group, hosts the conversation, joined by Ali Chaudhry, Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer at AECOM, and Julie Tighe, President of the New York League of Conservation Voters.

In today’s episode, we’re joined by special guest Marcus Randolph, CEO and President of Invest Newark. Invest Newark is a nonprofit development agency who work to propel the City’s strong and diverse economy, build vibrant communities, and create opportunities for all residents of Newark. Invest Newark supports small, women and minority-owned businesses, invests in world-class internet service, spurs real estate development and executes economic development activities to produce and sustain economic growth, generate jobs and create wealth for the citizens of Newark.

Krishana Pleasant, Of Counsel in Ballard Spahr's New York office, hosts the conversation.

This episode is part of our Cyber Adviser series, where we discuss emerging issues in the world of data privacy and security.

With its draft rules, Colorado has set forth a new model for state privacy laws. While there are many areas that are interoperable with the California model, the Colorado draft rules include important differences, as well as rules on topics that have been notably absent from California’s draft rules. We discuss the highlights of the Colorado draft rules, differences with California, and practical steps for developing a comprehensive compliance plan for all of the upcoming 2023 laws.

Phil Yannella and Greg Szewczyk, Co-Leaders of Ballard Spahr’s Privacy and Data Security Group, host the discussion.

This episode is part of our Women in Finance series and features an interview with Sherry Witt, Senior Vice President of the Commercial Mortgage Group in the Dallas, Texas office of KeyBank. Ms. Witt talks about the transition in her career from legal to business, and the balancing act of work and motherhood.

Kelly Wrenn, a Partner in our national Finance Department, hosts the conversation.

This episode is part of our Cyber Adviser series, where we discuss emerging issues in the world of data privacy and security.

In the past several months, plaintiffs lawyers have filed dozens of class action lawsuits under state wiretap laws, some of which provide for statutory damages of $5,000 or more per occurrence. The lawsuits focus on the use of chatbots, “session replay” software, and tracking code embedded in websites. Plaintiffs contend these tools enable the surreptitious sharing of personal information with third parties and are illegal wiretaps. In this episode, we discuss the reason for this surge in litigation, the status of pending cases, and potential defenses.

Phil Yannella and Greg Szewczyk, Co-Leaders of Ballard Spahr’s Privacy and Data Security Group, host the discussion.

In today’s episode, we look at the emerging interest in captive insurance. We explain what captive insurance is and the benefits that accompany it, the kind of coverage it provides, and more.

Steven Burkhart, Of Counsel in Ballard's Litigation department, hosts the conversation. Special guests Dr. Henri Winand and David O’Gorman from AkinovA join us.

This episode is part of our Women in Finance series, and features an interview with Natasha Holiday, Managing Director at RBC Capital Markets with a focus on U.S. public infrastructure finance. Ms. Holiday talks about her career journey into finance, the current state of the market, and navigating the opportunities and challenges that come with integrating family life with a hybrid work environment in a post-George Floyd world.

Emilie Ninan, a Partner in our Wilmington, Delaware, and Washington, DC offices, and co-chair of Ballard Spahr’s Finance department, hosts the conversation.

In today’s episode, we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Ballard Academy for Student Entrepreneurs (BASE) program, an in-house legal accelerator that Ballard Spahr developed in 2013 to support student owned and operated ventures. We’re joined by the founders of mental wellness platform NeuroFlow, a fast-growing Philadelphia based startup, who participated in the BASE 3.0. Christopher Molaro, CEO, and Adam Pardes, COO, discuss starting a company during graduate school, leveraging BASE as a resource, and how they are continuing to grow the company today.

Kimberly Klayman, a Partner in our Philadelphia office, hosts the conversation.

In today’s episode, we’re joined by special guest Jeremy Durham. Jeremy is the Executive Director of Boulder Housing Partners. BHP builds, owns, and manages affordable housing for low and moderate income residents.

Alejandro Monarez, an Associate in our Denver office, hosts the conversation.

This episode is part of our Women in Finance series and features an interview with Allison Larr, a Director in Municipal Banking at Citi. Ms. Larr talks about her career path, professional challenges, and her insights on the future of ESG in municipal markets.

Kim Magrini, a Partner in our Finance Department, hosts the conversation.

This is episode eight of the “Trauma-Informed Investigations” series. In today’s episode, we’re joined by special guests Ariella Steinhorn and Amber Scorah from Lioness, a media company that brings to light the stories of everyday people dealing with corruption, harassment, and cover-ups. We discuss the inspiration for Lioness and the decision-making processes involved in their work with clients to publicly share their stories.

Jill Steinberg, a Partner in our White Collar/Internal Investigations Group, hosts the conversation. Kaitlin Gurney, a Partner in our Media and Entertainment Law Group, and Katharine Manning, President of Blackbird DC, join Jill.

This episode is part of our series “Supply Chain Disruptions,” in which we explore how supply chain issues are affecting businesses everywhere, and when the flow of goods and services may settle into a new normal.

This episode features a discussion with Chris Mills, CEO of Lion Brand Yarn. With over thirty years of experience managing traditional and e-commerce consumer goods businesses in North America and Oceania, Chris shares his perspectives on early pandemic disruptions, current challenges and opportunities, and next steps in smoothing the flow of goods as they move from factories to distributors, retailers, and consumers. Chris explains the lessons learned from the disruptions and shares suggestions for process improvements. 

Steven Burkhart, Of Counsel in Ballard's Litigation department, hosts the conversation.

In this episode, we discuss how your intellectual property can be leveraged to maximize the profitability of nonconsumable devices and their complementary consumable products.

While profits can be made via the initial sale of larger items—like printers, video game consoles, or razor handles—even greater profits are possible with the repeat sale of complementary consumable items—like ink cartridges, video games, and razor blades. Establishing a strong IP portfolio that captures both the device and its complement is crucial to the profitability of the product pair and your company’s success.

Ballard Spahr intellectual property attorneys Carly Gubernick and Sommer Zimmerman host the conversation.

This is episode seven of the “Trauma-Informed Investigations” series. In this episode, we discuss online victimization and trauma-informed responses to crimes committed online. We also discuss prevention, how parents and guardians can support their children if they are victims of online exploitation, and working with law enforcement.

We’re joined by special guest Catherine “Katie” Connell. Katie is employed with the FBI as the Victim Services Division, Unit Chief for Child Victim Services and is also a Child/Adolescent Forensic Interviewer. She manages the FBIs Child/Adolescent Forensic interviewing program.

Speaking with Ms. Connell is Jill Steinberg, a Partner in Ballard’s Philadelphia Office; and Katharine Manning, author of “The Empathetic Workplace: Five Steps to a Compassionate, Calm, and Confident Response to Trauma on the Job,” and the President of Blackbird DC.

In this episode, we’re joined by special guest Laura Rogers. Laura is the Deputy Director at The Ray, a non-profit charity on a mission to build net-zero highways. We discuss energy transitions that can be made in transportation infrastructure to achieve decarbonized highways, and the challenges that come with this vision.

John Smolen, a Partner in our Baltimore office, hosts the conversation.

In this episode, our lawyers discuss non-fungible tokens, better known as NFTs. During the conversation, we define what an NFT is and what it is not, how to create one and post it to a marketplace, and the rights and responsibilities of ownership.

Participating in this discussion are Brian Auerbach and Lara Ruggerio, both of whom Associates in Ballard’s Philadelphia office.

This is episode six of the “Trauma Informed Investigations” series, where we follow a fictitious story to address the legal and human issues that arise in an organization when confronted with allegations of sexual abuse. In this episode, we discuss federal and state laws that protect the rights of a victim of abuse and available compensation funds.

Jill Steinberg, a Partner in our White Collar/Internal Investigations Practice Group, hosts the conversation. Katharine Manning, President of Blackbird DC and author  of “The Empathetic Workplace: Five Steps to a Compassionate, Calm, and Confident Response to Trauma on the Job”, joins Jill.

In this episode, our Ballard lawyers discuss intellectual property considerations for products before and after entering the market. Understanding the patent and trademark landscape before fully developing and launching a new product is critical to avoiding infringement of another’s IP and capitalizing on the protections available for your business. Insights for enforcement and potential remedies for infringement are also shared.

Participating in this discussion are Carly Gubernick and Lara Ruggerio, both of whom are Associates in Ballard’s Philadelphia office, and Sommer Zimmerman, an Associate in Ballard’s Atlanta office.

Our new mini, “Developing Philly,” will explore issues that are top-of-mind for developers, owners, and commercial investors throughout the Philadelphia region. We’ll focus on zoning and land use regulations, development concerns, impending tax laws, and other pressing topics.

In this first episode, we discuss the 2022 changes to the City of Philadelphia’s commercial and residential tax abatements. Those changes mean that the abatement for commercial developments, including Mixed-use condominiums, now is more valuable than the abatement for residential projects. We discuss questions related to the new rules and how the City’s Office of Property assessment answered some of those questions via regulation.

Participating in this discussion is Christopher Jones, Of Counsel in Ballard’s Philadelphia office, and Nathan Farris, an Associate in Ballard’s Philadelphia office.

This is episode five of the “Trauma-Informed Investigations” series. In this episode, we discuss Children’s Advocacy Centers, forensic interviews of children, and the multidisciplinary team approach to helping child victims of abuse.

Jill Steinberg, a Partner in our White Collar/Internal Investigations Practice Group, hosts the conversation. Katharine Manning, President of Blackbird DC, and Rachel Booker, Forensic Services Program Director at Safe Shores, join Jill.