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Greenberg Traurig, LLP

ULI Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing Targets South Florida for Pilot Project on Affordable Housing Solutions
A newly formed organization to tackle the nation’s severe lack of workforce housing will initially focus its attention on Southeast Florida and two other regions, that are all in desperate need of more affordable housing supply. The Urban Land Institute announced that former chairman J. Ronald Terwilliger has committed $5 million dollars for the creation of the ULI Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing. Recently named Chair of the ULI Southeast Florida/Caribbean District Council, Debbie M. Orshefsky, a shareholder in the international law firm of Greenberg Traurig, will spearhead the Center’s efforts to create more affordable housing in Southeast Florida. She was one of three ULI District Council Chairs who spoke at a news conference in Washington D.C. today announcing the ULI Terwilliger Center. The other cities in the pilot program are Washington D.C. and Atlanta.

According to Terwilliger, current chairman and CEO of Atlanta-based Trammel Crow Residential, the three targeted regions all have families with incomes between $20,000 and 50,000 who spend 60% of their incomes on housing and transportation costs.

"A huge number of fully-employed people -- service workers, office personnel, teachers, police officers, hospital workers, firefighters, municipal workers, low- to mid-level management – are getting squeezed by the housing crunch," said Terwilliger. "They need to be able to live closer to where they work. Those who serve their communities should be embraced by their communities, not shut out. The shortage of workforce housing is compromising the economic well-being of our cities. I see this center as helping to change this pattern in a way that benefits both workers and communities," he said.

In each of the pilot markets, the Center will develop a plan to increase the production of mixed-income housing over a specified time period; expand available project financing where necessary; and support developers in completing projects. Currently, it is anticipated that the Center will foster the construction of at least 3,500 units of new workforce housing in the three target cities within five years.

The workforce housing provided through the center will generally be oriented toward people making between 60 percent and 120 percent of the median income for the targeted market, with the rest offered at market rates.

Orshefsky, a prominent land use attorney and long time advocate for affordable housing and transportation solutions thinks the Center can make a difference.

"Our initiative will focus on identifying best practices currently being used to facilitate the production of workforce housing and see how they can be applied in South Florida, as well exploring innovative solutions to this housing crisis," said Orshefsky. "There have to be ways to increase the stock of workforce housing,” she said. “Greater flexibility in land use regulation will certainly be a part of the solution, along with creative financing techniques."

Orshefsky is a shareholder in the Fort Lauderdale office of Greenberg Traurig and is Chair of the firm’s National Land Development Practice Group. Her practice is exclusively in the areas of land development and environmental law. Orshefsky’s specialization in land development and environmental law has given her extensive experience in comprehensive planning, zoning, subdivision controls, community redevelopment, infrastructure planning and financing, as well as state, regional and local roles in land use decision-making.

Orshefsky is a longstanding member of Urban Land Institute and has been a member of the Executive Committee of the ULI Southeast/Caribbean District Council since 2002. Besides serving as Chair of the District Council, Orshefsky will also work closely with the District Council’s newly formed Workforce Housing working group.

To educate the South Florida public on affordable housing issues, and help change public policy, Orshefsky says the Center will partner will local and regional organizations, including chambers of commerce, employer organizations, home builder organizations and housing advocacy groups. The Center will publish best practices, organize conferences, provide technical support to for-profit and not-for-profit companies and governmental entities developing mixed income workforce housing.

02-01-2007

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Kluger, Peretz, Kaplan & Berlin P.L.

Michael B. Chesal has been named Co-Chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property Law Department
Kluger Peretz Kaplan & Berlin is pleased to announce that Michael B. Chesal, a Member of the firm practicing in Intellectual Property Law, has been named Co-Chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property Law Department. Chesal is responsible for the management and development of the copyright and trademark registration practice within the department.

“We are very lucky to have someone of Michael's stature, experience, and capability in a leadership capacity in our Intellectual Property Law Department,” said Steven I. Peretz, a founding member of Kluger, Peretz, Kaplan & Berlin and co-chair of the Intellectual Property Law Department.

A member of the Florida Bar since 1988, Chesal joined Kluger Peretz Kaplan & Berlin in 1991 where he followed his interest in developing a practice protecting and defending trademarks, copyrights, and other intellectual property. Among his many successes and contributions over the years was his recent involvement in a task force to update Florida's Trademark Act to respond to changes in federal law and to expand the protections afforded owners of Florida trademark registrations.

In 2006, he was appointed by the Florida Bar President, Henry M. Coxe, III, to serve on the Intellectual Property Law Certification Committee which oversees the inaugural board certification processes for Intellectual Property Law.

Chesal has been designated “Best Lawyers in America” in intellectual property law since 2005 and is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell.** He was named “Outstanding Member of the Year,” by The Florida Bar Business Law Section in 2006, was named to the “Legal Elite” by Florida Trends magazine, and “Top Lawyers” by South Florida Legal Guide.

Chesal holds a J.D., cum laude, from the University Of Miami School of Law and a B.S.B.A., cum laude, from the University of Florida. He is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court, Southern and Middle Districts of Florida, the U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

02-01-2007

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Katz, Barron, Squitero & Faust, P.C.

Katz Barron Attorney Receives Pro Bono Commendation from the Florida Supreme Court
Katz Barron is pleased to announce that member Leyza F. Blanco received the 2007 Voluntary Bar Association Pro Bono Service award from the Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court on behalf of her efforts and leadership of the Credit Abuse Resistance Education program of the Bankruptcy Bar Association. Ms. Blanco was honored at a ceremony held in the Florida Supreme Court chambers on January 25, 2007.

The Voluntary Bar Association Pro Bono Service Award is to recognize a voluntary bar that has demonstrated a significant contribution in the delivery of legal services to individuals and groups on a pro bono basis.

Ms. Blanco is the president of the Bankruptcy Bar Association for the Southern District of Florida and launched the South Florida pilot program of Credit Abuse Resistance Education (C.A.R.E.), an outreach program aimed at teaching middle, high school and college students about financial literacy. More than 20 volunteers – federal bankruptcy judges, trustees and bankruptcy attorneys have pledged their time to the program.

“Leyza has committed her time and effort to ensure the program’s success,” stated John R. Squitero, the firm’s managing partner. “This is a well-deserved honor for her, the Bankruptcy Bar Association and the legal community.

02-01-2007

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Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps, LLP

Luce Forward Team Successful in Protecting Service Mark of Los Angeles Concert Promotion Giant: Ninth Circuit Court Ruling Confirms AEG Live
AEG Live, one of the country's largest concert and live entertainment promoters, represented by a legal team from Luce Forward, has retained its right to use the "Concerts West" service mark, as confirmed by a January 9, 2007 judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

The appeal stemmed from a 2003 lawsuit in which Tina and Donald Hulett, children of the late concert promoter Tom Hulett, contended that they were the owners of the Concerts West service mark based on their father's prior use of the mark. In 2004, a federal district court in Los Angeles granted summary judgment to AEG, concluding that the Hulett family had abandoned the Concerts West service mark by 1994, at the latest. AEG Live had purchased the Concerts West name in 2001 from Concerts West, Ltd., a promotion company formed in 1998. The court also ordered Donald Hulett to pay approximately $130,000 in attorneys' fees and costs incurred in defense of his claims.

In granting summary judgment, United States District Court Judge Gary Allen Feess found that, "Concerts West was abandoned by the Plaintiffs' parents, and the Plaintiffs made no use of the mark during the period following their parents' deaths…Now Tina and Don claim that something has been taken from them, and that they are entitled to compensation. The court disagrees."

The appeal filed by Tina and Donald Hulett claimed that they were the beneficiaries of the Hulett Family 0Trust, and that the Concerts West mark was part of the trust's assets and passed into their control upon the dissolution of the trust. The Ninth Circuit rejected that contention and affirmed the district court's rulings in their entirety, stating, "Appellants have not presented evidence that the mark was ever a trust asset. Because they do not own the mark, they do not have standing to bring a claim of infringement."

"AEG Live has rightfully owned and used the Concerts West mark since the year 2001, which has now been further substantiated by the Ninth Circuit Court's judgment," said Kathy A. Jorrie, who led Luce Forward's legal team, which also included attorneys Jeffrey D. Wexler, Nichole S. Leeson, and Charles A. Bird. "We are proud to have been able to assist AEG Live in retaining a mark that has been critically important to their business."

AEG Live's touring division operates under the "Concerts West" branding, and has recently represented blockbuster national and international tours starring artists such as Paul McCartney, Rod Stewart, Christina Aguilera, Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, Bon Jovi, Britney Spears, Celine Dion, the Dixie Chicks, Prince and many others.

02-01-2007

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Latham & Watkins

ENRON PROSECUTOR JOINS LATHAM & WATKINS
Latham & Watkins LLP1 is pleased to announce that Kathryn H. Ruemmler has joined the firm's Washington, D.C. office as a partner in the Litigation Department, effective February 1, 2007.

Immediately prior to joining Latham, Ruemmler served as the Deputy Director of the US Department of Justice's Enron Task Force, charged with investigating criminal violations in connection with the collapse of Enron Corporation in 2001. Ruemmler was one of three lead prosecutors in the 2004 Enron-related Nigerian Barge trial and in the trial against Enron's founder, Kenneth Lay, and former chief executive, Jeffrey Skilling. Ruemmler delivered the prosecution's closing arguments in both of those trials. On the Skilling-Lay trial team she worked alongside Sean M. Berkowitz, who joined Latham's Chicago office as a partner in November 2006. Ruemmler and Berkowitz received the Attorney General's Award for Exceptional Service for their work on the Enron case.

Ruemmler served as an Assistant United States Attorney from 2001 to 2007 and was appointed to the Department of Justice's Enron Task Force in 2003, assuming the position of Deputy Director in 2005. As an Assistant United States Attorney, Ruemmler tried over twenty jury cases. Prior to joining the US Attorney's Office, Ruemmler served as Associate Counsel to President Bill Clinton and practiced white collar criminal defense and civil litigation at Latham and Zuckerman Spaeder LLP in Washington.

"We are very delighted to have Kathy as our partner. She is a remarkable, intelligent and highly respected attorney who has been impressive in every position she has held," stated Eric Bernthal, Office Managing Partner of Latham & Watkins in Washington, D.C. "Kathy's arrival is an exciting addition not just in Washington but nationally as well."

Everett (Kip) Johnson, Jr., Chair of Latham & Watkins' Litigation Department in the Washington, D.C. office, said, "Kathy is the kind of person clients would want as their lawyer and lawyers should want as their partner. We are thrilled she is on our team."

"I am delighted to be joining Latham," stated Ruemmler. "I think it's a special firm. Latham's global platform, long-term strategic vision, team environment, and national litigation reputation present a unique opportunity."

Ruemmler, 35, was recently cited by the American Lawyer magazine, along with Latham Chicago partner Berkowitz and Los Angeles partner David Schindler, as one of the nation's 50 rising star litigators under age 45.

Ruemmler graduated, cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Washington in Seattle. She received her law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1996 where she served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Georgetown Law Journal. Following graduation from law school she clerked on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit for Judge Timothy K. Lewis.

02-01-2007

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Latham & Watkins

ENVIRONMENTAL LITIGATOR JOINS LATHAM & WATKINS AS PARTNER
Latham & Watkins LLP1 is pleased to announce that Gary Gengel will join the firm's New Jersey and New York offices as a partner in the Environment, Land & Resources Department, effective February 1, 2007. Gengel's practice focuses on representing companies in high-stakes environmental matters including natural resource damage claims, remediations and toxic tort litigation.

Gengel's expertise spans a number of sectors including representing companies in the automotive, chemicals, electronics, food manufacturing and industrial sectors. His practice focuses on environmental litigation and regulatory matters. In addition, he has provided strategic and drafting advice on a number of major transactional matters.

Latham's Environment, Land & Resources Department has been consistently ranked as one of the top global environment practices.

Gengel joins Latham from Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP, where he has been a partner since 2002. He was previously a partner in Minnesota at the Oppenheimer, Wolff & Donnelly firm, and an in-house environmental counsel at The Pillsbury Company, the dough products and frozen vegetables company.

"Gary has developed an impressive reputation among environmental attorneys, and his experience has grown and broadened over the years. He is an ideal fit for our firm and the New Jersey office as we continue to represent industry-leading companies on matters that are of vital importance to their business operations," said David McLean, Office Managing Partner of Latham & Watkins in New Jersey.

David Hayes, Global Chair of Latham's Environment, Land & Resources Department, commented: "Latham attorneys work with clients on a range of environmental compliance and regulatory matters, and Gary adds important capabilities across the board. In addition, Gary's presence in our New Jersey and New York offices adds breadth and depth to our existing environmental expertise in those offices."

"I have always admired Latham's environmental practice, and I believe the firm's global platform will provide additional opportunities to grow my practice and attract new clients," said Gengel.

Gengel graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College in 1981 and he received J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from the University of Minnesota in 1984.

02-01-2007

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Holland & Hart, L.L.P.

Joel Wright Appointed To Utah State Charter School Board
In January, Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. appointed Holland & Hart attorney Joel Wright to the Utah State Charter School Board.

On the Board, Mr. Wright will meet with six other members to oversee Utah's charter schools and decide which schools will receive charters each year. Mr. Wright became involved with charter schools by serving on the Advisory Board of Lincoln Academy Charter, where his son attends first grade.

Utah charter schools were created by the Legislature in 1998 with the goal of encouraging the use of innovative teaching methods, increasing choices for learning opportunities, and providing the chance for greater parental involvement in school management decisions. Eight charter schools opened in 1999, and now Utah is scheduled to have 58 charter schools by fall.

"I am humbled at the opportunity the Governor has given me to serve Utah's school children and their parents," said Mr. Wright. "I believe charter schools have tremendous potential to motivate both parents and students to obtain the best education possible. I look forward to assisting their efforts in every way I can as a member of the Charter School Board."

Mr. Wright is an associate in Holland & Hart's Real Estate practice group. He has represented private companies, lenders, and governments in connection with virtually all phase of development, financing, and acquisition of real estate, energy, and infrastructure projects. He also has experience dealing with local and state government on regulation, zoning, land-use, taxation, and public finance issues.

02-01-2007

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