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Piper Rudnick, L.L.P.

DLA Piper hosts pre-election briefing breakfast in Washington, D.C.
Law firm DLA Piper US LLP recently hosted a pre-election panel discussion featuring a bipartisan group of former Congressional leaders and political analysts. The group debated whether upcoming mid-term elections will dramatically shift the center of power to the Democrats and discussed what the results will mean for Congress and the country.

Charlie Cook, renowned political analyst and publisher of The Cook Political Report, served as guest commentator at the election analysis.

Several key members of DLA Piper's government affairs practice offered their political insights at the event. They included Congressman Richard K. Armey, senior policy advisor for DLA Piper and former house majority leader; Governor James J. Blanchard, chair of the Government Affairs practice group at DLA Piper and former governor of Michigan; Congresswoman Jennifer Dunn, senior advisor with DLA Piper and a former representative for Washington state; and Congressman Richard A. Gephardt, senior counsel for DLA Piper and former House majority leader. Secretary William S. Cohen, chairman and chief executive officer of The Cohen Group, with which DLA Piper enjoys a strategic alliance, introduced Charlie Cook.

Charlie Cook's Analysis of Mid-Term Elections

Cook, in his detailed analysis of the mid-term races, referred to the coming elections as a ""wave"" similar to the elections of 1994, the last time a significant shift in Congressional control occurred, but this time, Cook said, there were ""fewer structures on the beach.""

""Although a major event or shift in the spotlight could change the number of seats, looking at the race right now I don't think we're talking about 52 seats like in 1994, but 20, 25, or 30. In the Senate, we're right at the tipping point, with the Republicans losing four to six seats, with six being the seat that would turn over the chamber,"" said Cook. Currently the Republicans hold 230 seats in the House, 201 seats are held by Democrats, one seat is held by an independent, and three are vacant. In the Senate, there are 55 Republicans, 44 Democrats, and one independent-held seat.

Referring to the Republican incumbent senators from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Montana and Rhode Island, Cook said ""I would be really surprised if DeWine and Santorum came through. I'd be fairly surprised if Conrad Burns and Lincoln Chaffee survived. Then you get to the real tough ones. Jim Talent in Missouri is likely a one-point race either way. In Virginia, George Allen is like a fighter that's been hit really hard: he's still on his feet and if nothing else happens he wins by points, but you just wonder if a feather landed on his shoulder if that might knock him down.""

Cook attributed the ""coming wave"" to the voting public's disapproval with the situation in Iraq. ""I think that 70 percent of the Republican party's problems stem from Iraq and the remaining 30 percent is a mishmash of other issues and scandals that started crystallizing after Hurricane Katrina,"" explained Cook.

Armey, Blanchard, Dunn and Gephardt Offer Predictions

In a panel discussion moderated by Governor Blanchard, DLA Piper political leaders supplemented Cook's analysis with their own predictions.

The panelists disagreed somewhat on the likely outcome of the November 7 elections. Blanchard, who was elected to Congress during the 1974 post-Watergate ""wave,"" supported Cook's prediction that the Democrats would sweep into the House and Senate. ""I think the Democrats will pick up at least 25 seats in the House and I predict a tie in the Senate,"" said Blanchard. ""Regardless of what happens, I think the Democrats and Republicans will need to collaborate to make the system work.""

Blanchard stressed that the evolving gubernatorial races should not be overlooked because the state parties will play a key role in the approaching 2008 presidential election, ""We Democrats are hoping to hold all of our current governors, and to add New York, Massachusetts, Ohio, Colorado, Arkansas and probably Maryland.""

Congressman Armey said he believes ""the Republicans are going to survive this election. The fundamentals are still in the way the districts are drawn. The fact of the matter is virtually every district is today a tailor-made district, Republican or Democrat. If you're going to have a change in district, you're going to need a campaign that's strong enough to convince the majority of people in the district to vote against their natural-born gerrymandered predilections.

""Frankly, I don't see the Democratic party with a strong enough advocacy. Right now they're pretty much going on you've got to vote for us because we're not them. I don't think they're making a very good case for themselves,"" Armey added.

Congressman Gephardt said, ""If the election were here today, I think the Democrats would have a good chance of taking control of the House and an even chance of taking the necessary six seats in the Senate.""

But Gephardt cautioned that the Republicans have had ""much more warning and are much more concerned than we were in 1994 about losing."" He also noted the impact of redistricting on the election and stressed that the Democrats ""have far less playing field than they had in 1994.""

Congresswoman Dunn predicted that there could be a loss of four Republican seats in the Senate and 12 in the House, but she expects that Republicans will stay in control of both chambers.

""As a result, the control will be so tight in both bodies that it will be difficult to move legislation,"" Dunn noted. ""However, this means that the lame duck session will be very short.""

Dunn said she believes that the Republican party has an advantage because of its incumbency, fundraising lead and its understanding that it could potentially lose its grip on Congress. ""You hear a lot of people out there in the press saying that when you're an incumbent this year you're going to get voted against by the voters. I'll tell you having been through six major elections in a district that was a bit of a swing district, I give the voters credit. I think they are going to make decisions based on their evaluation of the member of congress who represents them.""

All the panelists agreed that cooperation between Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate would need to improve.

""Most people in office today are being compelled to be more partisan than they really would care to be,"" Congressman Armey explained.

Gephardt stressed that the American public has grown weary of partisan politics and expects bipartisan cooperation. He predicted ""less change in policy than many would expect"" if the Democrats regain control of Congress

""If accomplishment is their goal, they will have to reestablish bipartisanship. Both Republican and Democratic voters are desperate for a government that will get something done. They understand it's hard to get compromise, but I think the test they're going to put to their government is did they get anything done that means something to me and my everyday life,"" said Gephardt.

Complete video coverage of the event can be accessed at www.cspan.org. Expanded coverage of the October 25 panel discussion, including audio, video and print reporting, is available at www.pajamasmedia.com.

10-30-2006

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Kramer, Levin, Naftalis & Frankel, LLP

Making Smart Antitrust Decisions
Antitrust Partner Robert Heller authored a chapter entitled "Making Smart Antitrust Decisions" which appears in the book Inside the Minds: Antitrust Settlements and Negotiations - Leading Lawyers on Winning Legal Strategies for Litigation, Government Investigations, and Regulatory Compliance, to be published in Fall 2006 by Aspatore Books.

10-30-2006

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Jenner & Block LLP

Firm Obtains Victory for General Dynamics Subsidiary AMSEA
In a victory for Jenner & Block’s client American Overseas Marine Corporation (AMSEA), the ship management subsidiary of General Dynamics, a federal court recently granted AMSEA’s motion for summary judgment in a lawsuit involving a government contract awarded to AMSEA. The lawsuit concerned a multi-million dollar contract to manage nine U.S. Navy cargo ships known as Large-Medium Speed Roll-On Roll-Off Vessels (LMSRs). The plaintiff, another bidder on the LMSR contract, contended that AMSEA tortiously interfered with its prospective economic advantage and sought substantial monetary relief.

In a strongly worded opinion granting summary judgment in AMSEA's favor, U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar concluded that ""the case has no foundation in law or fact,"" and found insufficient evidence to support the plaintiff's allegations that AMSEA had engaged in intentional misconduct when it submitted its bid proposal. The court further determined that the plaintiff did not possess an objectively reasonable business expectancy in the contract, and that AMSEA’s actions did not cause injury to the plaintiff.

The plaintiff filed this lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia after it unsuccessfully sought emergency relief from both the United States District Court for the Northern District of California and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Jenner & Block Partner Julie M. Carpenter and Associate Amy L. Tenney represented AMSEA in this matter. The legal team also included Partner David A. Churchill and Associates Sean J. Hartigan, Adam H. Morse, and Anne E. Ralph.

10-30-2006

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Jenner & Block LLP

Black Women Lawyers’ Association Seminar Offers Advice to Law Students
Partner Charlotte L. Wager and Partner Everett S. Ward, along with academics from Chicago-area law schools provided legal research and writing tips and strategies for first year minority law students at a Black Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater Chicago Inc. (“BWLA”) seminar recently hosted at Jenner & Block. How to Navigate the Mysterious Web of Legal Writing was the first BWLA seminar of its kind and is part of a new initiative launched by the current President of BWLA, Nathalina A. Hudson.

Mr. Ward presented his Top 10 Rules for Effective Commercial Drafting to the students and challenged them to raise the standards they hold themselves to in order to improve their writing. He said that when the students are associates in a law firm environment, more experienced attorneys will expect that their writing is well-edited and held to a high standard of quality. “Always make sure your best effort” is in the final product, he stressed.

Ms. Wager led an interactive session on effective memo and brief writing. She guided the students through a number of exercises to increase their awareness of writing pitfalls, such as compound constructions, introductory clauses, the passive voice, legalese, intensifiers and nominalizations. Avoiding writing pitfalls, she told the students, will help to produce clear and effective writing.

Molly Lien, Professor and Director of Lawyering Skills at The John Marshall Law School, focused on the importance of making one’s writing “accessible” to the reader through organization, clarity and meticulously following grammatical rules.

Neil Williams, Associate Professor at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, discussed the keys to successful law school exam writing, including the importance of preparing a good course outline and studying old exams. He also reminded the students to allocate their time wisely while taking an exam, and to carefully read each question in its entirety to help ensure a more complete and correct answer.

Funmi Arewa, Associate Professor of Law at Northwestern University’s School of Law, encouraged the students to get involved with one of their law schools’ scholarly journals to further hone their writing skills, and underscored the importance of networking during law school to build a base of strong relationships for the rest of one’s career.

Sheri Lewis, Associate Law Librarian for Public Services at The University of Chicago Law School, stressed the importance of utilizing all of a law library’s resources, such as books, magazines and other media, and not to rely just on the Internet as a research tool for writing assignments.

The event was organized and moderated by Iris K. Sims.

Pictured, top from left: Mr. Ward speaks as Professor Williams and Professor Arewa look on.

Picture, middle from left: Ms. Wager speaks as Professor Lien and Professor Williams look on.

Pictured, bottom from left: Ms. Iris Sims, Professor Neil Williams, Ms. Sheri Lewis, Professor Funmi Arewa, Professor Molly Lien, Ms. Charlotte Wager, Mr. Everett Ward.

10-30-2006

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Jenner & Block LLP

Harrison Appointed to TICA’s Legislative & Regulatory Committee
Jenner & Block Partner Arnold S. Harrison was appointed to the Association’s Legislative & Regulatory Committee during the recent Tenant-In-Common Association’s 2006 Annual Conference held October 15-18 in Las Vegas, NV.

The TICA Legislative & Regulatory Committee is a key component of the association’s legislative lobbying on TIC issues and other grassroots activities. Members of the committee work closely with professional lobbyists, and participate in federal and state legislative and regulatory advocacy efforts for TICA.

Mr. Harrison is Chair of Jenner & Block’s Real Estate Securities Practice and Co-Chair of the Firm’s Tax Practice and Tax Controversy Practice.

10-30-2006

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Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP

Gibson Dunn Adds Capital Markets Partner in London
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is pleased to announce that Dorothee Fischer-Appelt will join the firm’s London office as a capital markets partner in the Corporate Transactions Practice Group. Fischer-Appelt will join the firm from Allen & Overy’s London office and will continue to focus her practice on capital markets and mergers and acquisitions transactions.

""We are delighted to have Dorothee join the firm,"" said Andrew Thomas, Co-Partner in Charge of the London office. ""Dorothee is an accomplished capital markets lawyer, and her dual English/US law qualification and her experience in advising UK and US-based clients on capital markets and M&A transactions will complement our London office’s growing Corporate Transactions practice.""

""Dorothee is an excellent fit for our London office and our European practice,"" said Kevin Kelley, Co-Head of the firm’s Capital Markets Practice. ""She has combined her US corporate and capital markets skills with her German-speaking background to develop a market-leading position on transactions recently out of Austria, Switzerland and Germany.""

""Gibson Dunn’s strong US and European platform presents many opportunities,"" said Fischer-Appelt, ""and I very much look forward to working with my new colleagues.

10-30-2006

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Baker Botts LLP

Baker Botts No. 1 in 'Who Protects IP America' Survey
Baker Botts landed at the top of the list of law firms Corporate America calls on for IP counsel in the latest IP Law & Business survey published in the magazine's November 2006 issue.

Each year, the magazine's editors ask in-house counsel at the Fortune 250 to name their "go-to" firms, specifically their primary IP litigation and patent firms.

This year, Baker Botts climbed into the No. 1 spot from No. 3 in last year's survey.

"As this practice area expands in the coming months, our IP/Litigation team will remain on top of the latest issues and trends that could have an impact on our clients," said Jerry Mills, the firm's IP Department Chair. "It is one of our strengths as a major international law firm and what our clients expect of our lawyers."

Litigation Department Chair Robb Voyles said: "The results of this survey are all about commitment to client service in the IP litigation area. Making certain we provide the best counsel and the strongest representation for our clients has always been and will remain our focus."

In addition to earning the No. 1 spot in the Top IP Firm category in the magazine's survey, Baker Botts tied for the top spot on the IP Litigators list and placed at No. 2 in the Patent Prosecutors category.

Baker Botts has more than 100 patent attorneys in five cities.

10-30-2006

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