Legal News

Defending the Boy Scouts

Posted on April 15, 2010
A jury in Portland, Ore., awarded a former Boy Scout $1.4 million on Tuesday after finding the organization negligent for allowing a Scout leader to have inappropriate contact with him. We went looking for the law firms that have done work for the Scouts and learned that Hughes Hubbard, Thompson & Knight, Jackson Lewis, and Miami firm Lane Reese Summers collectively have earned about $5 million in fees from the organization.

Andrews Kurth, Baker Botts Lead on $2.7 billion Apache Deal for Mariner Energy

Posted on April 15, 2010
Apache announced not one, but two billion-dollar-plus acquisitions this week involving assets in the Gulf of Mexico. On both, Texas firms loomed large.

Its Leader Gone, Virtual Law Partners Soldiers On

Posted on April 15, 2010
After VLP's founding partner died suddenly last year, the innovative Silicon Valley firm needed to quickly transform from a "benevolent dictatorship" into a democratic partnership in order to survive.

Gibson Dunn, Linklaters Tackle Alleged Bribery Case for HP

Posted on April 15, 2010
German authorities are investigating whether Hewlett-Packard officials paid nearly $11 million in bribes to win a Russian government contract.

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Now We Know Why the CME Group Didn't Cooperate With the Lehman Examiner

Posted on April 15, 2010
Because they might get sued.

Plaintiffs in Tainted Chinese Drywall Litigation May Win in Court, but Will They Ever Collect?

Posted on April 15, 2010
A Chinese drywall manufacturer is facing a $2.6 million judgment by a New Orleans federal court over noxious building materials, and thousands of other cases are in the pipeline. But when it comes to collecting from Chinese defendants, plaintiffs may never see a penny.

Is the Third Circuit Taking the NFL SpyGate Case Seriously?

Posted on April 15, 2010
A fan's $184 million putative class action over team spying looked like a long shot, but reports from oral arguments Wednesday suggest the appellate judges took a keen interest in the case. 

Boies Gets Ready for Banana Battle

Posted on April 15, 2010
Boies, Schiller & Flexner is the latest firm to jump into the Alien Tort Statute litigation fray against Chiquita Brands International, filing suit against the Cincinnati-based banana producer and distributor.

Foley Hoag in Middle of Massachusetts Health Insurance Flap

Posted on April 14, 2010
The state's universal health care system has run into some roadblocks.

Vedder Price, Milbank on $2 Billion Macquarie Deal for AIG Aircraft Unit

Posted on April 14, 2010
The U.S. government hoped to sell off AIG's entire airline leasing business to raise cash for the battered insurer--and to recoup some of the $180 billion it spent bailing out the company. But after pulling back from an auction-sale when it couldn't get the price it wanted, AIG unit ILFR is selling just part of its massive 900-plane fleet.

McCarthy Tétrault, Jones Day on Giant Canadian Tobacco Smuggling Settlement

Posted on April 14, 2010
The half-billion-dollar settlement, announced Tuesday afternoon, resolves Canadian government allegations that R.J. Reynolds and JTI-Macdonald Corp. conspired to avoid paying billions of dollars in Canadian cigarette taxes.

Skadden, Sadis Lead On Citi's Sale of Alternative Investments Business

Posted on April 14, 2010
Citigroup announced on Wednesday that it would sell its fund of funds business, Citi Alternative Investments, to alternative assets manager SkyBridge Capital. Skadden Arps and hedge fund firm Sadis & Goldberg scored lead advisory roles on the deal, terms of which were not disclosed.

Wachtell and Paul Weiss Advise on New Bid for Bankrupt General Growth

Posted on April 14, 2010
Simon Property Group, the largest owner of shopping malls in the U.S., has teamed up with hedge fund Paulson & Co. for a new offer for bankrupt rival General Growth Properties. And plenty of Am Law 100 firms are already involved.

Has Palm Ditched Wilson Sonsini for Davis Polk?

Posted on April 14, 2010
That appears to be the case as Palm gets ready to sell itself in a potential megadeal.

In Fight for Three Bankrupt Trump Casinos, Judge Approves Trump Plan Over Icahn's

Posted on April 13, 2010
Both reorganization plans were confirmable, ruled Chief Judge Judith Wizmur of Camden federal bankruptcy court. In the end, the plan put forth by Donald Trump, the casinos, and a committee of noteholders won the support of the largest class of creditors and the judge's approval.

Back to Law School for Bill Lerach?

Posted on April 13, 2010
Recently released from prison, Bill Lerach is planning his comeback. The curly-haired former plaintiffs lawyer could be teaching a course on the failures of free market capitalism at The University of California, Irvine School of Law.

Iceland Report Lashes Out At Government, Banks

Posted on April 13, 2010
A mammoth 2,300-page report compiled by a Special Investigation Commission for the Icelandic parliament heavily criticizes some of Iceland's leading political figures and banking officials over the crisis that brought the country to the brink of insolvency.

Blakes, Osler on $4.65B ConocoPhillips/Sinopec Deal

Posted on April 13, 2010
ConocoPhillips agrees to sell its stake in Syncrude Canada, the world's largest producer of light sweet crude oil from oil sands, to Sinopec, China's oil producing behemoth.

Blake Dawson Opens Tokyo Office

Posted on April 13, 2010
The move marks a first into the Japan market by an Australian law firm.

Report: Madoff Trustee Recoups $1.5 Billion

Posted on April 13, 2010
Irving Picard, the Baker & Hostetler partner and trustee tasked with liquidating the estate of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, submitted an 83-page interim report to a bankruptcy court in Manhattan on Monday stating that $1.5 billion in assets so far have been recouped for out-of-pocked investors.

Ex-FINRA Enforcement Chief Joins Bingham McCutchen

Posted on April 12, 2010
Susan Merrill, who spent a total of six years as head of enforcement for the New York Stock Exchange regulatory arm and the entity that succeeded it, is to join Bingham McCutchen's broker-dealer group in New York this week.

Skadden, Wachtell Tapped for Mirant/RRI Power Producer Merger

Posted on April 12, 2010
The new combined company, GenOn Energy, will become the second-largest U.S. independent power producer.

Simpson Thacher Partner on Sex Abuse Case Against His High School: "I Have to Do This"

Posted on April 12, 2010
A Simpson Thacher partner talks to us about adding his name to a lawsuit charging his middle and high school alma mater, Poly Prep Country Day School, with a decades-long cover-up of sex abuse committed by a football coach.

The Bankruptcy Files: Plenty of Restructuring Work to Go Around

Posted on April 12, 2010
Mega bankruptcies might have tapered off from their peak of a year ago, but there are still plenty of high-stakes out-of-court restructurings keeping lawyers busy. PLUS: Pali Holdings, Rock & Republic, and Derrick Coleman file for bankruptcy.

Akin Gump, Schulte Roth on DynCorp Buyout

Posted on April 12, 2010
In the latest sign that business is picking up in the LBO market, military contractor DynCorp International has agreed to be acquired by Cerberus Capital Management, though the deal's terms give DynCorp a month to find a better offer. 

With Stevens Set to Retire, Possible Replacements Prepare Their Resumes

Posted on April 12, 2010
U.S. Supreme Court justice John Paul Stevens, who announced on Friday that he plans to retire when the Court's current term ends, will leave behind an impressive legacy and a large void. Now some of the early candidates to replace Stevens are having their SCOTUS credentials bandied about in the media.

Ruden McClosky Management Speaks, Says Everything Will Be Fine

Posted on April 12, 2010
In their first lengthy interview amid the firm's recent struggles, Ruden leaders largely defended their real estate-heavy business model and assured those on the outside that the firm will survive.

Big Firms All Over Hastings Law Religious Group Case

Posted on April 12, 2010
A week from today, a law school will be on center stage at the U.S. Supreme Court.

And Now for Something Completely Different: The Future of Legal Education

Posted on April 11, 2010
A pricey law school education doesn't seem quite so worthwhile when the job market tightens--something that at least a law school leaders are starting to recognize. Turning that realization into concrete change was Topic A at a two-day conference at New York Law School...

Dealmaker of the Week: Scott Smith of Covington & Burling

Posted on April 09, 2010
For Smith, who chairs the firm's M&A and private equity practice, putting together SandRidge Energy, Inc.'s $1.5 billion acquisition of Arena Resources Inc. felt a bit like going home.

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