Law Firm News

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Ruden McClosky Smith Schuster & Russell, PA

RUDEN McCLOSKY TRUSTS & ESTATES LAWYER NAMED TO WORTH MAGAZINE’S “100 TOP ATTORNEYS”
Jeffrey A. Baskies, a Trusts & Estates partner with the Ruden McClosky law firm, has been named to Worth Magazine’s 2nd annual list of the “100 Top Attorneys” serving private clients. The list recognizes the best attorneys in the fields of trusts and estates, philanthropy, elder care, matrimonial and other private practice areas. This year’s list was compiled by the editors of Worth Magazine who “searched for those [lawyers] who can think beyond the numbers and routine of daily work.” Mr. Baskies was also a member of Worth Magazine’s inaugural “Top 100 Attorneys” list in 2005.

Worth Magazine received nominations from readers, financial advisors, accountants, consultants, academics and others who work with or closely monitor attorneys. Editors focused on attorneys who combined exceptional legal expertise with outstanding interpersonal skills. Worth Features Editor Emily DeNitto explained, “We wanted to know what types of recommendations our nominees have made we asked how they are responding to current trend and pivotal cases.”

Mr. Baskies is a graduate of Trinity College (with highest honors) of Hartford, Ct. and Harvard Law School (cum laude). He is AV® rated by Martindale Hubbell and is Board Certified by The Florida Bar as a specialist in Wills, Trusts and Estates law. Mr. Baskies represents affluent clients in all facets of personal and estate planning, charitable planning, insurance planning and asset protection planning. He also represents clients in Florida probate, trust and guardianship administrations and litigations. He is a frequent speaker and author on topics relating to these practice areas.

12-26-2006

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Healy & Baillie, L.L.P.

Challenges Ahead for IRS’s Tax-Exempt Bond Office
The Bond Buyer sought Jeremy A. Spector’s commentary on several changes and challenges ahead for the Internal Revenue Service’s Tax-Exempt Bond Office (TEB). The TEB—which closed 495 audits and 60 voluntary closing agreements this fiscal year—is the front line of federal enforcement against deals that line the pockets of underhanded market players.

Replacing Key Personnel

Field operations manager Charles Anderson—who has been with the IRS for more than three decades and has served in that role since TEB was formed six years ago—is scheduled to retire January 4; but his replacement is not likely to be named for some time.

“TEB, since its inception, has relied upon the skill and depth of its management team to compensate for what it lacked in resources,” said Jeremy A. Spector, a public finance partner with Blank Rome. “To maintain its hard-earned momentum, TEB would be best served by addressing its personnel issues on a priority basis. [The office] is fortunate to have talented candidates within its ranks. Delays in the selection process could eventually hamper operations.”

A Few Bad Actors

In addition to the audit work, agency officials are shifting their focus to the professionals behind such deals with an eye to assessing Section 6700 penalties. That section of the tax code allows the IRS to apply monetary penalties to individuals or firms that participate in abusive transactions.

Certain market players are devising new ways to mask excess arbitrage earnings through the manipulation of bond yields and divert those profits to deal participants in post-issuance or secondary transactions. In one such case, IRS officials said in May that they had unearthed a “systematic kickback scheme” involving several major credit enhancers and brokers of guaranteed investment contracts, or GICs. The scheme involved qualified guarantees for unloaned proceeds from so-called lease-to-own bond deals. Officials found evidence of wire transfers between deal participants that they believe represented diversions of arbitrage that should have been rebated to the federal government.

Roughly two-dozen firms are thought to have been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury. “The investigations are not expected to be swift. In the meantime, the industry is being unfairly tarred by the actions of relatively few bad actors,” said Mr. Spector, who serves as chair of the American Bar Association’s Tax-Exempt Financing Committee’s Subcommittee on Enforcement.

Voluntary Compliance

The Tax-Exempt Bond Office is also developing a compliance regime to replace the voluntary closing agreement program, or VCAP. Issuers can utilize the program when they discover problems with their bonds, before the deals are audited by the IRS. The new voluntary compliance regime will likely include defined settlement terms for specific types of violations, expediting the process for issuers with fairly straightforward tax problems.

Mr. Spector said an intermediate sanctions regime could stimulate requests for closing agreements. “I would like to see TEB increase its staffing in CPM [compliance and program management] to accommodate a greater industry attention to voluntary compliance.

12-26-2006

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Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP

Paul Hastings represented Lazard-NATIXIS and Morgan Stanley as underwriters of a €507 million share offering by Cap Gemini
Paul Hastings' Paris office represented the underwriting syndicate, led by Lazard-NATIXIS and Morgan Stanley, in connection with a €507 million share offering by Cap Gemini, a French issuer. The transaction comprised a public offering in France and an international private placement outside of France and the US. The placement, which was made following the announcement of the acquisition of Kanbay International by Cap Gemini for $1.25 billion, was launched on December 5 and closed on December 13.

The Paul Hastings team was managed by Erwan Barre and included Sarah Whittington and Eyal Chvika.

12-26-2006

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Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP

Richard Kimball quoted in article on Clocky, a firm client
Richard Kimball, chair of the Nutter TechnOvation Awards program and co-chair of Emerging Companies/High Technology practice, was quoted in “Inventor hopes alarm clock becomes a runaway hit,” in the Boston Globe on December 26. The article features Clocky, a robotic alarm clock that runs away and hides when sleepy owners hit the snooze. Created by recent MIT graduate Gauri Nanda, Clocky is a Nutter TechnOvation Award grant winner and firm client.

Nutter received one of the first U.S. shipments of Clocky. Richard Kimball, who purchased four for his family, tested one in his office. In the article, he describes Clocky as “appropriately aggravating” as it “started running around and beeping” and bumping off walls in a way that “would get you out of bed.

12-26-2006

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Cravath, Swaine & Moore, LLP

EVAN CHESLER NAMED BTI CLIENT SERVICE ALL-STAR TEAM MVP
Cravath Deputy Presiding Partner Evan R. Chesler was named an MVP in "The BTI Client Service All-Star Team for Law Firms 2007" survey. This survey, conducted by The BTI Consulting Group, highlights individual attorneys who have been identified by corporate counsel for providing outstanding client service. Evan was one of only five lawyers honored as an MVP for being named to the BTI Client Service All-Star Team for three consecutive years.

12-26-2006

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Dykema Gossett PLLC

Dykema Attorney Elected To YMCA Board
Dykema announces that Daniel J. Martin, associate in the firm’s Litigation Practice Group, has been elected to the Board of Managers for the David D. Hunting branch of the YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids. He is currently Retention Committee Chair for the Strong Kids Campaign. Apart from his position on the Board, Mr. Martin begins his second year of mentoring through Project Mentor, a program run by the YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids.

Mr. Martin’s law practice includes complex commercial matters, employment disputes, environmental claims, public utility regulation, administrative law, and appellate law.

A resident of East Grand Rapids, Mr. Martin received his B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles and his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame.

12-26-2006

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Cooley Godward Kronish LLP

Cooley Godward Kronish’s M&A Practice Advises Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Movie Star, Inc. in Merger Agreement with Frederick’s of Hollywood
Cooley Godward Kronish’s Mergers & Acquisitions practice has advised the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Movie Star, Inc. (AMEX: MSI) in a merger agreement it has signed with FOH Holdings, Inc., the parent company of Frederick’s of Hollywood, Inc. (“Frederick’s”). Under the terms of the agreement, Frederick’s shareholders will receive approximately 23.7 million shares of newly issued Movie Star common stock. The combined company will be called “Frederick’s of Hollywood Group Inc.”

Frederick’s shareholders will be issued 60% of the shares of the combined company in exchange for their shares of Frederick’s. The combined company will also seek to refinance both companies’ existing bank facilities and Frederick’s term debt on more favorable terms. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2007.

The New York-based Cooley team was led by Corporate/M&A partner Scott Kaufman and special counsel Andres Hoyos, and included associates Kevin Bloss, Sung Kim and Tara Hereich. Also contributing were partner Lesse Castleberry and associate Franny Wang from the Tax practice, partner Gary Kravetz and associate Leslie Kroupa from the Real Estate practice, and Nick Smithberg from the Bankruptcy and Restructuring practice.

Over the past five years, Cooley Godward Kronish has handled more than 300 M&A transactions, ranging in size from less than $5 million to more than $5 billion, making the practice one of the most active in the country. In addition to handling acquisitions of venture capital-backed corporations and other closely held entities, the Firm regularly negotiates acquisitions involving large, publicly traded companies. Cooley’s extensive experience in this area is built in part upon its nationally recognized Public Securities practice and ongoing representation of more than 100 publicly held companies.

12-26-2006

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