Corporate Law

Despite Settlement, N.J. Plaintiffs Can Sue Law Firms for Malpractice

Considerably expanding what some understood to be the scope of permissible malpractice claim against a law firm after the underlying case at issue has settled, a New Jersey appeals court has revived a claim against two law partnerships. Distinguishing the current case from a 2005 state supreme court holding in…

Jul 22, 2008 8:35 PM CDT

Jury Rules Bratz Doll Created During Designer’s Stint at Mattel

A California jury has ruled that the popular Bratz doll was created by a designer when he was working for Mattel, a blow for the doll’s maker, Mattel rival MGA Entertainment Inc. Mattel had claimed designer Carter Bryant took the idea for the hip, multi-ethnic doll to MGA even though…

Jul 18, 2008 11:14 AM CDT

Delaware Supreme Court Ruling a Defeat for Shareholder Activists

In a defeat for activist shareholders, the Delaware Supreme Court has declared invalid a proposed bylaw that would require a computer company to reimburse dissidents for the cost of getting elected to the corporate board. The court ruled the proposal violated state law because it would force the directors of…

Jul 18, 2008 10:54 AM CDT

McNulty Memo Changes Not Enough to Protect Privilege, ABA Task Force Chair Says

The chairman of an ABA task force says legislation is still needed to protect the attorney-client privilege, despite a pledge by the Justice Department that it will change its policy to bar privilege waiver requests in corporate investigations. R. William Ide III, chair of the ABA Task Force on Attorney-Client…

Jul 16, 2008 2:36 PM CDT

Congresswoman Plans Bill to Regulate Corporate Monitors

U.S. Rep. Linda Sanchez thinks new Justice Department guidelines regulating the selection of corporate monitors are inadequate. The Democrat from California plans to introduce reform legislation this week to regulate the hiring process for monitors scrutinizing companies targeted by the Justice Department for wrongdoing, Legal Times reports. The new legislation…

Jul 15, 2008 1:02 PM CDT

Mukasey: Attorney-Client Privilege to be Protected in Corporate Probes

Attorney General Michael Mukasey told the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday that the Justice Department will no longer require corporations to waive attorney-client privilege to show their cooperation with the government. Mukasey said he will revise the so-called McNulty memo, written by Paul McNulty, a former deputy attorney general, Legal Times…

Jul 10, 2008 10:45 AM CDT

White & Case Partners Jump Ship in New York & Germany

A five-lawyer group of capital markets practitioners in Düsseldorf, Germany, is moving from White & Case’s office there to DLA Piper’s as of Aug. 1. It is headed by partners Andreas Meyer-Landrut and Kerstin Schnabel, and also includes associates Uta Carpier, Meike Dresler-Lenz and Cornelia Wendel, reports Legal Week. Meanwhile,…

Jul 9, 2008 7:09 PM CDT

Clerk Charged with Stealing $6M from Texas Company; 30 Layoffs Followed

Updated: A trusted employee who had worked 16 years for a custom window builder in Houston was reportedly enjoying a luxe lifestyle for some time with the $6 million she allegedly embezzled. Meanwhile, the company laid off 30 employees this year because of a cash flow problem. Accounts receivable clerk…

Jul 9, 2008 6:07 PM CDT

Big Drop in Deals at UK Magic Circle Firms

There has been a massive decrease in deals being handled by London’s elite magic circle law firms this year compared to the first half of 2007, but at least some of the missing work is being made up in other areas. The total value of announced mergers and acquisitions being…

Jul 8, 2008 4:17 PM CDT

Skadden is Top Deal-Meister

Although its lead has narrowed a bit, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom is still ahead of its closest law firm rival, Sullivan & Cromwell, for the title of top law firm deal-meister this year. So far in 2008, Skadden has provided legal advice on mergers and acquisitions worth about…

Jul 3, 2008 2:55 PM CDT

Cooley Godward Adds Angel Investor to Growing Boston Office

When Cooley Godward Kronish represents start-up companies in its growing Boston office, it won’t just be legal advice that the firm can offer them. With the help of an angel investor who has been brought in as the office’s first vice president of strategy and development, Cooley can also help…

Jul 2, 2008 3:31 PM CDT

Appeals Court Rules for Grasso in Compensation Case

The battle over the $187.5 million compensation package for Richard Grasso has ended in a win for the former chairman of the New York Stock Exchange. A New York appeals court ruled that the state attorney general did not have authority to prosecute two violations of the state’s nonprofit law…

Jul 2, 2008 1:35 PM CDT

Willkie Forms Alliance With UK’s Dickson Minto

New York-based Willkie Farr & Gallagher is forming a strategic alliance with the U.K.’s Dickson Minto, a corporate boutique known for its private equity expertise. Together, the two firms can each help the other expand their business abroad, although both will continue to operate independently of each other, reports Legal…

Jun 30, 2008 7:42 PM CDT

eBay Must Pay $63M Damages for Unauthorized Sales of Luxe Goods

For the second time in a month, a French court has held Internet auction site eBay Inc. liable for helping to facilitate the sale of luxury goods outside of authorized outlets. This time, a judge awarded $63 million in damages, after finding that eBay had failed to take the necessary…

Jun 30, 2008 4:24 PM CDT

Amicable Divorce for Partners of Dissolving Coffman Coleman in Fla.

A Jacksonville, Fla., employment boutique is dissolving, but the parting is a friendly one. Coffman Coleman Andrews & Grogan had been approached a number of times about merging with other firms, and when that didn’t happen, other firms “started cherry-picking” its attorneys a few years ago, partner Bill Andrews tells…

Jun 30, 2008 4:00 PM CDT