Law Firm News

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Law Firm News

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Thacher Proffitt & Wood LLP

Finance Law360: Butch Cullen, Janet Barbiere, and Bola Oloko Join Thacher Proffitt in the CMBS Practice Group
The Churn" section of The New York Times included our announcement of three new partners joining the Firm: Butch Cullen, Janet Barbiere and Bola Oloko, all in the Structured Finance Practice Group.

01-05-2007

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Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP.

RALPH KOHNEN TO CHAIR NEW CRIMINAL DEFENSE PRACTICE AT TAFT, STETTINIUS & HOLLISTER LLP
Ralph W. Kohnen has joined the law firm of Taft, Stettinius & Hollister LLP as a partner in the Litigation Department where he will spearhead the firm’s new White Collar Criminal Defense Practice Group.

Kohnen, a 1986 graduate of the University of Cincinnati Law School, has spent most of his career in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio. After four years with his father’s firm, Kohnen, Patton & Hunt, he worked as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and spent the next eleven years as a front-line trial attorney prosecuting federal criminal cases. In 2001, he became Deputy Criminal Chief in charge of the criminal side of the Cincinnati office.

He earned his undergraduate degree in politics and government at Ohio Wesleyan University.

Kohnen serves on the faculty of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy and the Congressional Youth Delegation for Ohio’s First District. He is a former member of the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Corporate Leadership Council and the St. John Social Center Advisory Board. Kohnen has received many professional awards and commendations from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Treasury Department and other public and private entities.

Taft, Stettinius & Hollister LLP has offices in Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland, Dayton and Northern Kentucky. The firm provides a broad range of legal services to businesses and individuals, including litigation, corporate and business law, securities and municipal financing, tax and estate planning, labor and employment law, real estate and environmental, health care, intellectual property and unfair competition and antitrust law.

01-05-2007

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McDermott Will & Emery

International Dispute Resolution Group Adds New York Partner
The Trial Department and the New York office of McDermott Will & Emery is pleased to announce the appointment of partner Pieter H.F. Bekker as a member of the Firm's International Dispute Resolution (IDR) Practice Group. Dr. Bekker, who has extensive experience in major international dispute forums, will concentrate on international arbitrations.

"Pieter will work hand-in-hand with the head of our IDR Practice Group Juliet Blanch in London, and will help drive the continued development of our IDR practice in New York," commented Jeffrey Stone, head of the Firm's Trial Department. "Complemented by Juliet's practice in London, our IDR practice will significantly benefit from Pieter's experience and background while further bolstering the U.S. component of this global practice."

Fluent in Dutch, English, French and German and educated in both Civil Law and Common Law, Dr. Bekker counsels private and public sector clients on a wide range of international law issues, including jurisdiction, immunity, enforcement, expropriation, and treaty law. He is particularly experienced in matters involving sovereign parties, including states, state-owned entities and international organizations. Dr. Bekker has been involved in a variety of arbitration procedures, including those of the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the American Arbitration Association (AAA) (where he is listed on the Panel of International Arbitrators), the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration, and arbitrations based on the rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). He regularly counsels clients in the drafting of arbitration clauses for international contracts.

"Pieter is a significant addition to our New York office, and we look forward to his role not only as a member of our team but as a leader within the office," commented Peter Sacripanti, head of the Firm's New York office. "We are committed to the continued growth of our IDR practice internationally in line with our clients' needs, and Pieter is a key part of our expansion strategy," continued Ms. Blanch.

A native of The Netherlands, Dr. Bekker was in private practice in Amsterdam before serving for nearly three years as a staff lawyer in the Registry of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations located in The Hague. He has been involved in some 20 ICJ cases between sovereign states, as well as advisory proceedings. He has also advised clients in pro bono matters arising under international law (such as genocide and other human rights issues).

Dr. Bekker earned his Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree from Harvard Law School on a Fulbright grant. He earned his Dutch Civil Law degree and his Ph.D. (doctorate in international law) from Leiden University in The Netherlands. The author of more than 100 articles and three books, Dr. Bekker teaches International Arbitration at Fordham University in New York. He is an elected member of the Executive Council of the American Society of International Law and serves on the Board of Reporters of the Institute for Transnational Arbitration. He received a Burton Award for Excellence in Legal Writing in 2005 and was peer-selected as a New York "Super Lawyer" in 2006.

McDermott has extensive international arbitration and dispute resolution capability. The Firm's lawyers are experienced in resolving disputes by arbitration and litigation throughout the world, and under a variety of governing bodies, including the International Chamber of Commerce, the London Court of International Arbitration, and the American Arbitration Association.

The New York office of McDermott has more than 150 lawyers representing a broad range of regional, U.S. and international clients, including some of the world's largest publicly and privately held companies, financial institutions, private equity and hedge funds, venture capital-backed start-ups and individuals. As part of its international practice, the Firm's New York office represents a wide range of multinationals and financial services institutions based in Korea, Israel, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and other countries.

01-05-2007

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Jenner & Block LLP

Marwil Speaks at M&A Advisor’s Annual Conference, Firm’s Barjan Deal Recognized
Jenner & Block Partner Jeff J. Marwil led a panel discussion entitled, "Out-of-Court Workout and Restructuring," at the 2006 M&A Annual Advisor conference held December 11 in New York. In addition, the Firm was recognized at the conference’s awards dinner as a finalist in the U.S. Middle Market Deal of the Year award category for its representation of Barjan Products, LLC in the sale of its assets in two unique transactions.

Mr. Marwil, a member of the Firm’s Bankruptcy, Workout and Corporate Restructuring practice, moderated a panel that addressed Out-of-Court Workouts and Restructuring and included Thane Carlston, Managing Director, Jefferies & Company, Inc., New York; Matthew Niemann, Managing Director, Cerberus Capital Management, Chicago; and John Grivetti, Executive, Crowe Chizek, Oak Brook, IL.

At the awards dinner, Jenner & Block was recognized for its representation of Barjan, the largest marketer of general merchandise products to travel centers in North America, in the sale of substantially all of its assets in two transactions. The first was a traditional asset sale of one of Barjan’s business divisions. The second transaction was a consensual Article 9 foreclosure sale, where the Firm structured a transaction to deliver the remainder of Barjan’s assets free and clear of Barjan’s multimillion dollar secured and unsecured debt obligations. Both transactions were completed without the need for a bankruptcy filing or other court supervision. This deal employed a legal procedure not necessarily designed for a going concern sale of a business.

The Jenner & Block team on the Barjan deal included Partners Jeff J. Marwil, Jill Sugar Factor, Geoffrey M. Davis, S. Tony Ling, Gail H. Morse, Adam Petravicius and Steven M. Siros; Of Counsel Ruth A. Schoenmeyer; and Associates Peter H. Rosenbaum and Laura A. Sakulich, Mercedes M. Davis, Dawn M. Duffy, Frank J. Eichenlaub IV, Megan R. Leger and Darren M. Mungerson.

More than 350 middle-market mergers and acquisitions and corporate financing professionals attended the 5th Annual M&A Advisor Awards Dinner.

The M&A Advisor is an information provider and networking organization delivering services that provide executives, M&A professionals, and others about the intricate world of financing, buying and selling middle market companies.

In 2004, Jenner & Block received the M&A advisor "U.S. Middle Market Deal of the Year" award for serving as lead bankruptcy counsel for Archibald Candy Corporation.

01-05-2007

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Howrey, LLP

JEREMY BROWN JOINS HOWREY LONDON
Mr. Brown is a specialist in intellectual property and technology related matters with long and distinguished experience in commercial and litigious matters involving intellectual property rights and technology related issues. He has particular knowledge of, and experience with, issues affecting the healthcare, chemical, computer and luxury goods industries. His main areas of practice include patent, copyright, trade marks and trade secrets litigation; licensing of intellectual property rights and technology transfer generally including EC and UK anti-trust and competition law considerations.

Howrey Chairman and CEO Robert F. Ruyak commented: “We are extremely happy that such a respected and experienced IP litigator has joined our IP team in London. He joins a robust European IP practice, including Prof. Willem Hoyng and Bart van den Broek in Amsterdam; Marina Cousté in Paris; Carl De Meyer and Benoit Strowel in Brussels; Richard Willoughby and David Stone in London and most recently Dr. Joachim Feldges in our new Munich office. We believe we now have one of the strongest IP teams in Europe.”

Willem Hoyng, Howrey’s managing partner for Europe, said, “It is a great day for our IP practice in Europe and it is a great personal pleasure to be reunited with Jeremy with whom I co-headed during several years the then Linklaters & Alliance IP practice group.”

Mr. Brown, 58, is a past-President of the Licensing Executives Society International (LESI) (1995/96) and of LES Britain and Ireland (1991/92) and served as a Council Member and International Delegate for LES Britain & Ireland from 1988 to 2003... He has also been a Council member of AIPPI United Kingdom since 1989 and currently serves on the Council as a Vice-President. .

He is a well known author and speaker on IP law. His papers and submissions at international meetings and conferences have covered patent litigation in Europe; protection of “equivalents” under European patent laws; intellectual property rights in the EEA; implications of the European Single Market for the pharmaceutical, computer and high-tech industries; parallel imports and exhaustion of rights; technology licensing in the EU and EEA.

In 2004 he received the inaugural Informa Law Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his consistent achievement at the highest level throughout his career.

Howrey’s London IP practice was opened in 2001. As Howrey’s first European office, it
has continued to prosper adding a strong litigation group in 2002. Recent wins include landmark IP win for long time client Procter & Gamble and continued successful representation of several of the world’s leading companies.

01-05-2007

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Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale & Dorr, L.L.P.

WilmerHale Wins Major Victory for Former Corporate Officer
A WilmerHale team successfully persuaded a federal appeals court to overturn all convictions of Douglas Lake, former chief strategy officer of Westar Energy, in a case that prosecutors had called the “Kansas Enron.” The court made clear that the central wire fraud counts and related money laundering charges cannot be retried. The Wall Street Journal called the decision a “stunning reversal of a high-profile government prosecution.” The New York Times termed it “the latest in a recent series of setbacks for the government in white-collar cases” - citing last August’s decision in the Enron barge case, in which WilmerHale also secured acquittal for its client on appeal.

The prosecution’s charges centered on executive compensation and allegedly faulty reporting of personal use of corporate airplanes. The first trial, in 2004, ended in a hung jury. In September 2005, a second jury convicted Mr. Lake and former Westar CEO David Wittig on charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering, and circumvention of internal corporate controls. The district court sentenced Mr. Lake to 15 years in prison, imposed a fine and restitution totaling $7.75 million, and ordered a substantial forfeiture.

On appeal WilmerHale first successfully convinced the court of appeals to overrule the trial court and permit Mr. Lake to remain free pending the outcome of his appeal. Then, working closely with counsel for Mr. Wittig, the WilmerHale team crafted briefs demonstrating that the trial was marred by significant legal and procedural errors and failures of proof. On January 5, a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit - including two former prosecutors - agreed that there was insufficient evidence to support the wire fraud and money laundering charges, and that the other convictions could not stand in light of the errors at trial.

WilmerHale Partner Seth Waxman argued the case. Other members of the WilmerHale team included partner Edward DuMont, former counsel Theo Chuang, and associates Demian Ahn, Michael Spence, and Daniel Volchok.

01-05-2007

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Ward and Smith, P.A.

David L. Ward, Jr. and Ward and Smith, P.A. Recognized for Client Service
Ward and Smith, P.A. is pleased to announce its inclusion in The Survey of Client Service Performance for Law Firms: The BTI Client Service A-Team 2007 and the special recognition of David L. Ward, Jr., as a member of the BTI Client Service All-Star Team. This exclusive group of 93 firms and 113 attorneys is selected by corporate counsel, by name and unprompted, as providing superior client service by way of developing a deep understanding of their clients' businesses, providing focused and practical advice, and putting the needs of clients before their own.

As one of the founding partners of Ward and Smith, P.A., David Ward's special acknowledgment in this publication reflects the firm's ongoing commitment to providing exceptional client service. His practice experience encompasses antitrust, banking, labor, personnel, litigation, trusts and estates, and all phases of business law. Mr. Ward is included in The Best Lawyers in America, is a member of the North Carolina Bar Association General Practice Hall of Fame, and has been rated among his peers as being "preeminent" in his respective field of law. He is recognized in "Legal Elite," a list of the best attorneys in the state by Business North Carolina, and is a member of the Legal Elite Hall of Fame in the field of Corporate Counsel. Mr. Ward has practiced law in North Carolina for more than 40 years.

01-05-2007

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