Law Firm News

---

Law Firm News

Firm Name

News Title

News

News Date

25383 matches |  6770-6776 displayed

1  966 967 968 969 970  3627

---

Tharrington Smith, LLP

Mecklenburg School District Wins $1.6 Million Award
Six years after a mail courier drove a car into the side of a Mecklenburg County elementary school, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District has reached a settlement -- not with the driver but with the building's general contractor.

The 2001 accident exposed a significant flaw in the school's construction -- the lack of reinforcing steel beams in the walls.

The settlement came April 24, just weeks after the school district won a $1.6 million arbitration award against the contractor, lawyers for CMS said.

In a Feb. 19 judgment, Mecklenburg County Superior Court entered the arbitration award of $1,622,661 in the case of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education v. R.L. Casey, Inc., et al. Both sides filed appeals with the state Court of Appeals. Last week's settlement put those actions to rest.

The award was entered after the arbitrator found the general contractor liable for willful or wanton negligence. The award represented a 25 percent reduction of the $2,163,549 in principal damages that CMS originally sought.

Although CMS raised a claim for a violation of the Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act, the arbitrator did not award treble damages.

Rod Malone and Kristopher Gardner, of Raleigh's Tharrington Smith law firm, represented the plaintiff. Representing the contractor was Gregory L. Shelton of Smith, Currie and Hancock's Charlotte office.

Malone said the settlement allowed the parties to establish details of a payment plan. Efforts to reach counsel for the defendant were unsuccessful.

Defendant R.L. Casey, Inc., the contractor that built the school in the early 1990's, was sued after CMS officials, inspecting the car-damaged wall in the days after the 2001 creash, noticed there were no steel reinforcing bars, or "rebar," inside it. No one was inside the school at the time of the crash, but under state building codes and the school's construction plans, rebar was a required component in the walls.

Further investigation indicated that rebar was missing throughout the structure. Repairs and remediation cost about $2.1 million, according to Malone and Gardner.

The school is Crown Point Elementary in Matthews.

"What they ultimately found was that only 19 percent of the walls were built properly," said Gardner.

That discovery led to a legal battle that hinged in part on whether the district's claims were limited under North Carolina's six-year statute of repose for improvements to real property.

The contractor contended "to avoid the statute of repose, CMS had to prove that [the contractor] committed fraud or willful or wanton negligence" in constructing the school.

The prelude to the battle started Oct. 27, 2001, when the mail courier decided to test-drive a car she thought she might want to buy. Her Saturday drive in the empty parking lot of Crown Point Elementary ended with the car crashing into a wall directly beneath a classroom window. That set the stage for the legal action.

At the point of impact, the required rebar should have been visible inside the wall, Gardner said.

It wasn't. Instead a gaping cavity yawned where the car had punched a hole through unreinforced brick and concrete block.

CMS hired a structural engineer to see whether rebar was misisng from the walls around 30 other windows. It was, along with wall fill. CMS then authorized testing of all the school's load bearing concrete masonry walls.

04-30-2007

---

Odin, Feldman & Pittleman PC

Firm Recognized for Involvement in Best Real Estate Deals of 2006 Project
Odin, Feldman & Pittleman real estate attorney Ellen Sharpe’s hard work on the DC USA project was noticed by the Washington Business Journal. The $149.5 million deal that makes way for a 500,000-square foot retail and entertainment complex in D.C.’s Columbia Heights neighborhood was selected as one of the Best Real Estate Deals of 2006 for Best Financing.

As counsel for the National Capital Revitalization Corp., Sharpe was key in closing the deal that included both conventional and public funding sources. She joined individuals from NCRC., Grid Properties and Gotham Organization to accept the award on Thursday, April 26.

04-30-2007

---

Nixon Peabody LLP

Paul Schrier appointed managing partner of Nixon Peabody’s Northern California offices; Schrier is a 20-year veteran of Nixon Peabody LLP
Mr. Schrier is a 20-year veteran of Nixon Peabody, with a practice focusing on secured lending involving real estate and other asset-based financings, real estate acquisitions and dispositions of commercial, retail, industrial, and hotel properties, and multifamily and commercial development projects. His practice also includes mergers and acquisitions, including cross-border and real-estate-oriented transactions.

Attorneys in Nixon Peabody’s San Francisco and Silicon Valley offices also work in the areas of corporate transactions, emerging growth, global finance, labor and employment, life sciences, litigation, private equity, public finance, technology and intellectual property, venture capital, and cleantech.

Paul Schrier said, “It is a pleasure to step into the office managing partner role at such an exciting time for our practice in Northern California. In the past few months, we have opened a new location in Silicon Valley as well as a new office in San Francisco, and we have been named a great place to work in the Bay Area for the second year in a row. In addition, our practice in California is highly dynamic and continues to grow across a range of areas and industries. I look forward to playing an active role in guiding Nixon Peabody’s presence in these areas.”

Mr. Schrier earned his J.D. from the University of Santa Clara and his B.A. from Brown University. As a member of the State Bar Association of California’s Real Estate Section, Mr. Schrier has been a speaker for continuing legal education seminars concerning real estate joint ventures and other equity participations.

Mr. Schrier succeeds Richard Hoffman, who steps down after nearly six years of serving as managing partner of the San Francisco and Southern California offices of Nixon Peabody. Mr. Hoffman will focus his attention on expanding the firm’s practice in commercial and insurance litigation with an emphasis on litigation involving management (directors, officers, fiduciaries, lawyers, brokers, and accountants).

04-30-2007

---

McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP

Top Corporate Attorney Joins McKenna Long & Aldridge
William L. Ellis, Jr. has joined the New York office of McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP as senior counsel in the Corporate Practice Group. He had been counsel at Torys LLP.

Before joining Torys, Ellis was counsel at Clifford Chance US LLP. Previously, as inside counsel, he was senior vice president, general counsel, and secretary of Guinness UDV (now Diageo North America, Inc.). During his tenure at Guinness, he completed a long list of acquisitions and divestments for the company. He also has held positions as deputy general counsel of Primerica (now part of Citigroup) and senior counsel - international of Merck & Co., Inc.

“We are delighted to have Bill join the firm,” said Thomas Wardell, chair of the firm’s corporate practice. “His comprehensive experience working in the M&A field, both internally as a general counsel and externally serving a number of clients, will bring added strength to our thriving corporate practice.”

Ellis has more than 40 years of experience, with a background that encompasses all aspects of mergers and acquisitions, including feasibility studies, negotiations, letters of intent, due diligence, regulatory approvals, closings, integration of acquired businesses, resolving escrows, and claims/litigation.

“I’m enthusiastic about the opportunity to work with this talented group,” said Ellis. “I look forward to collaborating with them in providing our clients the high level of service they have come to expect from McKenna Long & Aldridge.”

In addition to his M&A work, Ellis has been a speaker at seminars focusing on corporate governance, litigation management, and alternate dispute resolution. He was a recipient of the award for ADR achievement from the Center for Public Resources.

Ellis earned his LL.B. from the University of Virginia Law School (1963) and his B.A. from Yale University (1960).

04-30-2007

---

Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps, LLP

Leading Real Estate Attorney David Franklin Joins Luce Forward’s Preeminent Real Estate and Land Use Practice
"Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps LLP announced today that prominent real estate attorney David B. Franklin has joined the firm’s preeminent real estate and land use practice as a partner. Mr. Franklin will be based in the firm’s San Francisco office.
“The addition of Dave Franklin further establishes Luce Forward’s position as California’s leading statewide real estate and land use firm,” said Allan E. Low, partner in charge of Luce Forward’s San Francisco office, and a member of the real estate group. “Dave’s in-depth industry knowledge and breadth of experience are unsurpassed, and we are thrilled that he has joined our firm. He will be an integral part of the firm's Retail Real Estate Initiative.”
“Attracting top talent like Dave demonstrates our commitment to the expansion of our thriving real estate and land use practice and our growing San Francisco office,” Low added, “and we will continue to develop the premier real estate practice in the region.” Also in April, Luce Forward welcomed five accomplished real estate attorneys, including leading land use specialist Timothy Tosta.

Franklin, who joins Luce Forward as a partner from K&L Gates (formerly Preston Gates & Ellis), concentrates his practice on real estate transactions and land use, primarily in California and Hawaii. In particular, he focuses on the big box retail industry and the acquisition, management and development of real estate assets. Additionally, Franklin regularly represents clients regarding general business needs, including entity structure and formation and multi-state operations.

“I am excited to be joining Luce Forward at this pivotal time. The firm has strong regional capabilities, great momentum and is comprised of some of the best practitioners in California,” said Franklin. ”The firm’s estate practice is truly second to none and I look forward to working with such an impressive group of industry leaders.”

Franklin has represented a national warehouse membership club in negotiating purchases and leases, conducting due diligence, pursuing entitlements, including California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) compliance, as well as assessing, expanding or selling more than 100 sites throughout California, Hawaii and several other western states. He has prepared numerous declarations of covenants, conditions and restrictions for single developer projects and negotiated many reciprocal easement and operating agreements for multiple-owner developments of commercial, retail, residential and mixed-use projects.

Franklin’s experience includes counseling for lenders and borrowers in loan documentations, workouts, foreclosures and portfolio management, along with syndicators and investors in the formation and assessment of real estate and business investments. He also provides counsel for landowners in construction issues, for clients subject to the federal Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) and comparable state legislation, and for subdivision developers in registration and compliance with HUD and the California Department of Real Estate for interstate land sales projects.

Franklin sits on the Board of Directors of the Robert F. Lange Foundation in Honolulu. In addition, he is a member of the American Bar Association, the Bar Association of San Francisco, the California Redevelopment Association, and the International Conference of Shopping Centers.

A member of the Bars of California and Hawaii, Franklin holds an A.B. from Stanford University, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and a J.D. from Duke University School of Law, where was president of the Student Bar Association."

04-30-2007

---

Jackson Walker L.L.P.

JW partner David Phillips emcees OTC reception
Jackson Walker partner David Phillips was the emcee of the Opening Night Welcoming Reception of the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) on Monday, April 30, in Houston, Texas. The reception was the kickoff of the annual OTC event and was attended by approximately 1,000 representatives of all sectors of the energy business, including oil executives, foreign oil ministers, OPEC officials, delegates from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, and Kuwait, and U.S. embassy officials from around the world and their respective U.S. ambassadors. The night's keynote speech was given by Chase Untermeyer, United States ambassador to the State of Qatar.

Mr. Phillips is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bilateral US-Arab Chamber of Commerce, which hosted the reception. He is a transactions attorney whose practice focuses on domestic and international energy and business development opportunities, with particular emphasis on the Middle East. A former chief executive in the international energy sector, he has extensive experience with domestic and international investments in exploration and production, processing, storage, LNG, marketing, transmission and local distribution of natural gas, other products, and fiber and energy services, including generation, power marketing and transmission and distribution of electricity.

04-30-2007

---

Hunton & Williams, LLP

EPA Deputy Assistant Administrator Brent Fewell Joins Environmental Practice
Hunton & Williams LLP today announced the expansion of its environmental practice with the addition of Brent Fewell in its Washington, DC office. He joins the law firm’s water practice, and will focus on compliance counseling, permit negotiations, regulatory and legislative advocacy, and enforcement defense.

Fewell joins the firm from the U.S Environmental Protection Agency, where he served as Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Water, and acting Associate Administrator for the Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs. As the Deputy Assistant Administrator, Fewell provided counsel to the EPA Administrator and Assistant Administrator on all major regulations and policies involving the federal Safe Drinking Water Act and Clean Water Act programs. He was responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of all national water programs including wetlands, effluent limitation guidelines, wastewater and storm water permitting, wet weather flows, water quality trading, sustainable infrastructure, total maximum daily loads and impaired waters, and carbon sequestration. Fewell served as the lead on the Bush Administration’s hallmark Good Samaritan legislative and regulatory initiative to accelerate the clean-up of orphaned mine sites as part of the Administration’s emphasis on cooperative conservation. Fewell’s work also involved representing the United States in international negotiations, including with Mexico, Canada, and China, and he served as lead U.S. negotiator on water quality issues for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s 2006 review of the U.S environmental performance

“Brent’s experience at EPA will enable him to help our clients navigate increasingly complex environmental regulations,” said Hunton & Williams partner F. William Brownell, co-head of the firm’s resources, regulatory, and environmental law practice. “His perspective on the problems our clients face will be an invaluable resource.”

Fewell holds a law degree from Duquesne University, an M.E.M. in Natural Resource Economics and Policy from Duke University, and a B.S. (magna cum laude) in Wildlife Management from the University of Maine.

Hunton & Williams’ resources, regulatory, and environmental law practice comprises attorneys committed to representing our clients’ interests in the courts, before federal and state regulators, and before lawmakers, and on a wide range of corporate, transactional and counseling issues. We combine legal and advocacy skills with strategic skills that have been developed over decades of work on an extensive variety of environmental issues.

04-30-2007

---

25383 matches |  6770-6776 displayed

1  966 967 968 969 970  3627