Friday, August 31, 2001
U.S. Tort Awards -- Often No Rhyme or Reason
Anthony J. Sebok -- Findlaw Columnist -- CNN.com
Plaintiffs ask for far more than they accept in settlement largely because they operate in an informational vacuum -- they have no idea what they will be able to get for their cases.
Awards in U.S. tort cases vary unfairly, even within the same accident. Non-economic damages (pain and suffering, loss of consortium, loss of enjoyment of life, etc.) are very subjective and difficult to assess. Punitive damages, not designed to compensate at all but to punish, are even more subjective.
The Federal Rules prohibit evidence of awards made by juries in similar cases, and there are no official compilations of jury awards and settlement amounts.
Read more . . .
Lloyds Sydicate Members Liable for Asbestos Losses
Tracey Tyler - The Star.com - August 30, 2001
Gerry Meinzer and 87 other Canadian investors are $48 million poorer today after losing their lawsuit against the venerable insurance giant Lloyd's.
The company that has insured everything from the Titanic to Bruce Springsteen's vocal chords won its legal battle to enforce an English court ruling against investors who claimed that Lloyd's concealed information about potentially massive liabilities, including asbestos-related lawsuits.
The Ontario Court of Appeal ruled unanimously in Lloyd's favour yesterday in what may be an ominous sign for other investors across the country.
The case was the first attempt to enforce judgment in Canada against investors who, as Madam Justice Kathryn Feldman put it yesterday, put up their money ``without fully appreciating the potential magnitude of the risks.'' The investors, known as ``names,'' served as the underwriters of Lloyd's insurance policies and were left holding the bag for any losses. The company had more than 36,000 names worldwide, organized through syndicates specializing in everything from marine to environmental insurance.
Read more. . .
El Paso jury awards $55.5 million to man exposed to asbestos
Chris Roberts - Reporter-News.com - August 31, 2001
Jurors have awarded $55.5 million to an El Paso man who worked with products containing asbestos in the mid-1970s and later was diagnosed with cancer. The jury in an El Paso County court found late Wednesday that Alfredo Hernandez Sr., 47, was exposed to asbestos when working with products manufactured by the Kelly-Moore Paint Co. Included in the $55.5 million award were more than $5.5 million for Hernandez's wife, $14 million for his four children and $15 million in punitive damages against Kelly-Moore.
Read more. . .
EXPANDING THE KINDS OF DEFENDANTS: Venture Capital Firms Could Be Liable for Failed Dot.coms
Dow Jones Newswires - August 31, 2001
Until now, most IPO-related lawsuits that cropped up this year have targeted the Wall Street firms who underwrote them, as well as the companies themselves. But a new suit against Mortgage.com Inc. related to its initial stock offering and subsequent demise targets the venture capitalists who funded the offering. The danger inherent in targeting VCs lies not as much in a finding of liability (some experts say that VCs are generally shielded from liability) as much as the drain it poses on VCs' resources.
Read more. . .
Firestone settles upcoming case, Ford may be soon to follow
Karin Miller - Associated Press - Agust 30, 2001
Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. has settled the next lawsuit scheduled for trial over a tire separation on a Ford Explorer that rolled over. And Ford Motor Co. may be soon to follow. The trial is scheduled for Sept. 10 in Brownsville, Texas, in the lawsuit over the death of Margarita Gonzalez and injury of her son Alfredo during a crash last year near Kerrville, Texas.
The settlement could leave Ford Motor Co. as the lone defendant -- a reversal of the situation earlier this month in nearby McAllen, in which Bridgestone/Firestone blamed Ford during its trial for an accident that left a woman paralyzed. Ford had settled that case before trial began.
Read more. . .
$15.4 Million Hip Replacement Judgment
Guy H. Lawrence - Caller-Times - August 31, 2001
Thursday's $15.4 million judgment against a hip implant maker gave Naomi Bonorden a sense of relief for the pain she suffered after surgery in October. Bonorden, 68, of Aransas Pass, Lillian Sallinger, 78, of Robstown, and Helen Rupp, 73, of Aransas Pass, were awarded the money in a lawsuit against Sulzer Orthopedics of Austin. The implants did not adhere to bone properly, became loose and caused the women pain, which required a second surgery to correct.
Read more. . .
Business Builder: First Impressions
Infobeat (ABC News) - August 31, 2001
In business, a good first impression is crucial for forging profitable, sustainable, long-term partnerships to help build the business and keep it thriving. No doubt about it -- as long as you possess enough genuine interest and courtesy to sustain such relationships. Why are there thousands of books, articles, seminars and cassette tapes dealing with first impressions? Few of us are born extroverts. Heredity and socialization work against us. We're intuitively wary of new acquaintances, constantly balancing threat and opportunity. Subtly imitating your acquaintance (matching or mirroring gestures and attitude) is really a cue to focus on her instead of on whether you have pumpernickel seeds in your teeth.
Read more. . .
MAL WHEELER OF NETWORK LAW FIRM WHEELER TRIGG & KENNEDY WINS DISMISSAL OF PFIZER ZOLOFT CASE BY BOUNCING PLAINTIFF'S HARVARD MED SCHOOL EXPERT AS UNQUALIFIED
Same Expert Recently Testified in $6.4 million Paxil Verdict Against Glaxo Smith-Kline
Margaret Cronin Fisk -- The National Law Journal -- August 31, 2001
Mal Wheeler
Wheeler Trigg & Kennedy
Denver, Colorado |
U.S. District Judge Carlos Murguia of Kansas City, Kansas, has granted summary judgment to Pfizer Inc., dismissing a product liability action involving the prescription drug Zoloft, after first ruling that the plaintiffs' primary expert was not qualified to testify.
Plaintiffs had sued Pfizer's Roerig Division after a patient who allegedly took the drug stabbed several of family members and then fatally shot himself.
Plaintiffs claimed that the violent rampage was caused by use of the antidepressant Zoloft and charged Pfizer with a failure to test and warn of the effects of Zoloft, as well as with marketing defects and misrepresentation.
Pfizer contended that Zoloft did not cause the violent behavior, said defense attorney Malcolm Wheeler of Denver's Wheeler Trigg & Kennedy. "He was a lifelong drug addict with 14 arrests." When the patient attacked his family, he said, "He was not in a frenzy. He inflicted only one superficial wound in each." In addition, in the days before the incident, he had taken massive amounts of another prescription drug, Xanax. "He was drugged up big time."
Plaintiff's bounced expert, a Harvard Medical School associate clinical professor of psychiatry, was scheduled to testify that, among other things, Zoloft caused suicidal tendencies in a small subgroup and that the drug was a proximate cause of the final violent outburst, Wheeler said. Pfizer challenged the expert, filing a motion to exclude his testimony. Pfizer contended, among other things, that the expert was not qualified because he was not a psychopharmacologist and therefore had no expertise in the mechanisms by which drugs affect the human body, that he had conducted no clinical studies himself and that he was not an epidemiologist.
The judge agreed ruling that plaintiff's expert was "not qualified to testify as an expert regarding the ability of clinical trials, scientific studies, or case histories" to establish a link between Zoloft and violent behavior.
Way to go Mal!
Read more . . . |
Trademark Holders Don't Automatically Win Similar Domain Names, Federal Judge Rules
Shannon P. Duffy -- The Legal Intelligencer -- August 31, 2001
Trademark rights don't automatically entitle the holder to the rights to an Internet domain name that incorporates the trademark, a federal judge in Philadelphia ruled. Rejecting the argument that defendant James B. Strickland should be barred from operating the "strick.com" Web site, the judge found that Internet users attempting to locate Strick Corp., a tractor-trailer manufacturer, would not likely be confused.
Read more . . .
Thursday, August 30, 2001
The Care and Feeding of Clients
Jeffrey A. Fuisz and Alison McKinnell -- New York Law Journal -- August 30, 2001
The new buzzword in law school interviews over the past couple of years is "client contact." Law students are always asking how much client contact there will be when they work at a firm. It's a very good question -- learning how to interact with clients is an important part of your development as a lawyer. These tips should help you get a head start.
Read more . . .
Keeping EEOC Out of Workplace Complaint Cases
Mike McKee -- The Recorder -- August 30, 2001
Calling intervention by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission into private suits an "end run around all the protections of the class action process," Fred Alvarez, a partner at Palo Alto, Calif.'s Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, says it's not unusual these days for plaintiffs to seek EEOC intervention in order to circumvent tough class certification standards. Defense lawyers say keeping the EEOC out can be pivotal to a case.
Read more . . .
The National Law Journal's Large Jury Award Survey (What's Happened to Large 1997 Verdicts)
The National Law Journal -- August 30, 2001
The National Law Journal has examined what happened to 100 of the several hundred verdicts of $1 million or more rendered in 1997. Large jury verdicts still face a significant risk of reversal or reduction. But the rate of outright reversal has fallen, and the bar has been raised considerably on what judges find offensive. Jury awards that "used to make you gag and choke are being upheld," says defense counsel Frank Daily of Milwaukee's Quarles & Brady. Naturally, the reaction varies depending on where you sit in the courtroom.
According to a National Law Journal survey of 100 jury awards of $1 million or more from a single year, judges are accepting numbers they would have rejected a few years ago. But the news isn't all good for plaintiffs. Many awards were erased completely, while others were cut severely. Just ask Mayer, Brown & Platt's Dennis Orr, whose $100 million punitive award against Biomet Inc. was reduced to $1 million.
Read more
Wednesday, August 29, 2001
Bankruptcy Bar's Quiet Boom -- Use of Poor Man's Bankruptcy (Just Close the Doors) Suspected
Jason Hoppin -- The Recorder -- August 29, 2001
Northern California bankruptcies are declining along with the economy, the opposite of what would be expected. So why does everyone say the bankruptcy bar is as busy as it's ever been? Because the numbers don't tell the whole story.
Even though the number of business filings is in decline, Chapter 11 filings are actually up significantly. The number has increased from 128 in 2000 to 152 through July of this year. While the numbers seem small compared to total filings, the jump is significant because Chapter 11 reorganizations are vastly more complicated than typical bankruptcies.
Chapter 11 can be a very long process and can require a lot of time for the lawyers. The PG&E bankruptcy, for example, is a Chapter 11 case. See chart of U.S. filings over the past 5 years.
Read more . . .
Tuesday, August 28, 2001
How Networking Can Boost Your Business
by Bankrate, Inc.
Whether your company is home-based or on Main Street, you need to mingle with other business people. It's refreshing. It's energizing. It can lead to new work. In addition to keeping you in top form, networking can generate business and hook you up with people who can help you with your firm.
Get a Good Group Fit
What type of association you join depends on your interests and your company, says Johnson. He uses three questions to decide whether to join an organization:
-- Is it an educational opportunity for me? "You want to learn something from members of the organization," Johnson says. In other words, joining will give you a chance to broaden your horizons.
-- Do the buyers of my product or service belong to this organization? If your ultimate goal is to meet new customers, you should join a club or association where they belong.
-- Does the organization have something to do with my business?
Before joining, do your research. How often does the Network meet? How many members does it have? What can you offer the Network? What can it do for you in return?
Maximizing Membership
Once you've picked a Network, make sure you have the time to truly give back to it, says RoAne. If you "over join" and become overextended, your networking may backfire, she warns.
Your participation can help both your business and the group. To maximize a membership consider:
-- becoming an officer;
-- giving a speech; or
-- holding a seminar for members;
– writing an article;
-- organizing an event for the Network.
Long Term vs. Short Term
Long-term associations yield best results Johnson's experiences also show that when you're networking, it's better if you're in it for the long haul, not for some quick marketing fix.
"The biggest mistake that people make when joining associations is to think that networking is a short-term process," Schneider says. "It's not, 30 seconds of 'Here's my business card and this is what I can do for you.'" Instead, it's about building trust and being visible, says RoAne. That takes time and effort, not just handing out a business card. RoAne's three rules of networking are:Networking is a lifestyle, not a work style. Insincere and artificial attempts to gain business will only fail, RoAne says. "It has to come naturally," she says. That means being on the lookout for opportunities for yourself and others all the time -- not just on the second Tuesday of the month when your Network meets.
Networking is an enrichment program, not an entitlement program. Join an organization because you truly believe in it and are interested in working for it. Joining a Network simply to look for sales prospects will make you look insincere and manipulative. "You're missing the whole point," RoAne says. "The best point of networking is putting people together, not just getting business for yourself."
Networking is an art, not a science. "It's the art of communicating and the art of connecting and establishing a comfort level with people," RoAne says. "It's not something that you can easily quantify."
Act Like a Host
When Johnson goes to a local business meeting, he doesn't use it as an excuse to hand out his business cards. Instead, he imagines himself as a host for the event and tries to put others at ease and take a genuine interest in what people are doing.
"If I see someone with a puzzled look, I'll introduce myself and see if they need some help or direction," he says. He'll also spend time listening to attendees, finding out what they do for a living, instead of just promoting himself and his company. "I never hand out a business card unless it's requested," Johnson says.
'Membership has its privileges'
Also look for other marketing paybacks beyond social functions. Schneider likens it to the American Express slogan: "Membership has its privileges."
When you invest the time and effort to get to know the people in your Network, what they want and what they need, the results can be very good.
Read more . . .
75% of Fortune 1000 Clients are NOT Satisfied, Mid-Size Firms Taking Market Share from Large Firms
Report on a Study by Michael B. Rynowecer, President, and Roanne M. Neuwirth, Principal, both of The BTI Consulting Group, Boston.
[reprinted from the original article in LawMarketing.com with minor changes and commentary]
Thanks to Tom Rice for alerting us to LawMarketing.com's report of a new study by the BTI Consulting Group of Boston of more than 170 corporate counsel at Fortune 1000 companies that shows these clients to be largely dissatisfied with their outside law firms. The research covered a broad range of issues, focusing on how the Fortune 1000 acquire legal services, manage their law firms, measure satisfaction levels along with clients' needs priorities and expectations.
Some of the key findings are:
-- Only 24.7% of Clients are Satisfied with Their Outside Law Firms
-- Clients Plan to Reduce Core Law Firms They Use by Half
-- 46% of Law Firms are Seeing Their Market Share Erode -- Especially at the Big Firms
The Study also presents recommendations and actions that law firms can take to improve client satisfaction and turn these potential threats into opportunities.
No Lawyers on Research Staff
BTI says that it conducted this independent research using proprietary open-ended, unstructured techniques. [MIRSKY COMMENT: Ms. Neuwirth told me today in a telephone conversation that BTI is independent and objective and that no one at BTI who participated in the study has any legal background. (Take that for what it's worth.)]
Only 24.7% of Clients are Satisfied
Lawmarketing.com reports that BTI's research shows only 24.7% of companies are happy with their primary law firms. The 75.3% of clients that do not recommend their primary law firms reportedly told BTI that their law firms aren't bad -- they just aren't good. Call it a B-minus performance. As one client put it, "they (the primary law firms) do just enough to enable us to barely tolerate the service levels."
And for those few clients who are satisfied, client service drives satisfaction more than twice as often as any other reason. BTI reports that "Clients are not looking for legal skills as the key to satisfaction -- they rightly believe they can find those at most good firms." [MIRSKY COMMENT: Well, in my view, that's just wrong. It's easy for non-lawyers to commoditize the market and conclude that legal services are fungible. Clients know otherwise. I think the researchers just missed the point here. Clients are looking for very good legal skills and, while there may be many good lawyers offering services, when results count, not every lawyer fits the bill, and clients know that. That's one reason clients have "go to" lawyers. Reducing the attorney-client relationship and the outside-counsel selection process to a "feel good" event (e.g., she returns my phone calls) misguides and misstates the nature of the marketplace.]
What clients can't find is good client service. Fortune 1000 clients told BTI that they define client service as responsiveness, proactive business advice, knowledge and understanding of their company, and going above and beyond baseline or minimum requirements. BTI stresses that these acts of client service can't be one-time events; sporadic acts of client service will hurt more than help. Successful clients service demands that law firms institutionalize these behaviors and build client-service-driven behaviors into their core processes, activities, metrics, compensation and key performance indicators.
BTI's experience and research shows that clients use client service as the defining factor to separate which law firms clients will use and who they won't moving forward. This becomes especially important considering the cutbacks in the works.
Clients Plan to Reduce Core Law Firms They Use by Half
BTI's research shows that the typical Fortune 1000 company uses 75 outside law firms -- 11 of these are "core" law firms (those firms that get the lion's share of the work with that client). Generally, 2 core law firms are much more important than the other 9. On average, clients plan to cut back on the number of core firms by almost 50%. So some law firms will win big in this scenario, while others will find themselves scrambling for new clients.
Those firms with secure, client-focused relationships will gain the lion's share of the work, using client service as a differentiator and tool for growth. While many firms see these cut backs as a threat, a strategic few will seize the opportunity. Those savvy firms will help their clients cut the number of law firms they use. The best firms will help their clients think through their needs and objectives and develop a business argument to use fewer firms, themselves included. If those plans are truly focused on clients' needs and business objectives, then clients won't see them as overly self-serving. [MIRSKY COMMENT: This is true to some extent, but can be taken to an extreme. Cutting the number of firms that a corporation uses can reduce costs, but as some point the cuts begin to affect results and at that point, all savings can be lost by bad results. Also, missing from the equation is "whose ox is being gored." A reduction in the number of law firms providing service by consolidating their work in a single large law firm has its detriments, including the loss of local connection and relationships which often drive good results. So, at least as to litigation, unless corporations take personal responsibility for their own litigation management, and steer their own ships, they will never achieve the optimum operating conditions needed to achieve lowest total overall costs of litigation. That means a strong and knowledgeable in-house litigation manager. That role cannot always be delegated to an outside law firm.]
Big Firms' Market Share Erode is Eroding
BTI's exclusive research also shows that despite robust growth in the market, 46% of the top law firms are losing market share to their competitors. While most law firms are pulling in ever-increasing revenue, many are seeing their underlying market position erode. That is, these law firms' growth is not keeping pace with clients' increased spending - in short, they are falling behind even thought they are moving forward.
As discussed above, market share erosion is more prominent among the larger law firms. While this defies some common wisdom, it reflects the facts. BTI analyzed the strategic market performance of more than 100 law firms over a three year period. The mid-size firms are doing extraordinarily well and taking away billings and revenue from the very large firms. What's more, 42% of Fortune 1000 clients see smaller and medium sized firms with a quantifiable client service advantage. Large firms will be at a disadvantage until they adopt and embrace client-focused strategies.
Key Attributes of the Successful Firms
BTI's experience and research shows that successful firms see client service as a vehicle to differentiate themselves and drive growth. Some law firms will develop a client focus process and use the process to speed integration of acquired firms while boosting billings and client retention. One or two large firms will embrace client service with real sense of fanatical commitment and passion while others will merely talk about how important it is. Medium sized firms will formalize their natural client service advantage into compelling business and work processes. The irony is that the large firms could have the advantage if they act in a decisive manner.
The winning firms will have well designed and orchestrated uniform client service delivery processes that govern most aspects of their service delivery and business development. Uniformity enhances and increases the brand, but this is merely the icing on the cake. Uniformity drives down costs while improving quality. It also imposes more strategic discipline and presents a uniform look and feel to clients - something clients are just starting to look for. National account and key client programs will drive success, as will training and the ability to successfully develop and introduce new services that anticipate client needs.
Steps to Take Now
Law firms can undertake a number of strategies and tactics to take advantage of the current market dynamics and trends moving forward. BTI recommends that law firms take the following steps:
-- Survey your clients to uncover what they really think, and where you really stand.
-- Calculate your client "churn" - client turnover, especially among top 20 clients is a key sign of underlying weakness. Growth and client stability is strength, mere client retention without growth is weakness.
-- Review client relationships and select those with the most revenue potential for key client strategies.
-- Develop a client outreach strategy to proactively engage clients in a two-way relationship.
-- Speak business value to your clients.
-- Develop key metrics indicators for growing client relationships and use them.
-- Identify client-focused key performance indicators for senior attorneys.
-- And finally, and most importantly, develop a strategy to exploit the cutbacks in law firms that clients use - lead the charge to win in the next round.
To purchase a copy of the study, see BTI Consulting's website.
Mass Tort Now Going Worldwide -- Glaxo gets writ over Bayer's Baycol
Rosie Murray-West -- Money.Telegraph.co.UK -- Aug. 18, 2001
GLAXOSMITHKLINE, the British pharmaceutical giant, said yesterday that it had received a lawsuit from America seeking damages for its role as sales and marketing partner for Bayer's anti-cholesterol drug Baycol. The drug, which is marketed as Lipobay in Europe, was withdrawn from the market last week after suggestions that it was linked with 52 deaths, 31 of which were in the US, from a muscle-wasting condition called rhabdomyolysis.
A spokesman for GSK said the company had received the lawsuit, but declined to comment further on the size or scope of the action. "We cannot comment on this," he said. "The lawsuit is from the US, but that is hardly surprising since we held the sales and marketing agreement over there." GSK does not market or sell the drug anywhere else.
The company's shares slipped 32 to £18.23. A GSK spokesman said the company has product liability insurance, but would not say if special provisions had been made for this case.
This is believed to be the first time that GSK has received a lawsuit for one of the drugs it has marketed and sold for another company. US lawyer Ed Fagan said yesterday that he would try to expand his clients' suit against Bayer worldwide and to encompass GSK in its role as co-marketer.
Separately, Bayer said it expected the number of deaths reported to have occurred while patients were taking the drug to rise above 52. The company has made no financial provision for the lawsuits it has received.
Yesterday it emerged that a Frenchman, Jean-Luc Frehel, has filed a complaint against Bayer after suffering muscle pains a few weeks after starting on the drug.
Read more . . .
Glaxo patients sue on addiction allegations
Simon Goodley -- Money.Telegraph.co.UK -- Aug. 28, 2001
Drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline has been hit by a U.S. lawsuit accusing the company of concealing evidence that its Paxil antidepressant can be addictive. The class action was filed on Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court on behalf of 35 people who claim they suffered from withdrawal symptoms, including suicidal thoughts, when they stopped using the drug.
Read more . . .
Federal Judge Rules Control Over Subsidiaries Keeps Latex Glovemaker in Suit
Shannon P. Duffy -- The Legal Intelligencer -- August 28, 2001
One of the leading defendants in massive tort litigation over latex gloves lost its bid to be dismissed from almost all cases against it. Philadelphia U.S. District Court Judge Edmund V. Ludwig -- who is presiding over pretrial proceedings in about 500 latex glove cases -- ruled that the court can exercise jurisdiction over Illinois-based Allegiance Corp. due to the control it exercises over its subsidiaries.
Read more . . .
Monday, August 27, 2001
Southern District Faces Rash of IPO Litigation
Mark Hamblett -- New York Law Journal -- August 23, 2001
An avalanche of lawsuits charging that major brokerage houses engaged in kickbacks in the allocation of stock in initial public offerings has forced the Southern District to adopt extraordinary measures for case management. With the number of suits approaching 700, the district's assignment committee transferred the cases to U.S. District Judge Shira A. Scheindlin to try to make some order out of the chaos.
Read more . . .
US Stock Market in Grip of Claim Culture
Infobeat.com -- 8/27/01 -- Copyright 2001 The Broadcast Monitoring Company
The number of lawsuits against stockbrokers and investment banks in the US reached an all-time high this year. PricewaterhouseCoopers has counted 263 class action suits for damages so far, compared to 210 in the whole of 2000. The dramatic rise was largely a result of 143 lawsuits with regard to IPOs. In most of these cases, the companies and lead banks concerned were accused of giving an unfair advantage to certain groups of subscribers, such as hedge funds. PricewaterhouseCoopers analyst Steve Skalak said the majority of these lawsuits had little chance of success, because the allegations were often not specific enough. Of the lawsuits not concerning IPOs, almost 50 per cent regarded allegations that companies had 'cooked the books'.
Microsoft in covert letter campaign
Garry Barker - The Age - Monday August 27, 2001
The dead have been enlisted in the long-running multi-million-dollar legal battle between Microsoft and the US Department of Justice (DoJ) and the Attorneys-General of 18 US states over the company's monopolistic business practices. US news agencies have reported that Utah Attorney-General Mark Shurtleff had received more than 400 letters, ostensibly written by citizens of the state, imploring him to ease up on his pursuit of the software giant. It looked like a grass-roots movement in defence of Microsoft - until Mr Shurtleff's officials noted the similarity of the letters and discovered that two bore the names of dead people. Another letter purported to come from Tucson, Utah, a city that does not exist.
Read more. . .
Friday, August 24, 2001
Firestone Settles Rollover Case for $7.85 Million
Frank Swoboda -- Washington Post -- Friday, August 24, 2001; 12:12 PM
Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. today settled a $1 billion lawsuit brought against the company by the family of a Texas woman who was paralyzed and suffered brain damage when a tread separated from the tire on her Ford Explorer causing it to roll over. Terms of the settlement, which was announced by U.S. District Court Judge Filemon Vela in McAllen, Tex., were not immediately available. Vela announced that "the parties have reached an agreement for an undisclosed amount." Sources close to the case said the settlement was for $7.85 million.
Cooley Godward First to Blink -- 86 Associates (17% of Total) and 50 Support Staff Laid Off
Renee Deger -- The Recorder -- August 24, 2001
The Recorder reports: "After careful consideration, over a period of months, the management committee believes that this action is necessary to insure the long-term health of the firm," Cooley Chairman and CEO Stephen Neal said in a memo to employees. "This year's drop in demand has been as steep as the 1999-2000 increase," Neal wrote. "We simply have too much capacity for existing and reasonably anticipated business, and we must deal with that situation."
Read more . . .
Wednesday, August 22, 2001
Pennsylvania High Court Rules Individuals Have No Privacy in Phone Calls
Danielle N. Rodier - The Legal Intelligencer - August 22, 2001
In a decision that would make George Orwell glow with prescient delight, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled that individuals have no reasonable expectation of privacy in telephone calls made to their own homes. Considering the methods of telephone communication widely used today -- including speakerphones and cordless phones -- a person has no idea who is listening in on the other line and therefore has no reason to believe the information discussed in the conversation will not be revealed, the majority said. The decision in Commonwealth v. Rekasie came from a fractured court. Only three justices sided with majority opinion author Justice Ralph Cappy, who said the state constitution does not require the commonwealth to obtain a probable cause determination from a neutral judicial authority before one of its agents may initiate a telephone call made to a person's home and then tape that conversation.
Read more. . .
Tuesday, August 21, 2001
Growers Reap $88.5 Million in DuPont Fungicide Case
Margaret Cronin Fisk - The National Law Journal - August 21, 2001
Productura de Semillias and Palmas y Bambu are both ornamental plant growers in Costa Rica and, for years, each used the fungicide Benlate WP on their crops without a problem. In 1990, however, both companies switched to Benlate DF, a granular powder that is mixed with water before spraying. Over the next two years, the new form of Benlate "caused devastating damage" to their plants, causing them to yellow, to not grow roots, to become deformed, to die.
As a result, both growers lost hundreds of thousands of plants -- and millions of dollars in profits. In 1997, the companies sued Benlate manufacturer E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., alleging products liability, fraud and violation of Florida's civil racketeering act, which provides civil remedies for criminal practices. DuPont denied that the product was defective, that it had injured the plaintiffs' crops or that by defending Benlate it was committing an illegal act. DuPont also challenged the damage claims, contending that the plaintiffs' past profits averaged about $10,000 a year.
On Aug. 10, a Miami jury, finding that Benlate was defective and that DuPont had not only committed fraud but also violated the civil RICO statute, awarded $14 million to Palmas and $15.5 million to Productura. The award was automatically trebled under Florida's RICO statute.
Read more. . .
Lawsuits Attack Medical Trials - As claims arise, some fear tests will lose public support
Maureen Milford - The National Law Journal - August 21, 2001
Less than a year has passed since Alan C. Milstein brought a suit on behalf of the family of Jesse Gelsinger, symbolically filing on the anniversary of the 18-year-old's death during a gene-therapy experiment at the University of Pennsylvania. From that point on -- for Milstein and the clinical research community -- it became a brave new world. Milstein is pursuing his cause through the courts, bringing (or consulting on) half a dozen lawsuits against big-name medical research institutions during the past year. Recently, he filed two wrongful-death suits against the prestigious Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, for clinical trials involving treatments for leukemia and breast cancer. Milstein opened the door for doctors to be held accountable.
Every year, at least 100,000 new volunteers enroll in clinical trials. At any given time, at least approximately 14,000 such trials are being conducted on humans at research institutions, universities and hospitals. The experiments administered by physicians and other clinical investigators usually involve new drugs, devices and surgical procedures. Sometimes they involve new applications of existing drugs. Experiments can be therapeutic -- that is, they are conducted on people who are suffering from an illness -- or nontherapeutic -- in which case the volunteers are healthy. In a "challenge study," researchers examine the physiological effects on the body by the introduction of a foreign substance.
Read more. . .
Recruiting Roulette - It's time once again to play economic forecaster. Demand is slack in 2001. How many new associates will you need in 2003?
Daphne Eviatar - The American Lawyer - August 21, 2001
Hiring cycles are a cruel master. When Alan Greenspan sets interest rates, he works with an economic forecasting horizon of about two months. But the typical big-firm hiring partner has to decide right now how many first-year associates are needed for the fall of 2003. Starting next month, recruiters will hit the law school circuit, talking up their firms' summer programs. The pool of summer associates in 2002 will help determine how many 2003 first-years there are. It's a long pipeline, and priming it with too few or too many can lead to big financial and public relations blunders down the line. But to see ahead in uncertain times, many are looking back to a decade ago. In the business slump of the early '90s, firms cut way back on entry-level hiring. Within a few years those cuts looked like an overreaction, with too few midlevels to handle a revived workload.
Read more. . .
Monday, August 20, 2001
Insurers' Captive Law Firms Under Fire
They look like law firms but they're actually in-house legal teams for insurers, and their existence is under fire
Julie Kay -- Miami Daily Business Review -- August 13, 2001
[The Florida Bar will be taking up the question of whether insurers' "captive" law firms violate ethical rules by representing insured defendants.] Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Paul Siegel ruled that they do. In June, he grew furious when he caught on to the practice and ruled it a violation of Florida Bar ethics rules. He ordered Allstate and several other major carriers and attorneys who work for them to fully disclose the employment relationship on all pleadings and letterhead.
"All of the subject 'law firms' are fictitious entities, with no real estate leases, occupational licenses, equipment leases or purchases, supplies purchases, income and withholding tax returns," Siegel wrote in a July 20 order barring Allstate and its Miami staff attorney Timothy W. Harrington from using the name "Law Office Timothy W. Harrington."
[The Miami Daily Business Review writes] "the insurer's real fear may have more to do with their desire to continue concealing from jurors that defendants are backed by deep-pocket carriers. Florida law guarantees that policyholders who are defendants in lawsuits do not have to disclose this to jurors. The rationale for this is that if jurors know there are deep pockets involved, they would be more likely to rule for the plaintiff and to award higher damages."
Read more . . .
Class actions accuse Money Store of overcharges
Mark Anderson - Sacramento Business Journal - August 17, 2001
Attorneys have filed three class action lawsuits against The Money Store in the last three weeks, all alleging that the operation -- now owned by First Union Corp. -- charges its customers inappropriate fees on mortgages. The suits allege that the subprime lender inflated fees, charged unlawful administrative fees and added an extra day's interest to customer statements. Taken separately, the disputed charges range from to $14 to $25. The amounts, said the attorney who filed the lawsuits, matter less than the principle. "Is it OK for large corporations to overcharge thousands of consumers? We don't think so," said M. Scott Barrett, principal of Barrett & Associates in Chicago. Five other firms are working as attorneys for the plaintiffs in the class action, including the Hennelly & Grossfeld law firm in Sacramento. It's acting as local counsel. The suits were filed in Sacramento Superior Court. The lawsuits seek refunds, court costs and unspecified punitive damages. First Union wouldn't comment on the suits.
Read more. . .
Mississippi Gaining as Lawsuit Mecca
Robert Pear - The New York Times - August 20, 2001
If Congress makes it easier for injured patients to sue health insurance companies, lawyers here will be well prepared. In this state, especially in some of its poor rural counties, lawyers have won tens of millions of dollars in jury verdicts against large national companies, including drug manufacturers accused of selling unsafe products. Mississippi has gained a national reputation as a place where consumers fare well in court — so well that the state has become a magnet for liability lawsuits. Plaintiffs' lawyers see the state courts as a friendly forum, and defense lawyers have learned from experience that it is often better to settle personal injury cases than to take their chances before a jury.
Read more. . .
Workers sue over losses on company stock
Christine Dugas - USA TODAY - August 20, 2001
The stock market downturn is drawing attention to the company stock stuffed into 401(k) plans — prompting some workers to sue employers over steep losses. Nearly one-third of 401(k) assets were invested in company stock as of July 31, according to the Hewitt 401(k) index, based on data from 1.5 million plan participants. Such large concentrations can expose investors to big losses. Some employees are taking action.
Read more. . .
Intel warns PC makers to avoid Via chip set
Ken Popovich - eWEEK - August 17, 2001
Intel Corp. is warning computer makers, by threat of litigation, to steer clear of a new chip set that could enable the manufacturers to build less expensive Pentium 4-based PCs by enabling them to use a less costly high-speed memory technology. Intel representatives have cautioned U.S. and overseas PC and motherboard manufacturers against using Via's product since it could put manufacturers at risk of being drawn into costly legal battles, sources with several of those companies said.
Read more. . .
Friday, August 17, 2001
New Rand Study Predicts Hundreds of Thousands More Asbestos Claims!
More than 500,000 Claimants Served and $21 Billion Spent and Still Counting
Business Insurance -- Aug. 16, 2001
[Editor's note: Asbestos defense counsel -- if you were thinking of struting your stuff, buying that new office furniture, taking that home mortgage, buying that Mercedes and making yourself comfortable, think again. If you represent any of the two dozen major asbestos defendants, your client is likely to be in bankruptcy by the end of 2003. Asbestos is here to stay, but your client might not be.]
Hundreds of thousands of new claims for asbestos-related injuries may ultimately emerge, an independent think tank warns.
Although more than 500,000 asbestos claimants already have sought damages from dozens of defendants, “we may have seen less than half of all claims that will ultimately come forward,” asserts the Santa Monica, Calif.-based RAND Institute for Civil Justice in a report released Wednesday.
RAND'S press release notes that RAND's Institute for Civil Justice has released the first phase of its latest study on asbestos litigation. The documented briefing synthesizes the data and state of play concerning the central aspects of the issue. The researchers note that, although more than 500,000 claims have been filed, this may be less than half of those that ultimately come forward.
The RAND Institute for Civil Justice (ICJ) began analyzing asbestos litigation in the early 1980s in a study that was the first to examine the costs and compensation paid for asbestos personal injury claims. Other reports followed, tracking what is now the longest-running mass tort litigation in U.S. history.
The lastest documented briefing, Asbestos Litigation in the U.S.: A New Look at an Old Issue, is the first phase of the ICJ's latest study. It synthesizes the data and state of play concerning the central aspects of the issue: How many claims have been filed, how much compensation has been paid and how high might these fast-growing numbers go? How well is the litigation serving the injured workers on whose behalf the claims are filed? What is the balance between the compensation paid out and the costs to deliver it? What economic costs does the litigation impose on the country and who bears them? Are there strategies for resolving asbestos suits that would be more efficient and more equitable?
The briefing was prepared for meetings with the staff of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the House Judiciary Committee. It offers preliminary answers to these questions, based largely on aggregate data available in published sources and on interviews with participants in the litigation, including plaintiff and defense attorneys, court-appointed neutrals, and insurance-company claims managers.
This first phase of the study concludes with a set of policy implications suggested by the preliminary findings. The researchers note that, although more than 500,000 claims have been filed, this may be less than half of those that ultimately come forward. All of the major asbestos defendants are likely to be in bankruptcy within 24 months, they warn. But before this happens, there is a window of opportunity for reviewing and rethinking national asbestos strategy.
The next two phases of the study, scheduled to be completed by the Spring of 2002, will provide a more detailed analysis of these and other questions based on RAND's own data collection efforts, a review of the epidemiological literature, an analysis of the consequences of resolving asbestos litigation through bankruptcy proceedings, and some consideration of the likely magnitude and character of future litigation. The research team may also offer recommendations.
The full text of the briefing will be available on RAND's website http://www.rand.org as of Wednesday August 15. The ICJ is an independent research program within RAND. The Institute's mission is to help make the civil justice system more efficient and equitable by supplying government and private decisionmakers and the public with the results of objective, empirically based, analytic research.
Court Upholds $12B Fen-phen Diet Drug Settlement
Reuters -- Aug. 16 -- 5:39 p.m. EDT
MADISON, N.J., Aug 16 (Reuters) - American Home Products Corp. (NYSE:AHP - news) on Thursday said the U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed the drug maker's settlement over the diet drugs Redux and Pondimin, best known as fen-phen.
``We are pleased that the Court of Appeals has rejected these challenges to our diet drug settlement,'' American Home Products President and Chief Executive Robert Essner said in a statement. ``This is an important step in putting this matter behind us.''
Barring any appeals to the United States Supreme Court, the settlement will by its terms become final by the end of the year. American Home Products had previously taken charges of $12.25 billion related to the settlement and will have paid out $11 billion of that by the end of 2001.
American Home Products recalled the diet drugs, which were used by 6 million Americans, in 1997 after their use was linked to damage to heart valves.
American Express' $15 million Settlement with Independent Contractors Seeking "Employee" Status
Dow Jones News Service -- Thursday, August 16, 2001
American Express Co. has signed an agreement under which it will pay $15 million to settle a lawsuit brought by employees who had been classified as independent contractors.
The class-action suit was brought in the U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota, in 1999 by a class of financial advisers who were independent contractors from Jan. 1, 1993, through March 22, 2000. The class members alleged that they were misclassified as independent contractors and sought retroactive coverage in all employee health, welfare, retirement and compensation plans, and payment of certain taxes. They also alleged violation of ERISA (the Employee Retirement Income Security Act), breach of contract, breach of duty of good faith and fair dealing, and unjust enrichment.
Read more . . .
Bloated Tech Law Firms Considering the "L" Word (Layoff)
Drumbeat for layoffs grows as slowdown continues to idle associates, partners
Renee Deger -- The Recorder -- August 17, 2001
The Recorder reports that Palo Alto-based Cooley Godward has too many lawyers and not enough work to keep them busy. "The firm has already cut costs and could slash bonuses or offer unpaid sabbaticals, as other firms have done. But that's not going to give work to the associates who need it to grow professionally," the firm's CEO is reported to have said. Options range from more cost-cutting to outright layoffs.
"I'm sure there will be a point where we'll all scream," said one partner at San Francisco-based Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison who spoke on condition of anonymity. Brobeck partners, for the most part, are willing to pay the cost of carrying idled associates for now, he said. "We're going to go a little further out than you'd go if you were a hard-headed business manager."
A layoff at any level is toxic for firms who want to avoid ending up like Latham & Watkins. The firm laid off 34 associates in 1991 and -- fair or not -- after 10 years, the decision is still seen by some as a black mark against the firm.
The firms with the largest corporate practices have been the hardest hit by the weak stock market and drop-off in venture capital financings. The three most active firms in the securities area, Brobeck, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and Cooley, bulked up to handle 373 initial public offerings in 1999 and 2000. But in the first six months of this year, the three firms did eight IPOs among them, leaving a lot of associates with nothing to do.
[Editor's Comment: In-house counsel observing all this must be thinking "should I put work with firms that have 'associates with nothing to do?'" and "how carefully can I expect my cases to be staffed, and the hours charged to my company managed, by firms with these kinds of financial issues?" The result could be an exacerbation of the problem, and a further erosion of client base, caused by in-house counsel moving work from (or refusing to send work to) firms that might be pressured to increase hours billed per associate and per matter because they are reluctant to cut staff in the face of decreasing sales, i.e., reluctant to do the very thing that their corporate clients would do in a heartbeat.]
Read more . . .
Thursday, August 16, 2001
U.S. Firms U.S. Law Firms Trolling for Shareholder Clients in U.K. to Sue Dotcoms and Brokers in U.S.
Dozens of angry British shareholders are signing up to the ground breaking lawsuits being launched against Wall Street in the wake of the dotcoms crash targeting such notables as Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Credit Suisse First Boston, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, AOL TimeWarner, eBay, Amazon.com, and others.
The number of law firms trolling for shareholders has exploded. Dozens of lawsuits and many big-name legal firms active in shareholder litigation are advertising on the internet and in newspapers, searching for stockholding clients to join the tidal wave of litigation against Wall Street.
The lawsuits follow an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission that uncovered widespread evidence calling into question the impartiality of analysts' research recommendations, which many individual investors rely upon when making trading decisions.
'We face some difficult legal challenges getting the cases to trial but if we ever get before a jury, I don't think we have any trouble persuading them that what has been happening on Wall Street is wrong and unfair and motivated by greed,' said New York law firm Beatie and Osborn partner Daniel Osborn. 'It is a practice that really offends a lot of small investors.'
Read more . . .
Bayer Sued over Anti-cholesterol drug Baycol/Lipobay
BBC News -- Wednesday, 15 August, 2001, 16:53 GMT 17:53 UK
Shares in troubled German chemical and pharmaceutical firm Bayer fell by 4%, amid fears that it could be sued by users of its withdrawn anti-cholesterol drug Baycol/Lipobay. The firm admitted earlier this week that Baycol could be linked to 52 deaths from fatal muscle weakness and severe rhabdomyolysis, a condition that can lead to kidney and other organ failure.
On Wednesday, it emerged that the family of an Oklahoma man, who had died of kidney failure, was suing the firm. And North Carolina lawyer David Duffus told a German magazine that as many as 200 people may have died from Baycol's side effects, laying the ground for a class-action group lawsuit.
Read more . . .
Wednesday, August 15, 2001
Philadelphia Law Firm Introduces Chinese Students to American Legal Practices
Jaime Dufresne -- The Legal Intelligencer -- August 15, 2001
Philadelphia-based Reed Smith has taken five Chinese legal professionals on as summer interns in an effort to expose them to legal practice in the United States. The students, who attended law school in China and are now in Temple University Beasley School of Law's LL.M. program, are spending several weeks at the firm working on assignments from throughout the firm, dealing with issues from litigation to business law.
Read more . . .
New York State's Gun Suit Must be Dismissed
Daniel Wise -- New York Law Journal -- August 15, 2001
The New York attorney general's novel lawsuit charging that the gun industry is liable under a nuisance theory must be dismissed, a supreme court justice in Manhattan has ruled. There is too tenuous a connection between the way handguns are marketed in New York and the more than 1,000 deaths involving the weapons each year to support an industrywide finding of liability, Justice Louis B. York ruled Friday.
Read more . . .
What Happens When the Feds Search Lawyers' Offices
Thomas Scheffey -- The Connecticut Law Tribune -- August 15, 2001
In a rare use of federal search power, FBI agents executed warrants last month at several Connecticut lawyers' offices. Attorney David B. Fein, who teaches a law school course on federal criminal investigations, says there has been a marked increase in law office searches, driven by Justice Department interest in white-collar crime. He says such searches are quite sensitive because of the "tremendous privilege issues" involved.
What to do -- [As the Network's Steve Kravit (Kravit, Gass, Hovel & Leitner -- Milwaukee, WI) has repeatedly advised, h]aving a federal defense lawyer present as early as possible in the search can be invaluable, said Harold J. Pickerstein, a white-collar defender with Pepe & Hazard's Southport, Conn., office. "It's a tremendous advantage -- in part to see that they don't exceed the scope of the warrant," he said. No advance warning is given, so the lawyer has to be able to arrive on short notice.
Read more . . .
What Clients Think of Law Firm Sites
Legal Times August 15, 2001
Survey reports that 89% of in-house counsel use search engines to find outside counsel, targeting specific industry expertise (something few law firm websites provide). Banner ads do not drive traffic to law firm sites (only 4% report having clicked-through). In-housers do not download press releases (only 40% have done so once) or lawyer announcements (only 5%).
What do they want to see? 71% ranked experience with specific matters as one of the most important pieces of information on a firm site, with industry expertise a close second at 69%. 57% identified in-depth industry knowledge as an important feature of practice area descriptions.
For individuals, the ideal biography is current, brief, and focused. Again, 54% say specific industry experience is very useful. Law school alma maters and bar membership activities also count for a lot. But bear in mind that two-thirds search for lawyers by practice area, not by name -- something to consider in developing your site's internal links.
In-housers want to access your articles and white papers by topic (77%), practice area (57%), and keyword (50%). They don't want to find articles by title (30%) or the author's name (10%).
66% say that in deciding whether to try a new firm, they're likely to be swayed by how the firm uses all aspects of the Internet.
Read more . . .
Tuesday, August 14, 2001
First Bridgestone lawsuit trial begins
August 13, 2001 3:37:00 PM ET -- Julie Bisbee
McALLEN, Texas (Reuters) - A jury finally began hearing both sides in the long battle over Bridgestone/Firestone tires linked to 203 deaths, as the first among hundreds of lawsuits involving the recalled tires began in a South Texas federal court on Monday.
The nine-member jury in the border city of McAllen began hearing opening arguments in the trial of the lawsuit brought by South Texas physician Joel Rodriguez, whose Firestone-equipped 1998 Ford Explorer sport utility vehicle suffered a blowout and flipped over on a Mexican highway. The March 2000 crash injured Rodriguez, his brother and 3-year-old son, and left his 39-year-old wife, Marisa, wheelchair-bound for life.
Rodriguez and his family arrived at the court on Monday in a Chevrolet Tahoe sport utility vehicle. The case, which seeks $1 billion in damages, would set a financial precedent if the jury finds for Rodriguez.
Read more . . .
Wednesday, August 08, 2001
As Litigation Booms and Corporate Work Declines, Firms Ask Corporate Associates to Learn Litigation
Jennifer Myers -- Legal Times -- August 8, 2001
Fearing hits to their reputations and the loss of the investment made in training young lawyers, were they to cut associates from declining practice areas, firms have created a new animal: the shifting practice group.
Rather than cut junior-level lawyers loose, some firms are attempting to teach transactional associates a new trade, rerouting them from the corporate side to increasingly active groups such as litigation and bankruptcy.
Read more . . .
Tuesday, August 07, 2001
DuPont Settles Coumadin Lawsuits
Monday August 6, 4:47 PM EDT
WILMINGTON, Del. (Reuters) - DuPont Pharmaceuticals Co., wholly-owned subsidiary of DuPont(DD), announced on Monday that a Delaware judge approved plans to settle for $44.5 million a class-action lawsuit concerning allegedly misleading marketing and promotion of the company's blood-thinning drug Coumadin.
The United States District Court for the District of Delaware has preliminarily approved a nationwide settlement that would end all class action lawsuits in the United States concerning the marketing, sale and promotion of Coumadin, the company said in a statement. Coumadin is commonly used to treat people who suffer from heart problems or stroke.
Under the settlement, expected to finalize in the first quarter of next year, DuPont Pharmaceuticals agreed to pay $44.5 million to U.S. consumers and third-party payers to resolve claims that DuPont engaged in misleading marketing and promotional practices.
Read more . . .
Koch Industries faces new class-action suit
08/07/2001 -- Associated Press -- Dallas News
AUSTIN – Koch Industries, which has settled lawsuits in recent years for tens of millions of dollars, faces a new class-action lawsuit over operation of its pipelines in Texas and several other states. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Lufkin, seeks to force the oil and gas company to inspect, test, maintain and repair thousands of miles of pipelines. The lawsuit contends that the pipelines pose an immediate danger of leaks, fires or explosions and that federal regulators have failed to monitor them. A spokesman for Koch, which is based in Wichita, Kan., said the case has no merit.
The lawsuit was filed by P.D. Hamilton, who oversees a family trust that owns ranch property near Groveton in East Texas that is crossed by a Koch pipeline. Mr. Hamilton's lawyers want Koch to spend $11 billion to $19 billion on pipeline improvements over five years. The suit doesn't seek monetary damages, although Mr. Hamilton's lawyers would share the money earmarked for improvements.
"Rather than remedy harm, the plaintiff is asking the court to regulate business activity, and that is inappropriate," Jon Opelt, executive director of Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse, told the Austin American-Statesman.
Monday, August 06, 2001
'Explosion' of Cases Involving Synthetic Stucco Being Filed
Alan Fisk -- The National Law Journal -- August 6, 2001
Martha and Brian Stafford know firsthand the problems with synthetic stucco. Their house suffered severe water damage because of the building material, and they're not alone. Similar "stucco law" cases are turning up in courts all over the country, where manufacturers of synthetic stucco, the builders and contractors who put it on homes, and insurers are blaming each other for the problems. * * * A Fairfax County Circuit Court jury recently awarded the Staffords a $1.028 million verdict against the builder. Stafford v. Country Developers Inc., No. 181-455.
"There has been an explosion of cases around the country," says Dan Bryson, of Raleigh, N.C.'s Lewis & Roberts, who is involved in a class action stucco suit. "We put up an information Web site -- www.syntheticstucco.com -- and have been averaging close to 100,000 hits a month."
The plaintiffs' attorney in the Stafford case, Jerry Phillips of Phillips, Beckwith, Hall and Chase of Fairfax, Va., says he feels the word still hasn't gotten out to many homeowners who, like the Staffords, assumed they had real stucco on their house because that was the information given in sales brochures.
Read more . . .
Sunday, August 05, 2001
Impact of High Court's Ruling in 'Leatherman'
Punitive awards reduced in four cases
Tania Zamorsky -- The National Law Journal -- August 1, 2001
A U.S. Supreme Court decision that makes it easier for appellate courts to reduce punitive damage awards is already being put to use. In Cooper Industries Inc. v. Leatherman Tool Group, the Supreme Court said appellate courts should apply a de novo review when determining the constitutionality of punitives. At least four courts have already relied on the case to reduce punitive awards.
Read more . . .
Workplace monitoring on rise with eye to lawsuits
U.S. News & World Report -- Dana Hawkins -- 8/13/01
Skilled mediation can help business avoid legal costs
The Tennessean -- Sunday, 08/05/01
Thursday, August 02, 2001
Law Firm Debt Soars as Downturn Lingers
Bruce Balestier -- New York Law Journal -- July 30, 2001
Aggressive expansion during the economic boom of the last few years has left vastly inflated debt burdens at some large New York law firms now that the markets have returned to earth, according to a recent survey conducted by the law firm group at the Citigroup Private Bank.
In 2000, three of Citibank's 10 largest lawfirm clients [Gadzooks! Batman, is it okay to report/leak aspects of the financial condition of your clients to the press? I didn't think so.] had total approved debt facilities of more than $200 million; three years earlier, none of the firms had carried that much debt. And all 10 of the firms topped $100 million in total debt facilities by the end of 2000; only four of the firms had that much exposure in 1997. Debt per equity partner rose by an average of 150 percent at the 10 firms during the three-year period.
Early returns are showing that net income was down at many firms for the first six months of 2001, compared with the same period last year.
"Partners realize the last five years have been unprecedented in revenue and profits-per-partner and a downturn was bound to come," said Danilo DiPietro, who heads the law firm group at Citigroup, according to the New York Law Journal.
[Ed. Note: So, let's piece this together. Were I an in-house client armed with this financial information about law firms that I use, I might deduce that those law firms were in some degree of financial difficulty. From that I might further deduce that those firms were both (a) likely to be seeking rate increases and (b) simultaneously be vulnerable to increased pressure from corporate clients to grant discounts. In either case, I would know something valuable about my negotiating position as a result of information obtained in the press. In my view, therefore, the leaking of financial condition information about law firms can be against those law firms' interest, n'est ce pas?]
Read more . . .
Staying the Course on Salary
Margaret Cronin Fisk -- The National Law Journal -- August 2, 2001
The economy is having a significant impact on pay for associates at the nation's largest law firms, according to The National Law Journal's 2001 survey of what lawyers earn. Law firms across the country report that they will be keeping their first-year associate salaries at levels set in 2000 or at the beginning of 2001, putting an end to the latest era of massive associate pay raises.
Read more . . .
