Corporate Law

‘Convergence’ Can Benefit Law Firms as Well as Corporate Clients

After the apparent success of Tyco International’s grand experiment in legal cost-cutting in Europe, which is now in its second year, further innovation is expected both from Tyco and other major corporations. The “convergence” model applied by Tyco, which DuPont is credited with initially adopting more than a decade ago,…

Jun 6, 2008 10:36 PM CDT

Brocade Stock Options Backdating Bill: $160M, Biggest So Far

Brocade Communications Systems Inc. has agreed to pay $160 million to settle a class action over stock options backdating in the biggest such settlement so far in a series of similar cases against other corporations. It must still be approved by the court before it is final. The settlement follows…

Jun 2, 2008 9:50 PM CDT

Ex-Partner of Baker & McKenzie Indicted in $1.3M Client Theft Case

A former corporate partner in Baker & McKenzie’s New York office has been indicted for allegedly stealing $1.3 million from a client trust account. The money reportedly represents interest earned from a $30 million escrow account. However, an attorney for Martin Weisberg says the money was a loan and has…

May 27, 2008 8:53 PM CDT

FBI Report: Many More Corporate, Mortgage & Securities Cases Last Year

There’s no shortage of work for FBI agents, as the agency has revved up its investigations of alleged corporate, mortgage and securities wrongdoing in recent years. The Federal Bureau of Investigation reports that the number of corporate fraud investigations last year, 529, was nearly double the figure for five years…

May 23, 2008 6:30 PM CDT

More Tyco Work for BigLaw UK Firm Under Unusual Billing Scheme

A major U.K.-based international law firm stands to get a six-figure bonus this year from a corporate client if it meets certain goals, including having women comprise at least 25 percent of its 2009 class of new partners. Eversheds will also see a fatter paycheck if it reduces Tyco’s litigation…

May 20, 2008 6:44 PM CDT

Experts Explain: How to Help Company Records Custodians Help You

Lawyers seeking documents from corporate records custodians will find that time spent explaining their requests pays dividends. Although the litigation process may seem clear to the attorneys involved, it can be an unusual, confusing and frightening experience for the company employees asked to provide documents in discovery, two experts point…

May 16, 2008 8:13 PM CDT

It’s Official: Carl Icahn Will Lead Yahoo Proxy Fight Seeking Microsoft Deal

Updated: Billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn has definitely decided to lead a proxy fight for control of the Yahoo Inc. board, according to news reports, and some observers are predicting that he could win his campaign. The campaign is of particular interest to mergers and acquisition lawyers in a slow…

May 14, 2008 10:45 PM CDT

Founders & Gen’l Counsel Sued By SEC in Broadcom Options Backdating Case

Broadcom Corp.’s two founders, its general counsel and a former chief financial officer were all named as defendants today in a civil complaint filed over options backdating by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in federal court in California. The four “perpetrated a scheme from 1998 to 2003 to fraudulently…

May 14, 2008 9:08 PM CDT

Toronto Abuzz About Partner Fired From Local Dorsey & Whitney Office

Lawyers from Dorsey & Whitney will be scrambling to try to make up lost ground as the firm copes with an embarrassing situation in its small Toronto office, a Canadian publication predicts. The city’s legal community is still buzzing over Gil Cornblum, a partner fired by the firm last week…

May 14, 2008 4:39 PM CDT

Legal Dispute Escalates With Craigslist Countersuit Against EBay

Web classified company Craigslist has filed a countersuit against eBay that claims the auction company interfered with its business operations and infringed its trademark after acquiring a minority stake in Craigslist. The suit was filed just two weeks after eBay sued Craigslist executives claiming they improperly sought to dilute eBay’s…

May 14, 2008 1:30 PM CDT

Good News for Deal Lawyers: Carl Icahn Mulls Yahoo Proxy Fight

In a slow season for corporate deals, renowned activist investor Carl Icahn has provided some good news for mergers and acquisitions lawyers. He reportedly has purchased as many as 50 million shares of Yahoo Inc. stock and, in the wake of Microsoft Corp.’s failed bid for the Internet giant, is…

May 13, 2008 9:09 PM CDT

Lack of Work for Summer Associates?

Summer associate programs at BigLaw firms are famously a time for potential legal eagles to play as well as work. But work may occupy even less of their time this year because of a slowdown at a number of corporate law firm departments. Some firms are cutting the duration of…

May 13, 2008 6:01 PM CDT

Dorsey & Whitney Fires Partner as Insider Trading Probe Continues

A Canadian partner of Dorsey & Whitney has reportedly been fired by the Minneapolis-based law firm, as an insider trading probe to which the lawyer has been linked continues. Gil Cornblum, the fired partner, was a law school colleague of business consultant Stan Grmovsek, one of three individuals who reportedly…

May 9, 2008 5:20 PM CDT

Chinese Arbitration Concerns Some U.S. Companies

Some U.S. companies and their lawyers are concerned about arbitration of business disputes in China. In one high-profile case, an arbitrator who sided with PepsiCo Inc. against a Chinese bottler was detained in 2006 on charges of committing financial improprieties within the arbitration organization that hired him, a Chinese-sponsored group…

May 9, 2008 3:57 PM CDT

Suspect in Insider Trading Probe Had ‘Connection’ to Lawyer

Canadian and U.S. securities regulators are investigating possible insider trading in a probe focused on 11 Canadian takeovers during the past two years and a Minneapolis-based law firm that advised companies involved in each deal, a Canadian newspaper says. According to Ontario Superior Court documents, the Ontario Securities Commission is…

May 8, 2008 4:08 PM CDT