Corporate Law

Worst of Recession is Over for Law Firms, Says PricewaterhouseCoopers Survey

After the economic carnage earlier this year, financial statistics show law firms were on more solid ground by the summer. A survey of more than 50 law firms conducted by the PricewaterhouseCoopers accounting firm found that legal work and law firm profits increased during a three-month period that ended on…

Sep 23, 2009 11:46 PM CDT

Bank Legal Dept. Might Have Known of Spy Scheme Against Retired Lawyer

Although Deutsche Bank AG officials say otherwise, an internal report by a U.S.-based law firm suggests that the leader of the German bank and its legal department may have known of a controversial corporate spying scheme, reports the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.). In one of the most controversial aspects…

Sep 21, 2009 11:20 PM CDT

Nixon Peabody Lawyer Used Client Stock Info to Net $5,800, SEC Says in Suit

Within 15 minutes of when Melissa Mahler was asked by a client company’s CEO to draft a letter of intent concerning a potential merger in 2004, the then-Nixon Peabody technology and intellectual property associate allegedly called her stockbroker, according to the Blog of Legal Times. She purchased 10,000 shares in…

Sep 21, 2009 9:57 PM CDT

Microsoft Files ‘Malvertising’ Case Against Unknown Individuals

Microsoft filed suit in Washington state court yesterday, in an effort to unmask the individuals behind five companies that allegedly have been distributing “malvertising” to users of its personal computers and services. The company has filed suit in order to enlist the court system’s help in identifying, through subpoenas on…

Sep 18, 2009 11:50 PM CDT

Mass Tort Case Contends Denture Cream Can Be Dangerous

Complaints by 25 individuals from at least 11 states that their denture cream is unduly dangerous are being consolidated into a mass tort case before a federal judge in Miami. The plaintiffs contend that the zinc-containing false tooth adhesive is defective, that they weren’t adequately warned of the risks that…

Sep 18, 2009 9:40 PM CDT

US Tax Probe ‘May Spread Like Wildfire’ After UBS Settlement

As a Sept. 23 deadline looms for tax-evaders to obtain lesser penalties by disclosing offshore accounts to the Internal Revenue Service, one observer predicts that a federal probe of foreign banks may expand exponentially following a $780 million settlement by UBS AG. After the Swiss bank’s agreement to disclose information…

Sep 18, 2009 5:23 PM CDT

Judge Strikes DuPont Defenses in $60M Benlate Litigation Due to Discovery Fraud

Saying that DuPont engaged in “a deliberate scheme to interfere” with the court’s rulings during more than a decade of litigation over damage allegedly done to Ecuadorian shrimp beds by the company’s Benlate fungicide, a Florida judge has struck the chemical manufacturer’s defenses in two companion cases. Attorney Robert McKee…

Sep 17, 2009 10:13 PM CDT

Mayer Brown and Reed Smith to Roll Out Fixed-Fee Plans for Corporate Clients

In what may be a signpost to the future for other BigLaw firms, two major legal partnerships are planning to implement fixed-fee payment structures for corporate clients. Mayer Brown is working on a plan to offer fixed fees for all transactional work, and Reed Smith has set up a committee…

Sep 17, 2009 5:30 PM CDT

Sotomayor’s ‘Provocative Comment’ Questioned Corporate Law Foundations

A comment by the U.S. Supreme Court’s newest justice last week questioned precedent dating to the 19th century that gave corporations constitutional rights. The Wall Street Journal has the story. “In her maiden Supreme Court appearance last week, Justice Sonia Sotomayor made a provocative comment that probed the foundations of…

Sep 17, 2009 1:09 PM CDT

Mace General Counsel Gets 6 Months Home Confinement Over Illegal Workers

The general counsel of Mace Security International Inc. was sentenced yesterday by a federal judge to six months of home confinement and a year of probation for his role in hiring undocumented Mexican immigrants to work at company car washes in the Philadelphia area. Robert Kramer pleaded guilty in June…

Sep 16, 2009 11:34 PM CDT

Law Prof to Head New SEC Division Regulating Risky Financial Products

A banking law expert at the University of Texas School of Law will head a new division at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that will assess and address risks posed by innovative financial products. The SEC announced today that professor Henry Hu will oversee the new Risk, Strategy and…

Sep 16, 2009 10:32 PM CDT

Fact-Finder or Legal Shield? Internal Probe a Tough Gig for In-House Counsel

In-house counsel are in a tough position when they oversee an internal corporate investigation. On the one hand, the company needs to understand the facts to make appropriate determinations. But, on the other hand, the facts may establish liability to third parties for any corporate wrongdoing. That essentially was the…

Sep 15, 2009 9:31 PM CDT

Judge Appoints Public Defender for Billionaire R. Allen Stanford

A federal judge today appointed a public defender to represent a Texas billionaire who is accused of bilking $7 billion or so from investors in a scheme that allegedly revolved around an offshore bank’s certificates of deposit. Because R. Allen Stanford’s assets were frozen in a civil suit brought by…

Sep 15, 2009 7:45 PM CDT

Greedy Gordon Gekko to Make a Comeback in ‘Wall Street 2’

Remember Gordon Gekko? Famous for his philosophy that greed is good, the once-mighty corporate raider played by Michael Douglas in the 1987 movie Wall Street has been released from prison just in time to appear in a new Oliver Stone movie that has just begun filming. How Gekko continues to…

Sep 15, 2009 5:25 PM CDT

Kelley Drye Group Departs for K&L Gates

A group of corporate and litigation attorneys has left Kelley Drye & Warren for K&L Gates. They are the first addition to their new firm’s Chicago office since K&L Gates acquired Bell Boyd & Lloyd earlier this year. Headed by partners Susan Greenspon and David Rammelt, the group also includes…

Sep 15, 2009 4:30 PM CDT