Law Firm News

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Schiller Du Canto & Fleck LLP

SCHIFF HARDIN LLP\'S DANA D. RICE SERVES IN LEADERSHIP ROLE FOR CHICAGO-CASABLANCA SISTER CITIES COMM
Will Meet w/ Senior U.S. Diplomats, Representatives of King Mohammed VI, and the Mayor of Casablanca

Schiff Hardin LLP Counsel Dana D. Rice will meet in Rabat, Morocco on March 23 with U.S. Ambassador to Morocco Thomas T. Riley, and representatives of Morocco King Mohammed VI's foundation, and from March 24-27 in Casablanca, Morocco with U.S. Consul General Douglas Greene and Casablanca Mayor Mohamed Sajid. These meetings are in conjunction with the Chicago-Casablanca Sister Cities Committee, which is one of the most active of Chicago's 27 sister cities. For the past two years, Ms. Rice, a member of the Committee, has co-chaired a literacy initiative in Casablanca.

Literacy - one of the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals - is a huge challenge in Morocco, especially among women. The literacy project that Ms. Rice co-chairs is based on the results of a sociological study conducted by Morocco sociologists in three impoverished urban areas in Casablanca and addresses the needs of the 15 to 24 year-old population with low or no literacy skills. The three year literacy program was designed by Ms. Rice and Dr. Mohammed Chtatou, a world renowned literacy expert in Morocco.

The March 23-27 meetings in Morocco will focus on securing funding for the literacy project. In addition, activities will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Sister City program. It is based on President Dwight D. Eisenhower's ""people to people"" approach to improving international relations. The Sister Cities International Program was founded in 1956, and currently represents over 2,100 communities in 121 countries around the world.

President Eisenhower's granddaughter will attend the ceremonies which highlight the many successes of the Casablanca-Chicago Sister City Committee. This is not the only recognition the Chicago-Casablanca Sister City has received. In fact, the 2005 Pew Global Attitudes Report found the Chicago-Casablanca Sister City Committee to be ""among the most successful non-Federal government activity projecting Morocco and the U.S. as equal partners with common interests.

03-09-2006

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Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.

The Department of Labor\'s Office of Labor-Management Standards Announces Updated Guidance, New Grace
ERISA plans that are jointly administered by union and employer representatives are major users and buyers of medical services. In the course of ""selling"" such services or maintaining relationships, health care networks and others often entertain union trustees. Under new Department of Labor rules, these health care entities will have to report amounts expended above a specified minimal amount to the Department of Labor annually.
On March 7, 2006, the Department of Labor's Office of Labor-Management Standards announced that employers will have extra time to file LM-10 forms disclosing payments and gifts made to unions and their officers and employees.

03-09-2006

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Pepper Hamilton, L.L.P.

A. Michael Pratt of Pepper Hamilton Elected Vice Chancellor of Philadelphia Bar Association
Philadelphia, Pa. – March 9, 2006 – A. Michael Pratt, a partner with Pepper Hamilton LLP, has been elected vice chancellor of the 13,000-member Philadelphia Bar Association. He will serve as chancellor-elect in 2007, and lead the bar as chancellor in 2008.

“Mike is a natural leader and a terrific representative for the profession, the city and our firm,” said Robert E. Heideck, Pepper’s executive partner. “We are proud of his efforts on behalf of the bar.”

Mr. Pratt said, “It is indeed an honor to have been elected to this post, and it is a privilege to work with the current chancellor, Alan Feldman, and chancellor-elect Jane Dalton, who are truly visionary leaders of this bar association. I look forward to working with them over the next several years on issues affecting our membership and legal community, including initiatives to increase funding for legal services and to promote diversity.”

Mr. Pratt concentrates his practice in commercial, product liability and mass tort litigation. He represents clients in a range of complex commercial and product liability matters involving contracts, affirmative action and civil rights policies, legislation, toxic tort, industrial and consumer products, and pharmaceutical devices and drugs.

Mr. Pratt has held many leadership positions in the Philadelphia Bar Association, including serving on its board of governors and as chairman of the Young Lawyers Division. He also has served as president of the Barristers Association of Philadelphia, Inc., a local organization of African-American lawyers.

He is actively involved with the Pennsylvania and American bar associations, serving as a member of the PBA’s House of Delegates since 1995, and as a member of both the ABA’s Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants and the Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service.

Mr. Pratt will be the sixth Pepper partner to lead the Philadelphia Bar Association. Other partners who served as chancellor include Francis P. Devine, III in 1996 (while practicing at White and Williams), Peter Hearn in 1989, William R. Klaus in 1974, Ernest Scott in 1962, and George Wharton Pepper (the firm’s founder) in 1930-32.

The Philadelphia Bar Association is America’s oldest chartered metropolitan bar association and Pennsylvania’s largest local bar association. The 13,000-member organization, founded in 1802, is a keystone in the ongoing developments of the Philadelphia and Pennsylvania legal systems.

Pepper Hamilton LLP is a multi-practice law firm with 400 lawyers in six states and the District of Columbia. The firm provides corporate, litigation and regulatory legal services to leading businesses, governmental entities, nonprofit organizations and individuals throughout the nation and the world. The firm was founded in 1890.

03-09-2006

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Jenner & Block LLP

Texas Redistricting U.S. Supreme Court Cases Resource Center
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on December 12, 2005 to hear challenges to the Texas congressional redistricting plan passed in 2003.

03-09-2006

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Jenner & Block LLP

Jenner & Block Team Climbs 94 Floors to Benefit American Lung Association
More than 50 Jenner & Block lawyers and staff members recently raced up 94 floors to the top of the John Hancock Tower as part of “Hustle up the Hancock,” an annual fundraising effort by the American Lung Association of Metropolitan Chicago for lung research, advocacy and education.

The Jenner & Block team has raised more than $13,000 in donations for the event, which the ALAMC will use to help the thousands of people in metropolitan Chicago who suffer from lung disease, like lung cancer, emphysema and asthma. Donations to ALAMC in honor of Team Jenner are still being accepted through March 24, 2006.

“Climbing 94 floors in a hurry really makes you appreciate your lungs, and makes you want to help those who are suffering from lung disease. I am pleased that so many folks came out to climb from Jenner, and that so many others contributed,” said Partner Barry Levenstam, who led the Firm’s participation in the event (in spirit, if not in speed) and serves on the Board of Directors of the ALAMC.

The ALAMC, whose CEO is former Jenner & Block Partner Joel J. Africk, welcomed more than 4,000 people to this ninth annual Hustle and aims to raise more than $850,000. Since its inception 10 years ago, the event has raised over $3 million for the ALAMC.

Team Jenner included: Legal Secretary Wanda R. Ballinger, Associate Angela M. Barry, Associate Benjamin J. Bradford, Partner David J. Bradford, Marketing Coordinator Val Chulamorkodt, Library Assistant Jennifer M. Claunch-Meyers, Associate Mercedes M. Davis, Conflicts Manager Beth Faircloth, Associate Elizabeth L. Fine, Associate Emily M. Frank, Project Assistant Eleni Giannakopoulos, Associate Brian C. Haussman, Associate Bobby J. Hollis II, Associate Darrick J. Hooker, Associate David M. Kavanaugh, Associate Fazal R. Khan, Associate Rebecca J. Krasaeath, Associate Jayne Laiprasert, Associate Oliver Larson, Partner Barry Levenstam, Partner Teri A. Lindquist, Staff Accountant Jessica M. Martin, Staff Accountant Alison J. McCann, Legal Secretary Tracie A. McDaniel, Partner James A. McKenna, Associate Emily S. Palmer, Associate Elayna T. Pham, Assistant Marketing Coordinator Erin E. Pritchard, Associate Jay S. Readey, Legal Secretary Charlene Reynolds, Associate Heinz J. Salmen, Associate Rina L. Scates, Partner Larry S. Schaner, Associate Sally K. Sears Coder, Legal Secretary Patty T. Sotiropoulos, Partner Richard P. Steinken, Partner James L. Thompson, Associate Sandi J. Toll, Associate Sara E. Tonnies, Associate Amy K. Trueblood, Legal Secretary Robin L. Ustanik, and Legal Secretary Julie S. Valloni.

Also participating were friends and family members of Team Jenner, including Chris Coder, David Faircloth, Nate Hole, Dave Kasey, Duane Lindquist, Broderick McKinney, Peter McNamara, Tom Nissen, Al Romero, Jill Sears, Ry Tarpley, and Andrew Trueblood.

03-09-2006

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Jenner & Block LLP

Buttita and Doyle Emphasize Planning for Divorce When Drafting QPRT Estate Plans
When considering a qualified personal residence trust (QPRT) as part of an estate plan for a married couple, planners are advised to consider how the transfer of a residence to a QPRT may affect the marital rights of the spouses, according to a National Law Journal article by Jenner & Block Partner John J. Buttita and Associate Debra M. Doyle.

QPRTs have become a “mainstay” of estate planning because they help minimize estate tax on often one of the largest assets included in a parent's estate at his or her death. In a QPRT, a parent transfers his or her interest in the residence to a trust and retains the right to reside rent-free in the residence for a specified period of time, called a “residency term.” If the parent survives the residency term, the entire value of the residence will be available at the parent's death to the trust’s named beneficiaries, often children, free from estate tax. If the parent fails to survive the residency term, the value of the home will be subject to estate tax as though the QPRT had not existed.

However, Mr. Buttita and Ms. Doyle noted that if spouses become divorced during the residency term, and the home, or the residency interest, is treated as marital property, the division of that interest could be difficult. The authors also noted that most attempts at resolving this issue upon divorce have involved unworkable options often resulting in the forfeiture of the QPRT's estate tax benefits. The authors put forth a method in which the remaining residency interest may be transferred between spouses incident to the divorce without incurring adverse tax consequences or forfeiting the estate tax benefits of the QPRT.

03-09-2006

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McGuireWoods LLP

Medicare Part D - Watch Out for Phone Scam
The process of selecting a plan under the new Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage has confused many seniors and persons with disabilities, as well as employers, practitioners and family members. Regrettably some companies have tried to take unfair advantage of the complexity of the new rules. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced recently that representatives of these companies are contacting Medicare-eligibles directly by phone and offering assistance in selecting a Part D prescription drug plan -- for a price. The phone scam, called the ""$299 ring"" by CMS because of the typical amount charged for the service, instructs Medicare-eligibles to withdraw money from their checking accounts to pay for a non-existent prescription drug plan.

Seniors and persons with disabilities should be alerted of this phone scam to prevent abuses and report these scam artists. Plan sponsors who provide separate retiree medical prescription drug coverage to former employees may wish to alert staff and call centers in order to assist seniors with related questions. Specifically, Medicare-eligibles should know that no legitimate Medicare drug plan will ask a person for bank account or personal information over the phone; instead, enrollees will be billed or sent information about establishing automatic payments from monthly Social Security benefits. Complaints about possible phone scam calls should be reported to local law enforcement agencies or 1-877-7SAFERX (1-877-772-3379).

03-09-2006

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