By Jessica B. Rawe

“We are proud to be part of such an important and exciting program,” says Scott Guenther, Managing Partner for Adams, Stepner, Woltermann & Dusing, PLLC. “Every progressive region is looking to boost its economy and create high-tech jobs and UpTech has designed such an aggressive strategy that it was easy for our firm to dive in and support it.”

Adams, Stepner will be an ongoing supporter of UpTech over the next few years. Recently, the firm signed on as the “title sponsor” for a Reception held at NKU at the conclusion of the judging phase for the first round selection process. The event hosted a distinguished panel of judges from leading companies such as CBS, Cisco, Google, Scripps and Proctor & Gamble. Additionally, Adams, Stepner will serve on the Business Support Team, which will provide support and nurture the start-up companies as they “Accelerate their Big Ideas”.

“Adam, Stepner, Woltermann & Dusing, PLLC have been a long time supporter of the ezone and entrepreneurship in NKY,” says Casey Barach, co-founder of UpTech. “Dennis Williams, a partner and leading attorney there, has served on the ezone’s leadership committee for many years and has donated hundreds of hours and an immeasurable amount of intellectual capital. He is a true ambassador for Northern Kentucky entrepreneurship and I couldn’t be more pleased to have the entire firm involved with UpTech.”

UpTech, LLC is a non-profit corporation affiliated with Northern Kentucky University’s College of Informatics and Northern Kentucky Tri-Ed.

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About the Firm:

Adams, Stepner, Woltermann & Dusing, PLLC is a full-service law firm with offices in Covington and Florence, Kentucky, serving clients in Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana. The firm’s attorneys have been providing unparalleled legal services for more than 100 years. Our entire legal team is focused on ensuring the highest quality representation while maintaining trust with positive results for every client that we serve.

Adams, Stepner, Woltermann & Dusing, PLLC offers a full range of legal services to meet any legal challenge, including business law, civil litigation, governmental practice, estate planning and probate, personal/consumer issues and real estate. Please visit www.aswdlaw.com for more information.

About UpTech:

A partnership of Vision 2015, a public visioning effort that focuses on economic and community development and the future of Northern Kentucky, UpTech, LLC, is a super business accelerator program designed to attract startup companies to the area to support regional growth. The goal of the program is to attract and support 50 national and international early-stage informatics companies and provide them with financial and developmental assistance. UpTech, LLC is funded by independent investors. For more information, please visit www.uptechideas.org.

For press release click here.

Benjamin G. Dusing is joining the firm as a Partner in the Litigation Group, practicing in the areas of complex litigation, white collar matters, and government enforcement defense.  A former federal prosecutor with extensive trial experience, Ben maintains an active civil litigation practice and draws upon his experience with the Justice Department to practice in the areas of white collar defense, internal investigations, and corporate compliance practice.  Prior to joining the firm, he was a Partner at Baker & Hostetler in Cincinnati, and had previously served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Department of Justice.  Ben is a graduate of Georgetown University and the University of Kentucky College of Law, from which he graduated Order of the Coif and served as Editor-in-Chief of the law review.

Angela M. Hayden joins the firm as an Associate practicing in civil litigation with an emphasis on employment law and domestic relations.  She is a member of a national team representing several manufacturing companies in the defense of toxic tort claims. Angela formerly served as a staff lawyer for the Honorable James Mason, Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations Division. Additionally, she was a legal extern for the Honorable James S. Gwin, United States District Court of the Northern District of Ohio.  She is a graduate of the College of Mount St. Joseph and the University of Akron School of Law.

Link to Press Release click here.

By Donald L. Stepner and Edward L. Metzger

The Court’s decision in Florence could affect the operations at local jails nationwide and in Kentucky.  For example, the Kentucky Jail Standards applicable to local jails currently do not permit strip searches of inmates in the absence of an individualized and reasonable suspicion that the inmate poses a security or safety risk.  If the policy at issue in Florence is upheld, policy makers could amend these regulations to grant jail staff broader authority to search detainees.

You can obtain more information about the Florence proceedings before the Supreme Court here.

By Claire E. Parsons

A three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments last week on the constitutionality of a Kentucky High School Athletic Association rule that sets limits on academic scholarships. The rule limits merit-based aid to no more than 25 percent of the cost of tuition if a student wants to play a sanctioned sport. The parents challenging the rule argue that it discriminates on the basis of religion, claiming that students who want to play high school sports are penalized if they attend a private, religious-based school. The argument is that children who want to play sports are being penalized because of a parental decision that the child attends a religious-based high school. KHSAA’s attorneys argued that the rule is neutral, and does not impact religion at all, but rather is aimed at preventing unfair recruitment by private schools who seek to gain an advantage over the public schools, which cannot recruit student athletes outside of their boundaries.

For a link to the news article, click here.

By Mary Ann Stewart