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Board certification to identify IP practitioners

A new certification area has been added to the coffer of available specialization credentials in Florida. The Florida Supreme Court recently approved the first legal specialty credential in intellectual property law. The certification is valid for a period of five years. During this tenure, the certified lawyer must continue to practice law, and to attend Florida Bar-approved continuing legal education courses. Under the provisions of certificate qualifications, active and reputed members of The Florida Bar who have at least an immediate experience of five years in the practice area prior to applying for the certificate, may be issued as a "Board Certified Intellectual Property Lawyer."

The Florida Supreme Court's remaining minimum required standards for intellectual property law board certification include the following: applicant lawyer should be a registered patent attorney or agent; at least 30% immediate experience in matters related to IP law, and at least 45 hours of continuing legal education, both within a three year period; approval of ethical, professional, and personal character values through review and assessment by colleagues in the same practice area; and finally, an individual written examination to ascertain depth of knowledge, skill and proficiency.

A nine-member certification committee has been appointed by the Florida Bar to review the first class of applicants. In addition to drafting and administering the first examination, this committee will develop policies to uphold certification standards under the guidelines of the Florida Supreme Court.

The new certification, according to a committee release, stems from the growing concern over the ever increasing periphery of the practice area, as well as the need for protecting intellectual property rights in every sphere. The certificate also fulfils the public need to identify qualified experts practicing IP law, explains James A. Gale, chairman of the intellectual property certification committee.

12-07-2006

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Foley & Lardner's extranet serves clients better

Law firm Foley & Lardner LLP has gone technological. With the implementation of its Extranet, Foley offers its clients a secure way to keep track of their legal dealings with the firm. It enables attorneys to serve their clients needs in a more efficient way. Through using the extranet, the firm can provide an online network through which clients can access any legal information pertaining to their cases. The technology is tailored to serving the clients' needs, and adapts to any newly added information. Extranets help to build a better client-firm relationship, as both enjoy unlimited access to necessary information, as well as ease in keeping up with work in progress. The annual InformationWeek 500 list of the nation's most innovative information technology (IT) organizations named Foley & Lardner among the top 200 firms.

12-07-2006

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System failures bigger threats to IT than natural calamity: Survey

IT professionals at law firms all over the world have one thing in common: they dread a system failure more than any form of natural disaster. Revealed in the survey conducted by the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA), a peer networking organization in the legal market across the globe, technology professionals at law firms rated computer hardware crashes and software failures as greater hazards to IT infrastructures compared to natural calamities like fires and floods. The professionals are unanimous that disaster recovery plans are vital. At the same time, professionals were concerned over the lack of adequate funds to arrest the menace.

The survey was conducted among more than 300 law firms. Based on queries from the survey, the firms rated the highest hazards to IT infrastructure. The results revealed that all firms were nearly unanimous in their concern over computer software failure as the most "high" potential threat which brought in 54 percent of the votes. The next is computer hardware failure with 45 percent, while lost or corrupted files came third with 42 percent. Natural disasters got 31 percent of the votes, tornadoes or hurricanes 19 percent, and floods got a mere 14 percent. The survey also found that 70 percent of respondents expressed concern about their inability to recover critical data quickly enough, while 77 percent of small-to mid-sized firms opined that recovery of critical data which are necessary for the firms to carry on business may take hours, and even days.

12-06-2006

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ABA's green signal to use of Metadata in Courts

The American Bar Association (ABA) has passed a ruling that attorneys can use metadata and other information hidden in electronically saved documents to can support their evidence in court. As per the committee ruling, "metadata" includes those information like when and where a particular document had been saved, and also the person who accessed the files. The metadata also reveals changes that were made to the document or related written comments, states sdbj.com.

The ABA's Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility states that litigation-oriented information available from the depths of the documents will help in establishing the identity of the person concerned. The only ABA committee rules of professional conduct provision require the lawyer who receives such documents to notify the sender when he gets what he should understand were documents that were inadvertently sent to him. The committee also specified that these provisions do not include documents which are obtained through criminal, fraudulent, deceitful, and other improper conduct. The rules, however does not require the recipient to return these documents unread.

Documents saved in PDF format, communicating via facsimile, through the use of software, or using several other security tricks can minimize the risks associated with metadata for businesses or attorneys sending, producing, or providing documents to an opposing counsel. Among major blunder that occurred recently: Google leaked financial projections, while the U.S. Justice Department revealed Social Security numbers through metadata unintentionally.

12-06-2006

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Ford & Harrison fortifies labor and employment practice

Richard S. Cohen, Stephanie M. Cerasano, and Troy P. Foster, former employees of Lewis & Roca LLP, will become partners at Ford & Harrison LLP's new office in Phoenix, Arizona. The new office, which will open its doors on January 1, will be the firm's 18^th office on the national-level, and the third to be opened within a span of two months. Richard Cohen will serve the firm's Phoenix office as managing partner. With the addition of these three new attorneys, the firm is hoping to consolidate its position in the national scene as a powerhouse in the labor and employment arena. Ford & Harrison, set up in Atlanta in 1978, will have strength of more than 190 attorneys as of January 1.

As a result of its merger with Chicago-based labor and employment firm Matkov Salzman, Ford & Harrison is also opening an office in Chicago on the first of the year. The firm, which already boasts four offices in Florida, will open a fifth in Melbourne, FL on December 15. This recent growth spurt is part of the firm's ongoing strategy to expand its geographic territory and the scope of its practice. With the induction of the three renowned attorneys, the firm hopes to gain a strong foothold in their new Arizona location by drawing on the experience of the three new members, who will spearhead the new office of Ford & Harrison LLP.

Apart from the three said attorneys, Ford & Harrison also raided Lewis & Roca's cache of associates, drawing away Justin Pierce, Sonya Parrish-Boun, Jonathan Hauer and Kylie B. Crawford from the Labor and Employment Section. The firm also plans to transfer Karen C. Reynolds, an associate from its Washington, DC office, to the new office in Phoenix.

Cohen will concentrate on employment litigation, devoting his skills in litigation to representing a number of clients in matters of employee-employer relationships. Cerasano, who is an expert in disability discrimination, sexual harassment, and the Family and Medical Leave Act, will handle these areas of employment law. She will also assist clients in devising employee handbooks, contracts for employment, and training for managers. Foster's forte is employment discrimination and harassment claims, and he has experience in advising and training clients on how to nip such claims in the bud.

12-05-2006

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Denver firms combine strength

Las Vegas-based Schreck Brignone, a big league firm in the area, is set to join forces with Denver-based Brownstein Hyatt & Farber. The new firm, which will adopt the moniker Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck upon the merger, is already creating waves within the Las Vegas business community. The merger, effective on January 1st, received uncontested approval from both the firms' partnerships.

Schreck Brignone is named by In Business Las Vegas Book of Business Lists as Las Vegas's 12^th biggest law firm. The head of the firm, Frank Schreck, is a star player in gaming, and the firm has some of the top casinos on its list of clientele. These include MGM Mirage and Wynn Resorts, which are the Nevada's top operating and employing casinos. Rocky Mountain heavyweight Brownstein Hyatt & Farber's attorneys deal in real estate, corporate law, and litigation practice. Brownstein Hyatt & Farber's Norm Brownstein is said to have particularly strong networking capabilities among key government representatives, and uses connections there to do lobby work.

The two firms' attorneys and staff will continue employment with Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck. According to Managing Partner and Chief Executive Bruce James, both firms will draw heavily from each other's strengths.

Heads of the two firms, Frank Schreck and Norm Brownstein, have a longstanding relationship. The two have worked together on a number of projects and transactions. Commenting on the merger between the two firms, Schreck implied that, this time, the collaboration is a merger in the real sense of the word, and sets it apart from other business moves, such as acquisitions, or outsourcing of attorneys. With a combined strength of more than 170 lawyers and policy consultants, the new firm, which will be Denver-based, is capable of expanding its network of offices to locations such as Las Vegas; Washington; Aspen, CO; Albuquerque and Santa Fe, NM; and Orange County, CA.

12-05-2006

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Partners Approve Reed Smith & Sachnoff Weaver Merger

Prominent international firm Reed Smith LLP and Chicago-based firm Sachnoff & Weaver Ltd. received partner approval for proposed joint operations. The firms will merge beginning March 1, 2007. With the formation of the new firm came new opportunities for key leadership positions, to which a number of personnel were re-assigned.

Representatives from Reed Smith say the firm is glad to extend its practice to Chicago. With the opening of the new joint office, which will be Reed Smith's 21st location worldwide, the firm has a launching point for expanding its presence in the Midwest. Reed Smith LLP has long intended to gain a foothold and expand its client base in that corner of the country. Joining with Sachnoff & Weaver, serves the firm's motives to expand geographically and to attract clients by leveraging the latter firm's commanding presence in the area.

Among those former Sachnoff & Weaver partners named for management positions in the new joint firm was Michael LoVallo, who will assume the role of Managing Partner of the Chicago office. Sachnoff & Weaver's veteran Managing Partner and recent CEO Austin Hirsch, along with Carolyn Rosenberg and Mark Brand, will fill in as new members of the Reed Smith Executive Committee. Eugene Tillman, Reed Smith's Director of Legal Personnel will co-chair the Chicago Integration Committee with Hirsch. The purpose of the Committee will be to act in a supervisory role, and to ensure seamless integration of the legal practices of the two firms, whether in terms of client services or administrative functions.

Other Sachnoff & Weaver members of the Chicago Integration Committee will include board members Sarah Wolff, who currently heads the firm's Litigation Group; Stewart Dolin, who heads the Business Services Group; and Jonathan Quinn, who will lead the Midwest Business Trial Group in the new joint firm. Former board member Brian Roche, who presently chairs the firm's Intellectual Property and Technology practice group, will also be part of the committee.

Reed Smith members who will take part in the Chicago Integration Committee include W. Thomas McGough, Jr., head of the firm's Litigation Department; Diane Frenier, second in command of Reed Smith's Business & Regulatory Departmen; and Jack Nelson, Reed Smith's California Market Managing Partner. Thomas L. Allen, a financial services litigation partner from their Pittsburgh location. Ian B. Fagelson, Senior Partner in the London office; and, Richard Swinburn, who works as a trade and commodities lawyer at Richards Butler in London, will each be taking specialty roles in the new joint firm. While Fagelson will focus on cross border transactions in Chicago, and investigate opportunities for growth there, Swinburn will hone the skills he gained in trade and commodities at Richards Butler, exploring opportunities to benefit the new firm in that sector.

Reed Smith's combination with Sachnoff & Weaver, along with their January merger with Richards Butler's London office, will augment the attorney strength to a count of nearly 1,550. At present Reed Smith commands 1,100 lawyers spread over 13 U.S., and four European offices. The firm's attorneys serve a wide array of clients in multiple practice areas. Mid-sized law firm Sachnoff & Weaver is a prominent firm in Chicago with more than 140 lawyers in its roster, and clients throughout the United States and abroad.

12-04-2006

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