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Reed Smith Acquires Financial Services Group in Los Angeles - Abe Colman, Scott Jacobs Add New Fuel to West Coast Financial Fire
(January 25, 2006, Los Angeles) -- For the second straight year, Reed Smith, a top-25 international law firm, is celebrating the New Year with the addition of a significant Financial Services Litigation group on the West Coast.

The addition to Reed Smith’s Los Angeles office of Abe Colman and Scott Jacobs, both former shareholders at Buchalter Nemer, furthers Reed Smith’s California financial services group expansion which was bolstered just one year ago by the acquisition of Fleming & Phillips, an 11-lawyer East Bay class-action litigation boutique.

Mr. Colman and Mr. Jacobs rejoin their long-time Buchalter colleague, Felicia Yu, a Reed Smith partner, who preceded them to Reed Smith a few weeks ago. Three associates at Buchalter who worked with Mr. Colman, Mr. Jacobs and Ms. Yu are also coming aboard to further support Reed Smith’s growing financial services litigation practice.

“Abe, Scott, Felicia and their three associates add significant strength to our financial services capabilities in California and nationwide, particularly in allowing us to expand and deepen the gains we achieved last year through the addition of the Fleming & Phillips group,” said Gregory B. Jordan, firmwide managing partner of Reed Smith. “Having Abe and Scott on the financial services team means we will be able to provide broader services in the credit card arena to consumer lending clients and add depth in areas where we are already strong. Most importantly, these new partners and associates will help us achieve the critical mass of exceptional talent we need to achieve our strategic goals on the West Coast.”

Mr. Colman and Mr. Jacobs have practiced together for more than seven years as members of a team that included Ms. Yu and several associates. The trio of partners has an extensive financial services litigation practice that includes a number of banks and consumer lending companies across the United States. Mr. Colman, in particular, has a national reputation as a “go-to” litigator for financial services companies facing litigation in Los Angeles and elsewhere.

“Abe and Scott are among the West Coast’s top financial service litigators," said Mary Hackett, head of Reed Smith’s Financial Services Litigation Group. "Their arrival gives us a much stronger foothold in the Los Angeles financial services litigation market, which we will leverage in the months and years ahead to expand our reach and visibility in this region. We are happy to welcome this team of exceptional litigators and are pleased that they have decided to join us.”

A New York native and 1988 graduate of Fordham Law School, Mr. Colman served as a member of the Buchalter Board of Directors. He is admitted to the bar in both California and New York. Since beginning his career as a general commercial litigator, Mr. Colman has handled a wide range of cases including those arising in the labor and employment and real estate areas.

“We are delighted to bring together the incredibly successful team we built with Felicia Yu,” said Mr. Colman. “We know the broader platform that Reed Smith provides for advancing our financial services litigation practice will be a tremendous benefit that allows us to go beyond anything we’ve previously accomplished. The three of us work exceptionally well together and we anticipate being able to establish an even stronger presence in financial services litigation partnering with Reed Smith. The firm already enjoys a solid national reputation for supporting and advancing the business interests of its financial services clients.”

Mr. Jacobs is a 1978 graduate of Southwestern University School of Law. In addition to his practice focus on consumer finance litigation for banks and consumer finance companies at Buchalter, his practice included bankruptcy representation.

“Our Los Angeles office will benefit immediately from Abe’s and Scott’s arrival,” said Peter Kennedy, Reed Smith’s Los Angeles Office Managing Partner. “They are both exceptionally fine attorneys and we welcome them to Reed Smith, where we know they will continue to enjoy success and enhance our firm’s growing influence in the California and national financial services litigation arenas.”

Three other Buchalter attorneys are joining Reed Smith’s financial services practice in Los Angeles at this time. Deborah Yim obtained her B.A. in Communications from the University of California, Berkeley in 1998. She was awarded highest honors in her major and highest distinction in general scholarship, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She obtained her J.D. from the University of California Los Angeles School of Law in 2001. Vanessa Lam received her B.A. in International Studies, summa cum laude, from the Robert D. Clark Honors College at the University of Oregon in 1999, with highest honors in her major, highest distinction in general scholarship and election to Phi Beta Kappa. She earned her J.D. from the University of California Los Angeles School of Law in 2002, where she was an Articles Editor for the Asian Pacific American Law Journal. David Reidy received his B.A. with honors in English Literature and Music from Sonoma State University in 1998. He earned his J.D. from Hastings College of the Law in 2002. While in law school, Mr. Reidy served as a law clerk to the Honorable John Dearman of the San Francisco Superior Court Probate Department and to the Honorable James Lambden of the First District Court of Appeal. After law school, he clerked for the Honorable James McBride of the San Francisco Superior Court and for the Honorable David Garcia of San Francisco Superior Court, Law & Motion Department.

In 2005, American Lawyer Media named Reed Smith among the firms nationwide that commercial banks turn to most often for litigation support. Its successful trial record places the firm among the pre-eminent class action practices nationally, with seasoned attorneys in each of its markets and a range of litigators who serve as national lead counsel on major matters. The U.S. Financial Services Litigation group now numbers more than 50 in the United States, with 20 of those attorneys in its West Coast offices. The firm’s European Litigation Department advises financial services institutions around the world on a wide variety of wholesale and retail matters.

The group has successfully defended clients in a wide range of business challenges, including mortgages, credit cards, mutual funds, insurance products, insurance marketing and financing, automobile financing, subprime lending and other forms of financing. It has experience in defense of both state and federal claims spanning arbitration, truth-in-lending, consumer fraud, unfair trade, predatory lending, RICO and RESPA/yield spread premium matters. It also represents financial institutions in business disputes with vendors, government entities and competitors in matters that include antitrust actions; government contract disputes; and business torts, such as fraud, libel, trade secrets and restrictive covenants.

About Reed Smith
Reed Smith LLP is a top-25 international law firm with 1,000 lawyers located in 18 cities worldwide (14 in the U.S. and four in Europe). The firm represents clients ranging from Fortune 100 companies to mid-market and emerging companies. Clients include financial services firms, life sciences companies, health care providers, technology companies and entrepreneurs, power generators and suppliers, manufacturers, real estate companies, universities, and non-profit organizations throughout the world. For more information, visit www.reedsmith.com.


01-25-2006

Litigation Group Scores for Massachusetts Health Club
The firm won a crucial victory for its client Boston Sports Clubs in Massachusetts’ highest court, when, in a closely watched case, the court departed from long-standing precedent and dismissed a consumer class action that had been brought against the fitness club chain. It had long been the law in Massachusetts – reaffirmed by the high court as recently as last year – that consumers could bring a class action alleging they were “injured” by an illegal contract – whether that contract adversely affected consumers or not. The consumers were entitled to a statutory damage award of $25 each. Boston Sports Clubs was sued on just such a theory by a class of plaintiffs who alleged that all the clubs’ members had been injured by alleged defects in their membership agreement. The firm convinced the trial court that Massachusetts’ long-standing precedents should be limited to their facts. After summary judgment was granted to BSC, the Massachusetts high court sua sponte seized jurisdiction over the case and affirmed the win below. Partner Saul Shapiro and Associates Ilene Strauss and Travis J. Tu worked on the matter.

01-25-2006

Roger Fones, Longtime Antitrust Section Chief at U.S. Department of Justice, Joins Morrison & Foerster
Fones was Chief of Antitrust Division’s Transportation, Energy & Agriculture Section; firm further expands antitrust practice with elevation of two antitrust attorneys, Jonathan Gowdy and Rony Gerrits, to partnership


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Washington, D.C., January 25, 2006 - Morrison & Foerster announced today that Roger Fones, former Chief of the Transportation, Energy & Agriculture Section of the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, has joined the firm as a partner.

Mr. Fones will practice in the firm’s Antitrust and Competition Law Practice Group in the Washington, D.C., office. The firm also announced that Morrison & Foerster antitrust attorneys Rony Gerrits and Jonathan Gowdy have been elected to the partnership. Mr. Gerrits practices in the firm’s Brussels office and Mr. Gowdy practices in the Washington, D.C., office.

Mr. Fones was with the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Justice Department for nearly 30 years and most recently served as Chief of the Transportation Energy and Agriculture Section for over 10 years. He has substantial expertise in antitrust issues affecting regulated industries, particularly in the airline and electric utility sectors.

Mr. Fones was involved in many high-profile matters while at the Department of Justice, including supervision of the Department’s lawsuits against American Airlines for monopolizing its Dallas-Ft. Worth hub and Northwest Airlines for buying control of Continental Airlines, investigations of every major airline merger in the past 15 years, and the Department’s competition advocacy activities before the Department of Transportation. Mr. Fones also supervised numerous investigations and cases by the Department in the gas, electric and oilfield service industries, as well as in the agriculture processing sector (grain, corn syrup, dairy and seed technology).

Keith Wetmore, Chair of the firm, commented, “We are delighted to welcome an antitrust expert of Roger’s caliber and reputation to Morrison & Foerster. His depth of knowledge, his experience across so many key industries and his keen understanding of both the regulatory and enforcement process will provide valuable insight to our clients.”

Morrison & Foerster advises major companies around the world on antitrust and competition law matters. The firm has successfully handled major antitrust litigation on behalf of numerous companies both in the U.S. and abroad. Morrison & Foerster’s lawyers regularly represent clients before antitrust enforcement agencies, including the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, and state attorneys general in the U.S., as well as the European Commission, the Japan Fair Trade Commission, and other national competition law authorities.

“The firm’s antitrust work has been expanding markedly, as the pace of merger & acquisition activity and international alliances, as well as the number of antitrust challenges to business practices, have increased,” commented W. Stephen Smith, Co-Chair of the Antitrust and Competition Law Practice Group. “Adding Roger, Rony and Jon to the partnership brings even greater breadth and depth to our global antitrust practice and advances the firm’s strategic goal of enhancing our expertise in key industries.”

Roger Fones said, “I look forward to applying my nearly three decades of government experience on antitrust matters to private practice and I can think of no better firm with which to begin this new stage in my career than Morrison & Foerster.”

Mr. Fones received his B.A. in Economics from Denison University and his J.D., summa cum laude, and his M.A. in Industrial Organization from Ohio State University in 1975.

01-25-2006

Mintz Levin Completes More than $7 Billion in Corporate Transactions on Behalf of Clients in 2005
Boston, MA - Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. completed more than $7 billion in corporate transactions on behalf of clients in 2005, the firm announced today. Underscoring a breadth and depth of expertise, the firm handled more than 60 merger and acquisition deals, totaling more than $2.7 billion; more than 20 public securities offerings, totaling nearly $4.4 billion; and 60 venture capital deals, totaling more than $485 million.

"The level of activity we experienced in 2005, particularly in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries, is a testament to the strength of our team across the firm and long tradition of providing outstanding service to clients," said Steve Rosenthal, Co-Managing Member of the Firm. "The numbers are even more impressive, as they do not reflect the numerous other transactions with which the firm was involved."

Among the companies that Mintz Levin represented in transactions are:

Coley Pharmaceutical Group in its IPO and concurrent placement with Pfizer, Inc. Total proceeds from the IPO and private placement were approximately $120 million, before commissions and expenses, with net proceeds at approximately $111.0 million.
OSI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: OSIP) in its merger with Eyetech Pharmaceuticals.
International Shipping Enterprises in its acquisition of Navios Maritime Holdings, Inc. in a transaction valued at $600 million.
Manulife Financial Corporation and John Hancock Life Insurance Company in a securities offering through a medium-term note program totaling $2.4 billion.
Energy XXI in a private placement in conjunction with listing on AIM Market of London Stock Exchange in a transaction totaling $300 million.
Alinea Pharmaceuticals Inc. in a venture capital transaction totaling $27 million.
Mintz Levin is an AmLaw 100 law firm with offices in the US and the UK. The firm has exceptional depth in a broad range of practice areas, but our clients recognize that what sets us apart from other law firms is our industry focus. By truly understanding business drivers and industry trends, we are able to provide our clients with more than just legal advice. We provide legal solutions to our clients' business issues. Since 1933, our lawyers have represented entrepreneurs, emerging growth companies, government agencies, and leaders in primary industries that include Life Sciences/Biotechnology; Technology & Communications; Financial Services & Insurance; Healthcare; Real Estate, Hospitality & Construction; and Retail & Consumer Products. Our practical knowledge combined with our industry expertise enables us to provide our clients with enterprise legal advice that gives their business a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

01-25-2006

LEADING LITIGATOR JOINS TRUST & ESTATE CONTROVERSY PRACTICE
CHICAGO (January 25, 2006) — McDermott Will & Emery is pleased to announce that Jared R. Cloud has joined the Firm's Chicago office as a partner in the Trial Department. Mr. Cloud focuses his practice on trust and estate litigation.

"Jared will be an instrumental leader in the continued development of our Trust and Estate Controversy Practice Group," commented Jeffrey Stone, head of the Firm's Trial Department. "Jared has an array of experience that will be significant addition to our litigation practice."

Mr. Cloud represents fiduciaries and beneficiaries in matters including claims of breach of fiduciary duty, trust construction and reformation, family business disputes and claims against probate estates. He has litigated trials involving alleged breaches of fiduciary duty and disputed guardianship issues. His experience also includes commercial, product liability, media defense, copyright and trademark litigation.

Advising clients for more than 25 years, McDermott’s trust and estate controversy lawyers represent fiduciaries and other parties involved in will contests, trust contests, will and trust construction and reformation suits, and other fiduciary litigation. Drawing on the resources of one of the world’s leading estate planning practices and a strong bench of first-chair lawyers, the Firm's trust and estate practice consistently achieves successful results on cases involving wills, trusts and guardianships, as well as charitable and exempt organization litigation. Our dedicated litigators apply deep understanding of oftentimes complex and multifaceted legal issues to develop strong case strategy.

Mr. Cloud earned his J.D. with honors from the University of Chicago Law School and his A.B. in political science from the University of Chicago. He is a member of the American, Illinois State and Chicago Bar Associations. He currently serves as an arbitrator for the Circuit Court of Cook County Mandatory Arbitration Program. Mr. Cloud serves on the board of directors of the Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Foundation and the associate board of Gilda's Club Chicago.

01-25-2006

Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw nominated for 'Law Firm of the Year' award in Brussels
25 January 2006, Brussels - Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP's Brussels office has been nominated as "US Law Firm of the Year" by the Belgian Legal Awards, which "honors excellence, continuity and innovation in the legal sphere." The nomination is based on surveys conducted among users of legal services, and recognises firms that have been successful in developing a European hub and a strong presence in the local market.

Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw has significantly fortified its Brussels practice in the last years by adding leading partners in areas including antitrust & competition, government affairs, intellectual property, regulatory, and trade.

"This nomination is an outgrowth of the talent, hard work and dedication that our partners and the teams supporting them have devoted toward building a world-class practice in Brussels," commented Kiran Desai, a Brussels partner in the firm's Antitrust and Competition Practice Group, where he focuses on international merger control proceedings and transatlantic antitrust issues.

Recent high-level additions to Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw's Brussels office include Dr. Günter Burghardt, former Ambassador of the EU in Washington D.C., who helped launch the firm's European Government Affairs practice. Together with Friedrich Merz, former Deputy Leader of Germany's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and member of the European Parliament who now practices in Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw's Berlin office, Dr. Burghardt advises clients on the implementation of the broad EU/U.S. regulatory cooperation agenda.

The Brussels office also features Global Trade partner Paulette Vander Schueren, praised by Chambers Global 2006 as a "formidable expert," who advises clients on trade law and remedy issues involving antidumping, anti-subsidy, trade barrier investigations and customs matters, as well as in litigation before the World Trade Organization (WTO). Last year also saw the arrival of Dr. Jeroen den Hartog, a Dutch and European Patent Attorney with in-house experience in multi-country patent litigation and patent procurement matters.

"Our clients are global in their operations, their sourcing and the customers they serve, so they must deal with governments all over the world," added Peter Scher, head of the firm's Government and Global Trade Practice and a former U.S. Special Trade Negotiator. "This Law Firm of the Year nomination shows that our strategy to hire laterals of the calibre of Paulette Vander Schueren, Günter Burghardt and Jeroen den Hartog is paying off. They give us the ability to offer clients consistent, high-quality legal advice in key European and U.S. jurisdictions."

01-25-2006

Utility, Energy and Regulatory Law Alert - January 2006
On January 19, 2006, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued two major Orders as part of its continuing process of implementing the changes mandated by Congress in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005). In the first Order, FERC issued a final rule that imposes tough new standards prohibiting market manipulation and deceit in transactions subject to FERC's jurisdiction. In the second Order, FERC proposes new rules that will ease the requirements of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) and lift electric utilities' obligation to purchase electricity from qualified cogeneration facilities and qualifying small power production facilities (QFs). These two Orders will have major impacts on all companies that are subject to FERC jurisdiction and on the owners of QFs.

FERC Adopts Market Manipulation and Fraud Prohibition
FERC's final rule on market manipulation is modeled on a similar rule developed by the Securities and Exchange Commission to deal with securities fraud. The new rule prohibits manipulation and fraud in the electricity and natural gas markets. The new rule adds language to both the Natural Gas Act and the Federal Power Act, making it unlawful for any entity, directly or indirectly, in connection with FERC jurisdictional purchase or sale of natural gas or electricity, transportation services, electric energy or transmission service "(1) to use or employ any device, scheme, or artifice to defraud, (2) to make any untrue statement of a material fact or to omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, or (3) to engage in any act, practice, or course of business that operates or would operate as a fraud or deceit upon any person."

Following the submission of comments to the proposed rule, FERC made an important change and substituted "entity" for "person" so as to have the effect of prohibiting deceit upon any person. FERC, in its final rule, provides clarifications requested by several commenters. Such clarifications include FERC's explanations that: the final rule is not intended to expand the types of transactions subject to FERC's jurisdiction; "any entity" is a deliberately inclusive term that includes any person or form of organization; since the rule is based on securities law, FERC intends to adopt analogous securities precedents as appropriate to specific facts, circumstances and situations that arise in the energy industry; and since the final rule and FERC's market behavior rules both prohibit fraud and manipulative conduct, FERC will not seek duplicative sanctions for the same conduct in the event that conduct violates both the market behavior rules and the final rule. The final rule also clarifies the elements that FERC will look for in enforcing the rule. Finally, FERC concluded that certain recommendations made by commenters, such as affirmative defenses or safe harbors to the market manipulation or deceit under the final rule, are more appropriately dealt with in the separate pending proceeding in which FERC is proposing to repeal the existing market behavior rules for unbundled sales service and for persons holding blanket marketing certificates.

FERC Proposes Rule Allowing Termination of PURPA Obligation to Purchase From QFs
EPAct 2005 amended PURPA by adding new Section 210(m), which provides for termination of an electric utility's mandatory obligation to purchase electricity from QFs if the FERC finds that there is a sufficiently competitive market for the QF to sell its power. Section 210(m) also provides a procedure for an electric utility to file an application for relief from the mandatory purchase obligation on a service territory-wide basis, provides a procedure for any affected entity or person to apply to FERC for an order reinstating the electric utility's obligation to purchase energy, protects existing rights and remedies under any contract or obligation in effect or pending approval involving the purchase or sale of energy or capacity to a QF, and allows FERC to issue and enforce regulations to ensure that an electric utility recovers all prudently incurred costs associated with the purchase of energy from a QF.

FERC's January 19 notice of proposed rulemaking seeks to implement Section 210(m) and, in doing so, among other things, provides FERC's interpretation of the rule and finds that utilities will not be required to enter into contracts with QFs if the QF is interconnected with a utility that is a member of the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator, PJM Interconnection, ISO New England and New York Independent System Operator, because QFs with access to these open markets are presumptively participating in open markets. However, FERC is seeking comments either supporting or refuting this preliminary finding. FERC's January 19 notice of proposed rulemaking also seeks comments as to the rule's application including comments as to:

the circumstances from which nondiscriminatory access is discerned;
whether the purchase obligation should be maintained for small power production facilities with a capacity over 5 MW and up to 20 MW;
whether there are other categories of QFs that lack nondiscriminatory access to wholesale markets for which the purchase obligation should be retained; and
whether and what additional regulations are necessary to ensure that an electric utility that is required to purchase electric energy or capacity from a QF recovers all prudently incurred costs associated with the purchase.

If you would like a copy of FERC's January 19, 2006, Orders, if you would like to discuss FERC's market manipulation prohibition or how your company is affected by such prohibition, or if you would like to discuss the impact of FERC's proposed rulemaking or the submission of comments thereto, please contact: Jonathan Gottlieb at 202-974-6108 or jwg@leonard.com or Tamir Ben-Yoseph at 202-974-6116 or tby@leonard.com, both in Washington, D.C., or your usual Leonard, Street and Deinard contact.


01-25-2006

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