Law Firm News

---

Law Firm News

Firm Name

News Title

News

News Date

25383 matches |  673-679 displayed

1  96 97 98 99 100  3627

---

Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP

Weil Gotshal Wins Major Victory for Applera; Secures Summary Judgment Invalidating Three Patents
In a major victory for its client, Applera Corporation, a global leader in DNA sequencing technologies, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP won a summary judgment ruling invalidating three key contested life sciences patents. In the action, Enzo Biochem, Inc., had claimed that Applera’s DNA sequencing reagents and instruments infringed the patents in question.

In a detailed 49-page ruling, the Honorable Janet Bond Arterton of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut concluded that the three patents were invalid for two separate reasons: first, that the patents were fatally indefinite because they fail to provide the public with adequate guidance of what is and what is not covered; and second that the patents were not novel because prior scientific publications described the same subject matter.

The case had been widely followed in the biotechnology industry because Applera's DNA sequencing reagents and instruments are core technologies enabling basic research into fundamental biological processes, as well as in applied fields such as diagnostic or forensic research.

The Weil Gotshal team was led by partners Nicholas Groombridge and Elizabeth Stotland Weiswasser. Mr. Groombridge, who late last year obtained the noteworthy trial judgment transferring inventorship and ownership of the US patent that protected Imclone’s blockbuster pharmaceutical, Erbitux™, argued the anticipation motion and commented, “We were gratified by the Court’s ruling, which confirmed that these patents were not valid. When a company stands up to fight a patent, there is a clear benefit to the industry and consumers. The life sciences community, and the people and patients that it serves, owe a debt of gratitude to Applera for obtaining this win.” Added Ms. Weiswasser, who argued the indefiniteness motion, "Judge Arterton’s opinion carefully analyzes the patents and properly concludes that they are invalid."

09-10-2007

---

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

Paul, Weiss Pro Bono Case Featured on Front Page of The New York Times
The front page of today's New York Times features a story on Paul, Weiss' pro bono representation of prison inmates in a First Amendment case against the Federal Bureau of Prisons concerning the removal of religious books and materials not on an approved list of religious books. The article reports that Paul, Weiss filed a class action on behalf of prison inmates claiming that the purging of religious books once available to prisoners in prison libraries violates prisoners' rights to the free exercise of religion as guaranteed by the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The Paul, Weiss team includes litigation partner Moses Silverman, associates Solomon Klein and Matt Insley-Pruitt and summer associate Megan Sway.

09-10-2007

---

McGuireWoods LLP

Four McGuireWoods Lawyers in Jacksonville Office Named "Florida Super Lawyers" for 2007
Four McGuireWoods’ partners in the firm’s Jacksonville office have been named “Florida Super Lawyers” for 2007 in a recent study by Law & Politics magazine. One lawyer, David M. Wells, also placed in the Top 100 “Florida Super Lawyers.”

As part of the selection process, Law & Politics magazine conducts a regional survey of lawyers who have been in practice for at least five years, asking them to nominate the best attorneys they've personally observed in action. In addition, the Law & Politics attorney-led research department reviews the nominees’ credentials and evaluates indicators of professional achievement, including verdicts and settlements, transactions, honors and awards, special licenses and certifications, bar and/or other professional activity, pro bono and community service, scholarly lectures and writings, experience, position within the law firm and representative clients.

Following are the McGuireWoods partners and the practice areas for which they were named a “Florida Super Lawyer” for 2007:

* Thomas R. Brice, Employment & Labor
* Scott S. Cairns, Employment & Labor
* Christine R. Milton, Business Litigation
* David M. Wells, Business Litigation

09-10-2007

---

Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.

Leon Jaworski Scholarships Awarded to Two Incoming Baylor Law Students
Two incoming Baylor Law School students received scholarships in the name of Fulbright’s Leon Jaworski. The prestigious full-tuition awards this year went to Ed Cloutman of Dallas and Amy Foster of Wellington, Florida. Colonel Jaworski was a Baylor Law School alumnus and the youngest lawyer ever licensed in Texas at just 20 years of age.

The scholarships are awarded to incoming law students on the basis of outstanding records in advocacy programs, such as debate, mock trial and moot court. Cloutman received his bachelor's degree from the University of Texas where he majored in government and history and minored in sociology. Foster received her bachelor's degree from the University of Missouri in Kansas City, where she majored in English and communication studies with a minor in classical and ancient studies.

Leon Jaworski maintained a close relationship with his alma mater and is memorialized at Baylor Law School by the Leon Jaworski Center, a major component of the Sheila and Walter Umphrey Law Center. The school also has a recreation of his original office in Houston with furniture and personal artifacts by the Jaworski family and by Fulbright & Jaworski.

Baylor Law Dean Brad Toben said, "The consistent successes that we have experienced in interscholastic competition have been made possible, in very significant measure, by the support of our outstanding student advocates by the Leon Jaworski Foundation through the Jaworski Scholars program. The Foundation's magnificent gifts indeed make a difference each year in our program and for these very talented students."

09-10-2007

---

Foley & Lardner

Jay W. Freedman To Succeed Richard A. Weiss as Managing Partner of Foley’s Washington, D.C. Office
Foley & Lardner LLP announced today that Jay W. Freedman will succeed Richard A. Weiss as managing partner of the firm's Washington, D.C. office. Weiss steps down after serving as office managing partner for six years and will continue as a member of the firm's Management Committee, as well as a member of the Finance & Financial Institutions Practice and the Sports Industry Team.

“We are thankful to Rick for his years of service and invaluable contribution to the firm as managing partner, and look forward to his continued involvement as a member of the Management Committee,” said Ralf Boer, the firm's chairman and CEO. “We are confident he will continue to implement the firm's strategic objective to build its national practices and to further advance its pro bono and community service initiatives in Washington, D.C.”

Weiss contributed significantly to the Washington, D.C. office by increasing its visibility in the local community. His commitment to pro bono and community service encouraged involvement with organizations such as Wilkinson Elementary School, the Washington Lawyers Committee and Disabled American Veterans, and those will remain as key initiatives.

Weiss leads by example and devotes his time to several nonprofit and charitable organizations. He is currently chairman of the board of directors of Washington Hospital Center, the largest, private hospital in Washington, D.C.; campaign chair for the United Way of the National Capital Area; and a member of the boards of directors of the Greater Washington Board of Trade and the Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation.

He focuses his practice on the sports industry, among other areas, and represented Major League Baseball in the relocation of the Montreal Expos franchise to Washington, D.C.

“I am thankful for the opportunity to have worked closely with such a great group of attorneys in guiding and building the Washington, D.C. office from both legal and community perspectives,” said Weiss. “I look forward to new challenges in my continuing roles and am confident that the office is in good hands with Jay as its leader.”

Freedman is a member of the firm's Transactional & Securities and Commercial Transactions & Business Counseling Practices. Freedman has a broad-based corporate practice, including mergers and acquisitions and securities regulation. His focus is on real estate acquisition and development, particularly golf course and resort facilities, shopping centers, hotels, office complexes and industrial business parks.

“In my role as managing partner, I look forward to leading the office and reinforcing its commitment to Washington, D.C.'s civic and corporate communities through increased support and involvement,” said Freedman. “In addition, I am committed to growing and developing our niche practices, including intellectual property counseling and litigation, life sciences, public affairs, corporate, securities law, and white collar defense and corporate compliance.”

Freedman is active in a number of community activities, including currently serving as a member of the boards of directors of the Smithsonian Institution Libraries, the Heifetz International Music Institute, The Georgetown Business Improvement District and The Kreeger Museum.

09-10-2007

---

Covington & Burling, P.C.

Covington Adds Leading Asia Practitioner
Covington & Burling LLP is strengthening its growing international practice with the addition of Ellen R. Eliasoph, a senior lawyer with more than 25 years of experience in China and Japan. Ms. Eliasoph will be resident in Covington’s Washington office as senior of counsel, where she will help US and European clients navigate the complex regulatory, public policy, and cultural currents of the rapidly evolving Asia market.

Ms. Eliasoph, who has spent 16 years in Asia with Warner Bros. Entertainment, will continue to work for Warner Bros. to help manage its Chinese-language film production business. For the past four years, she has served as Warner Bros. Picture’s Managing Director in China, having previously served in corporate roles as Executive Vice President, Business Development and Business Affairs, Asia Pacific, and Senior Vice President and General Counsel/Asia Pacific.

Ms. Eliasoph’s extensive work in Asia for Warner Bros., and her previous work as a private practitioner in China and Japan, have given her a uniquely sophisticated understanding of the practical aspects of working with businesspeople, regulators, and policy makers to bridge legal and cultural boundaries and create new cross-border business structures. She is particularly experienced in the creation, management, and operation of joint venture enterprises and the creation, protection, and exploitation of products and services based on intellectual property of various types.

“Ellen Eliasoph has spent a quarter century working in Asia and, insofar as China is concerned, working to ensure the successful entry of foreign investors from all sectors into that market,” said Stuart Stock, chair of Covington’s management committee. “Her deep base of experience and knowledge of Asia’s leading business and legal cultures will be of great value to our US and European clients in establishing, managing, and expanding their businesses in the region, as well as to Asian companies that are new entrants to the global marketplace.”

“I am very pleased to be joining Covington & Burling to spearhead and accelerate the firm’s expanding reach into Asia,” Ms. Eliasoph remarked. “Covington’s regulatory practice is unparalleled, and I’m looking forward to working with a team I’ve admired for many years.”

Ms. Eliasoph, who is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and Japanese, earned her law degree from Yale Law School. She is a summa cum laude graduate of Yale University, where she was elected Phi Beta Kappa and awarded the Townsend Writing Prize. She also studied in the Law Department of Beijing University, where she was a member of the initial group of US government-sponsored exchange students in the People’s Republic of China.

09-10-2007

---

Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC

Attorney Marc Tepper's Appointment as a Vice President of the Central Atlantic Region's America-Israel Chamber of Commerce Noted in the Media
Edition of The Legal Intelligencer and the September 10, 2007, edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer noted the appointment of H. Marc Tepper as a vice president of the executive committee of the America-Israel Chamber of Commerce, Central Atlantic Region.

Tepper is a shareholder in the Philadelphia office of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney where he handles a variety of matters with a concentration in business and insurance law.

09-10-2007

---

25383 matches |  673-679 displayed

1  96 97 98 99 100  3627