Wednesday, November 22, 2006
KELLY CORR SELECTED FOR INCLUSION IN EXPERT GUIDES' GUIDE TO THE WORLD'S LEADING LITIGATION LAWYERS FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW
Kelly Corr of Corr, Cronin, Michelson, Baumgardner & Preece was selected for inclusion in the 6th Edition of Expert Guides' Guide to the World's Leading Litigation Lawyers published by Legal Media Group. The guide contains only individuals nominated by clients and peers as leading advisers in the field and this was Kelly Corr's second year to be included. The guides are designed primarily for individuals who require access to pre-eminent practitioners in specific areas of law for the purpose of instruction on an international basis.
To ensure the credibility of this publication, Legal Media Group commissioned its research department to carry out an in-depth study of experts in the field of litigation law.
The initial stage of the research process involved distributing 3,500 questionnaires to senior practitioners or in-house counsel involved in the practice area in 65 jurisdictions. The questionnaires asked leading figures to nominate those practitioners they considered to be among the most capable for litigation work. The results were analyzed and screened for firm, network and alliance bias.
As a final verification, the list was discussed with a select group of advisers from leading legal centres worldwide, including: Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Montreal, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, Vancouver, Vienna and Washington DC.
At the culmination of this process, the researchers had identified 36 specialists in 597 jurisdictions.
Kelly Corr is one of four litigation lawyers from Washington State to be included in the guide.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
SNELL ATTORNEYS TAKE DEFENSE VERDICT IN FORD ROLLOVER CASE
Nov. 20, 2006: Snell lawyers Warren Platt and Elizabeth McNulty took a defense verdict in Guerrero v. Ford Motor Company, the first Explorer rollover trial in California since Buell-Wilson (there a California jury awarded plaintiffs more than $350 million dollars in compensatory and punitive damges).
The Guerrero lawsuit arose from a single vehicle, on-road rollover accident involving a 1996 Ford Explorer. After allegedly feeling a "bump in the road," Plaintiff Maria Guerrero proceeded to make several wild steering maneuvers, which ultimately caused the vehicle to rollover. Two unbelted passengers were ejected from the vehicle: one died, and one is in a persistent vegetative state due to severe brain injuries. Plaintiffs claimed more than $60 million compensatory damages, as well as punitive damages.
Plaintiffs' case focused on the Explorer's rollover resistance, but also alleged that the seatbelts were defective. At the conclusion of plaintiffs' case-in-chief, Ford successfully moved for a directed verdict on plaintiffs' punitive damages claim.
After nearly three months of trial and five days of deliberations, the jury returned a defense verdict. Paralegal Stephanie Beville assisted. Senior Attorney Amy Leinen and associates Brendan Ford and Anne Marie Ubl also participated in the case.
Monday, November 20, 2006
KRAVIT, HOVEL, KRAWCZYK & LEVERSON WINS DEFENSE VERDICT FOR RED GRANITE ADVISORS
Steve Kravit and CJ Krawczyk of Network firm Kravit, Hovel, Krawczyk & Leverson in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, successfully defended Red Granite Advisors LLC, a start up investment advisory firm composed of former associates at regional broker and financial services firm Robert W. Baird & Co., from Baird's second attempt to win an injunction. Baird claimed that its former employees used its confidential information, but Judge Patricia McMahon, for the second time, denied any kind of relief. After two days of hearings, Judge McMahon stated: "The mountains of information don't produce a molehill of proof." Red Granite has grown in six months to $140,000,000 in advised assets. The full article is HERE.
Friday, November 10, 2006
IN-HOUSE COUNSEL EARNING MORE
Sheri Qualters - The National Law Journal - November 8, 2006
Altman Weil Inc. reports increases in in-house attorney salaries of 2.2% to 9.5%, and increases in bonuses of as much as 71%. One reason: competition for legal talent.
Some Markets More Affected: Patents, M&A benefited more.
Some Job Titles More Affected: CLO in the information/telecommunications sector earn 39/9% more (median) than other CLOs.
Altman and Lexis/Nexis surveyed 6,255 lawyers in 277 law departments. March 1, 2006 information was compared with March 1, 2005 information, as well as bonuses received in 2005 and 2004.
Senior attorneys (up 8.5%), high-level specialists (up 9.5%) and General Counsel (up 8%) did best. Lower level corporate counsel (up 2.2 %) and staff attorneys (up 3.5%) made up for lower raises with larger bonuses.
Bonuses were up across the board -- senior attorney (up 14.4%), junior attorneys (up 62.5%), staff attorneys up 71%), division general counsel (up 20.3%), managing attorneys (up 25.3%).
Bonuses for CLOs slipped to $132K (median), division general counsel ($104K) and senior attorneys ($29.2K).
Good business and increasing importance of compliance and oversight to corporate governance played a role. The reason -- Sarbanes-Oxley, the legal function is more highly valued.
And, surprise, surprise, larger companies pay higher than smaller companies. CLOs with 25 or more attorneys earned 88.8% more than the national median. Deputy CLOs in such departments earn 57.5% more than the national median.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
NIXON PEABODY WINS APPEALS COURT RULING -- FORMER DIRECTOR FOUND LIABLE FOR INSIDER TRADING BY THE SEC MUST PAY HIS OWN LEGAL FEES
Jonathan Sablone, a partner with Nixon Peabody LLP, represented Corning, where a recent and rare appeals court ruling will likely set a national precedent for future insider trading cases and affects every officer or director of a company. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has ruled that a former director of Corning NetOptix Inc., who was found liable in an insider trading case brought by the SEC, must pay for his own legal fees. This decision is extremely rare in that it required a former director to pay back approximately $1 Million in legal fees that were advanced to the director by the company.
The SEC brought a civil insider trading case against Robert Happ, the former director, who lost the case, and was found liable for insider trading. At the initiation of the SEC case, Happ sought advances from the company to cover his defense costs, and eventually brought suit against Corning and Corning NetOptix claiming that the advances were not sufficient or timely. Corning had agreed to pay for Happ's legal expenses, but only after he signed an undertaking requiring him to pay back such advances if he did not "act in good faith and in the best interests of the company." Corning brought a counterclaim against Happ seeking return of the approximately $1 Million in legal fees advanced pursuant to the terms of the undertaking. The federal district court judge entered judgment in Corning's favor on all of the claims and required Happ to pay back the advanced sums. The First Circuit affirmed the federal district court judge's order.
Monday, November 06, 2006
SANDBERG, PHOENIX & VON GONTARD SUPER LAWYERS
Sandberg, Phoenix and von Gontard, the Network's member firm in St. Louis, announced today the following attorneys named as 2006 Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers: Ken Bean was named as one of the Top 100 Lawyers, as well as one on the Top 50 St. Louis Lawyers; Teresa Bartosiak, Ken Bean, Mary Anne Mellow and Steve Strum were named in the Medical Malpractice area; Mike Bub, Kevin Krueger, Keith Phoenix and Reed Sugg were named in the Civil Litigation area; Warren Davis was named in the Business and Corporate areas; John Sandberg was named in the Business Litigation area; Mike Forster was named in the area of Banking; and Scott Greenberg was named in the area of Bankruptcy & Creditor/Debtor Rights.
