Law Firm News

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Law Firm News

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Martin, Disiere, Jefferson & Wisdom, L.L.P.

Karin Crump Receives Pathfinders Award
Karin Crump, an attorney in the Austin office of Martin, Disiere, Jefferson & Wisdom, has been named a recipient of the 2007 Pathfinders Award from the Travis County Women Lawyers' Association. Every year, the TCWLA makes an effort to select and honor a panel of Pathfinders who represent a diversity of life and work experiences and who are considered role models and trail blazers. Click here for more information on the TCWLA.

01-19-2007

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Harter Secrest & Emery LLP

HSE Welcomes New Associate, Eric D. Haselbauer Esq., to the Firm
The law firm of Harter Secrest & Emery LLP is pleased to announce that Eric D. Haselbauer has joined the firm as an associate in the Real Estate Practice Group.
Eric concentrates his practice in the areas of commercial and residential real estate. Prior to joining the firm Eric worked for a title company and gained substantial experience in the area of residential real estate practice, representing buyers, sellers and lending institutions, as well as examining titles and preparing title insurance policies as an agent for Ticor Title Insurance Company. He also served in the United States Navy, completing two tours of duty in the Persian Gulf and Bosnian Campaigns. Eric received his J.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law and his B.S., magna cum laude, from the State University of New York College at Brockport. He currently resides in Rochester.
According to Bill LaForte, Chair of the firm's Real Estate Practice Group, “Eric's joining the Firm continues the rapid growth the Real Estate Group has enjoyed over the past several years and will further enable the Group to even better serve its real estate clients.

01-19-2007

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Locke Reynolds LLP

Jury Returns Unanimous Verdict for Ford Motor Company.
A federal jury in Hammond, Indiana, returned a unanimous verdict for Ford Motor Company in a wrongful death product liability action, finding that a 2000 Ford Explorer was not defective or unreasonably dangerous. The action was brought by Anna Bourke, as personal representative of The Estate of her late husband, Richard Bourke.

ACCIDENT FACTS:

Richard Bourke, 20, was driving his 2000 Ford Explorer on a toll road in northern Indiana during the early morning hours of August 22, 2001. Mr. Bourke and his wife had driven through the night on their return to northwestern Indiana from a weekend trip to Washington, D.C. At the time of the accident, Anna Bourke was the front-seat passenger. Mr. Bourke fell asleep, causing his vehicle to drift off the roadway while traveling approximately 55-60 miles per hour. Mr. Bourke thereafter became alert and input a steering maneuver to the right, causing the vehicle to re-enter the roadway. Mr. Bourke then overcorrected once again, steering the vehicle to the left. Mr. Bourke lost control of the vehicle and re-entered the median. The vehicle rolled one and one-half times and Mr. Bourke was ejected. Mr. Bourke died nearly instantly.

PLAINTIFF'S CLAIMS:

At the time of trial plaintiff asserted only a handling and stability claim. (Plaintiff strategically dismissed her glazing claims in advance of trial as such claims would have permitted Ford to introduce evidence under Indiana law that Mr. Bourke was unbelted at the time of the accident and was ejected from the vehicle.) Plaintiff argued that the Explorer was defectively designed in that it lacked adequate rollover resistance and should have been equipped with an Electronic Stability Control ("ESC") system.

Plaintiff relied on the testimony of Micky Gilbert, P.E., to prove her claims. Mr. Gilbert reconstructed the subject accident and opined that the vehicle was defective. Mr. Gilbert's accident reconstruction mirrored the investigating officer's reconstruction and that of Ford's expert, Gary Cooper, with the exception of the point in the accident sequence that the vehicle “tripped” i.e. when the vehicle was committed to rolling over. Mr. Gilbert opined that the accident was an on-highway, untripped rollover. Contrarily, the investigating officer and Mr. Cooper opined that the vehicle was not committed to rollover until it entered the sloped, grassy median sideways after the second steering input.

Plaintiff theorized that no vehicle should rollover under any steering maneuver if the vehicle is on flat dry pavement. Mr. Gilbert opined that Ford inadequately tested the Explorer's rollover resistance. Mr. Gilbert criticized Ford for not adopting the double steer maneuver test he created, as passage of his test would assure the Explorer would not rollover untripped under any circumstances. Mr. Gilbert likewise opined the Explorer had an unacceptable static stability factor and that Ford could have made the vehicle more stable by adding two-inch wheel spacers. Mr. Gilbert relied upon design, development and testing data pertaining to all pre-2000 Explorer models (UN 46, UN 105, UN150) to support his position that Ford never bothered to change the design of the Explorer even though it knew the Explorer could rollover under certain steering maneuvers.

Gilbert further opined that the vehicle should have had ESC. Specifically, the claim was that Ford could have incorporated ESC into the Explorer instead of the Lincoln LS as Ford's introductory model for such technology and that Ford's ESC technology was behind that of the rest of the automotive world. Interestingly, on cross-examination Mr. Gilbert admitted the vehicle was not defective because it did not have ESC. Still, however, plaintiff pursued this theory.

FORD'S DEFENSES

Ford countered Mr. Gilbert's testimony with the testimony of outside expert, Don Tandy, and in-house engineer, Todd Brown. Mr. Tandy testified as to Ford's extensive and comprehensive handling and stability test procedures, and those of other manufacturers. Mr. Tandy noted that Mr. Gilbert's proposed test procedure had never been adopted by any governmental agency or any automotive manufacturer, and had never been proven reliable. Mr. Tandy further testified that the Explorer's track width, dimensions and center of gravity was a reasonable design. With respect to the claim regarding the ESC, Mr. Tandy opined that a vehicle with ESC is not accident-proof and can still rollover.

The testimony of Todd Brown, a current Ford employee, was limited to his role designing, developing and testing ESC. Mr. Brown explained the complexities of the design of ESC and why Ford could not implement ESC into the 2000 Ford Explorer.

01-19-2007

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Brown, Raysman, Millstein, Felder & Steiner, L.L.P.

Littler seals largest merger in a string of big unions
The largest merger of 2006 was the deal between San Francisco's Thelen Reid & Priest LLP and Brown Raysman Millstein Felder & Steiner LLP of New York. That union resulted in 630 lawyers in eight offices.

01-19-2007

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Lane Powell PC

Morgan and DeFoe Quoted in Executive Compensation Article in Business Journal
In an article appearing in the January 19 , 2007, edition of the Portland Business Journal, "Executive pay gets bigger play as companies ready for '07 proxies," Lane Powell attorneys Mike Morgan and Brian DeFoe weighed in on the new disclosure guidelines that compensation committees will need to be aware of in light of recent corporate scandals involving executive pay. Mike was quoted as saying, "There's been lots of pressure from the shareholder community and additional regulatory focus that all play into the fact that we need more disclosure. The shareholders need to know what's going on."

Lane Powell's recent seminar in Portland on the role of compensation committees was also mentioned in the article. Several Lane Powell attorneys served as part of a panel discussion with prominent area executives about new corporate governance standards.

01-19-2007

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King & Spalding

Chambers Global Ranks Twelve King & Spalding Lawyers and Five of the Firm's Practice Areas Among the World's Best in 2007 Guide
Peers and clients have selected twelve King & Spalding lawyers and five of the firm's practice areas as leaders in their fields, according to the 2007 edition of Chambers Global: The World's Leading Lawyers for Business.

To compile the rankings, Chambers Global employed a team of 30 full-time researchers who conducted more than 6,500 interviews with law firm client and lawyers over a 12-month period. The qualities on which rankings are assessed include technical legal ability, professional conduct, client service, commercial awareness/ astuteness, diligence, commitment and other qualities valued by clients.

Practice Area Rankings
International Arbitration (Global)
Energy: Oil & Gas (U.S.)
Tax (U.S.)
TMT: Outsourcing (U.S.)
WTO/ International Trade (U.S.)

Individual Attorney Rankings
Doak Bishop, International Arbitration (Global)
Patrick Campos, Corporate/ Commercial (U.A.E)
Robert Culbertson, International Tax (U.S.)
Kenneth Culotta, Energy: Oil & Gas (U.S.)
Joseph Dorn, WTO/ International Trade (U.S.)
Nabil Issa, Corporate/ Commercial (U.A.E)
Gilbert Kaplan, WTO/ International Trade (U.S.)
Craig Miles, International Arbitration (Global)
William Roche, TMT: Outsourcing (U.S.)
Philip Weems, Energy: Oil & Gas (U.S.)
Anthony Wilson, International Arbitration (Global)
Robert Woodward, Tax (U.S)

01-19-2007

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Hunton & Williams, LLP

Fourteen North Carolina Hunton & Williams attorneys recognized as 2007 Super Lawyers
Hunton & Williams LLP announced that 14 attorneys from the firm’s Raleigh and Charlotte offices have been recognized as “Super Lawyers” by North Carolina Super Lawyers, an annual consumer’s guide published jointly by Charlotte magazine and Law & Politics magazine.

Throughout the selection process, the Law & Politics attorney-led research team vigorously searched for outstanding attorneys to complement the statewide survey of lawyers. The research team evaluated prospective candidates on more than a dozen indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement. Civic service and pro bono activities were also considered.

“We are honored to have so many of our attorneys recognized as Super Lawyers in North Carolina,” says William S. Patterson, managing partner of the Raleigh office of Hunton & Williams. “At Hunton & Williams, we strive to retain top talent. I believe this list gives much deserved credit to our hard-working teams.”

The following Hunton & Williams attorneys were honored:
Kenneth D. Bell – General Litigation
Craig A. Bromby – Environmental
Jean Gordon Carter – Estate Planning and Probate
Charles D. Case – Environmental
T. Thomas Cottingham, III – Business Litigation
L. Neal Ellis, Jr. – Business Litigation
Steven B. Epstein – Civil Litigation Defense
Edward S. Finley, Jr. – Utilities
William M. Flynn – Business/Corporate
Douglas W. Kenyon – Intellectual Property
William H. McBride – Bonds/Government Finance
Michael Nedzbala – Banking
William S. Patterson – Business/Corporate
Mary Nash Rusher – Bonds/Government Finance

Mary Nash K. Rusher, partner, and Jean Gordon Carter, partner, were both named among the Top 50 North Carolina Female Lawyers. Partners Charles D. Case and William M. Flynn were among the state’s Top 100 Super Lawyers.

“Congratulations to all of this year’s recipients,” says T. Thomas Cottingham, III, managing partner of the Charlotte office of Hunton & Williams. “We are honored to be named as Super Lawyers alongside attorneys in the state.”

Super Lawyers names North Carolina's top lawyers as chosen by their peers and through the independent research of Law & Politics. This year’s North Carolina Super Lawyers list is based on surveys of more than 14,000 active lawyers across the state. The goal was to select the top 5 percent of North Carolina attorneys as Super Lawyers in more than 60 practice areas. North Carolina Super Lawyers is published annually in the February issues of Charlotte magazine and North Carolina Super Lawyers.

01-19-2007

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