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Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP

Charulata B. Pagar Re-Joins Manatt
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, the national law and consulting firm, announced today that Charulata B. Pagar, a prominent advertising, marketing, media, and trade regulation lawyer, has re-joined the firm as a partner in its Los Angeles office. Ms. Pagar joined Manatt from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in Washington, D.C., where she investigated and litigated advertising matters.

Ms. Pagar represents clients in false advertising cases, compliance with federal and state regulatory obligations, antitrust matters, investigations brought by the Federal Trade Commission, state attorneys general and various regulatory agencies, and proceedings before the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, the advertising industry’s self-regulatory body.

“Char Pagar is well qualified to address the complex advertising and marketing issues faced by our national clients in a range of industries,” said Paul H. Irving, Manatt’s Chief Executive and Managing Partner. “Her career includes major law firm experience, service as an in-house legal counsel at a major retailer, and positions of substantial responsibility at the Federal Trade Commission. Char is familiar with Manatt’s culture, objectives, and standard of excellence. We are pleased to welcome her back.”

Ms. Pagar first joined Manatt in 2003 with a group of attorneys led by Linda A. Goldstein and Jeffrey S. Edelstein, nationally recognized leaders in advertising, marketing and media law, from the New York law firm of Hall Dickler Kent Goldstein & Wood, LLP. In 2004, she was recruited to join the Federal Trade Commission’s Washington, D.C. office. Ms. Pagar had previously held a staff attorney position with the FTC’s Chicago office. She briefly served as Senior Counsel for Marketing Practices at Sears, Roebuck and Co., before joining the Hall Dickler firm in 1999.

“Returning to Manatt is the right choice for me at this stage in my career,” added Ms. Pagar. “Manatt has an integrated advertising, media, and entertainment practice, and its national platform provides broad coverage to clients dealing with the complex business and regulatory challenges that I address. I am delighted to have the opportunity to work with my Manatt colleagues again.”

Ms. Pagar received her B.S.F.S., magna cum laude, from Georgetown University in 1989, and her J.D. from the University of Chicago in 1992. She has spoken on advertising and intellectual property issues before the International Trademark Association, Point of Purchase Advertising Institute, the Aggressive Advertising and the Law Forum, and other industry and academic groups.

08-07-2006

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Hughes & Luce, L.L.P.

States focus on doctor arrangements with imaging centers
Several states are strengthening self-referral and anti-kickback statutes to curb what they see as illegal physician referrals to imaging centers and potentially unnecessary scans. Their efforts come in response to a March 2005 congressional advisory panel report that pointed out weaknesses in federal law governing ""selfreferrals.""

Until now, however, legal experts say federal regulations have not been very actively enforced, which has contributed to the proliferation of MRI clinics and heightened state activity to regulate them.

""States are now coming along and saying, 'We are getting defrauded as well, and the same evils that apply to Medicare are happening to us,' "" said Jon Henderson, a corporate health law attorney with the Texas-based firm Hughes & Luce LLP.

08-07-2006

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Sidley, Austin, Brown & Wood, L.L.P.

Sidley Austin LLP Announces Client Settlement of Patent Infringement Claims Against LED Manufacturer
Sidley Austin LLP announced today that the firm represented Professor Gertrude Neumark Rothschild in her settlement of claims of patent infringement against Toyoda Gosei Co. Ltd., and Toyoda Gosei North America Corporation.

On July 27, 2005, Professor Neumark filed suit in the Southern District of New York alleging that Toyoda Gosei had infringed U.S. Patent No. 4,904,618, “Process for Doping Crystals of Wide Band Gap Semiconductors,” and U.S. Patent No. 5,252,499, “Wide Band-Gap Semiconductors Having Low Bipolar Resistivity and Method of Formation” through the unauthorized manufacture, importation, use, sale and/or offer for sale of light emitting diodes (“LEDs”) and laser diode created using the processes described and claimed in each of these patents. Pursuant to the settlement agreement, Professor Neumark has granted rights under both of the Neumark patents to Toyoda Gosei.

LEDs are semiconductor diodes which convert electricity into light. Semiconductors are materials with resistivities in the range between metals and insulators, in which the electrical charge carrier concentration increases with increasing temperature over a given temperature range. Despite the recognized potential of LEDs, their commercial use was initially limited because it was not commercially feasible to produce LEDs in green and other high spectral ranges. Through the process claimed in Professor Neumark’s patents, it has become commercially feasible to produce such LEDs, and they have increasingly gained general acceptance as a superior lighting source for a large number of products.

Professor Neumark is Howe Professor Emerita of Materials Science and Engineering, Professor Emerita of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics and a Special Research Scientist, Columbia University, New York, New York, from where she also received her Ph.D in chemistry in 1949. She was the first woman to hold a named Chair in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science at Columbia University.

08-07-2006

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Prince Lobel Glovsky & Tye LLP

Laurie Rubin writes article featured in New England In-House
Laurie's article "SJC: Employers don't have to accommodate 'egregious' misconduct" was featured on page 30 in the July edition of New England In-House - a quarterly publication of Dolan Media Co. (Lawyers Weekly).

08-07-2006

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Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP

"Osiris Bags $38M IPO"
Dewey Ballantine represented Jeffries & Co., Lazard Capital Markets and Leerink Swann & Co., the underwriters of Osiris Therapeutics Inc.’s $38.5 million IPO.

08-07-2006

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Hagens, Berman, Sobol & Shapiro, L.L.P.

Oceanic Islanders Win Appeal in Massive Claim against Mining Giant Rio Tinto for Alleged Ecocide and Human Rights Crimes
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals today reinstated the massive human rights claim brought by the people of the island of Bougainville against London-based Rio Tinto [NYSE:RTP], one of the world's largest mining companies.

The suit claims that Rio Tinto conspired with the government of Papua New Guinea (PNG) to savagely quell civil resistance to an environmentally devastating mining operation, actions that led to the deaths of thousands.

The ruling remands the case to U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, and could have broad implications for other groups seeking redress from crimes committed during wartime by private companies acting in concert with local governments. It also states that Rio Tinto could be held liable for actions by the PNG government if the company's involvement is proven.

A US District Court dismissed the suit, siding with the U.S. State Department's opinion that the case could not be heard in U.S. courts, a decision that was appealed by the plaintiffs.

In today's ruling, Court of Appeals dismissed Rio Tinto's arguments that the case should not be heard in the U.S. Court System, and the U.S. State Department, which argued the case could interfere with the ongoing peace process on the island.

The case was filed in 2000 and seeks to represent Bougainvilleans who continue to be exposed to toxins resulting from the Panguna mine, individuals who lost property due to ongoing environmental contamination, and people injured or killed during the Bougainville conflict between 1989 and 1999.
Under the Alien Tort Claims Act, foreign nationals can bring suit in the United States against companies that violate international law. Rio Tinto is the parent company of subsidiary U.S. Borax Inc., headquartered in Los Angeles. The court also ruled that war crimes, crimes against humanity and racial discrimination are such universally recognized norms that they can be heard under the Alien Tort Claims Act.

Steve Berman, the managing partner of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro HBSS, who argued the case before the 9th Circuit, said he was ""deeply gratified the Court had seen fit to allow the people of Bougainville their day in court in the United States.""

According to Berman, the plaintiffs are now free to seek redress for loss of life and injuries from the war, and to pursue claims to force Rio Tinto to clean up the island from the massive environmental destruction caused by the mining operations.

Environmental Events Leading to the Lawsuit
The Panguna copper mine and the political events that erupted since the mine was established are at the core of the case. Bougainville Island, located northeast of Australia, is part of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea.

Between 1969 and 1972, the Australian Colonial Administration leased land on the island to Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL), a mining subsidiary of Rio Tinto. The suit claims that landowners unsuccessfully resisted intrusion onto their land, and many Bougainvilleans were forced to relocate or flee the island. Three principal villages were relocated.

According to the suit, Rio Tinto then destroyed entire villages, razed the rain forest, sluiced off a hillside and established the world's largest open-cut mine, spanning two kilometers wide and half a kilometer deep. The mine excavated 300,000 tons of ore and water every day during its operation between 1972 and 1988.

The suit alleges that Rio Tinto improperly dumped waste rock and tailings, emitting chemical and air pollutants without regard for the villagers. Those tailings destroyed local fish stock, a major food source for the islanders.

The Bougainville people -- especially children -- began dying more frequently from upper respiratory infections, asthma and tuberculosis, the suit states.

The Panguna mine, located on the Island of Bougainville just off Papua New Guinea, was once the world's largest copper mine during the 1980s.

Rio Tinto's actions on Bougainville were so egregious that they sparked an uprising designed to close the mine in 1990.

According to the complaint, in 1990, villagers started an uprising which closed the mine, and in response, Rio Tinto and the Papua New Guinea (PNG) government brought troops in to reopen the mine.

The complaint alleges that Rio Tinto provided transport for these troops and played a role in instituting a military blockade of the island that lasted for almost 10 years, created to coerce the Bougainville people into surrendering so that the mine could be reopened.

The blockade prevented medicine, clothing and other essential items from reaching the people of Bougainville, closing hospitals and other vital services.

According to the Red Cross, the blockade killed more than 2,000 children in its first two years of operation. By the time the war ended in 1999, 10 percent of the population of Bougainville, approximately 15,000 civilians, were killed.

The court case alleges that Rio Tinto's conduct violated customary international law, including prohibitions against destruction of the right to life and health, and prohibitions against racial discrimination and war crimes.

In a two-to-one majority opinion, the 9th Circuit stated ""we conclude that most of the plaintiffs' claims may be tried in the United States,"" rejecting arguments by Rio Tinto that the U.S. was not the most appropriate venue to hear the case.

The court also rejected arguments by the U.S. State Department, which filed a Statement of Interest, saying that ""continued adjudication of the claims … would risk a potentially serious impact on the peace process.

08-07-2006

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Fredrikson & Byron, P.A.

Fredrikson & Byron’s entry into government relations illustrates how law firms are branching into lobbying.
In the close-knit world of Minnesota lobbyists, Fredrikson & Byron scored the equivalent of a home run with its announcement last month that Minnesota Department of Human Services Commissioner Kevin Goodno was leaving his post to join the firm and start a government relations practice there.

In addition to heading a major department in the executive branch, Goodno has served in the Legislature for 12 years, practiced law and owned his own retail business in Moorhead. By bringing aboard such a heavy hitter to lead its fledgling new practice area, Fredrikson & Byron immediately put itself on the map in the fast developing field.

The move is part of a growing trend among larger metro law firms to be “full service,” offering corporate clients legal solutions to business problems.

“In today’s highly regulated marketplace and given the ways that businesses interact with governments, in order to service our clients completely, we wanted to develop a government relations practice,” observed attorney John M. Koneck, the president of Fredrikson & Byron.

Koneck said his firm thought about starting a government relations practice for three or four years, but wanted to wait until the right person could be hired to spearhead that effort.

Goodno — who started his new job a little more than a week ago — also emphasized the practice group is about fully serving clients’ needs.

“We really emphasize and pride ourselves on the fact that we are more than just attorneys,” he said. “We provide assistance and guidance and counseling to our clients — and we want to approach the lobbying and government relations practice in the same way. We really look at this as a value added for our clients — and more than you would just consider a per se lobbying practice. It will include lobbying, but also involve advising clients and providing them with some planning regarding government relations.”
Goodno won’t be rushing into anything as he sets up the new practice.

“We are going to take it one step at a time,” he observed. “It is important that we grow the business appropriately in order to meet the needs of the clients that we serve. We are not going into this with any preconceived notions as to the size of the lobbying group, but we will have a group that will be able to accommodate the interests of their clients.

08-07-2006

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