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Jenkens & Gilchrist, P.C.

Immigration-Based RICO Lawsuits
Recent class action lawsuits under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute
are exposing employers to liability for immigration violations of third-party vendors. The employers
in each case were accused of conspiring with recruiters, temp agencies and sub-contractors to recruit
and hire undocumented workers. A party must participate in the operation or management of the
conspiracy to be found liable under RICO, but what these cases imply is that an employer may be
liable for simply knowing illegal workers were being aided or encouraged by recruiters to obtain false
identification papers or otherwise violate immigration laws.
RICO claims against employers carry the threat of treble damages, which is perhaps why many of
these cases are being settled out of court. Mendoza v. Zirkle Fruit Company, a high-profile case
against an agricultural employer in the Pacific Northwest, was recently settled for $1.3 million.
Commercial Cleaning Services v. Colin Services Systems also ended in a settlement. A civil case is
pending against Tyson Foods, which rejected a $100 million settlement offer before being convicted in
the criminal case.
The U.S. Supreme Court will weigh in on the issue later this term when it decides Mohawk v. Williams.
Former employees of Mohawk Industries accused the company of directing immigration violations by
un-named recruiters who recruited and transported aliens from the South Texas border to the
company’s manufacturing facility in Georgia. The alleged violations included 1) knowingly hiring at
least 10 individuals within one year with actual knowledge they were aliens not authorized to work; 2)
concealing, harboring, or shielding aliens who had entered the U.S. illegally; and 3) encouraging aliens
to enter or reside in the U.S. illegally. The employer’s motion to dismiss failed at both the District
Court and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU
Immigration-based RICO lawsuits highlight the importance of strict compliance with employment
eligibility verification procedures (I-9s), not just internally, but for third-party recruiters and subcontractors
as well. Rumors or complaints that a supervisor harbored an undocumented worker or
invited him to reapply upon return could expose the employer to a RICO claim. Likewise, failure to
require contractors to conduct periodic I-9 audits or to include immigration law compliance and
indemnity provisions in contracts could also lead to liability under RICO. Employers interested in
reviewing or revising their current compliance policies in light of the RICO litigation should contact
their Jenkens & Gilchrist immigration attorney.

01-23-2006

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Jackson Walker L.L.P.

Jackson Walker Adds Four New Attorneys
Jackson Walker has started the New Year by welcoming four new attorneys: Melodee Gruber, Tony Guerino, Steve Jacobs, and Russ Meyer,

Jackson Walker welcomes back Melodee Gruber as Senior Counsel in the Litigation section. Ms. Gruber previously worked in the Fort Worth office and has now rejoined JW in the San Antonio office. Ms. Gruber is a graduate of The University of Texas (B.A. 1993) and South Texas College of Law (J.D., magna cum laude, 1997), where she was a member of the South Texas Law Review. She clerked for a year with Chief Justice John Cayce of the Second Court of Appeals of Texas. Ms. Gruber represents a wide range of clients in commercial litigation and labor and employment matters.

Tony Guerino joined JW's Houston office as a partner in the Litigation Group. Mr. Guerino practices commercial litigation with an emphasis in energy and environmental matters. He is a graduate of Penn State (B.S. in Petroleum & Natural Gas Engineering 1986, with honors) and UH Law School (1994). He worked at Marathon Oil before and while attending law school.

Steve Jacobs has joined the Business Transactions section in the San Antonio office. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (B.A. 1982) and Tulane School of Law and Graduate School of Business (J.D., cum laude, and M.B.A. 1987). Mr. Jacobs' practice emphasizes securities transactions, reporting and compliance, and mergers and acquisitions.

Russ Meyer has joined JW as a partner in the Litigation Group in Dallas. He is a graduate of Washington & Lee (B.A. 1968) and UT Law School (J.D. 1973). Mr. Meyer's primary practice is commercial litigation. He has a wide range of experience in products liability and health law issues. Mr. Meyer is an Adjunct Professor of Trial Advocacy at SMU Law School and has served as a member of NITA's teaching faculty from 1987 to 1994.

01-23-2006

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Howard & Howard

Howard & Howard IP Attorneys Receive Rossman Award
Howard & Howard IP Attorneys Receive Rossman Award
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan - January 23, 2006: Howard & Howard intellectual property attorneys, Jeffrey A. Sadowski and Trent K. English, were recently selected to receive the Patent and Trademark Office Society’s prestigious Rossman Memorial Award for their article which appeared in the Journal of the Patent and Trademark Office Society. The award is conferred annually by the Society to those whose Journal article made the greatest contribution to the fields of Patent, Trademark and Copyright law during the period of time from July 2004 to June 2005.
Sadowski and English’s article, “Extending Provisional Rights Beyond 35 U.S.C. 154(d)”, made the argument that, under certain conditions, the time period for measuring provisional rights (35 U.S.C. §154(d)) for continuation and divisional patents should begin when a corresponding parent application publishes and not when the later-filed continuation or divisional application publishes. The article appeared in the Journal’s May 2005 issue.
Factors taken in to consideration for the award include accuracy, depth of research, originality, readability, timeliness of the subject, and potential for impact on the existing system. The award will be presented to Sadowski and English at the Annual Meeting for the Patent and Trademark Office Society in Washington, D.C. on February 28, 2006.
Mr. Sadowski concentrates his practice in litigation and prosecution in various aspects of patent, trademark, copyright and computer law. He is a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers and a leading authority on many different patent, trademark and copyright law issues.
Mr. Sadowski received a B.S.M.E. degree, magna cum laude, from the Univeristy of Michigan in 1974 and a J.D. degree from the University of Michigan Law School in 1977. He is a member of Tau Beta Pi, Pi Tau Sigma, and Phi Delta Phi. Mr. Sadowski is admitted to practice in Michigan and is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Mr. Sadowski has practiced in more than 29 jurisdictions throughout the United States, as well as six Courts of Appeals and the Court of Claims.
He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the Oakland County Bar Association, and the American Bar Association and its sections on Litigation and Patent, Trademark and Copyright Law. He is also a member of the Michigan Patent Law Association, the American Intellectual Property Law Association and its committee on Federal Practice and Procedure, and the International Trademark Association (INTA) and its Trademark Enforcement Committee. Mr. Sadowski has lectured throughout the U.S. to trade groups and other organizations on various patent and trademark issues, including conducting a recent roundtable discussion on intellectual property and the internet.
Mr. English concentrates his practice in patent, trademark and copyright law, with a particular emphasis in mechanical and medical device technologies. He has substantial experience in patent preparation and prosecution, and conducting product clearance investigations including rendering associated legal opinions. Mr. English is a member of the State Bar of Michigan and is registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
He received a B.S. degree in Civil Engineering in 1996 and an M.S. degree in Environmental Engineering in 1997, both from Micghian State University. He was a consulting engineer at Lawson-Fisher Associates where he conducted detailed analyses of combined sewer, sanitary sewer and separate storm sewer systems, and assisted clients with regulatory compliance issues associated with the Clean Water Act. Mr. English also worked as a project engineer at Triad Engineering Incorporated designing and analyzing sewer systems and assisting clients in the bidding process for municipal construction projects. He was also an intern in Howard & Howard's intellectual property law internship program from July 2000 to May of 2004. He received his Juris Doctor degree magna cum laude from Michigan State University College of Law in May 2004.
Founded in 1869, Howard & Howard is a full-service law firm with a national and international practice counseling businesses, banks and public sector clients. The firm has offices in Ann Arbor, Bloomfield Hills, Kalamazoo, Michigan and Peoria, Illinois. Howard & Howard’s major practice areas include intellectual property, environmental, real estate, corporate, financial institutions, labor and employment, and litigation. For more information, please visit the firm’s website at www.h2law.com.
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01-23-2006

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Holland & Hart, L.L.P.

Holland & Hart Welcomes Steven Tyler To Salt Lake City Office
SALT LAKE CITY (January 23, 2006) - Holland and Hart LLP is pleased to announce that Steven E. Tyler has joined the Salt Lake City office as a partner in the real estate practice group.

Mr. Tyler has experience with acquisitions and dispositions, development of real estate projects, financing of real estate acquisitions and development projects, leasing for both commercial and office space, loan workouts, litigation of title disputes, boundary disputes, landlord/tenant, and foreclosures, and bankruptcy litigation. He also has experience in the selection and formation of appropriate legal entities for the acquisition, development, ownership and management of real estate assets.

Prior to joining Holland & Hart, Mr. Tyler worked for a full-service Salt Lake City law firm for more than 20 years. At that firm, he served as President and also as a member of the Board of Directors. Mr. Tyler currently serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for both the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce and the Legal Aid Society of Salt Lake.

Mr. Tyler earned his J.D. (1980) and his B.A. (1977) in history from the University of Utah.

01-23-2006

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Hogan & Hartson LLP

Hogan & Hartson Broadens Reach of Corporate and Securities Practice With New Partner in Baltimore
BALTIMORE, January 23, 2006 — Hogan & Hartson L.L.P. announced today that Asher M. Rubin has joined the firm’s corporate and securities practice as a partner in the Baltimore office. Rubin was most recently senior vice president, general counsel, and secretary of Guilford Pharmaceuticals Inc., formerly a NASDAQ listed biopharmaceutical company that is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of MGI PHARMA, Inc.

As general counsel of Guilford, Rubin was responsible for all of the company’s legal functions, including licensing, intellectual property, and compliance matters. While at Guilford, Rubin was responsible for several complex equity, debt, and asset-based financings and mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance matters, and management of in-house legal functions and outside counsel.

“Asher has substantial knowledge of the pharmaceutical, life sciences, and biotechnology sectors and is among the top lawyers in this region who specializes in these sectors,” said Michael Silver, a director of the firm’s corporate and securities practice. “His unique insight into the day-to-day operations and the challenges faced by in-house counsel at life sciences companies will be a valuable resource for our clients.”

Rubin has extensive experience regarding securities laws, corporate partnership and licensing, and intellectual property transactions. His work has included designing and implementing compliance programs, and advising the board of directors on corporate governance matters. When Rubin was in private practice prior to joining Guilford, he represented publicly traded and privately held companies involved in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and other commercial transactions.

“Hogan & Hartson’s leading corporate and regulatory capabilities provide a strong platform for my background in the life sciences and pharmaceutical sectors,” said Rubin. “I am excited about building a practice at a firm that has one of the premier life science and healthcare regulatory practices in the world.”

Rubin received his law degree from the University of Maryland School of Law and his undergraduate degree from Duke University.

01-23-2006

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Hahn, Loeser & Parks, L.L.P.

Art Gibbs and Jason Blake listed in, "On the Go."
Cleveland Plain Dealer Art Gibbs was named Partner and Jason Blake an associate in Hahn Loeser's Cleveland office

01-23-2006

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Goodwin Procter, LLP

Chambers Global Ranks Goodwin Procter as Leading Law Firm
Firm ranks second in Buyouts & Venture Capital Investment and Fund Formation categories; six partners recognized as leaders in three categories

BOSTON, Jan. 23, 2006 — Goodwin Procter LLP, a leading national law firm with offices in Boston, New York and Washington, DC, today announced that it has been ranked second in the Private Equity: Buyouts and Venture Capital and Private Equity: Fund Formation categories in the Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers 2006 directory.

In addition, the firm is pleased to announce that six of its partners have been recognized as leaders in their field, including Lynne Barr and William Mayer in the Banking & Finance category and John Egan, John LeClaire, Laura Hodges Taylor and William Schnoor in the Buyouts & Venture Capital category. The recently published guide highlights international firms, as well as individual attorneys who are leaders in their specific legal disciplines.

The Chambers Global guide, among the most respected referral guides of leading law firms and individual lawyers around the world, covers all major jurisdictions throughout the world. In each country, the leading international law firms and leading individuals are ranked in the principal areas of law. Chambers and Partners employs extensive research methods, including numerous in-depth client and lawyer interviews, to determine its rankings, and offers third party editorial commentary.

About Goodwin Procter LLP
Goodwin Procter LLP is one of the nation’s leading law firms. The firm’s core areas of practice are corporate, litigation and real estate, with specialized areas of focus that include financial services, private equity, technology companies, REITs and real estate capital markets, intellectual property and products liability. Goodwin Procter is headquartered in Boston, with offices in New York and Washington, DC.

01-23-2006

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