Law Firm News

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Saul Ewing, LLP

Haar Quoted About Ongoing Lancaster County Investigation
Matthew M. Haar, an Associate in the Litigation Department in the Harrisburg office, comments in this article about the ongoing investigation against Lancaster County for the sale of Conestoga View nursing home last year.

Commissioners may have violated civil statutes in the course of selling the home. Last November, commissioners and county employees were subpoenaed to testify before an investigative grand jury beginning in December.

Mr. Haar is the attorney representing the Lancaster City and County Medical Society in a lawsuit against the county, the commissioners, and Complete HealthCare, the organization Conestoga was sold to.

""We're making the allegation that what the commissioners did was illegal and therefore the sale should be reversed,'' Mr. Haar said.

03-06-2006

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Dykema Gossett PLLC

Wilhelm Joins Dykema
Dykema announces that Paul A. Wilhelm has joined the firm’s Employment Department as an associate in its Detroit office. Mr. Wilhelm’s practice focuses on defending employers in all aspects of employment litigation, including discrimination and wage-and-hour issues, and counseling employers on work force management. Mr. Wilhelm served as Solicitation Editor and Executive Board Member with the Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics and Public Policy and the Thomas J. White Center on Law and Government.

Mr. Wilhelm has given several lectures on employment topics and has written and contributed to numerous articles on employment matters. He is a member of the Labor and Employment Section of the American Bar Association, as well as the Defense Research Institute. He has been active in a number of civic and charitable organizations including the United Way and the Legal Aid and Defender Association of Detroit.

Prior to joining Dykema, Mr. Wilhelm practiced in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, where he represented a broad range of employers in various industries. He is admitted to practice in Michigan, Ohio, and Kentucky.

A resident of Novi, Mr. Wilhelm received his B.A., with distinction, from the University of Michigan, his M.A. from Vanderbilt University, and his J.D. from the University of Notre Dame.

03-06-2006

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Wolf Block Schorr & Solis

WolfBlock Represents Bon-Ton in $1.05 Billion Acquisition of 142 Stores from Saks
PHILADELPHIA—March 6, 2006 – WolfBlock represented The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. in its acquisition of the Northern Department Store Group (NDSG) of Saks Incorporated, which closed today. Each of Bon-Ton and NDSG is a leading regional department store retailer, with Bon-Ton operating 137 stores under the Bon-Ton and Elder-Beerman nameplates in 16 Midwestern and Northeastern states and NDSG operating 142 stores under the Bergner’s, Boston Store, Carson Pirie Scott, Herberger’s and Younkers nameplates in 12 Midwestern and Great Plains states. The acquisition makes York, PA-based Bon-Ton the second largest regional department store chain in the United States in terms of sales. The combined company operates 279 stores in 23 states with net sales of $3.4 billion for the year ended January 28, 2006.

Bon-Ton paid approximately $1.05 billion in cash for NDSG, which generated net sales in fiscal 2005 of approximately $2.2 billion. The acquisition was financed by an offering of $510 million of 10¼% senior notes due 2014 in compliance with Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, a new $1.0 billion senior secured revolving credit facility and a new $260 million mortgage loan facility. Bon-Ton will offer to exchange the notes for a new issue of substantially identical debt securities that will be registered under the Securities Act of 1933. Each of the note offering and the credit facilities closed today simultaneously with the closing of the acquisition of NDSG. WolfBlock represented Bon-Ton in all aspects of the financing transactions as well as the acquisition of NDSG.

The stores acquired by Bon-Ton include 31 Carson Pirie Scott stores located in Illinois (28) and Indiana (3); 47 Younkers stores located in Illinois (1), Iowa (18), Michigan (9), Minnesota (2), Nebraska (4), South Dakota (1) and Wisconsin (12); 40 Herberger’s stores located in Colorado (1), Iowa (1), Minnesota (16), Montana (6), Nebraska (5), North Dakota (4), South Dakota (3), Wisconsin (3) and Wyoming (1); 14 Bergner’s stores located in Illinois; and 10 Boston Store locations in Wisconsin.

Lazard Frères & Co. LLC served as financial advisor to Bon-Ton in the transaction and affiliates of Bank of America, N.A. led in providing financing for the transaction.

Bon-Ton’s corporate offices will remain in York, Pennsylvania, where the corporate, administrative and sales support functions will reside. Merchandising and marketing functions for the combined operations will operate out of the existing NDSG headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

03-06-2006

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Edwards & Angell, L.L.P.

John E. Ottaviani Authors Article in Lawyers Weekly
John E. Ottaviani, a partner in our Intellectual Property Group, authored the article “Who owns your blog: IP issues to consider,” which appeared in the March 6, 2006 editions of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly and Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly.

03-06-2006

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Winstead, Sechrest & Minick, P.C.

Denis Braham voted CEO-elect by Winstead shareholders
Dallas (Mar 06, 2006) — For the first time in 15 years, Winstead Sechrest & Minick P.C. will change leadership. The Winstead Shareholders elected Denis Clive Braham, a real estate and transaction attorney who is chair of the Sports Business and Public Venues Practice in the Houston office, as CEO-elect to become CEO January 1, 2007. ""This moment in Winstead history represents a transition as our firm evolves into its 33rd year in business,"" said current Chairman and CEO of Winstead, W. Mike Baggett. ""I served for 15 years and I felt that it was time to hand the torch to a new leader. Denis has been a significant contributor to the Winstead team for many years and we will work together this year to ensure a smooth transfer of leadership.""
The election of Braham as CEO-elect marks the first time in Winstead's 33-year history that the elected CEO is not a Dallas attorney. ""Mike and I agree that Winstead is a firm that is not limited by walls or city boundaries,"" said Braham. ""Our attorneys and clients are in every major Texas city and business region as well as Washington D.C. and we pride ourselves in our ability to reach back to any of our offices and tap the legal talent required to find the right business solutions for our clients, no matter where they are.""

An attorney with Winstead since 1989, Braham provides counsel to professional sports clients including the Dallas Cowboys and the Houston Texans. As a real estate attorney, he travels extensively for developers, investors and lenders throughout Texas. In his current practice, Braham's goal has been to expand Winstead's client base in the real estate and sports practices to other Texas regions and nationally as needed. ""We go to the industries where our clients need us, and we partner with our clients, adopting their business challenges and helping them find the best legal strategies and business solutions,"" said Braham.

""Mike Baggett has excelled as our CEO, leading the superb lawyers of Winstead and building an even stronger foundation for this law firm,"" said Braham, ""Mike has nourished excellence, innovation and commitment, and it's my goal to continue to build this entrepreneurial culture as Winstead grows stronger regionally and focuses on national platforms in core practice areas such as real estate, financial services and technology.""

Braham has been honored with multiple listings in Best Lawyers in America, Best Lawyers in Texas and Best Lawyers in Houston. He is a member of the Houston Bar Association, State Bar of Texas, American Bar Association, and he is board certified in commercial real estate law and residential real estate law through the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He serves on numerous local and national civic and community boards.

Winstead Sechrest & Minick P.C. started over 30 years ago when three young lawyers discussed the idea of creating a law firm that is extremely responsive to the needs of business clients. Baggett joined Winstead as the 7th lawyer and the first new associate in 1973. ""By strategically growing our practice areas based on the needs of our clients and our strength as a firm, our team consistently provides the best legal services to our clients,"" said Baggett.

Braham agrees with Baggett and adds, “I believe the key to our success is the level of excellence we demand in the people we recruit, the service we provide to our clients, and the quality of clients we are fortunate enough to work with everyday.

03-06-2006

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Michael Best & Friedrich, LLP

Lauren A. Azar is featured in the March 2006 issue of Anew magazine
Lauren A. Azar, a partner and environmental attorney with Michael Best, is featured in the March 2006 issue of Anew magazine as one of three “high-powered women executives” interviewed about the challenges of her career and what she likes best about Madison, Wisconsin.

03-06-2006

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Stoel Rives, LLP

Fax Marketing Law Update - Established Business Relationship Exception Survives
It is generally unlawful to send any advertisement by facsimile without the express written consent of the recipient. See 47 USC § 227 and 47 CFR § 64.1200. A fax advertisement is defined as any fax message “advertising the commercial availability or quality of any property, goods or services.” The recipient of an unsolicited, unlawful fax advertisement has a private right of action with statutory damages available at $500 per fax, trebled to $1500 for willful violations. All businesses must be careful about including advertising content on faxes. Since telemarketing by fax was banned in 1991, however, businesses have broadly relied on the exception for an “established business relationship.” An established business relationship exists if there has been an actual business transaction between the parties within the last 18 months before the fax was sent, or if the recipient has made an inquiry about the goods or services of the sender within the last 3 months before the fax was sent. Consent to receive fax advertisements is implied by the existence of an established business relationship and lasts until the recipient expressly revokes it.
There have been various attempts to scrap the established business relationship exception. This step would be burdensome for many businesses that rely on the fax to communicate with a customer base, and other businesses would have to worry about inadvertently violating the law. As of this writing, the exception is still in effect. In the summer of 2005, the Congress blocked the FCC’s effort to get rid of the exception. Congress passed the Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2005, making the exception a permanent part of the statute. California recently tried to reverse this outcome through a stricter state law. The California law requires express consent for receipt of fax advertisements originating in or directed to California. However, on February 27, 2006 a federal district judge in Sacramento struck down the law, finding that it was preempted, at least as to interstate faxes, by the Junk Fax Prevention Act. The California law remains in force as to intrastate faxes, meaning faxes that originate in California and are delivered to a California recipient.

The upshot is that businesses may continue to fax marketing material to customers with whom they have done business in the last 18 months, without getting written consent. California-based businesses, however, may want to consider having their faxes originate outside of the state to avoid the reach of the new law.

03-06-2006

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