Corporate Law

3 Fed’l Grand Juries Probe Lehman Bros.

Three grand jury investigations have been launched against Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., in the wake of the investment bank’s bankruptcy last month. The probes, launched “by New York U.S. attorneys in Brooklyn and Manhattan as well as in Newark, New Jersey. They are focusing in part on Lehman’s role in…

Oct 17, 2008 5:51 PM CDT

Nike Sues Wal-Mart, Claiming Cushioned Shoe Design is Copied

Nike claims in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Chicago that Wal-Mart is selling shoes that infringe on its patented design. The suit claims Wal-Mart’s Detra shoes infringe on two patents related to its Shox brand cushioning system, the Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.). It’s not the first…

Oct 17, 2008 5:47 PM CDT

NY High Court Upholds Convictions of Ex-Tyco Execs

New York’s highest court has turned down arguments that lawyer Davis Boies was improperly allowed to testify about an internal investigation of Tyco in the trial of two of its former executives. The New York Court of Appeals upheld the fraud convictions of former CEO Dennis Kozlowski and ex-CFO Mark…

Oct 17, 2008 4:00 PM CDT

WaMu is Being Investigated by FBI

Add Washington Mutual Bank to a list of major corporate failures that are being investigated by the FBI. The FBI had been secretly looking into the bank’s operations for months. However, it went public yesterday with the investigation because WaMu depositors, having already seen the institution become the biggest bank…

Oct 16, 2008 9:12 PM CDT

Snell & Wilmer Opens Office in Mexico

An Arizona-based law firm has opened its first foreign office in Mexico, becoming the first major United States firm to do so in the Baja California Sur state. Snell & Wilmer’s new office in San Jose del Cabo will focus on helping U.S. companies do business in Mexico, and and…

Oct 16, 2008 4:05 PM CDT

Recover Executive Perks, or Else, NY’s AG Tells Insurance Giant AIG

In an effort that could serve as a blueprint to others seeking to hold executives of failed corporations financially responsible, the attorney general of New York has sent a letter to insurance giant AIG. In it, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo says the company must recover millions of dollars in “unreasonable”…

Oct 15, 2008 7:22 PM CDT

Did Signing Lease for Pa. Law Firm Make 2 Partners Personally Liable?

Although other partners of a dissolved Pittsburgh law firm were held personally liable for the balance due on the remainder of the five-year office lease, two former Titus & McConomy partners say they aren’t. That’s because they signed the lease on behalf of the law firm, not as individual partners,…

Oct 14, 2008 4:38 PM CDT

Latham Stuns Magic Circle’s A&O With 7-Partner Hong Kong Raid

Latham & Watkins has raided one of London’s biggest and best-known law firms, luring seven partners away from the Hong Kong office of Allen & Overy. Their move to the Los Angeles-based international firm “represents one of the most significant departures ever seen from the foreign network of a magic…

Oct 13, 2008 10:19 PM CDT

Law Students Pursue Securities Cases for Small Investors

With an expected surge in civil and criminal fraud cases on the horizon over questions about the conduct of those involved in making mortgage loans blamed for a worldwide credit crisis, several law schools will soon be graduating a new crop of students who already have trial experience in the…

Oct 13, 2008 7:04 PM CDT

Wall Street Crisis Creates Too Much Work for Weary Bank Lawyers

Amidst what one consultant describes as a horrible year for major corporate law firms, one practice area is red-hot: advising struggling financial institutions, for those considered expert in the practice area. One unnamed lawyer billed 450 hours last month—that’s 15 per day, every day, according to Bloomberg. Others, according to…

Oct 9, 2008 9:00 PM CDT

Newly Unemployed: Thousands of Texas Fish Used in Banned Pedicure Practice

Worried about the potential risks of fish nibbling at customers’ tootsies, the state of Texas banned the pedicure practice yesterday. “Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation spokeswoman Susan Stanford said the agency was concerned about salons using the same fish to clean the skin of multiple customers, leaving them open…

Oct 9, 2008 7:09 PM CDT

Does Kentucky Have Power to Regulate Internet Gambling?

A court order that requires domain names for 141 websites that offer online gambling to be turned over to government officials should be reversed, counsel for the defendants and trade associations argued yesterday in an unusual Kentucky case. The domain names have been treated by the court as though they’re…

Oct 8, 2008 11:20 PM CDT

Justice Breyer Sells Stocks to Participate in More Cases

Justice Stephen G. Breyer will be able to participate in more business cases before the Supreme Court because he and his wife are selling many of their stocks. Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg confirmed the stock sales, Bloomberg News reports. The Breyers owned 38 stocks, more than any other justice, and…

Oct 7, 2008 12:13 PM CDT

U.S. Lawmaker Suggests Special Counsel Probe of Wall Street Operations

At least one congressional lawmaker is calling for the appointment of a special counsel to probe Wall Street’s operations, as a global financial crisis apparently sparked by the U.S. mortgage meltdown continued today. As stock prices plummeted again worldwide today and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee began hearings…

Oct 6, 2008 7:25 PM CDT

9 LA Lawyers Move from Sonnenschein to Seyfarth Shaw

A group of nine real estate and corporate attorneys are moving from Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal to the Los Angeles office of Seyfarth Shaw. The five partners in the group are expected to be joined today by four associates, according to a Seyfarth press release. “Seyfarth Shaw has long planned…

Oct 6, 2008 3:14 PM CDT