Law Firm News

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Law Firm News

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Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP

Stephen Morrison Named to NBSC Board
Stephen G. Morrison, a partner in Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough’s Columbia office, has been elected to serve on the Board of Directors for the National Bank of South Carolina.

“We are pleased that Steve has joined our board. He is an outstanding corporate citizen who shares the same commitment to South Carolina businesses and communities as NBSC. He is a proven leader in our state and will be a valuable member and contributor to our Board,” said Chuck Garnett, NBSC President and CEO.

Mr. Morrison serves as chairman of Nelson Mullins' executive committee and is a leading trial lawyer who specializes in class actions, mass torts and serious individual injury cases. He received a Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1975 and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Michigan in 1971. Additionally, he completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Graduate School of Business in 1997.

Serving on many corporate and community boards, he is currently president of Historic Columbia Foundation, past chair of both the Columbia Urban League and the Columbia Museum of Art and serves on the Board of Trustees for Benedict College and Allen University. He recently received the United Black Fund’s J. Waites Waring Humanitarian Award for his nationally known advocacy for human rights.

The National Bank of South Carolina, founded in 1905, is one of the oldest financial institutions in the state. NBSC, a provider of Synovus Financial Services, currently serves 26 communities in South

Carolina from 46 locations and is the largest bank within the Synovus network. NBSC’s Internet address is www.NationalBankSC.com.

Synovus is a diversified financial services holding company with more than $29 billion in assets, based in Columbus, Georgia. Synovus provides integrated financial services including banking, financial management, insurance, mortgage and leasing through 40 banks and other Synovus offices in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee; and electronic payments processing through an 81-percent stake in TSYS, a global payments transaction processor. Synovus has been named one of “The 100 Best Companies to Work For” in America by FORTUNE magazine, and has been recognized in its Hall of Fame for consecutive appearances on the list since its inception in 1998. In 2005, Synovus was also named as one of “America’s Most Admired Companies.” See Synovus on the Web at www.synovus.com.

08-04-2006

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Wade, Clark & Mulcahy, Attorneys At Law

WCM Granted Summary Judgment in Brooklyn, New York Burn Injury Case
Associate Tamara Mosby was granted summary judgment in a Brooklyn, New York burn injury lawsuit. In the case of Nash and Butler v. P. Realty, plaintiff Nash was washing her children’s socks in a bathtub filled with hot water. She left the bathtub water flowing and became engrossed in a television show. She then noticed that water was flowing from the bathtub into the hallway. When she ran to the bathroom to turn the water off, she slipped and fell on the wet floor and was severely burned by the hot water. Co-plaintiff Butler ran to her aid and suffered the same fate. Plaintiffs alleged that our client, the landlord, allowed impermissibly hot water to flow from the taps.

At the close of discovery, we moved for summary judgment. We argued that by allowing the water to overflow from the bathtub, Nash produced an unforeseeable intervening act that absolved our client of legal responsibility – irrespective of whether the water was too hot. In opposition, plaintiffs argued that there was a question of fact as to concurrent causation.

After oral arguments and a review of the papers, the Court adopted our reasoning and dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims.

08-04-2006

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Crowell & Moring LLP

BREAD FOR THE CITY TO DISMISS LAWSUIT AGAINST DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, CELEBRATES VICTORY FOR AREA PATIENTS
Bread for the City and 11 individual Washington, D.C. residents who filed a lawsuit against the District of Columbia to stop the District’s most vulnerable and in need from losing critical Medicaid benefits announced today they will soon dismiss the lawsuit without prejudice. The lawsuit, filed by Crowell & Moring LLP on June 29, had aimed to enjoin the District from applying new requirements prompted by the federal government that could arbitrarily terminate Medicaid benefits for thousands of U.S. citizens in the District who cannot produce specific forms of paperwork to prove their birth in the country.

The positive development was made possible by new rules issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that exempt approximately eight million seniors and people with disabilities in Medicaid from new citizenship verification requirements. Additionally, the District’s new draft of internal guidance to its staff members regarding implementation of the rule incorporated and clarified these changes. As a result, 10 of the 11 named plaintiffs, as well as many of the District’s most vulnerable Medicaid recipients, will be wholly spared from having to meet the onerous requirements of the initial rule. It also appears that the rule will have no immediate negative effect on the 11th named plaintiff, though its future effect remains unclear.

We are pleased that both the District and CMS did the right thing in taking steps to protect our most needy and vulnerable in the community. This lawsuit was about protecting patients, and recent developments have gone a long way toward doing that,” said Arthur N. Lerner, lead Crowell & Moring attorney for the case.

The Bread for the City lawsuit was a pro bono effort that involved cooperation and input from several area nursing homes, guardians, and patients, including IONA Senior Services. Instrumental in coordinating the effort was the District Columbia Primary Care Association (DCPCA), a health action organization serving medically vulnerable residents. Its members include safety net medical providers, health care and community organizations, health professionals and individuals.

The Crowell & Moring pro bono legal team that filed the lawsuit includes co-lead counsel Clifton S. Elgarten and Arthur N. Lerner, along with Barry M. Parsons, Michael W. Paddock, Michael J. Goecke, and Portia R. Brown.
For more information on this case go to www.crowell.com/BreadForTheCity.

Bread for the City is a private, non-profit charitable organization that provides vulnerable residents of Washington, D.C. with comprehensive services, including food, clothing, medical care, legal, and social. Through the efforts of more than 500 volunteers and the contribution of thousands of community members, the organization provides free services to over 10,000 people each month. Visit Bread for the City online at http://www.breadforthecity.org.

08-04-2006

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Jackson Walker L.L.P.

Please Note New Visitor Parking for our Austin Office
As of Friday, August 4 at 8:00 p.m. the alley and surface lot will be closed at our Austin office. Our new visitor parking will be the surface lot located at the NW corner of the intersection of 2nd Street & Congress Avenue. The new lot does not have entry gates or an automated ticket machine. When visitors enter the lot they will be given a time stamped ticket by the attendant in the blue booth (entrance on 2nd Street; lot boundaries will be ""outlined"" by chain). The booth will be manned from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. We will still use validation stickers but tokens are no longer being used. After 6:30 p.m., the lot will be operated by a separate company. Anyone exiting the lot between 6:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. will not be charged. Beginning at 8:00 p.m., charges will apply - please note the separate company accepts CASH ONLY. We've been informed the lot is open without charge on Saturdays and Sundays but is subject to change (i.e., valet parking, etc. so watch for postings on the lot). Additional Parking: Parking at City Hall is free. There are some spaces designated ""visitor"" available in their parking garage; entrance is on Lavaca Street and it is open 24/7. Click here for map.

The contractor will be installing protected walkways leading from the west side of the building to 2nd Street. Pedestrian traffic into and out of the west side of the building will be directed to 2nd Street only. We have been strongly urged to direct all pedestrian traffic to the building's east Entrance (Congress Avenue) during the project. There will be no access from Cesar Chavez to the building from the West Entrance.

08-04-2006

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Fenwick & West, LLP

Ariad v Lilly, Part II: The next big patent battle
Michael J. Shuster, Ph.D., co-chair of Fenwick & West's Life Sciences Group was recently quoted in a CNN Money article entitled, ""Ariad v Lilly, Part II: The next big patent battle.""

The pharmaceutical industry is paying close attention to an upcoming legal show down, slated for August 7, between Ariad Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly & Co. A U.S. District Court jury in May found Eli Lilly liable for patent infringement and ordered $65 million in damages, but Eli Lilly is asking for reconsideration during next week’s bench trial.

At issue is a patent for Ariad's experimental drug, AP23573, which covers a method of treating soft-tissue and bone cancers. Critics question the validity of the drug’s patent because it attempts to protect the process in which the drug works, not the drug’s chemical composition.

Patent lawyer Michael Shuster, with a PhD in biophysics, believes that Ariad's patent is vulnerable, as courts are starting to crack down on patents they see as too broad.

""There's a general notion that patents are becoming anti-competitive; they are throwing up so many roadblocks that it's becoming difficult to bring new products to market,"" Shuster said. ""The courts are trying to decide where to draw the line. How broad is too broad?""

""Too many patents are creating a thicket of claims that have to be navigated in order to bring (patented drugs) to market,"" he added.

08-04-2006

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Bullivant Houser Bailey

Rising litigation costs lead to creative agreements on fees
To combat the high cost of litigation, law firms are customizing fee agreements that keep clients happy and still earn them a paycheck.

Whereas charging an hourly rate can often pit lawyers and their clients against each other, more often law firms in Portland are offering an array of fee agreements, most of which blend the traditional hourly rate with contingency fees.

That blended rate is especially beneficial for small businesses that can't pay out big dollars in attorney fees, said Robert Stoll, founder of Portland business litigation firm Stoll Stoll Berne Lokting & Shlachter.

""They'd like to have the idea that their lawyer is aligned and sharing in the risk as well as the reward,"" said Stoll.

On the contrary, large companies with big budgets can pay ongoing hourly rates because they may not want to share a large payout with their attorneys.

Large consumers of legal services that have experience with litigation can also budget certain parts of pretrial activity, such as discovery.

Though the flexibility in fee structure shown by some law firms gives companies more options for payment, the law firms still control structuring the agreements.

""There's no formula,"" said Stoll. ""It depends upon what the prospects of the case are.""

Some firms offer flat-fee agreements, but those are reserved only for straightforward cases that involve just one to two issues and will most likely go to trial, said Renee Rothauge, a shareholder at Bullivant Houser Bailey in Portland who specializes in complex business litigation.

The benefit of the flat rate for the client is that there won't be any surprises; companies know exactly what legal expenses will be and can budget accordingly.

The modified agreements aren't always as profitable for the law firms as the industry fee standards: straight hourly rate or straight contingency fee.

Everett Jack, a commercial litigation lawyer at Davis Wright Tremaine's Portland office, says the hybrid fee agreement has not worked out well for him in the past, especially in cases that start out as hourly-rate cases and switch to contingency.

However, he said, firms always should be willing to negotiate with a client, especially important ones.

""As businesses become more sophisticated in how they use law services, they are asking law firms to become business partners,"" said Bullivant's Rothauge. The firm began offering modified fee agreements nearly a decade ago in response to client demand for it.

Client demand also spurred change at Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt's Portland office. The firm's client, DuPont Co., reduced the number of law firms it hired from over 1,000 to only 24 across the country, and began stressing alternative fee agreements, said Mark Long, Schwabe's managing partner.

Like most big businesses, DuPont has a seasoned in-house legal staff that can work with outside lawyers to come up with a budget for pretrial motions and other components of litigation, said Long. Discovery is often a component of litigation that can be budgeted from the outset.

However, there are elements beyond lawyers' control -- particularly if they are representing defendants. And that's where the risk comes in of overshooting your budget, said Davis Wright's Jack.

In the pretrial budgeting process, more companies are also identifying the key objectives of a case and assigning bonuses to them.

Bullivant Houser Bailey uses that model, what it calls a ""success fee contingency case"" by charging a reduced hourly rate to keep ongoing litigation expenses lower.

""That's a nice model when you're not sure what's going to happen,"" said Rothauge. ""Everyone's sharing a piece of the risk while also allowing attorneys to earn some fees during the case.""

By shaping the relationship as more of a business partnership through such creative fee agreements, law firms can attract more sophisticated clients.

08-04-2006

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Shapiro Sher Guinot & Sandler

Paul Mark Sandler re-elected Secretary of the American Bar Association Section of Litigation
Paul Mark Sandler of Shapiro Sher Guinot & Sandler has been re-elected Secretary of the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Litigation. Mr. Sandler’s election as one of the Section’s six national officers took place on August 4 during the 2006 ABA Annual Meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was elected to this post for a second two-year term.

As Secretary and a member of the Litigation Section’s Executive Committee, Mr. Sandler will continue to participate in formulating the Section’s national policies and be in charge of documenting the Committee’s activities throughout the year. The Section of Litigation, with 74,000 members, is the ABA’s largest section. This influential group is a central organization for litigators across the country. Each year, following a selective nominating process, the membership elects a slate of officers to oversea the Section’s activities.

Throughout his career, Mr. Sandler has been active within the ABA. For over twenty years, Mr. Sandler has helped lead various committees, including those dealing with pro bono, legislation, appellate practice, trial evidence, and continuing legal education. He has given numerous seminars and talks on litigation and is the co-author of three books published by the ABA: The Winning Argument, Model Witness Examinations, and Discovery Problems and Their Solutions.

08-04-2006

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