Friday, September 29, 2006
PODCASTS ARRIVE IN LAW LAND -- HUGH GOTTSCHALK DISCUSSES ALTERNATIVE FEE BILLING
Hugh Gottschalk of our Colorado Network member firm Wheelter Trigg & Kennedy discusses alternative fee billing and the need to understand the cost of services, budgeting for litigation and structuring the fee agreement with your client.
Click for the 
podcast directly from LawBiz® Management Company, not affiliated with The Network of Trial Law Firms, Inc.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
THOMPSON HINE RELOCATES THEIR MANHATTAN OFFICE - TO ADD UP TO TEN LAWYERS
(New York Lawyer)
The Network's Thompson Hine, a Cleveland-based law firm with 370 attorneys in eight worldwide locations, has moved its New York City staff of around 31 lawyers to new offices at 335 Madison Avenue. The firm will occupy the entire 40,000 square-foot 12th floor, a significant improvement in both size and efficiency from its current multiple-floor, 18,500 square-foot layout at One Chase Manhattan Plaza. The lease is for 15 and one-half years.
In 2002, Gould & Willkie, a firm of around 15 lawyers, merged with Thompson Hine, which has gradually doubled its staff and outgrown its space. After downtown market rates sank in the wake of 9/11, the firm decided it would get more value paying rents of that amount in midtown, where most of its corporate clients began to relocate. The firm favored the new building for its proximity to Grand Central, the New York City Bar Association and the New York Public Library. It also benefited from a renovation plan that left many of the previous tenant's offices intact yet reinstalled conference, Xerox, mail, litigation and pantry rooms, as well as carpeting and lighting. The firm expects to add five to 10 new attorneys within the next year.
CORR, CRONIN AND PREECE SELECTED TO BEST LAWYERS IN AMERICA
Kelly Corr, William Cronin and Joshua Preece of The Network's Seattle firm Corr Cronin Michelson Baumgardner & Preece have been selected for "Best lawyers in America". Kelly Corr was selected in three of the categories; Bet The Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation and Personal Injury Litigation and he has been in Best Lawyers since 2001. William Cronin was selected for Commercial Litigation and he has been in since 2002. Joshua Preece was also selected for Commercial Litigation and this is his first year.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
OENOPHILE CASE DUMPED AS WINE LOSES SPARKLE
MORGENSTEIN & JUBELIRER nee SCHIFF HARDIN ATTORNEYS JUBILANT
When a South African winery sued glass bottle manufacturer Owen-Illinois in a federal court in Ohio (O-I’s home state) claiming that its sparkling wine didn’t sparkle, O-I turned to the oenophiles south of Napa Valley at San Francisco-based
Schiff Hardin nee Morgenstein & Jubelirer, for clarification (get it?).
The winery alleged that a South African glass maker, relying on O-I’s advice, treated its bottles in such a way as to interfere with fermentation and riddling (sounds like a case for Batman – double pun there, in case you're counting; okay, triple). Some $25 million in damages allegedly “popped” up.
M&J’s defense included a comprehensive technical and scientific dissertation on wine and champagne-making techniques (and, no doubt, many late nights working out demonstratives). The team even had to travel to South Africa to “preserve evidence”.
Several Daubert motions later (I imagine after much swilling and spitting by candidate experts), as well as presentations on international technology sharing agreements, toxic substance claims and glass bottle manufacturing methods, the case came down to a motion for summary judgment on several grounds, the winning one coming only three weeks before trial, dismissing the case on the ground that the statute of limitations on the winery’s claim had, like the wine's flavor, run.
M&J’s team consisted of
Jim Balich,
Rocky Unruh and
Kathleen Stimeling, all of whom are already highly regarded for their trial and litigation skills but now also for their knowledge of the minutae of the Méthode Champenoise (
i.e., how to make fizz), transfer method champagne, fermentation, maturation, remuage or riddling, dégorgement and dosage as well as waiting around for results.
Now that the case is over, we are hopeful that some of the “preserved evidence” can be distributed around to Network attorneys willing to archive a case or two in the interests of helping our San Francisco friends dispose of now unneeded evidence.
2006 NETWORK CHAIR MICHAEL O'DONNELL, JOHN VAUGHT AND MALCOLM WHEELER NAMED "BEST LAWYERS" BY THE BEST LAWYERS IN AMERICA
The Best Lawyers in America® selected three Wheeler Trigg Kennedy lawyers for inclusion in the 2007 edition of this rigorously peer-reviewed directory. Malcolm E. Wheeler is listed in the practice areas of Personal Injury Litigation and Product Liability Litigation, John M. Vaught is listed in the practice area of Insurance Law, and Michael L. O'Donnell is listed in four practice areas - Commercial Litigation, Legal Malpractice Law, Personal Injury Litigation and Product Liability Litigation.
Mr. O'Donnell's national litigation practice focuses on complex civil litigation involving product liability, toxic tort, commercial matters, and legal malpractice. He has appeared in state and federal courts in 25 states. Mr. O'Donnell has acted as national or regional trial counsel for a number of Fortune 500 companies, and currently is national trial counsel for Boston Scientific, CNA, Guidant, Johnson & Johnson, and Pfizer Inc. He is a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers. He is Chairman of Network-member Wheeler Trigg Kennedy.
Mr. Wheeler's national law practice focuses on large and complex business litigation and product liability litigation, especially nationwide "pattern" litigation, class actions, and major appeals. He has defended manufacturers at trial in several highly publicized cases, including the Pinto criminal prosecution, the Kearns windshield-wiper patent case, the first "no airbag" case tried to verdict, the first defective airbag case tried to verdict, and cases in the medical device, pharmaceutical, chemical, automotive, and appliance industries. Mr. Wheeler serves as national trial counsel to Pfizer, Ford, and Whirlpool. He is a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers. In 1998, he was named to The National Law Journal's list of Top Trial Lawyers.
Mr. Vaught's practice emphasizes complex commercial litigation, including insurance class action matters, liability and director and officer insurance disputes, corporate governance issues, trade secrets, antitrust, and securities fraud class actions. Mr. Vaught has substantial litigation, mediation and trial experience in the federal courts and in Colorado involving complex commercial litigation. He serves as regional counsel for Allstate Insurance on complex litigation matters and represents several other major insurance carriers.
