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$1.45 Billion Fine Against Intel Kicks Chipmaker Battle Into Overdrive

The Recorder

Even as Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and its lawyers at O'Melveny & Myers celebrated the $1.45 billion fine handed down by the European Commission on Wednesday against rival Intel Corp., they were rolling up their sleeves for impending fights between the chipmakers in the United States. "We believe the types of conduct that appear to have been found unlawful by the European Commission would also be unlawful under U.S. antitrust laws," said David Beddow, a partner at O'Melveny & Myers' Washington, D.C., office.

Frayed Nerves and Finger-Pointing as Reality of Wolf Block's Closure Hits Home

The Legal Intelligencer

With Wolf Block less than two weeks away from ceasing to exist, partners seem to be looking back and pointing fingers while staff are left to wonder what the future has in store. Recent e-mails sent firmwide by longtime Wolf Block partners expressed sadness about the firm's failure and anger toward what they saw as failed leadership. And some remaining staff say they don't know when their last day is or who will be picked to stay longer and help close down operations of the firm.

Defense Claims Refco Officials Lied to Mayer Brown Partner About Fraud

New York Law Journal

Mayer Brown partner Joseph P. Collins was kept out of the loop on hidden debt and sham transactions at Refco Inc., his attorney claimed Wednesday. Launching a passionate defense of the man who prosecutors say helped conceal a $2.4 billion corporate fraud, Collins' attorney said the three top Refco officials who defrauded banks and investors and ultimately destroyed the firm made a victim out of "an honest lawyer who believed he was representing an honest, trustworthy company."

Former DOJ Lawyers Face Scrutiny Over Interrogation Memos

The National Law Journal

Senators clashed Wednesday over whether to investigate former lawyers with the DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel over their involvement with memos authorizing the harsh interrogation of terrorist suspects -- the first congressional hearing to be held on the subject. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said OLC lawyers "ignored, bastardized, and manipulated" the law when supporting techniques like waterboarding, but Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said the former OLC lawyers committed no crimes and violated no ethical obligations.

Day Pitney Lays Off 20 Attorneys

The Connecticut Law Tribune

Day Pitney laid off 20 attorneys this week, including four from the Hartford, Conn., office and six from Florham Park, N.J. This was the second round of cuts in three months for Day Pitney, which trimmed 66 staffers and paralegals in February. At the time, firm leaders said they didn't plan to eliminate any attorneys. "Unfortunately, the demand for legal services has continued to decline, with the result that we have found ourselves with excess capacity," Day Pitney stated in an internal memo.

Executive Indicted on 2 Counts in Stanford Fraud Case

The Associated Press

The chief investment officer for Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford's companies on Tuesday became the first person indicted in a federal investigation of an alleged massive Ponzi scheme. Laura Pendergest-Holt was indicted on one count of conspiring to obstruct an SEC investigation into the Stanford Financial Group and a second count of obstructing the investigation. Each count carries up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Stanford has said he is innocent but that he expects to also be indicted.

Trump the Tenant Misses Rent, Trump the Co-op Sues the Gent

The American Lawyer

It's Trump versus Trump in a move to evict The Donald's company from a property he built 25 years ago on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The cooperative board for Trump Plaza, in a lawsuit dated Wednesday, is seeking to kick the Trump Corp. out of the building's retail space and two nearby townhouses for missing some rent payments. Leading the charge to remove Trump from the properties is co-op president and Steptoe & Johnson partner Andrew Perel.

House Hears Testimony on Medical Device Bill That Would Reverse Supreme Court Ruling

The National Law Journal

A House subcommittee this week heard testimony on the Medical Device Safety Act of 2009, a bill that proposes to overturn the Supreme Court's 2008 ruling in Riegel v. Medtronic, which prevents patients injured by certain federally approved medical devices from bringing state-level product liability suits. The bill has been a lightning rod in the legal community, with some calling it little more than an economic stimulus for personal injury lawyers, and others contending it would restore victims' rights.

With Win in France, eBay Closer to Ending Litigation Over Its Policing of Counterfeits

The American Lawyer

In our experience, it usually takes a really long time for plaintiffs to accept that a potentially rich vein of litigation has run dry, especially when courts have given them reason for hope. That's why we were surprised when eBay deputy GC Mary Huser told us Wednesday that litigation over the auction site's efforts to block the sale of luxury counterfeits is on a fast track to obsolescence.

Wiseacre Judge Says He's Suffered Enough for His Barbs From the Bench

New Jersey Law Journal

A New Jersey judge whose wisecracking from the bench landed him in disciplinary proceedings has asked to be spared from punishment because he conceded his error, apologized for it and has already been punished due to public embarrassment. In his answer to a formal ethics complaint, Judge James Convery admits to two alleged incidents, captured on tape, in which he asked a past president of the Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey if she was an illegal alien and joked about a litigant who used a hearing aid.

Md. High Court Dismisses Expert Testimony in Autism Vaccine Suit

The American Lawyer

In the court of public opinion, the debate over whether vaccines containing the mercury-based preservative thimerosal cause "autistic-spectrum disorders" in children remains unsettled. But when it comes to case law, drug manufacturers are clearly winning the fight. Last week, Maryland's highest court delivered an opinion in a thimerosal suit against Wyeth that will likely make it more difficult for plaintiffs to qualify expert witnesses in future vaccine cases.

New Restrictions on Club Memberships for Federal Judges

The National Law Journal

The Judicial Conference's Committee on Codes of Conduct issued a memorandum on Wednesday advising federal judges not to accept certain kinds of discounted club memberships because of a law passed by Congress last year. The advisory appears to rule out a controversial work-around devised by the University Club in Washington, D.C., in response to the law, though the club is not mentioned by name.

Conn. Supreme Court Orders Trash Utility to Pay Towns $36 Million

The Connecticut Law Tribune

After five years of bitter litigation, the Connecticut Supreme Court has ruled that 70 towns were victimized when the state's trash authority overcharged communities to cover losses on a $200 million-plus loan made to Enron, the failed Texas energy company. The justices upheld a 2007 trial court decision that ordered the Connecticut Resource Recovery Authority to repay the towns more than $36 million, in what the plaintiffs call the biggest judgment against a government authority in Connecticut history.

DLA Consultation Closes With 124 Cut From U.K. Offices

Legal Week

DLA Piper has completed its second U.K. redundancy consultation, resulting in 124 layoffs. Twenty-four fee earners and 100 support staff have been axed across the firm's U.K. offices following the consultation, which closed last week. The figure is marginally lower than initial predictions, when the firm said 140 jobs could go, with some staff opting for reduced working hours or lower pay to save jobs.

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Wife May Use Husband's E-Mails in Divorce Case

New York Law Journal

A woman may introduce e-mails surreptitiously culled from her estranged husband's online account as evidence of his scheme to hide his true income, a N.Y. Supreme Court judge ruled. The decision turned on the fact that the wife looked at stored e-mails and did not intercept the messages "in transit." Visit Legal Technology

Is Patent Infringement Litigation Up or Down?

The American Lawyer

Is patent litigation waxing or waning? As evidenced by dueling conclusions in recent reports and surveys, it's almost an impossible question to answer. There is a lot of turmoil and little consensus about what's happening now and how the business will look in two or three years. Meanwhile, prospective patent reform legislation, with its threatened caps on damages and potentially major changes to the patent system, hangs over the litigation landscape like a big gray cloud.

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How Blogging Affects Legal Proceedings

New York Law Journal

Blogging by jurors about ongoing trials has trial attorneys monitoring the Web for juror-posted comments that might reveal pretrial bias. Even counsel and judges need to watch whether professional ethical standards impact their own blogging, write Richard Raysman and Peter Brown.

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Are Law Firms Reducing Commitment to Diversity, Leadership Training Due to Downturn?

The National Law Journal

Although hard data are scarce, leadership consultants and diversity advocates are reporting that firms generally are spending less on those initiatives because of the economic downturn -- in spite of firms loudly touting their growing commitment to those programs in recent years. "The things people should be focusing on for the long term are giving way to cost cutting in the short term," said Larry Richard, a psychologist and consultant with Hildebrandt International who specializes in leadership training.

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