Municipal Class Actions: When to Opt-Out and When to Lead or Stay in the Class?  Class action antitrust litigation is often the most cost-effective way to obtain damages when a municipal entity is harmed by anti-competitive corporate conduct.  In some instances, however, a municipality may do better to opt out of the class and become an active opt-out litigant.   Opt-out class members have more input into directing litigation strategy, and have the flexibility to settle without obtaining court approval.  Even...

Questions to an Ethics Hotline This presentation will cover questions regularly raised by local government lawyers about the Rules of Professional Conduct and discuss how and which Rules answer such questions.  The presentation will generally cover several of the ABA Model Rules having particular applicability to local government lawyers, including the Preamble and Scope and Rules 1.0 through 1.11, 1.13, 1.16, 1.18, Rules 3.1 through 3.5 and Rules 3.8 and 3.9, Rules 5.1 through 5.4 and Rules 8.3 and 8.4...

A Practical Guide on Condemnation Law from Planning to Trial This presentation serves as a practical guide for attorneys new to condemnation, covering aspects from planning for its use, including ensuring authority to condemn, the existence of a public purpose, considering alternatives, project costs, and political/community considerations; due diligence including determining if fee or easements, among others, are needed, performing title work review, surveying and environmental studies, and appraisal hiring and review; negotiation for needed parcels; and preparation for filing...

2021 Global Construction Disputes Report – How COVID-19 Has Impacted Projects The COVID-19 pandemic is an ongoing event affecting construction projects across the globe.  This webinar focuses on the impacts of the pandemic on the construction industry in 2020 and then considers how these factors will affect the industry in 2021 and beyond.    The webinar will also provide participants with tangible actions they can take to mitigate disputes on their projects that are affected by COVID-19. Speaker: Roy Cooper &...

Electronic Signatures in Government Contracting This webinar will include a brief overview of the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce (ESIGN) Act, and the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA). Discussion will then focus on the experiences of Montgomery County, Maryland, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in adopting electronic signatures for use with commercial contracts, including integration with existing contracting procedures, record retention policies, lessons learned and recommended practices. Speaker: Phillip Bullard & Trevor Ashbarry

Dealing with COVID-19 Related Leave Requests and the New 100% COBRA Entitlement With the COVID-19 pandemic still ongoing, municipalities continue to deal with leave requests from employees for various COVID related reasons.  Addressing such requests can be challenging because they may implicate various overlapping laws.  On June 24, IMLA will be presenting a webinar outlining how municipalities should handle these challenges, especially the intersection of the requirements of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Americans with Disabilities Act...

Government Disaster Declarations: 2020 Lessons Learned Karen Kennard, Shareholder of Global Law Firm Greenberg Traurig and former Austin City Attorney and Texas Municipal League General Counsel, will give a year-in-review presentation focused on lessons learned from 2020—the year of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic—and things municipal attorneys need to know regarding government emergencies and disaster declarations. Speaker: Karen Kennard

COVID-19 Litigation: Public Health Orders, Enforcement Challenges and Related First Amendment Challenges Cities, counties, and health officials across the country are facing a rapidly escalating number of lawsuits that challenge public health orders, enforcement issues and First Amendment challenges related to COVID-19. In this webinar, Deborah Fox, Chair of Meyers Nave’s Trial and Litigation Practice and First Amendment Practice, will explain the legal issues that are involved in these litigations, including complex constitutional questions regarding local and state governmental powers...

The Municipality as Shareholder: Securities Litigation in the Age of Fiscal and Social Responsibility Securities litigation is often viewed as benefiting individual shareholders who have been harmed due to misstatements, omissions, negligence, or intentional acts of public companies. But the reality is that millions of others participate in the capital markets as employees of  municipalities and local government subdivisions—counties, cities, townships, school districts, fire and police departments and more—who act on behalf of these workers as shareholders in publicly traded...

Dos and Don’ts For Advertising On Buses And Other Municipal Owned Property This webinar will examine First Amendment jurisprudence as it applies to advertising on buses and other municipally owned property including bus stops, street furniture, subways, and airports.  The webinar will provide practical pointers for drafting constitutionally sound regulations for advertising on such municipally owned property.  While the First Amendment usually requires that non-commercial speech be treated more favorably than commercial speech, the reverse is often true when looking...