Law Firm News

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Law Firm News

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Collier, Shannon & Scott, P.L.L.C.

Kelley Drye Partners Named Washington, DC Super Lawyers
Four Kelley Drye attorneys have been named Super Lawyers in the Washington, DC area. Paul Rosenthal, Skip Hartquist, John Heintz, and Barry Pollack have received the honor for 2007. Super Lawyers is an annual guide, published by Law & Politics magazine, to the top 5% of Washington attorneys. Inclusion in Super Lawyers is based on a survey of over 35,000 lawyers in the District of Columbia.

Paul Rosenthal is the Managing Partner of Kelley Drye's Washington office, the Chair of the Government Relations and Public Policy Practice Group, and a Partner in the International Trade and Customs Practice Group. In addition to Super Lawyers, he has been named to Leading Lawyers in America by Lawdragon 500, Leaders in Their Field by Chambers and Partners, and Who's Who in International Trade.

Skip Hartquist chairs the International Trade and Customs Practice Group and serves as general counsel to the China Currency Coalition, Specialty Steel Industry of North America, and as the Executive Director of the Committee to Support U.S. Trade Laws. He is also included in the current editions of Lawdragon 500's Leading Lawyers in America, Chambers and Partner's Leaders in Their Field, and Who's Who in International Trade.

John Heintz chairs the Insurance Recovery Practice Group and is a Partner in the Litigation Practice Group. He ranks among the nation’s top attorneys with specialized expertise in lead and other toxic tort-related coverage litigation and has nearly thirty years experience in the fields of corporate insurance coverage and other complex, multiparty litigation. Mr. Heintz has been named a leading lawyer in insurance recovery by Lawdragon 3000, Chambers and Partners, and Who's Who Legal.

Barry Pollack is a Partner in the Litigation and White Collar Crime/Internal Investigations Practice Groups. He achieved national prominence after securing an acquittal for Michael Krautz, a former accountant for Enron's broadband unit. Mr. Pollack also is included in the current edition of The Best Lawyers in America.

03-26-2007

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Bryan Cave LLP

Partner Authors Annual 'Los Angeles Lawyer' Ethics Roundup
Bryan Cave LLP Partner John Amberg has co-authored an article for the March issue of Los Angeles Lawyer that provides a detailed examination of 2006 developments in California’s legal ethics. The article is Amberg’s seventh annual ethics overview featuring decisions on cases involving conflicts of interest, confidentiality, third-party liability, prosecutor misconduct and more.

Amberg is a member of the firm’s Commercial Litigation and Product Liability Client Service Groups, and is deputy of the firm’s Ethics and Conflicts Committee. His practice focuses on commercial litigation, product liability, probate and professional liability matters. In addition, he is chair of the State Bar of California’s Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct and a member and former chair of the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Professional Responsibility and Ethics Committee.

03-26-2007

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Baker Botts LLP

Morgan Stanley Win in Appeals Court Includes Major Assist From Baker Botts Team
The Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal overturned a $1.6 billion jury verdict on March 21, 2007 against Morgan Stanley & Co. in a securities fraud case brought by Coleman (Parent) Holdings (CPH), a company owned by New York financier Ronald O. Perelman.

A team of Baker Botts lawyers was instrumental in the court's ruling in favor of Morgan Stanley.

CPH alleged that Morgan Stanley made false representations to it about the financial condition of Sunbeam, a company in which CPH was acquiring a stake. As a result of discovery sanctions, however, Morgan Stanley was not permitted to dispute its culpability at trial; the case was tried solely on the issues of reliance and damages. The jury returned a verdict of $604 million in compensatory damages and $850 million in punitive damages.

The Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed and remanded for entry of judgment in favor of Morgan Stanley, on the ground that CPH had failed to present competent proof of damages. Under Florida law, a plaintiff seeking benefit-of-the-bargain damages must prove the difference between the stock’s represented value and its actual value on the date of the transaction. CPH did not prove actual value on the date of the transaction, but instead sought recovery for all declines in Sunbeam’s stock price over the several years it held the stock. The court held that evidence insufficient under Florida law.

Because CPH failed to present legally sufficient proof of damages, the court did not order a new trial, and instead ordered entry of judgment in favor of Morgan Stanley. The court further held that, absent a compensatory award, CPH was not entitled to punitive damages. In light of its disposition of the damages issue, the court did not reach Morgan Stanley’s other arguments on appeal, including its claim that the discovery sanctions were an abuse of discretion.

Baker Botts appellate lawyers are involved in appellate and trial matters in state and federal courts across the country. The firm's appellate lawyers have argued more than 25 cases before the United States Supreme Court, have argued in all 13 federal courts of appeals, and have appeared before several state courts of last resort.

03-26-2007

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Polsinelli, Shalton, Welte & Suelthaus, P.C.

Polsinelli Lawyer Bruce R. Hopkins Receives Top National Award For Outstanding Work In The Nonprofit Legal Field
Polsinelli Shalton Flanigan Suelthaus PC today announced that nonprofit lawyer, Bruce R. Hopkins, has been named the 2007 recipient of the Outstanding Nonprofit Lawyer – Vanguard/Lifetime Achievement Award by the Nonprofit Corporations Committee of the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association (ABA). This prestigious award is designated for those individuals who have made outstanding lifetime contributions to the nonprofit sector or the development of nonprofit law. The Lifetime Achievement Award is the highest award given by the committee.

“I am humbled by this award and am truly grateful to be recognized by such an esteemed organization as the American Bar Association,” Hopkins said. “I’ve devoted my career to the nonprofit sector. It is something I’m passionate about and it’s an honor to receive an award for something I really enjoy doing.”

Hopkins has been a lawyer with Polsinelli for more than 11 years and has served in the nonprofit legal field for 37 years. He has published several books on nonprofit tax and otherlaw issues, writes a monthly newsletter on nonprofit law, and is recognized as a national expert on the subject.

Nominations for the award are solicited from the legal community, as well as from individuals involved with nonprofit organizations. Criteria demonstrating an attorney’s contribution to nonprofit law include: making a significant contribution to nonprofitorganizations while acting in a legal role (i.e., not as an officer or director); increasing the understanding of legal issues affecting nonprofit organizations (e.g. articles, books, speeches); and developing innovative approaches to legal or organizational issues for nonprofit organizations.

“Bruce is a nationally recognized nonprofit attorney and a tremendous asset to the firm and the nonprofit organizations practice group,” W. Russell Welsh, Polsinelli’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “This is a well-deserved award, and we know there is much more to come from this talented, respected attorney.”

Specializing in the areas of corporate law and taxation, Hopkins’ emphasis is on nonprofit organizations. His clients include charitable and educational organizations, associations, colleges, universities, hospitals, other health care providers, religious organizations, business and professional associations and private foundations. Many nonprofit organizations retain Hopkins as general counsel; others use his services as special tax and/or fundraising counsel.

Nonprofit organizations work with Hopkins to establish and qualify for tax exemption andto establish and operate charitable and fundraising programs. He advises on matters such as public charity/private foundation qualification, intermediate sanctions, lobbying, political activities, the unrelated business income rules, and nonprofit involvement in partnerships and other joint ventures. Hopkins is also listed in the Best Lawyers in America, 2007 edition.

Hopkins has earned a steady and loyal client base due to his ability to build relationships and deliver results.

“The passage of time will not diminish our gratitude to Bruce for his insight, wisdom and kind consideration,” said Hilda Yao, Executive Director, of the San Francisco, Calif.-based Claire Giannini Fund. “His expertise is so complete. Besides being intellectually gifted and honest, Bruce also has a great sense of humor and working with him has been a pure pleasure.”

“I’ve never met anyone as prolific as Bruce in what he knows and how he expresses it so clearly to clients,” said Marsha Block, Chief Executive Officer, American Group Psychotherapy Association in New York City. “His works are creating a great legacy for the legal profession and for our organization.”

03-26-2007

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Pachulski, Stang, Ziehl, Young, Jones & Weintraub, P.C.

Pachulski Stang Represents Subprime Lender People's Choice Home Loan
On March 20, 2007, Irvine-based nonprime lender People's Choice Home Loan, Inc., and two of its affiliates filed voluntary petitions for relief under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code due to a combination of warehouse line liquidity, repurchase requests, and reduced pricing for nonprime loans in the secondary market. The company intends to utilize chapter 11 to explore financial and strategic alternatives with respect to its strong core assets. Attorneys Jeremy Richards and Jeffrey Dulberg of PSZYJW are representing People's Choice.

03-26-2007

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Hanson, Bridgett, Marcus, Vlahos & Rudy, LLP

Former State Senator Jackie Speier Joins Hanson Bridgett
Hanson Bridgett is pleased to announce that former State Senator Jackie Speier will join the firm as Of Counsel. Speier will begin May 1st and work in the San Francisco office within the firm's Public Agency Section where she will have a crossover role with clients throughout the firm. Speier brings a wealth of political acumen and public service to the firm along with a legacy as a superb policy maker and public servant in California, begun over 25 years ago.

Speier most recently served multiple terms in the California Senate representing the 8th Senate District. In that office, she served as Chair of the Senate Insurance Committee, member of the Appropriations, Energy, Utilities and Communications and Transportation Committees, as well as the Select Committee on Bay Area Transportation and the Joint Legislative Audit Committee. She rose to the position of Assistant Pro Tem of the California Senate.

Over the past 25 years, Speier has set an unprecedented record of over 300 pieces of legislation signed into law by both Democratic and Republican Governors. She has authored groundbreaking legislation in health care, privacy, consumer protection, child welfare, education, and prison reform, much of which has been used as templates for national legislation.

Speier has never been slowed in life by a host of great personal challenges, including being one of few survivors at the Jonestown massacre and loss of her first husband in an automobile accident. In typical spirited resolve, Speier has sought to help others overcome loss by co-authoring the book "This Is Not the Life I Ordered" with friends such anchorwoman Jan Yanehiro and others. This just-released book is a collection of stories and practical advice, from four women who have faced extraordinary life challenges and is now in its fourth printing.

Speier continues a Firm tradition of hiring major political figures, with associated contacts and ability to get things done, to practice at Hanson Bridgett when not serving in an elected office. The list includes former San Francisco Mayor George Moscone, former California Attorney General Tom Lynch, current partner Gary Giacomini who was recently called the 4th most influential person in the history of Marin County, and current State Senator Darrell Steinberg who joined the firm two years ago before returning to public office after his election to the California State Senate last November.

“We are excited about Jackie joining our Firm,” Managing Partner Andrew Giacomini said. “Her role at Hanson Bridgett will be significant to our clients in our Sustainable Business practice, Health Care, Real Estate and Senior Living and our work with Public Agencies and those who have dealings with government. She adds significant credibility to areas where the firm has already done much and she can certainly take us to the next level.”

Joan Cassman, Chair of the Public Agency Section said, "Having worked with this Firm and our clients for 27 years, I recognize the value Jackie will bring to support our vast public sector practice."

Added partner David Miller, "I have known and worked with Jackie for many years. We are honored she has decided to join Hanson Bridgett. Our respective commitments to community and diversity make for an ideal match."

Speier’s experience and accomplishments mirror the goals for Hanson Bridgett; most notably transportation, where Speier was named Metropolitan Transportation Commission legislator of the year in 2004 and has a Caltrain "Baby Bullet" named after her, consumer protection and health, the environment and general work with public agencies such as the California Department of Corrections, where she has devoted many years of public service working with prison officials and will assist in Hanson Bridgett’s continuing effort to help provide a peer review for the doctors serving in the prison healthcare system.

Speier earned a B.A. from the University of California-Davis and a law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of Law.

03-25-2007

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Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC

Baker's leadership is missed
The visit by former U.S. Sen. Howard Baker to Birmingham Wednesday was a reminder of a time when Congress took its work seriously and the country took Congress seriously.

The senator from Tennessee gained national attention as the Republican vice chairman of the Senate Watergate Committee, helping to lead the Senate and the nation through that time of crisis. He went on to serve two terms as Senate minority leader and, when the GOP gained control of the body, two terms as Senate majority leader.

Later, when Ronald Reagan's White House was in chaos during the Iran-Contra investigation, he stepped in as the president's chief of staff.

In all those roles, Baker was known as a leader who sought solutions and consensus. He was a strong Republican, but he saw the value of bipartisan cooperation. He sought to make things happen, not to score political points.

"Some of our nation's greatest triumphs have come when political leaders have not allowed partisan efforts to deter their efforts to find solutions that are in the nation's best interest," Baker said in a statement on the Bipartisan Policy Center Web site.

In today's hyperpartisan Washington, that kind of common sense and sense of service would be most welcome.

In an era when politics seems so mean and dirty, Baker is one person who could stand before the Rotary and Kiwanis clubs of Birmingham and say politics "may be the most important secular undertaking in which a conscientious citizen can engage."

Politics, as Baker paints it, is not ultimate fighting or settling scores. It is, he said, an expression of "the collective and combined genius of the American people for self-government."

When Baker refers to politics as a "noble undertaking," he is speaking from the experience of one who has known it at its best and at its worst.

"It's a messy undertaking," he said. "It's sometimes a mean undertaking. It's sometimes even an illegal undertaking. And I've seen some of all of that. But it's an essential way for the people of this country to translate the full range of their desires and dissent into useful public policy."

That sums up the Howard Baker I watched in the Senate when I was The Birmingham News' Washington correspondent 25 years ago. Baker's interest in politics, though, is not focused on the past. He is looking to the future, encouraging former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee to seek the presidency in 2008.

Baker brought Thompson to Washington as the Republican counsel to the Watergate panel. Thompson's career after that was a mixture of public service and acting, both on television and in feature films. In 1994, Thompson was elected to finish the Senate term left vacant by the resignation of Al Gore. He was re-elected for a full term in 1996.

While still serving in the Senate, Thompson began appearing as the chief district attorney in the popular television show "Law and Order," the role in which he is probably best known to America today.

03-25-2007

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