February 2016 Faruki Website Newsletter

Jeff Cox and Brian Wright successfully defended a long-time client in a recent multi-day trial with the American Arbitration Association. Claimant asserted claims seeking over $12 million in compensatory damages and $15 million in punitive damages for alleged breach of contract, misappropriation of trade secrets, and tortious interference.  The case was tried in late 2015 to a panel of expert arbitrators, who, earlier this month, denied the opposing party's claims in their entirety.

Faruki Ireland & Cox has been designated, in the 2016 Corporate International Global Awards, as the Business Litigation Law Firm of the Year in Ohio. This honor came after an independent review of law firms and their performance across the state.

FI&C partner Marty Foos has founded the Ohio Civil Justice Reform Task Force, along with Judge Michael Krumholtz and Tom Green. Marty is currently serving as Chair of the Ohio State Bar Association Litigation Section Council.  The Section formed the Task Force at the request of Ohio State Bar Association President John D. Holschuh, Esq.  The Task Force consists of 23 attorneys and judges from across the state of Ohio who will consider rule changes that would reduce the time and expense required to litigate civil cases in Ohio's courts.  Marty will chair the first in-person meeting of the Task Force in March at the Ohio Supreme Court building.

On January 21, Zachary Heck was named co-chair of the International Association of Privacy Professional's ("IAPP") KnowledgeNet Chapter for Cincinnati.  The IAPP KnowledgeNet is responsible for coordinating programs in Cincinnati relating to current events in privacy such as cybersecurity, data breaches, and drones.  As co-chair, Zach will be organizing and participating in presentations about the minimization of risks associated with data privacy. The IAPP focuses its activities on Cincinnati privacy professionals.

On January 27, Zachary Heck delivered a presentation to Wright State University students on the subject of data privacy law.  Zach's presentation focused on legal issues faced by businesses and individuals in the area of data privacy.  Zach provided general advice for how students can safeguard their own individual privacy and fielded questions from students.

On Friday, January 29, 2015, twenty high school mock trial teams from the Dayton area competed in the Ohio Center for Law-Related Education (OCLRE) 33^rd Annual Ohio High School Mock Trial District Competition.   Zachary Heck is a legal advisor for the Centerville High School (CHS) team, which advanced to the Regional Competition after winning nine "Outstanding Attorney" and "Outstanding Witness" awards.  CHS will next compete against other regional qualifiers on February 19, 2015.