Corporate Law

Hearsay: Do you have an unusual hobby?

SAY WHAT? “I felt like there were three angels in the room. And, interestingly, they had New York accents,” U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk (R.-Ill.) told NBC 5 Chicago about what he remembers upon awakening from a stroke. According to the Maryland Access to Justice Commission, civil legal aid providers there…

Mar 1, 2013 9:50 AM CST

State’s top court tosses $1B punitives award against Exxon in community gas-spill case

Maryland’s top court has nixed a $1 billion punitive damages award against ExxonMobil Corp. in an environmental case brought over a 2006 gasoline spill in Jacksonville, finding that the fraud claims on which the 2011 verdict was based were not proven. In a 129-page opinion (PDF), the Maryland Court of…

Feb 27, 2013 10:29 PM CST

With billions at issue, trial begins to apportion fault for oil spill among BP, its subcontractors

A federal judge in New Orleans began hearing opening statements Monday in a trial to determine how to apportion blame between BP Plc and its subcontractors for the massive oil spill that began April 20, 2010 with a blowout of an undersea well after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded…

Feb 25, 2013 6:16 PM CST

In-house counsel ‘woefully unprepared’ to deal with cybersecurity issues

More than a quarter of the respondents to a 2012 general counsel survey say their companies experienced a cybersecurity breach during the last year or so. And that number may well be too low; given the expense and embarrassment associated with hacking and data security breaches, some individuals who discover…

Feb 13, 2013 2:29 PM CST

Cravath may soon have its first non-equity partner, if Mary Jo White is confirmed as SEC chair

Cravath, Swaine & Moore doesn’t have non-equity partners. But that policy apparently may soon change, if Mary Jo White is confirmed as the new chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Debevoise & Plimpton partner is married to corporate partner John White of Cravath. And, in a letter sent…

Feb 12, 2013 12:54 PM CST

Law firm ‘wine and dine’ event with client led to insider-trading case against partner’s husband

The husband of a partner at a well-known law firm is facing an insider-trading case, after allegedly using information he obtained in connection with a planned “wine and dine” event with a Silicon Valley client. James Balchan, an information technology specialist in Houston, is accused in a federal complaint filed…

Feb 7, 2013 3:20 PM CST

4 lawyers exit McCarter & English for Holland & Knight

Three partners and a special counsel have exited McCarter & English for the Boston office of Holland & Knight. Brian Leary, Diane McDermott and Jeffrey Stoler will all be partners at Holland & Knight; Richard Holtz, who had been at the 400-attorney northeast regional firm only about one year, will…

Feb 6, 2013 5:45 PM CST

Best friend’s Ponzi scheme puts Shook Hardy lawyer—and his firm—under fire in trustee suit

Updated: A childhood friendship between a lawyer-to-be and another boy who, decades later, is serving a 20-year federal securities fraud prison term for masterminding a $930 million Ponzi scheme led to a legal representation that has put a prominent South Florida attorney and his law firm on the defensive. Marc…

Feb 1, 2013 5:20 PM CST

It’s a golden age for Texas’ oil and gas transactional lawyers

“Mud lawyers,” that’s what they called them—oil and gas attorneys, viewed for decades as second-class citizens in the world of corporate transactional law. They dealt in wet, smelly products pulled from the ground, relegated to practicing in Dallas and Houston, earning subpar rates compared to their brethren in the white-shoe…

Feb 1, 2013 10:59 AM CST

Dead suspect in shooting of mediation opponents was litigious, had anger issues, lawyer says

Updated: A man who authorities say committed suicide after shooting a corporate attorney and his client after a law firm mediation session Wednesday in Phoenix was reportedly litigious and had anger-management issues. Before shooting attorney Mark P. Hummels, 43, and client Steven Singer, 48, who both died, Arthur Douglas Harmon,…

Jan 31, 2013 8:06 PM CST

When can workers be fired for Facebook posts and tweets?

Amy McClenathan apparently was having a bad day when she posted on Facebook, around the one-year anniversary of her mom’s death, that some days she wished she would be fired so she could just stay at home. The next day she got her wish; the title company for which she…

Jan 29, 2013 5:09 PM CST

Nightclub fire kills more than 230 people; 4 individuals held for questioning

Authorities investigating a Sunday nightclub fire that killed more than 230 people in southern Brazil have detained four individuals for questioning—two owners, a member of the Gurizada Fandangueira band and the group’s security chief, officials say. Approximately another 100 people were injured in the fire, at the Kiss nightclub in…

Jan 28, 2013 7:15 PM CST

Reed Smith can implead other law firms in defense of malpractice suit, appeals court says

Sued by a former client over its handling of a gin trade-name issue, Reed Smith has won a round in the ongoing litigation. The law firm can implead three other law firms that also allegedly provided bad advice to Millennium Import concerning its Belvedere brand, a New York appellate court…

Jan 25, 2013 9:28 PM CST

Subway agrees size does matter, says ‘footlong’ sandwiches should be 12 inches

After Internet complaints and at least two lawsuits contending that its “footlong” sandwiches don’t measure up to their billing, Subway issued a statement Thursday saying that the company will work harder to ensure that all of the chain’s 1-foot products are actually 12 inches long. While declining to comment specifically…

Jan 24, 2013 8:38 PM CST

Do successful parents confer career advantage? Treasury lawyer is among next-generation achievers

At least 14 high achievers with successful parents hold top posts in business, law, executive search and government—and Jim Millstein is among them. Millstein, a lawyer, was chief restructuring officer at the U.S. Treasury, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. Millstein’s father is Ira Millstein, a senior partner at…

Jan 24, 2013 11:30 AM CST