Law Firm News

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Law Firm News

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White & Case, LLP

White & Case Victorious in EU State Aid Transparency Case
The European Court of First Instance ("CFI") has ruled for the first time that a beneficiary of State aid, which is being investigated by the European Commission, may invoke the EU Transparency Regulation1 to obtain access to documents in the Commission's case file, even though it does not have this right under State aid rules (T-237/02, TGI v European Commission).

"The judgment confirms that the general principles of transparency apply to documents related to State aid investigations and it's an important step forward in improving transparency in State aid cases," commented White & Case lawyer Christoph Arhold, who represented TGI. "In the long-term, greater transparency ought to help dispel the commonly held suspicion that State aid cases are decided on the basis of political horse-trading."

German glass producer Technische Glaswerke Illmenau ("TGI") took the case to the CFI, with the support of Sweden and Finland, after the Commission refused, on two counts, to give it access to the non-confidential version of case files relating to two investigations into alleged State aid to the company. The Commission first refused TGI access based on the Procedural Regulation governing State aid cases2. TGI then applied for access on the basis of the Transparency Regulation and the Commission again refused the request, relying on an exception in Article 4(2) of the Transparency Regulation, which allows it to refuse access when disclosure would "undermine the protection of the purpose of inspections, investigations and audits."

The CFI dismissed the Commission's argument, commenting that it was "paradoxical to say the least to evoke the necessity for a free and direct dialogue between the Commission, the Member State and the 'undertakings concerned', in the context of a climate of cooperation in good faith and mutual confidence, in order, precisely, to refuse one of the 'parties' concerned access to knowledge of any information directly touching the very subject of the discussions."3

The team advising TGI comprised associate Christoph Arhold in Brussels and partner Dr. Norbert Wimmer in Berlin.

12-19-2006

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White & Case, LLP

Firm Builds its Restructuring and Distressed Debt Capabilities
White & Case has continued the build-out of its extensive European finance capabilities with the appointment of partner Stephen Phillips. Stephen joins the Financial Restructuring and Insolvency (FRI) practice in the London office's fast-growing 155-strong Banking & Capital Markets Group, bringing the total number of partners to 23. The Group provides integrated advice to clients across both bank and bond products. Stephen is the second FRI partner to join White & Case in less than a month, following the arrival of Alan Gover in New York in late November.

Stephen has extensive expertise in financial restructuring, particularly in working with distressed debt investors. He has been working in the London restructuring market since early 2002, during which time he has acted on a number of the larger restructurings in the London market, including British Energy, Jazztel and the Treofan Group.

"The last year or two have been comparatively quiet in the restructuring market, but there is a widely held view that the current M&A and leveraged finance booms will lead to some large and complex restructuring work in the coming months and years. These cases will be more complex, with a broader range of stakeholders and will involve multiple jurisdictions. Stephen's background in international work and his links to the distressed investment community will fit well with White & Case's London and international FRI practices," said partner Dan Hamilton, who heads the London FRI practice at White & Case.

Stephen qualified at a Magic Circle firm in 1997 before spending five years based in Singapore, working on project finance, banking and restructuring transactions. He moved to the London office of a US firm in 2002 as an associate and later as a special counsel in its financial restructuring group.

White & Case's global FRI practice was recently ranked number one in the Daily Deal's bankruptcy table with a total of 478 active cases, 89 per cent of which are outside of the US. The closest competitor's total active case load was 297. Over the last four years the Firm's London FRI team has acted in a number of high profile restructurings, including NTL, Cordiant Communications, Stolt Nielsen, Damovo, Marconi and Telewest.

12-19-2006

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Stoel Rives, LLP

Stoel Rives Honored as Oregon's Most Admired Professional Services Firm
Stoel Rives is the Most Admired Professional Services Firm in Oregon, according to a survey of CEOs and readers conducted by the Portland Business Journal. Companies were ranked by a point system, and Stoel Rives received more than twice as many points as the number-two professional services firm. The Professional Services Firms category includes law firms and accounting firms.

The Business Journal surveyed approximately 2,500 CEOs and executives, asking them to rank Oregon businesses based on five criteria: innovation, quality of management, community involvement, quality of products and services, and branding and marketing. The publication’s readers also participated via an online survey.

The Business Journal announced the award winners at a luncheon on December 7. Wally Van Valkenburg, Managing Partner of the firm’s Portland office, accepted the award on behalf of Stoel Rives. “You can’t be a great law firm without great clients,” he says. “This honor is especially meaningful because many of our clients were also recognized as Oregon’s Most Admired Companies.”

Other honors that Stoel Rives received in 2006 include:

* The Best Lawyers in America — Stoel Rives ranks 18th among all U.S. law firms for the total number of attorneys listed (102), second for the number of attorneys listed in the Water Law category, and third in the categories of Communications Law, Energy Law and Mergers & Acquisitions Law. The firm’s Portland office has more attorneys listed in Best Lawyers than any other law firm in Oregon.

* Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business — Stoel Rives tops the list of Oregon firms in the categories of Corporate/Mergers & Acquisitions, Litigation and Environmental Law. Firmwide, 55 Stoel Rives attorneys are named in this respected guide.

* Portland Business Journal — Stoel Rives is featured as one of Oregon’s leading corporate donors to charity.

* Campaign for Equal Justice — Stoel Rives partner Henry Hewitt received an award established in his name, presented by Senator Ron Wyden, Senator Gordon Smith and The Campaign for Equal Justice, for his support of legal services for the poor and 15 years as leader of The Campaign for Equal Justice Board.

* Corporate Board Member magazine — For the fifth consecutive year, a survey of board members of Portland-area publicly traded companies named Stoel Rives the city’s best corporate law firm.

12-19-2006

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Pepper Hamilton, L.L.P.

Hope A. Comisky to Assume Professional Responsibility and Legal Ethics Role at Pepper Hamilton
Pepper Hamilton LLP announced that Hope A. Comisky, a partner in the labor and employment group, will assume the role of Professional Responsibility Counsel for the firm effective January 1, 2007.

In this position, Ms. Comisky will advise the firm and its lawyers on ethical issues. She also will lead legal ethics education within the firm, continue to enhance firm-wide professional responsibility procedures, update lawyers on professional responsibility developments, supplement the firm’s internal advising system and coordinate meetings of the firm’s Professional Responsibility Committee. She will remain a partner of the firm.

“Hope is a terrific lawyer, and her years of counseling clients through difficult employment problems will stand her in good stead as she guides Pepper’s professional responsibility and ethics program,” said Robert E. Heideck, Pepper’s executive partner. “She is a natural fit for the position.”

Ms. Comisky replaces Janet G. Perry, Special Counsel and Director of Professionalism, who is retiring at the end of 2006. Ms. Perry, a lawyer and the former program director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Center on Professionalism, joined Pepper in March 1999 as Director of Professionalism, the first position of its kind in a Philadelphia law firm and one of very few in the United States. In that role, Ms. Perry initially managed the firm’s efforts in three areas: training and professional development, pro bono engagements, and ethics and professional responsibility. In recent years, she has focused on the ethics and professional responsibility aspects of the position, as the firm hired others to handle professional development and the pro bono programs.

“We are truly fortunate to have had Janet working with us for the past seven years,” said Mr. Heideck. “Her experience and personality made her uniquely suited for developing such an important role for the firm, and she created a position that has become an invaluable resource for our lawyers and staff.”

Ms. Comisky currently practices in Pepper’s Philadelphia office and concentrates in employment law counseling, training and litigation. She is a Fellow of The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.

Ms. Comisky is chair of the board of trustees of the Center for Literacy, one of the nation’s largest community-based, nonprofit adult literacy organizations. She also has served as a member of the board of directors of the Women’s Law Project, as an officer of the board of trustees of Federation Early Learning Services (previously Federation Day Care Services), and as president of the board of trustees of The Philadelphia School, where she is now an Honorary Trustee.

12-19-2006

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Pepper Hamilton, L.L.P.

Charles S. Marion of Pepper Hamilton Elected Vice Chair of Philadelphia Bar Association's Federal Courts Committee
Charles S. Marion, a partner with Pepper Hamilton LLP, has been elected vice chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Federal Courts Committee for 2007. He will become chair in 2008.

As vice chair, Mr. Marion will be responsible for the Committee’s Federal Bench-Bar Conference, which is held each year in the spring. The conference provides a forum for the interchange of ideas among the bench and bar, educates the bar with regard to practice in the courts and encourages civility in the courts.

Mr. Marion focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation, intellectual property litigation, franchise litigation, product liability and insurance coverage disputes. Within the Philadelphia Bar Association, Mr. Marion regularly leads investigative teams for the Commission on Judicial Selection and Retention; was appointed to a special task force studying the economic impact of lawyers on the City of Philadelphia; has served as an elected member of the executive committee of the Young Lawyers’ Division.

The Philadelphia Bar Association’s (www.philadelphiabar.org) Federal Courts Committee serves as an informal liaison between the federal courts covering the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the members of the bar. The Committee’s work includes informing members about changes in federal practice and procedure, as well as serving as a “sounding board” for proposals for federal court reforms.

12-19-2006

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Pepper Hamilton, L.L.P.

Pepper Hamilton Wins Another Victory for Science Education
Pepper Hamilton LLP has helped win another big victory for science education and religious freedom. In an agreement announced today in the long-running Selman v. Cobb County School District case, the Cobb County (Georgia) School Board has agreed to a settlement regarding its 2002 decision to place anti-evolution stickers on high-school biology textbooks.

Eric Rothschild, a partner in Pepper’s Philadelphia office, joined a team comprised of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the ACLU of Georgia and the Atlanta-based law firm of Bondurant, Mixon & Elmore to handle the case for the plaintiffs – school district parents who sued the school board arguing that the sticker policy promoted religion in science classrooms and thus violated the separation of church and state. Mr. Rothschild joined the team as part of Pepper’s pro bono program.

The case had been remanded back to the district court by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, which had requested more information about the situation before ruling on the constitutionality of the policy.

The team negotiated a consent decree with Cobb County School District in which school officials agreed to the removal of all anti-evolutions stickers from biology textbooks. They also agreed that no similar warnings or disclaimers would be used in the future and not to take other actions that would undermine the teaching of evolution in biology classes.

“Cobb County School District’s decision to settle the case shows the school board’s desire to work for the best interest of their students,” said Mr. Rothschild. “It was the right move, and an admirable one.”

Mr. Rothschild and co-counsel Richard Katskee of Americans United are veterans of last year’s victory in Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, the landmark case that struck down as unconstitutional the teaching of intelligent design in public schools.

In Selman, the legal team once again enlisted the help of Kitzmiller experts Kenneth Miller of Brown University and Brian Alters of McGill University, as well as advisor Eugenie Scott of the National Center for Science Education to serve as expert witnesses. These experts helped persuade the federal court to invalidate Dover’s intelligent design policy in Kitzmiller, which may have motivated Cobb County to settle.

“In both the Kitzmiller and Cobb County cases, parents have successfully stood up for their children’s right to learn science, not religion, in science class,” said Mr. Rothschild. “All students benefit from their courage.

12-19-2006

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Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Parker Poe Attorney Elected to Bar Executive Committee
Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP has announced the recent election of William R. Thomas to the Executive Committee of the Richland County Bar Association. He will begin serving on the Executive Committee in January 2007.

Mr. Thomas, special counsel in Parker Poe’s Columbia office, previously served as Treasurer of the Richland County Bar Association as well as Co-Chairperson of its Young Lawyers’ Division. He practices in the area of health care law and represents hospitals, health systems, physicians and other health related entities.

Mr. Thomas received a JD, cum laude, in 1999 from the University of South Carolina School of Law, a Masters in Health Administration from the Medical University of South Carolina in 1996 and a BA from Washington & Lee University in 1993.

12-19-2006

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