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McAfee & Taft A Professional Corporation

William Rodgers Inducted into Blackwell Public School Foundation Hall of Fame
William W. Rodgers, Jr., an attorney with McAfee & Taft and a 1955 graduate of Blackwell (OK) High School, will be inducted into the Blackwell Public School Foundation Hall of Fame March 30th.

The seventh annual Hall of Fame Banquet will be held in the Kay Room of Kay Electric Cooperative, beginning at 7pm.

Rodgers originally joined McAfee & Taft in 1965 when the firm consisted of only 11 attorneys. After practicing in the area of business law for three years, he returned to his hometown in northern Oklahoma and embarked on a career in banking that lasted for more than 35 years. He rejoined the law firm in 2003.

03-19-2006

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Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer & Nelson, P.A.

Bernstein Shur Attorney Pat Peard Receives Lifetime Achievement Award From EqualityMaine
PORTLAND, Maine - EqualityMaine awarded Bernstein Shur attorney Pat Peard with a Lifetime Achievement Award at its annual banquet on Saturday, March 18.

Peard, a resident of Falmouth and an attorney with Bernstein Shur since 1988, received the award for “lifelong leadership in the fight for full equality.” It is the first time the organization has given a lifetime achievement award.

“Pat received the Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition for her tireless advocacy for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender equality during the 28-year fight to pass and uphold Maine's non-discrimination law,” said Betsy Smith, the organization’s Executive Director.

Peard was instrumental in getting legislation passed last year that protects the rights of gays and lesbians and also helped to uphold the law by defeating a November referendum, Smith said.

The EqualityMaine Foundation hosts the event each year to honor the leaders and volunteers who make a difference in supporting Maine’s non-discrimination laws. Other award recipients this year included Governor John Baldacci, who received the Great Pioneer Award, and Jensen Steel, who received the Cameron Duncan Award. For additional information, visit www.equalitymaine.org.

At Bernstein Shur, Peard is a co-chair of the Litigation Practice Group and chairs the firm's Education Practice Group. She practices in the area of general litigation with an emphasis in education law, employment and labor law, civil rights litigation, and disability insurance defense. Pat also handles personal planning matters for unmarried partners.

”We are extremely proud of Pat and know that her work has had a major impact on equality and fairness issues throughout the state of Maine,” said Charlie Miller, the firm’s Managing Shareholder.

Peard is recognized by Best Lawyers in America in the areas of business and employment law. She is a 1988 cum laude graduate of the University of Maine School of Law and received a Master of Arts from the University of Minnesota in 1970. She is a 1968 graduate of Wilson College.

Peard served on EqualityMaine’s Legislation ’05 Committee for EqualityMaine that helped pass the legislation. She is a member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys, a board member of the Institute for Civil Leadership, and is a Past President and Director of the Maine Civil Liberties Union. She is President of the Center for Prevention of Hate Violence and serves on the Governor's Judicial Selection Committee

03-18-2006

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Stokes, Bartholomew, Evans & Petree, P.A.

Adams and Reese Partners Named by New Orleans CityBusiness as “Leadership in Law Honorees”
On Thursday, New Orleans CityBusiness announced the honorees for its second annual “Leadership in Law” awards ceremony and luncheon to be held at noon on April 28, 2006 at the downtown New Orleans Sheraton. Adams and Reese partners, Charles A. Cerise, Jr., John M. Duck, Thomas G. O’Brien, and Paul G. Pastorek were among the fifty selected to be honored for their success in law, contributions to the community and setting the pace for the legal community in the Greater New Orleans area.

Charles A. Cerise, Jr.
Cerise is a partner in the Litigation Practice Group and serves as Partner in Charge of the New Orleans office. Charles A. Cerise, Jr. has been practicing in the areas of maritime, toxic tort, casualty, insurance and products liability litigation since 1983. Prior to joining Adams and Reese, he engaged in insurance and corporate defense as a partner in a New Orleans law firm.

John M. Duck

Duck is a partner in the Transactions and Corporate Advisory Services Practice Group and serves as Chairman of the firm’s Executive Committee. His practice is concentrated in complex corporate restructuring matters in both bankruptcy and non-bankruptcy contexts. Duck advises and represents clients in connection with the acquisition and disposition of corporate assets. He also represents and counsels clients in commercial lending matters, including debtor-in-possession financing transactions.

Thomas G. O'Brien
O’Brien is a partner in the Litigation Practice Group and serves as Litigation Practice Group Leader. O'Brien has more than twenty years of experience dealing with transactions and litigation arising out of the exploration, development, production, transportation and regulation of oil and gas operations in the Gulf Coast Region. He has appeared as lead trial counsel in State and Federal Courts in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Wyoming and before numerous governmental agencies, including the National Transportation Safety Board, the Minerals Management Service and the United States Coast Guard. He has litigated matters ranging from personal injury and property damage claims to collisions, towage, oil pollution, limitation of liability, salvage, oil field liens, construction disputes, contract litigation and marine and energy insurance coverage issues.

Paul G. Pastorek
Pastorek is a partner in the Special Business Services Practice Group. Pastorek was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as General Counsel to NASA in February 2002, after practicing law for twenty-three years with Adams and Reese in its New Orleans office. In mid-summer of 2004, Pastorek returned from Washington, D.C. to Adams and Reese, and presently serves as a partner in the Special Business Services Practice Group providing corporate counseling advice with an emphasis on Governmental Relations.

03-17-2006

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Motley & Rice, L.L.C.

MOTLEY RICE FILES CLASS ACTION ON BEHALF OF VICTIMS OF ALLEGED BODY SNATCHING RING
Suit Claims that Bodies Were Harvested Unlawfully and Parts Sold for Transplant
MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C., (March 17, 2006) - Motley Rice LLC, one of the nation's largest claimants' litigation firms, together with co-counsel Rubenstein & Rynecki, today announced that it has filed a class action lawsuit against several human tissue processing firms and New York funeral homes on behalf of the victims of an alleged body harvesting scheme. The suit, filed in Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Kings, is on behalf of Dainis Zeltins of Brooklyn, N.Y., Josephine Olivo of Staten Island, N.Y., and all others similarly situated, whose family members' or loved ones' bodies were illegally harvested of tissue and bone for use in human transplants. The defendants in the case allegedly stole body parts from the corpses without prior consent of the decedents (while they were alive) or the decedents' next-of-kin. The body parts were then sold for use as transplantation material in living human beings. The result of these transplants has been several known, and potentially thousands of unknown, cases of infectious disease in transplant patients.
Defendants in the case include the now defunct Biomedical Tissue Services (BTS) along with four of its employees or agents; LMC Tissue Recovery Services; MCM Tissue Recovery Services, Inc.; Chris Aldorasi Funeral Service; Daniel George & Son Funeral Home, Inc.; English Brothers Funeral Home; Frank Restivo Funeral Home; New York Mortuary Services, Inc.; and several individuals.

Following the death of his brother, Richard Zeltins, in April 2003, Dainis Zeltins entrusted the David George & Son Funeral Home in Brooklyn, N.Y., with the care of his brother's body, which was to be cremated. Years later, in September 2005, a New York City detective came to the home of Dainis Zeltins and presented him with an allegedly forged release that allowed for the harvesting of tissue from the corpse of Mr. Zeltins. Similarly, plaintiff Josephine Olivo entrusted the funeral home of English Brothers Funeral Home in Brooklyn with the body of her husband, Anthony, after he passed away in April 2003. In September of 2005, she, too, was approached by New York City detectives and presented with a forged release allowing for the harvesting of tissue from her husband's deceased body. Both Zeltins and Olivo were to have been cremated without any prior tissue harvesting. Court documents show falsified records associated with more than 60 tissue extractions performed by Biomedical Tissue Services.

""A funeral home should be the most trusted partner a loved one deals with after losing someone close to them. The fact that these defendants violated that trust in such an ugly manner is unthinkable,"" stated Motley Rice attorney Kevin Dean. ""Not only do my clients have to now relive the grief of losing their loved ones, but they will also spend the rest of her life knowing that their bodies were gruesomely violated after their death.""

Four of the defendants, Dr. Michael Mastromarino and Joseph Nicelli of BTS, and Lee Cruceta, and Christopher Aldorasi, Dr. Mastromarino's assistants, were recently charged in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn, N.Y., for operating a corrupt $4.6 million enterprise to harvest human tissue from funeral homes and sell it for use in transplants and research. Hospitals nationwide have reported receipt of the illegally harvested and potentially dangerous tissue. Motley Rice is also representing individuals who may have received the stolen tissue during transplant surgery. The firm currently has more than 100 clients across the nation.

Motley Rice filed the case together with co-counsel Sanford Rubenstein of Rubenstein & Rynecki, in Brooklyn, N.Y. Mr. Rubenstein has been at the forefront of this issue, fighting against organ-harvesting abuse since it first came to light last year. Last fall, he filed the first individual lawsuits on behalf of Brooklyn residents whose family members, originally slated for cremation, were allegedly harvested without their relatives' knowledge.

03-17-2006

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Hodgson Russ LLP

Bethany J. Gilbert a member of United Way Board Governance Project
Bethany J. Gilbert, an attorney in Hodgson Russ LLP’s Corporate & Securities and Health Law Practice Groups, was recently accepted as a member of the United Way of Buffalo & Erie County’s Board Governance Project.

Implemented in 1998, the goal of the Board Governance Project is to increase the participation of women on nonprofit boards and in other positions of community leadership in Buffalo and Erie County. Through classes, seminars, and networking events, participants learn leadership skills and the responsibilities of board membership from board-experienced women.

Ms. Gilbert focuses her practice on health care reimbursement and regulatory and compliance matters. She represents providers in Medicare and Medicaid audits and rate appeals, including PRRB appeals, and assists clients with third-party payor reimbursement issues. She also practices in the area of nonprofit law, concentrating on corporate formation, business matters, and reimbursement issues.

With more than 225 attorneys practicing in all major areas of law, Hodgson Russ is among the 200 largest law firms headquartered in the United States. It is one of approximately 100 firms in the country listed in America’s Greatest Places to Work With a Law Degree. In June 2005, Hodgson Russ received the Carol S. Knox Family-Friendly Employer Award from the Capital District Women’s Bar Association. The firm, which was established in 1817 and is among the oldest law firms in the United States, is the only law firm that can count two former U.S. presidents, Millard Fillmore and Grover Cleveland, among its alumni. Hodgson Russ has offices in Albany, Buffalo, Johnstown, and New York, New York; Boca Raton, Florida; and Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

03-17-2006

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Wiley, Rein & Fielding, L.L.P.

Wiley Rein & Fielding Recognized for Securing BlackBerry Settlement
Wiley Rein & Fielding LLP was profiled in The Wall Street Journal for its successful representation of NTP Inc. in a patent infringement case against Research in Motion Ltd. (RIM), the maker of BlackBerry wireless email devices. The matter was settled on March 3, 2006 with RIM agreeing to pay $612.5 million to NTP, a patent holding company founded by Donald Stout, a patent lawyer, and Thomas Campana, a Chicago inventor who died in 2004. WRF had handled the case on a contingency basis.

WRF partner James H. Wallace, Jr. said, ""A lot of effort was invested in the case and we're very pleased to have delivered for our client one of the largest patent settlements ever.""
The Journal reported that the firm received approximately $200 million in fees. ""They deserve what they got,"" said Mr. Stout. ""Wiley Rein earned it.

03-17-2006

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Saul Ewing, LLP

SAUL EWING WELCOMES NEW ASSOCIATE TO PHILADELPHIA OFFICE Bryan D. Weiss Joins the Environmental Department
Saul Ewing LLP recently announced
that attorney Bryan D. Weiss has joined the firm as an Associate in the Environmental
Department, resident in the firm’s Philadelphia office.
Mr. Weiss concentrates his practice on environmental litigation, regulatory matters and
environmental aspects of real estate transactions and corporate due diligence.
Prior to joining Saul Ewing, Mr. Weiss was an associate in the Philadelphia office of
Klehr, Harrison, Harvey, Branzburg & Ellers L.L.P. where he advised a diverse group of
clientele on a variety of commercial environmental matters, including property redevelopment
and environmental due diligence issues relating to corporate mergers and acquisitions.
Before entering private practice, Mr. Weiss held a position as in-house counsel for a
specialty insurance carrier focused on environmental and professional liability
(architects/engineers) insurance programs. He also worked for a multi-national environmental
engineering firm that serviced various large, umbrella-level remedial action contracts
administered by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
Mr. Weiss is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and is a member of the American,
Philadelphia, and Pennsylvania bar associations. He is a member of the Delaware Valley
Environmental American Inn of Court and volunteers for the Philadelphia Chapter of Habitat for
Humanity and the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southeastern Pennsylvania. He is also a Pro Bono
Advocate for the Eastern Service Workers Association.
Mr. Weiss graduated from The Pennsylvania State University in 1995. He received his
law degree and a Master of Studies in Environmental Law from the Vermont Law School in
2000.

03-17-2006

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