LOS ANGELES- 200 members of the Los Angeles legal community are expected to attend the Employment Law Forum, a nonprofit legal education event in Los Angeles.

The Greater Los Angeles Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators (GLA ALA) will host its Annual Employment Law Forum Saturday, January 23 from 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. at the Autry National Center of the American West in Griffith Park, located at 4700 Western Heritage Way in Los Angeles.

The event will offer an annual update on new 2010 employment laws with speaker Laura Petroff, managing partner of Winston & Strawn’s Los Angeles office.

Marsha Petrie Sue, MBA, CSP will present the lunch keynote  “The Reactor Factor: How to Respond Positively to Negative Situations at Work.”

Three breakout sessions following lunch will feature the speakers Marsh Petrie Sue on the topic of how to Decontaminate Toxic People, Fred Griffin, partner of Burke Williams & Sorenson, on the topic of Navigating California Leaves and John LeCrone, partner at Davis Wright Tremaine, on the topic of Social Media in the Workplace.

An exhibit hall with over 40 business partners who support the legal industry will be in attendance.

Price to attend for ALA members is $50 for the morning session or $75 for the all day seminar and for non-ALA members is $75 for the morning session and $100 for the all day seminar.

For more information, contact GLA ALA President-Elect Mary McDonnell at mmcdonnell@entertainmentpartners.com. For media requests, contact Jess Block, media relations, at JessBlockPR@gmail.com or at 909.706.8525.

ABOUT GLA ALA:

The Greater Los Angeles Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators (GLA ALA) is a 385-person nonprofit membership organization that provides educational opportunities, community service, and exchange of information to improve the quality and professionalism of management in legal services organizations. For more information, visit www.glaala.org.

Photos from the GLA ALA Employment Law Forum will be available after the event.

Atlanta-based law firm King & Spalding LLP has secured a $350 million arbitration award against Mexico’s national oil company.

King & Spalding represents Commisa, a subsidiary of U.S.-based KBR Inc. Commisa signed an agreement in 1997, with PEP, a subsidiary of Mexico’s national oil company, to build two large offshore natural gas platforms and other structures in the Bay of Campeche on the Gulf of Mexico, according to a King & Spalding news release.

Commisa claimed PEP delayed and disrupted the construction and refused to pay for change orders.

The International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce awarded Commisa $350 million in damages, fees, expenses and interest, according to the news release.

King & Spalding partners Robert Meadows in Houston and Charles Correll, Jr. in San Francisco represented Commisa.

Enid Public Schools will be represented by the law firm Rosenstein, Fist & Ringold in a suit filed by the father of a boy who said school officials failed to prevent assaults and harassment against his son.

John Kevin Bradshaw, of Yukon, has named Enid Public Schools, school officials and coaches in the lawsuit seeking more than $40,000 in damages.

Amber Graham Fitzgerald, director of school and community relations, said Rosenstein, Fist & Ringold will represent the district in the lawsuit and those named in the suit who were acting in an official capacity for the district.

“While I cannot comment specifically on this situation, generally EPS employees have the opportunity to be represented by the district’s attorney for claims made while they are fulfilling du-ties in an official school capacity,” she said. “Representation is not provided when a claim is made against them as an individual.”

She said the district does had liability insurance, which addresses this type of situation.

She said school officials could not comment on pending litigation.

• Drunk Driving (DUII, DUI, DWI) - including underage drinking and driving, refusing a breathalyzer test, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and other drug or alcohol related driving offenses
• Criminal Driving Offenses - including manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, assault, hit & run, attempting to elude police, reckless driving and licensure issues
• Drug Crimes - including possession, delivery, and manufacturing of marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, designer drugs and prescription drugs
• Property Crimes - including theft, embezzlement, forgery, fraud, computer crimes and burglary
• Violent Crimes - including menacing, stalking and assault
• Stalking - including criminal offenses and civil actions

Tony P. Rosenstein, an employment lawyer with the Houston firm Baker Botts, will investigate complaints from Lufkin Industries employees and act to resolve them, according to an injunction issued Friday by U.S. District Judge Ron Clark of Beaumont.

The injunction is part of the resolution of a class-action lawsuit brought against the 107-year-old company by black workers 12 years ago.

Clark ruled last June that Lufkin Industries' more than 1,000 current and former black employees are due to divvy up back pay and interest of approximately $5.5 million. The judge awarded the damages as compensation for what he called the company's unlawful discrimination in awarding promotions.

Lufkin Industries, publicly traded since 1990, manufactures oil field equipment and industrial gearboxes. It employs about 1,200 in Lufkin, a city of 33,000 about 120 miles northeast of Houston, making it one of the area's largest employers.