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Anatomy of a $1.67 Billion IP Verdict

The Recorder

News of Monday's $1.67 billion patent verdict against Abbott Labs had patent lawyers slack-jawed across the United States. But perhaps even more surprising to some was the lawyer on the losing side: WilmerHale's William Lee, one of the biggest names in intellectual property litigation. The award broke the previous record, a San Diego jury's $1.52 billion verdict against Microsoft. That verdict was later tossed by the trial judge, and observers say the same could happen with the Abbott Labs case.

A-List Rankings Show Power Shift Among Top Law Firms

The American Lawyer

The legal world has been transformed in the last year, and so has The American Lawyer's seventh annual A-List, which ranks the nation's elite law firms -- those that are best at balancing a thriving business with their obligations to the profession. Only four firms held on to the ranking that they had in 2008. Four firms -- all based in Manhattan -- fell off the list, while others slid down the ranks, due in part to a methodology change involving diversity scoring.

High Court Losses Stun Environmentalists

The National Law Journal

Environmentalists suffered a stunning 0-for-5 outcome in the U.S. Supreme Court this term, their "worst term ever," according to advocates and scholars. The defeats left the environmental community -- and even its traditional antagonist in these cases, the business community -- wondering where the Court is heading in this increasingly important area of the law. Is the Roberts Court pro-business, anti-environment, pro-government -- or something else?

Will Campaign Finance Case Impact Vote on Sotomayor?

The National Law Journal

The Supreme Court's unusual order Monday delaying a decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and setting it for re-argument Sept. 9 may introduce more pressure on the Senate to confirm Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor and have her on the bench by then. Retired Justice David Souter was a reliable vote in favor of campaign finance regulations and Sotomayor's record suggests she would be a likely supporter too. Without her, the outcome on an eight-member Court would be uncertain.

Former Bingham Associate Files Date Rape Suit Against Firm

The American Lawyer

A former Bingham McCutchen associate has slapped the firm with a civil suit, seeking damages for allegedly being drugged at a holiday party by a Bingham staffer. The woman alleges she was drugged with Tegretol -- an anti-seizure medication that causes memory loss when mixed with alcohol -- while attending a lunch party with about 100 other Bingham employees in 2007. She also claims that at least one other female associate was drugged and raped by a Bingham employee the previous year.

Womble Carlyle Faces Malpractice Suit

The National Law Journal

Womble Carlyle is facing a legal malpractice suit from a Catholic radio broadcaster and education group that alleges mistakes by the firm cost it millions of dollars. The North American Catholic Educational Programming Foundation alleges that Womble missed crucial deadlines and made other mistakes that caused the foundation to lose its bids for several telecommunications channels and new broadcast licenses. The foundation's complaint names Womble and former Womble attorney Howard Barr as defendants.

Willie Gary Targets D.C. Transit Authority Over Fatal Rail Crash

The American Lawyer

Famed plaintiffs lawyer Willie Gary, having shaken off the racketeering charges in a suit claiming he raped his former secretary, is back to litigating his own cases. On Tuesday, Gary's firm announced that it would be co-counsel in a suit on behalf of two victims of last week's catastrophic metro rail crash in Washington, D.C., that killed nine people. Gary claims that Ivey Epps and her mother were "victims of negligent inspection" by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.

Attorneys Unite to Support Government Watchdog Dismissed by Obama Administration

New York Law Journal

Nearly 150 prominent attorneys of all political stripes have banded together to support one of their own who went to D.C. to serve as a government watchdog, only to be dismissed by the Obama administration in the wake of a report that he was "disoriented" at a meeting. Though the attorneys are unanimous in affirming Gerald Walpin's "integrity and competence," they have stopped short of calling for a formal investigation of his dismissal, which has prompted bloggers to accuse the White House of partisanship.

FTC Rule on Identity Theft Draws Strong Criticism From Bar Groups

New York Law Journal

The New York State Bar Association on Monday became the latest bar group to protest new Federal Trade Commission rules requiring lawyers to become involved in preventing identity theft, calling the move unauthorized, unnecessary and destructive to the attorney-client relationship. The State Bar's objections follow those submitted last week by the ABA and the New York County Lawyers' Association. The ABA denounced the rules as imposing "an undue burden on law firms, especially solo practitioners."

3rd Circuit Recognizes New Cause of Action for Civil Rights Violations at Nursing Homes

The Legal Intelligencer

In a landmark opinion that recognizes a new category of lawsuits, the 3rd Circuit has ruled that the Federal Nursing Home Reform Amendments give residents of county-run nursing homes the right to bring civil rights claims under Section 1983 to challenge the quality of their treatment. The ruling revives a suit brought by the estate of an 80-year-old mother of eight who died in a nursing home as a result of neglect, malnourishment and bed sores that were so severe they led to a fatal case of sepsis.

White House Accepts Convicted Federal Judge's Resignation

The Associated Press

The White House has accepted the resignation of imprisoned federal Judge Samuel Kent, whom the House impeached on allegations of sexually assaulting two women and lying about the assaults. President Barack Obama's acceptance of Kent's resignation, effective Tuesday, ends Kent's $174,000 annual judicial salary, as many members of Congress wanted. Kent will have to wait at least a week for the Senate to decide whether to end his impeachment trial. Congress is adjourned this week for the July 4 holiday.

Calif. High Court Gives Workplace Violation Suits Route Around Class Certification

The Recorder

Employees wanting to sue their bosses for workplace violations were given an alternative route Monday that gets around the task of gaining class certification under unfair competition laws. By unanimous vote, the California Supreme Court ruled in two companion cases that employees need not meet class requirements if they seek civil penalties for themselves and others under the Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act of 2004. One attorney said the rulings "strongly encourage more litigation in an area that's white hot."

Judge Revokes Bond for Texas Financier Stanford

The Associated Press

A federal judge has revoked the bond of Texas financier R. Allen Stanford, ordering he be kept in jail while he awaits trial on charges alleging he swindled investors out of $7 billion. Prosecutors had argued that Stanford's international ties made him a flight risk and differentiated him from other high-profile fraud defendants like Enron's Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, who were freed on bond before their trials. Stanford's attorney said he would appeal Tuesday's ruling to the 5th Circuit.

Should Lawyers Play Nice in E-Discovery?

Special to Law.com

Sedona Conference founder Richard Braman wants law schools to teach lawyers to collaborate during e-discovery and drop the gladiatorial style of litigation to deal with mounting volumes of data. Less adversarial EDD is the goal of his Cooperation Proclamation.

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Untangling Stimulus Strings

The Recorder

With venture capital all but dried up, government contracts lawyers say they are getting a lot of questions from high-tech companies eager to compete for stimulus funds. But government money comes with quite a few strings attached, which means more red tape to explain to clients. That's not necessarily a roadblock, lawyers said, but clients will need good compliance infrastructure as they go down that road.

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Second Female Managing Partner Takes Helm at Carroll, Burdick & McDonough

The Recorder

Vicki Freimann will be taking over today as managing partner of Carroll, Burdick & McDonough, making her the second woman to lead the 66-member firm. The firm's first female managing partner, Angela Bradstreet, left in 2007 to become California's labor commissioner. Bradstreet said Freimann has "that perfect combination" of business acumen, client service and people skills to lead a firm. Freimann will oversee the firm's expansion beyond California and internationally, partner Rodney Eshelman said.

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Alternative Billing Increasingly Important for Texas Firms, Survey Shows

Texas Lawyer

Balancing the risks and rewards of using alternative billing, such as fixed or contingent fees, is a strategy many firms are employing in today's uncertain economy, based on responses from the 74 firms that completed Texas Lawyer's 2009 Salary & Billing Survey. Other strategies include holding hourly billing rates stable and requiring higher front-end retainers from new clients. The survey shows that average billing rates and employee salaries rose less than 4 percent when compared to 2008 figures.

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