Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research Scientists Discover Powerful Gene Regulators 05/07/2013
Posted by Morse, Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Client News.Tags: cancer cure, gene regulators, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
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On April 11 MBBP client Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research announced its scientists have discovered a set of powerful gene regulators that control cell state and identity which they named “super-enhancers”. They found that healthy cells employ these “super-enhancers” to control genes responsible for cellular functions and developmental transitions, but cancer cells hijack their own super-enhancers which are used to overproduce harmful oncogenes that lead to aggressive tumors. Whitehead Institute member Richard Young had this to say of the discovery:
Looking at large genome association studies, one can find disease-related mutations occurring in super-enhancers. It’s possible that super-enhancers could become biomarkers that identify key disease genes and help guide the development of approaches to treatment.
To learn more, please view the full press release here.
The Webby Awards Honors Flud 05/06/2013
Posted by Morse, Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Client News.Tags: FLUD, made by rabbit, news app, webby awards
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On April 9, MBBP client Made by Rabbit, Inc. announced it’s product, Flud, has received two Official Honoree awards at the 17th Annual Webby Awards. Flud, one of the leading personalized news apps available for the iPhone, was recognized in both “Best Practices” and “Best Web Service & Application” categories for its new web application. The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet including Websites, interactive advertising and online film and video.
Congratulations Made by Rabbit!
Track180 Announces the Launch of its News App for iPad 04/30/2013
Posted by Morse, Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Client News.Tags: ipad app, news resource, track180
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MBBP client Track180, Inc. announced today the launch of its debut news app Track180 on the iTunes store. Track 180 offers news in a different format from other apps by offering news from differing perspectives and inspiring reader participation when exploring the issues. It also offers users an in-depth look at some overlooked topics using a totally new, elegant, and efficient visual display. In a recent article at Mashable, Drue Hontz, Founder and CEO of Track180, had this to say of its new app:
We offer that deeper look of things and also get the flavor of multiple perspective. The vision for the app is to provide a new media resource to help educate and entertain readers about news that might not yet be on their radar.
Congratulations Track180!
To read the full article, please visit Mashable.
USPTO Grants Location Inc Patent for Nationally Comparable School Quality Index 04/29/2013
Posted by Morse, Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Client News.Tags: national assessment, nationally comparable school quality index, no child left behind
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On March 12th MBBP client Location, Inc. announced it had received a patent for the first ever Nationally Comparable School Quality Index. Previously, a direct comparison of school performance across state lines was not possible, due to the wide variations in content and difficulty of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) tests, which are different in every state. Location, Inc.’s Dr. Andrew Schiller developed an algorithm that quantifies and compares how students in each state score on the state-NCLB, and how students in the same state score on the National Assessment (NAEP). The difference, which is unique to each state, is used to align each school and district test scores across the nation, and then they are ranked to bring all to a nationally comparable rating.
Congratulations Location, Inc.!
Major Honor Presented to MBBP Marketing Department at National LMA Conference 04/18/2013
Posted by Morse, Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Client News, MBBP news.Tags: legal marketing, LMA, your honor awards
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The Legal Marketing Association (LMA) selected Morse, Barnes-Brown & Pendleton, P.C. (MBBP) as the First Place winner in the “Identity – Projects Totaling Up to $20,000″ category. The LMA Your Honor Awards program recognizes excellence in legal marketing by promoting projects and programs that provide innovation and return on marketing dollar investment. MBBP was also honored with a Second Place win in the “Promotional and Collateral Materials – Announcement” category at the 2013 Your Honor Awards.
The marketing team of Jaclyn Jefgood and Alyssa Ritchie was presented with these prestigious industry awards for its entries “A Prescription for Swag” and “MBBP Announces First Move in Firm History” respectively. The awards were conferred at the 2013 LMA Annual Conference on April 9, 2013 at the Aria Resort in Las Vegas.
MBBP’s marketing department was also recognized in March by the LMA New England Chapter for “A Prescription for Swag”, earning a second place finish.
Learn more about the about the awards, please visit LMA.
CIS Will Likely Need Until The End of May to Sort Out Accepted and Rejected H-1B Cap Cases 04/16/2013
Posted by Morse, Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Immigration, Legal Developments.Tags: H-1B cap, immigration, USCIS
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In recent alerts, we have informed clients that the H-1B Caps had been reached and the lottery had been held, provided a FAQ in regards to the H-1B Cap, and provided an alert describing the H-1B caps and provided an overview of eligibility for the status.
At a recent conference, an official at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“CIS”) informed the audience that CIS would first process data entry for the H-1B cap cases filed requesting premium processing, and that they expected data entry for those cases would be completed by April 15. Note that this is the only preferential treatment that CIS is providing to premium processed cases. CIS must process those cases first as they are required to make an initial determination on all premium processed cases by May 1st. Premium processed cases did not receive any preferential treatment in the lotteries.
Once data entry is complete on the premium processing cases, CIS will begin data entry for all other cap-subject H-1B cases. CIS anticipates that data entry for the non-premium processed cases will continue until sometime in May, and rejection notices for petitions not selected in the lottery will be sent out after that.
Unfortunately this information confirms our prediction in the H-1B Cap FAQ that both the employers and sponsored employees will likely need to wait another month or more before they will definitively know whether the case was accepted for processing or not.
We again encourage anyone who is in Human Resources or Recruiting who are interested in learning more about the other work authorized visa categories to attend our event on May 9th, “Alternatives to H-1B Visas.”
Distributing & Licensing Software & Other Technologies — Howard Zaharoff Chairs MCLE Program 04/15/2013
Posted by Morse, Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Attorney News, Computer Software & Hardware, Events.Tags: cloud computing, licensing software, MCLE, open source
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On Wednesday, May 29 MBBP IP and Licensing Attorney Howard Zaharoff will chair the MCLE seminar “Distributing & Licensing Software & Other Technologies“. The program provides both licensing specialists and business lawyers involved in technology procurement and distribution with critical information, forms, and dos and don’ts in the following areas:
- Open Source Licensing
- Cloud Computing
- Confidentiality Provisions
- Drafting Clauses
To learn more or to register for the event, please visit MCLE.
BBK Worldwide Announces the Addition of Four Principals 04/15/2013
Posted by Morse, Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Attorney News, Client News, Deal News.Tags: bbk worldwide, clinical trials, patient recruitment
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MBBP client BBK Worldwide recently named four additional principals who, together, will assume a minority ownership in the company. Matthew Kibby, Rob Laurens, Liz Ritchie, and Matthew Stumm have played key roles in shaping the company’s success as the global leader in patient recruitment for the clinical R&D segment of the pharma, biotech, and medical device industries. Celebrating 30 years, BBK remains one of the only independent and self-funded patient recruitment agencies, and is able to offer its global pharmaceutical and medical device clients levels of flexibility and creative innovation unmatched by its competitors.
CW Weekly, a leading newsletter for the clinical trials industry, recently published an article on BBK Worldwide’s structure change. MBBP Corporate Attorney Carl Barnes was interviewed by CenterWatch Weekly and had this to say in regards to the restructuring:
This is a mindset alternative, as opposed to an alternative to financing. Privately held businesses have a couple of choices to continue growing past what their original founders have done—to get acquired, to go public, to cash out and bring in new management—or they do what BBK did, and they look within. They ask: who is here and really contributing to the business and how do we reward them? With an ownership stake in the business, the new principals become even more motivated to take the company to the next level. It’s a way to keep them excited and interested, and that helps the company grow.
Morse, Barnes-Brown & Pendleton served as counsel to BBK Worldwide and advised it in the development of its new corporate structure.
Congratulations BBK Worldwide!
Visit BBK to read the full press release.
SIA Primekss Enters into Joint Venture with Rabine Group 04/12/2013
Posted by Morse, Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Client News.Tags: concrete flooring, joint venture, rabine group, SIA Primekss
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MBBP client, SIA Primekiss, the fastest growing concrete floor company in Scandinavia, has entered into a joint venture with Rabine Group, an Illinois-based company serving the facilities management industry. The purpose of the joint venture is to bring Primekss’ new, patented, concrete flooring system to North America. Primekss CEO, Janis Oslejs, discusses the partnership with the Rabine Group in this video:
Morse, Barnes-Brown & Pendleton serves as US counsel to SIA Primekss and advised it in connection with the structuring, negotiation and documentation of this transaction.
For more on the joint venture, please see the full press release.
“Getting in Line”: A flawed concept in the Immigration debate 04/12/2013
Posted by Morse, Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Immigration, Legal Developments.Tags: getting in line, green card, immigration, USCIS
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By: Grant Godfrey
Anyone who has navigated through our maze of immigration laws understands that it is complicated and takes a long time. An NBC news article published today sheds light on how the concept of “getting in line” for a Green Card is a dramatic oversimplification of our current system. The better questions are: (a) which line do you have to get in?, (b) how many years are you going to have to wait?, and (c) is there even a line available to you?
To help you answer these questions and more, please contact any member of our Immigration Practice Group.
H-1B Cap for 2014 Reached in First Week 04/09/2013
Posted by Morse, Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Immigration, Legal Developments.Tags: H-1B cap
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On April 5, 2013, the Citizenship and Immigration Services (“CIS”) announced that for the first time since 2008, the “Regular” and “U.S. Master’s Degree” H-1B caps for the 2014 fiscal year had been reached during the first week that they were available. More information regarding the H-1B Caps can be found in our March Immigration Alert Newsletter. CIS is required to keep the H-1B caps open for at least the first 5 business days, and during that filing period, CIS received approximately 124,000 H-1B petitions under both the “Regular” and “U.S. Master’s Degree” caps.
On April 7, 2013, CIS used a computer-generated random selection process to select the petitions it would accept for processing. CIS conducted the lottery first for the “U.S. Master’s Degree” cap. All petitions not selected in the first lottery were then added to the “Regular” cap pool, and the lottery was then conducted on the remaining petitions.
Any petition that was not selected for processing will be rejected and returned with the filing fee. As discussed in the FAQ that we released last week regarding the lottery, there is not a good method to quickly know whether a petition has been accepted for processing or not.
Foreign workers whose petitions were rejected may have other options available, and should speak to an immigration attorney to determine if they would qualify. We encourage anyone who is in Human Resources or Recruiting to attend our event on May 9th, “Alternatives to H-1B Visas.”
Andrew Bunin to Panel BPLA Event 04/05/2013
Posted by Morse, Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Attorney News, Events.Tags: BPLA, patent law, USPTO
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On Wednesday, April 17th MBBP Attorney Andrew Bunin, a former patent examiner, is sitting as a panelist for a Boston Patent Law Association event titled “Communicating with the USPTO - How to (hopefully) obtain favorable results when interacting with examiners and the USPTO“. The event is meant to provide some insight into how the Patent Office operates on a day-to-day basis. Andrew, along with three other panelists, will discuss how changes to laws and the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP) affect the patent examiners, office actions, and interviews as well as how this insight can be used to obtain more favorable results when dealing with examiners and the USPTO.
To learn more about this event or to register, please visit the BPLA.
SEC Issues Guidance on Use of Social Media 04/03/2013
Posted by Morse, Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Client News, Legal Developments.Tags: Reg. FD, SEC, social media
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By: Daniele Levy
Yesterday the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued guidance to clarify how public companies and executives may use social media to disseminate company information in compliance with Reg. FD. Reg. FD was adopted in 2000 to prohibit selective disclosure of material non-public information by public companies. Reg. FD provides that when a public company discloses material non-public information to securities analysts or stockholders it must also simultaneously disclose such information through a recognized channel of distribution in order to achieve broad distribution of the information.
The SEC has stated that it encourages the use of electronic communications to disseminate information and promote transparency in the trading markets. In its guidance on the use of social media, the SEC emphasized two points. First, company communications – whether from the company or its executives – distributed through social media channels require a careful Reg. FD analysis. Second, in order to meet the requirements of Reg. FD a company must alert the investing public in advance of the social media channels it intends to use to communicate company information.
Action Items: Public companies should consider (1) adopting a policy identifying the social media channels the company and its executives intend to use to disseminate material information regarding the company, and (2) disclosing such channels on their corporate website in order to give the investing public the ability to take action in order to receive such disclosures.
For more information on this topic, please contact Daniele Levy.
Innovation Center TechSandBox Launches at Becker College 04/03/2013
Posted by Morse, Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Client News, MBBP news.Tags: accelerator center, Becker College, techsandbox
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On March 27th TechSandBox, Inc., an innovation center and accelerator, announced its official launch and facility opening in Southborough, MA. In partnership with MBBP client Becker College, TechSandBox’s center will house about 20 entrepreneurs, focused in the science or technology spaces across all industries and applications, with room for a co-working entrepreneurs’ bullpen, panels, seminars, and networking events.
MBBP is a proud sponsor of TechSandBox and provides it with critical expertise and financial support.
To learn more, please see TechSandBox article in the Boston Globe.
MBBP Sponsors BU New Venture Competition 04/03/2013
Posted by Morse, Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Client News, Events.Tags: angel investors, boston university, new venture competition
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On Thursday, April 4th Boston University School of Management is hosting the final phase of its accelerator program ”New Venture Competition“. Thursday will be an opportunity for finalists to pitch their business to angel investors. Winners will receive a guaranteed spot in BU’s Venture Start-up Camp and a legal start-up package worth $5,000 for each of the top three winners of the Competition. Plus, all 6 teams get the opportunity to compete for a $1,000 People’s Choice Award presented by event sponsor, Morse, Barnes-Brown & Pendleton.
To learn more about the New Venture Competition event, please visit BU.
Frequently Asked Questions on the H-1B Cap 04/03/2013
Posted by Morse, Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Client News, Immigration, Legal Developments.Tags: frequently asked questions, H-1B cap, immigration FAQs
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By: Grant Godfrey
MBBP recently sent an Immigration Alert that the FY 2014 H-1B season will open on April 1st, allowing companies to sponsor foreign nationals for new H-1B “specialty worker” visas, and cautioned employers that this year’s H-1B Cap numbers could be reached within weeks, if not days of the cap opening up. The U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Service (“CIS”) recently issued a press release that it anticipates the H-1B Cap could be reached in the first week of April. We have assembled a list of frequently asked questions to help employers, and their employees, understand the implications if the H-1B Cap is reached quickly.
Please visit our resources page to view our full article on “Frequently Asked Questions on the H-1B Cap“.
Radio Entrepreneurs Interviews Shannon Zollo 04/01/2013
Posted by Morse, Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Attorney News, Corporate, Legal Developments, Venture Capital & Private Equity.Tags: private equity, radio entrepreneurs, shannon zollo, venture capital
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On Tuesday, March 5th MBBP Corporate Attorney Shannon Zollo was a guest of the “Radio Entrepreneurs” Show which provides advice, information and connections for entrepreneurs, service providers and established companies. Shannon provided listeners with information on emerging trends in private equity and venture capital transactions. For the full discussion, please click the link below:
Shannon Zollo Radio Entrepreneurs Interview
Feel free to contact Shannon with any questions on private equity or VC transactions.
MBBP to Host ACG Boston Forum 04/01/2013
Posted by Morse, Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Corporate, Events.Tags: acg boston, corporate development, M&A advisors
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On Friday, April 26th MBBP is hosting ACG’s Corporate Development Forum, a quarterly breakfast drawing M&A advisors, consultants and senior corporate development professionals as speakers. This forum provides rich content on M&A best practices in a peer-to-peer setting. The event is by invitation only for corporate development professionals, but if you would like to attend please visit ACG Boston to request an invitation.
Visit ACG Boston for more information on the event.
MBBP Marketing Team Recognized at LMA New England Your Honor Awards 03/29/2013
Posted by Morse, Barnes-Brown Pendleton in MBBP news.Tags: legal marketing, LMA, your honor awards
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By: Laurie Macdonald
On March 27th, the MBBP Marketing Team, Jaclyn Jefgood and Alyssa Ritchie, was recognized at the New England Legal Marketing Association‘s Your Honor Awards which salutes creativity and excellence in legal marketing. Jaclyn and Alyssa were awarded a second place finish in the category of Identity – Projects totaling up to $20,000 for their now-famous logo-shaped candy dispenser and test tubes created for use in our exhibit booth at the BIO Technology International Convention in June of 2012.
The Your Honor Awards event also served as a reminder that our Marketing Department, which consists solely of Jaclyn and Alyssa, is competing for recognition against Boston’s “big” firms, which have (literally) ten times the personnel and much larger budgets. Their creativity and inventiveness were rightly acknowledged as award-winning by a jury of Boston area marketing specialists.
Congratulations Jaclyn and Alyssa!
A special thanks and congratulations to 42 | design fab studio, inc. for its custom design and manufacturing of our award-winning candy dispenser!
MBBP Client Named Finalist for BBJ’s Healthiest Employers 03/28/2013
Posted by Morse, Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Client News, Industries, Internet and E-Commerce.Tags: bbj, Chitika, healthiest employers
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On March 28th, the Boston Business Journal is hosting its 2013 Healthiest Employers event which honors 15 individual companies for their varied efforts in maintaining and improving employee health. One of the finalists in the “Small Company” category is none other than MBBP client Chitika. Chitika, Inc. was selected through an assessment process comprised of 75 scored questions that are completed by the participating companies.
Over the last year, Chitika has been working hard to build its health and wellness program, starting with the addition of the “Performance Zone”, which opened last spring. The Performance Zone was created as a place employees can keep productivity and energy high and is outfitted with everything from treadmill work stations to an area for mid-day stretching and yoga.
Congratulations Chitika!
