Baker Donelson

Baker Donelson has grown its Client Solutions Group with the addition of Cailin Heilig, a former Fortune 500 in-house leader who joins the Firm as senior director of client solutions and innovation. In this role, Ms. Heilig focuses on leading initiatives that innovate and improve the value of legal service delivery. She will help lead an innovation team of nationally recognized professionals with deep knowledge and experience in legal project management, process improvement, pricing, data analytics, knowledge management, artificial intelligence/machine learning, litigation support, and legal research. "Baker Donelson is widely known for its forward-thinking approach to improving the client experience," said Ms. Heilig. "I am eager to contribute my experience and work alongside a talented team of innovation professionals dedicated to creating and implementing solutions that elevate client service to new heights." Prior to joining Baker Donelson, Ms. Heilig served in-house at a Fortune 500 bank as the head of external legal services, overseeing the financial and performance management of the bank's legal service providers, including global law firms. Ms. Heilig advised leadership on strategies and execution concerning law firm utilization and directed initiatives to innovate and improve upon the value of services offered by the bank's firms. Baker Donelson Chief Client Solutions Group Officer David Rueff said, "Cailin's valuable insights on how in-house counsel view innovation, AI, and managing outside counsel will be instrumental in bolstering our already industry-leading Client Solutions Group. Her addition to our team complements Baker Donelson's recent hires of other influential in-house leaders, further strengthening our commitment to providing exceptional client solutions and innovation." Read more: https://lnkd.in/eYtuHmb7

Last year, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a Notice of Intent to initiate a rulemaking that would prohibit air carriers with FAA authority under 14 CFR 135 from conducting public charter flights under the Department of Transportation's (DOT) 14 CFR 380 economic rules. In response to the Notice of Intent, the FAA received approximately 60,000 public comments. Over the last year, the FAA reviewed these public comments and has recently announced that it intends to begin the rulemaking process by issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking, which we expect in the coming weeks. Read more: https://lnkd.in/ehtA_Kkb By Alexander Marriott

This month, we're celebrating our annual Pro Bono Attorneys of the Year Awards, honoring attorneys throughout the Firm for their Pro Bono work. Today, we recognize Leslie Bounds, our Jackson Pro Bono Attorney of the Year. #probonomonth Ms. Bounds' pro bono work has included serving as Chancellor for the Mississippi Conference of the United Methodist Church – where she advises the bishop and cabinet on legal matters – and serving as the treasurer of Bethlehem Center, a community center in one of the poorest areas of Jackson with a primary focus of serving as a daycare for underprivileged children. As the Jackson Office Pro Bono chair, Ms. Bounds has also been responsible for staffing several legal clinics at Stewpot, where the disadvantaged and homeless receive food, shelter, clothing, and care. She has also served at several Mississippi Volunteer Legal Project expungement clinics.

Steve Ruhlen, whose decades of work on Capitol Hill includes most recently serving as chief of staff to the chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee, has joined the Washington, D.C. office of Baker Donelson as a senior public policy advisor. Mr. Ruhlen's previous experience in the U.S. government also includes serving as deputy assistant to the vice president of the United States and chief of staff to four members of Congress. As Congresswoman Kay Granger's chief of staff, Mr. Ruhlen worked closely with the Appropriations Committee and House leadership on legislative and communications priorities and strategies affecting the appropriations process. He also managed her role as dean of the Texas Republican delegation, the largest delegation in the House Republican Conference. Sheila Burke, chair of Baker Donelson's Government Relations and Public Policy Group, said, "Steve's extensive experience on Capitol Hill includes collaborating with corporate stakeholders, national associations, and House and Senate leadership to advance legislation across various issue areas. He joins an experienced, bipartisan team that is committed to a customized and strategic approach to helping our clients achieve their mission through in-depth understanding of federal policymaking and its consequences." Read more: https://lnkd.in/eTrjuNUv

North Carolina enacted legislation in 2023 that imposes new state-level decommissioning and financial assurance requirements on owners of utility-scale solar projects. S.L. 2023-58. All utility-scale solar project owners will be required to register with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) by November 1, 2025, and must comply with the law's new decommissioning and restoration requirements by and after that date. As part of the statute's registration requirements, project owners will be required to identify any per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) associated with the project to NCDEQ. These new requirements will be administered and enforced by NCDEQ's Division of Waste Management through its new Utility-Scale Solar Management Program. NCDEQ recently proposed implementing regulations as required by S.L. 2023-58, which include: (i) criteria for the amount of required financial assurance; (ii) requirements for decommissioning plans; and (iii) registration fee structure and amounts. A 60-day public comment period for these new rules opens October 15, 2024, and will close on December 16, 2024. A public hearing will be held on November 7, 2024. NCDEQ plans to adopt the rules by December 31, 2024, with an effective date of March 1, 2025. Permanent rules must be adopted by August 1, 2025. Read more: https://lnkd.in/esY-jm7S by Elizabeth Haskins

Last week, Baker Donelson was proud to participate in the Lawyer on the Line clinic, a part of the Charlotte Triage Pro Bono Partnership. At the clinic, our attorneys and paralegals joined volunteers from other leading law firms and corporate legal departments to provide free legal advice to Legal Aid of North Carolina clients facing dangerous and unsanitary housing conditions. We are committed to supporting these important efforts and giving back to our community. #CharlotteTriage #LawyerOnTheLine #LANCprobono #ncprobono #probono

This month, we're celebrating our annual Pro Bono Attorneys of the Year Awards, honoring attorneys throughout the Firm for their Pro Bono work. Today, we recognize Karen Blake, our Fort Lauderdale Pro Bono Attorney of the Year. #probonomonth Ms. Blake, who received this same honor in 2023, was once again recognized for her work with the Uniting for Ukraine Program, which provides a pathway for Ukrainian citizens and their immediate family members to come into the U.S. on a temporary basis. Ms. Blake assisted a family from Kharkiv, including an eight-year-old boy, in securing the necessary Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to help them stay in the U.S. Her efforts led to the family settling in Massachusetts, where the young boy, who had been having trouble adapting, was able to be placed in a new school attended by other Ukrainian refugees.

In this era of big data, smart devices, and constant connectivity, the clock's already ticking on your next data breach – it's just a matter of time.For companies of all sizes and across every industry, the stakes have never been higher. A data breach can leave a trail of financial, legal, operational, and reputational damage that feels like trying to outrun a speeding freight train – spoiler alert: it's not going to end well. Many studies, including IBM's annual Cost of a Data Breach Report, make one thing clear: cyber incidents are becoming more frequent, costlier, and more difficult to manage. So why should you care? Well, beyond the hefty price tag (which has gone up 10 percent this year alone), it's the hidden costs like customer loss, reputational impact, operational downtime, and post-breach headaches that can sting the most. And for businesses handling sensitive customer data, there's no "get out of jail free" card. But don't lose sleep – we've got your back. This summary breaks down the numbers and key findings from IBM's latest report and provides our recommended takeaways to help you start thinking ahead – because in cybersecurity, as George Washington (and later Bill Belichick) have articulated: the best offense is a good defense. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eGHnfpbB By Matt White, CIPP/US, CIPP/E, CIPT, CIPM, PCIP, Alex Koskey, CIPP/US, CIPP/E, PCIP, and Justin Daniels

From the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB) expansion of rights for nonunion employers – think protected, concerted activity and social justice activity in the workplace – to its labor-friendly rules regarding union organizing and the union representation process, the NLRB has pushed the boundaries of the National Labor Relations Act to new places over the last couple of years. How might that be affected by the upcoming Presidential election? Join Louis Cannon online this Thursday to explore how these changes could shift with the upcoming Presidential election and what that means for your organization. Register now: https://lnkd.in/gWgm3-WG

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently settled two ransomware cases with covered entities. These cases signal the government's growing concern with health care organizations' ability to plan for and potentially remediate vulnerabilities prior to any third-party threat actor attempting to compromise a system. In early October, OCR settled its investigation and case with a health care provider in Washington state, Cascade Eye and Skin Centers, P.C., (Cascade) for $250,000 following a ransomware attack that exposed 291,000 files containing electronic protected health information (ePHI). Cascade is also required to implement an extensive corrective action plan with two years of ongoing monitoring. The Cascade settlement is OCR's fourth settlement involving a ransomware attack. In its announcement, OCR noted that it has seen a 264 percent increase in large ransomware breaches since 2018. Read more: https://lnkd.in/db8NAwqd by: Layna Cook Rush and Alisa Chestler, CIPP US, QTE