Law Firm News

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Law Firm News

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Jones, Walker, Waechter, Poitevent, Carrere & Denegre, L.L.P.

Rosenquest Co-Authors Texas International Law Journal Article
`Jones Walker associate Jay Rosenquest, along with Professor Francis Gabor of the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, co-authored The Unsettled Status of Economic Refugees from the American and International Legal Perspectives—A Proposal for Recognition Under Existing International Law published in the Spring 2006 issue of the Texas International Law Journal (41 Tex. Int’l L.J. 275). The article investigates the state of existing American and international law, neither which directly addresses the status of economic refugees. The authors argue that Article 55 of the United National Charter and Articles 6 and 7 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights provide a foundation for recognizing economic oppression as a form of human rights violation that could justify protection of the economic refugee by the receiving country.

08-14-2006

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Arent Fox LLP

Arent Fox Advises RLJ Lodging Fund II in its Acquisition of 100 Hotels from White Lodging
A hotel development fund affiliated with RLJ Development LLC and controlled by Robert L. Johnson, founder of Black Entertainment Television and owner of the NBA Charlotte Bobcats, has just completed its acquisition of an additional 24 hotels from White Lodging Services Corporation of Merrillville, Indiana.

Lawyers from Arent Fox, a Washington-based law firm with extensive real estate experience in the Washington region and nationally, assisted RLJ in the completion of this second phase of a 100-hotel acquisition.

The Firm, which has served as counsel to RLJ Development since its inception in 2000, has assisted all of the various RLJ Development affiliates in their acquisitions and financing of hospitality and other properties. From an initial acquisition of seven hotels in late 2000 through the closing of the White Lodging portfolio, lawyers at Arent Fox have advised RLJ on over 150 transactions involving nearly $3 billion.

The transactions have been complex and logistically challenging. Large teams of attorneys, legal assistants and support staff have been required in order to achieve RLJ’s goals.

Over 25 attorneys worked in a coordinated manner to address the many difficult issues posed by the White Lodging portfolio transaction and to meet the extremely tight deadlines of the transaction— less than five months from contract signing to closing. Attorneys with experience in many disciplines came together to solve a wide variety of issues. Led by Arent Fox partner, Gerard Leval, groups of the Firm’s lawyers handled extensive due diligence, negotiated intricate financing arrangements and franchising matters and ultimately coordinated two major closings to complete a transaction that has made RLJ one of the largest Marriott franchisees in the world.

The Arent Fox teams worked in tandem with RLJ’s experienced professionals, under the leadership of Thomas J. Baltimore, Jr., President of RLJ Development, LLC. Baltimore has been the chief executive of RLJ Development from its very beginning, overseeing its growth into the major hospitality property owner that it has become.

Leval lauded both the close relationship between Arent Fox and RLJ and the quality of the legal work performed by the Arent Fox teams: “The high level of professionalism shown by all the Arent Fox participants in this project was the essential ingredient that made it possible to close the transaction in a timely and efficient manner.” He added, that “In order to achieve the challenges posed by the White Lodging acquisition, it was necessary for RLJ and Arent Fox to work in a particularly close and coordinated manner, which only a long-term relationship makes possible.”

RLJ Development, based in Bethesda, Md., is the nation’s largest African-American hotel ownership company. As a cornerstone of Robert Johnson’s entrepreneurial efforts after his sale of BET to Viacom Inc. in 2001, RLJ has completed various transactions that have made it a major private equity firm.

08-14-2006

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Sills, Cummis, Epstein & Gross, P.C.

Jeffrey J. Greenbaum - Delegates Pass Measure To Shield Experts' Drafts From Discovery
Jeffrey J. Greenbaum, a Member of the Firm, is co-chair of the ABA Federal Practice Task Force that authored the resolution that protects expert draft reports from discovery. According to this August 14, 2006 New Jersey Law Journal article, "After vigorous debate, the ABA's House of Delegates voted 207-137 to recommend adding to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 26 (a)(2) a privilege for draft reports and communications between attorneys and their experts. The measure will be forwarded to the U.S. Supreme Court's advisory Committee on Civil Rules." "We believe counsel and experts should be subject to the same rules and court expectations around the country" says Greenbaum. This article also discusses some of the other measures the ABA delegates approved, including one that would “amend the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or the Federal Evidence Rules to allow parties to reassert privilege for inadvertently disclosed material. The resolution, proposed by Greenbaum’s task force, passed unanimously.

08-14-2006

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Sills, Cummis, Epstein & Gross, P.C.

Jeffrey J. Greenbaum - E-Discovery Gets Rules of Its Own
This August 14, 2006 New Jersey Law Journal article entitled "E-Discovery Gets Rules of Its Own," discusses the recently adopted electronic discovery rules by the New Jersey Supreme Court. Jeffrey J. Greenbaum, Chair of the Firm's Class Action Practice Group, was interviewed for this article. When asked about the electronic discovery rules, Greenbaum states "an attempt to have some consistency and rationality in a process that has been left until now to the discretion of trial judges as they manage discovery." In addition, he calls the rules "a wake-up call to most practitioners, who have not focused on electronic discovery issues in a very substantive way." This article also discusses other recent rule amendments, such as those to class action rules. According to the article, Greenbaum notes, “Like those relating to electronic discovery, the class action rules parallel the federal rules.” Also, Greenbaum states “The purpose is to create best practices rather than substantive changes.

08-14-2006

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Senniger, Powers, Leavitt & Roedel's, P.C.

Senniger Powers to Host Reception for Examiners from the European Patent Office
On Monday, September 11, 2006, the Patent, Trademark & Copyright Section of the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis will conduct a RoundTable discussion with a group of Examiners from the European Patent Office at the Bar Association's downtown headquarters. The Examiners, who practice in the fields of chemistry and biotechnology, will discuss various issues of interest, including recent developments in European patent prosecution practices. Immediately following the RoundTable discussion, Senniger Powers will host a reception for all in attendance.

If anyone who plans to attend has a specific question or topic that he or she would like to have addressed by the Examiners at the RoundTable, please forward the question or suggested topic to Marc Vander Tuig at mvandertuig@senniger.com. These submissions will be sent to the Examiners for consideration in advance of their visit. Please submit your question or topic suggestion as soon as possible, preferably by no later than August 18, 2006.

08-14-2006

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Rosenberg, Freedman & Goldstein LLP

Medicare Part B Premium to be Increased to Almost
The monthly premium for Medicare Part B benefits, which is deducted automatically from Social Security checks, is to be increased next year to at least $98.40 from the current level of $88.50. This, according to a Bush administration announcement on July 11, 2006.

08-14-2006

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Rosenberg, Freedman & Goldstein LLP

Important MassHealth Changes in the Protection of Spouses of Nursing Home Residents
On July 30, 2006, the Massachusetts legislature passed a law favorably changing the amount of assets the spouse of a nursing home resident is entitled to keep when applying for MassHealth (Medicaid) coverage of nursing home care.

Under the new rules, the spouse living at home (""the community spouse”) may keep up to $99,540 as her share of the couple’s assets. (Formerly, the community spouse could keep all of the couple’s assets only if total assets were $19,998 or less; if more than that, the community spouse could keep only half the total assets, but not more than $99,540. The change returns the MassHealth law to the way it was before January 2003, when the state chose to make dramatic Medicaid cuts to deal with its budgetary crisis.)

For example, let’s say a couple has $120,000 in countable assets. Under the new rules, the community spouse would be permitted to retain $99,540. In contrast, under the former rules, the protected amount would be only $60,000.

This change benefits only couples with countable assets of roughly $200,000 or less. If a couple has more than $200,000, the protected amount would be the same -- $99,540 – under both the former and new rules.

The change was approved on July 30, 2006, but made retroactive to July 1, 2006. Does it apply to your situation?

• It DOES apply if you have not yet applied for MassHealth. You may have delayed filing because you thought your assets were too high. If so, you need to evaluate whether, under the new rules, your total assets may be within the allowable maximum of $99,540.

• It DOES apply to you if you (1) applied for MassHealth for nursing home care in July 2006 (or more recently) and (2) received a denial for excess assets.

• It DOES apply to you if you (1) applied for MassHealth for nursing home care in June 2006 (or earlier), (2) have been denied based on excess assets and (3) are still waiting for a hearing.

• It DOES apply to you if you (1) applied for MassHealth for nursing home care in June 2006 (or earlier), (2) filed an appeal seeking an increased spousal income allowance and (3) are still waiting for a hearing.

• It does NOT apply to you if you are not married.

• It does NOT apply to you if you are a married couple and BOTH spouses are applying for MassHealth for nursing home care.

• It does NOT apply if the institutionalized spouse is already receiving MassHealth for nursing home care.

If you think the new rules may apply to you, contact us, or another elder law attorney, at once. If you cannot afford a private attorney, you can locate the legal services office nearest you through the website, www.masslegalservices.org, and click on “Directory

08-14-2006

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