Education/Privacy

• Successfully filed and negotiated a settlement of claims against Laurel County School District under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Improvements Act of 2001 on behalf of a minor client (J.S. and S.S., as next friends of Q.W., a minor v. Laurel County Board of Education, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Kentucky, Case No. 6:16-cv-00309-GFVT).
• Represented college students against allegations of sexual harassment under Title IX.
• Represented college students in protecting privacy rights under the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

ERISA

• Defended multiple institutional and individual clients against allegations of breach of fiduciary relating to employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) asserted by the Department of Labor and/or ERISA plan participants and negotiated settlements of the same.
• Successfully prosecuted claims on behalf of ESOP trustee against previous trustee for breach of fiduciary duty and obtained a settlement favorable to plan participants.
• Successfully arbitrated indemnity claims in arbitration and obtained a judgment on behalf of a former ESOP trustee.

Energy

• Successfully defended Alliance Coal LLC against multiple claims of wrongful death and obtained favorable ruling from the Kentucky Supreme Court on issue of first impression relating to workers’ compensation immunity in published opinion at Falk v. Alliance Coal, LLC, 461 S.W.3d 760 (Ky. 2015).
• Successfully obtained summary judgment on behalf of Alliance Coal LLC, and Hopkins County Coal, LLC, in Hopkins County Circuit Court dismissing multimillion dollar claims by Walmart, Inc., for alleged property damages based upon complex theories of mine subsidence.

Class Actions

• Successfully obtained order vacating a Jefferson Circuit Court’s order certifying class action claims for fraud and misrepresentation against Bridal Warehouse, Inc. (Bridal Warehouse, Inc. v. Witak, et al., Commonwealth of Kentucky Court of Appeals, Case No. 2017-CA-000072-ME).
• Represented Lexmark International, Inc., against class action lawsuit filed in the Middle District of Florida asserting claims under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and negotiated settlement.

Patent & Trademark Litigation

• Represented animal pharmaceutical/biotech company in patent inventorship lawsuit and negotiated a multimillion dollar patent licensing agreement in client’s favor.
• Represented major glass-making company in lawsuit involving claims for anti-trust, unfair competition and misrepresentation relating to a patented air pollution control technology developed by a competitor of the client and negotiated a multi-million dollar recovery for the client.
• Successfully prosecuted trademark infringement suit on behalf of NAPA Auto Parts and obtained preliminary and permanent injunctive relief (National Automotive Parts Association v. Cox Enterprises LLC d/b/a NAPA Autocare, et al., U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio, Case No. 1:14-cv-203).
• Represented Lexmark International, Inc., against claims of patent infringement filed in the Central District of California and negotiated license agreement.
• Represented Nexxfield, Inc., against claims of patent infringement filed in the Northern District of Illinois and negotiated settlement agreement.
• Represented major company in the liquor and spirits industry in a hotly contested trademark infringement suit and negotiated a favorable settlement agreement for the client.

Intellectual Property Protection

• Drafted and prosecuted patents in the fields of biotechnology, medical devices, scanning and imaging technology, and artificial turf technology.
• Successfully prosecuted applications for U.S. Patent No. 9,784,571 (Method and Apparatus for 3D Imaging Workpiece) and U.S. Patent No. 10,130,717 (LHRH-Platinum Conjugates for Treating Reproductive Cancers).
• Drafted and successfully prosecuted copyright applications for literary works, software, photographs, and sound recordings.

Patent Review & Analysis

SKO regularly represents clients in the artificial turf surfaces industry regarding the review and analysis of patents in that industry. This representation involves performing detailed analyses and providing advice about whether our clients’ and their competitors’ products are covered by the claims of various patents in the industry, as well as negotiating agreements with the owners of several of those patents.

• From Recruitment to Retention: The Role of Sponsorship & Mentorship, Centerforce’s “Driving Diversity Law & Leadership” summit, Panelist, 2021
• Intellectual Property for the Occasional IP Practitioner, published in accompaniment with presentation at the Kentucky Bar Association’s 26th Annual Issues for Corporate House Counsel CLE Seminar, 2016
• Safeguarding Your Client’s Data, published in accompaniment with presentation at the Kentucky Bar Association’s Annual Convention CLE, 2015
• Intellectual Property for the Occasional IP Practitioner, published in accompaniment with presentation at the Kentucky Bar Association’s Annual Convention CLE, 2015
• To Tweet, Or Not To Tweet: Legal Risks for Business Owners Using Social Media, 2013
• No One Bargained for That: What Happens When An Arbitrator Manifestly Disregards the Law, 2013