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Court Imposes Strict Deadline in Lawsuit
Court Watch |
2008/01/08 02:54
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| The Supreme Court on Tuesday imposed a six-year deadline for suing the federal government in property disputes. The justices ruled 7-2 that a company waited too long to complain in court that the government took the firm's property. The decision came in a suit by the John R. Sand & Gravel Co. of Lapeer County, Mich., which sought compensation for the loss of some of the land it had leased from the property owners. Justice Stephen Breyer said a federal appeals court was correct in raising the deadline question without being asked to do so, and to rule that the company had missed the deadline. In some instances such as lawsuits against the government, the Supreme Court "has often read the time limits ... as more absolute," Breyer wrote. Justice John Paul Stevens dissented, saying the majority's decision "has a hollow ring" because the court previously had overturned a precedent that it relied on for Tuesday's decision. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg joined Stevens in dissent. In the 1990s, the Environmental Protection Agency began blocking access to portions of the property because the agency was overseeing the cleanup of a landfill under the federal Superfund law. The owners of the 158-acre site in Metamora Township, Mich., had used part of the property for a landfill for tens of thousands of drums of toxic industrial waste. The dispute is among several recent cases regarding whether filing deadlines under various laws prohibit courts from hearing a case or merely lay down rules on how and when to file a claim. At issue in the current case is the power of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims under the Tucker Act. The act allows lawsuits against the government for claims involving federal contracts and the taking of private property without fair compensation. In the suit involving John R. Sand & Gravel Co., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said it had no jurisdiction to hear the lawsuit because of the six-year deadline. |
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Nixon Peabody Names Richard Langan Jr. as CEO
Law Firm News |
2008/01/07 11:34
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Nixon Peabody LLP said Monday it named Richard Langan Jr. to take over the law firm as chief executive and managing partner.
He will move into his new role May 1, succeeding Harry Trueheart III, who has been at the helm for more than 13 years and will become the firm's nonexecutive chairman.
In Trueheart's new capacity, he will focus on client relationships, firm strategy and special projects, according to a company statement.
A Nixon Peabody spokeswoman said the New York-based international law firm's largest offices are in New York, D.C., Boston and San Francisco. The firm employs 700 attorneys. It has 110 attorneys in D.C., according to Washington Business Journal research.
Langan joined Nixon Peabody in 1980 as a first-year associate. He was most recently chair of the firm's business and financial services department. Langan is also a director of Minetta Brook, a non-for-profit arts foundation in New York.
About three months ago, the firm appointed Karen Greenbaum chief operating officer. She formerly was president and chief operating officer for Mercer LLC's U.S. operations. Greenbaum replaced John Gerhard, who announced his retirement after 25 years with the firm. |
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Spilman Law Firm Joins World Services Group
Law Firm News |
2008/01/07 11:29
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Spilman Thomas & Battle announced it has joined World Services Group, a network that provides access to the services of other members.
The World Services Group provides a local, regional, national and global forum for communication, information exchange, networking and identification of business expansion opportunities, Spilman said. This is accomplished through peer-to-peer networking, professional development and annual conferences.
Spilman said it is the exclusive West Virginia law firm member of World Services Group. There are more than 130 member firms. The firms operate in more than 115 countries and throughout the United States.
Eric Iskra, Spilman's member in charge of client relations, said in a prepared statement that after researching the opportunity to join World Services Group, "we could only come to one conclusion - that membership would reap huge benefits for our clients. We are also pleased that this network does not limit us to the West Virginia boundaries, but allows our clients to benefit throughout our region."
Spilman, headquartered in Charleston, has offices in Morgantown and Wheeling; Pittsburgh.; Winston-Salem, N.C.; and Roanoke, Va |
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Crowell & Moring Add Partner in Irvine Office
Law Firm News |
2008/01/07 11:27
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Crowell & Moring LLP is pleased to announce the addition of partner Karen A. Gibbs to the firm's Irvine, California office. Gibbs joins Crowell & Moring's Antitrust Group and will anchor the firm's Health Care Group on the West Coast. She previously
held the position of lead in-house counsel at Applied Medical, a privately-held global medical device company headquartered in California.
Gibbs represents companies in the medical device, pharmaceutical, biotechnology and other health care and life science sectors. She also has successfully represented companies in the airline, computer hardware and software, currency exchange, food and beverage, office products, sports equipment and telecommunications industries. Gibbs focuses on antitrust and unfair competition litigation, anti-kickback and false claims matters, sales and marketing ethics, patent and trade secret disputes, the intersection of antitrust and intellectual property law, licensing disputes, non-compete and employment disputes, and distribution transactions and disputes.
"Karen is a major talent and we are very happy to have her on board," said Steven P. Rice, head of Crowell & Moring's California office. "Her track record in representing health care and life science companies makes her an important legal player in the industry. She will anchor the firm's health care practice in California and complement our existing antitrust, commercial litigation and intellectual property capabilities."
Gibbs said, "I joined Crowell & Moring, because, in addition to its noted strengths in antitrust, health care, intellectual property and complex litigation, the firm has a prominent Washington, DC presence and global focus. I also wanted to join a firm whose culture fosters team work and creativity to deliver outstanding client service to companies of all sizes, from start ups to Fortune 50 companies."
At Applied Medical, Gibbs headed the legal and contracts departments, managed all trial and litigation matters and provided general counsel to all of the company's operational groups and global subsidiaries. Her in-house experience provides her with insight into the challenges in-house business and legal teams face in an increasingly globally-competitive environment.
"There are increasingly intense competitive, distribution and compliance challenges in health care," said Gibbs. "Having counseled and represented a number of health care companies over the years and also having been an industry insider at a highly-competitive, global company for nearly five years, I understand the pressures in-house legal and business teams face to meet these challenges. My role is to help these teams and their companies meet these challenges using creative and multidisciplinary approaches."
Before joining Applied Medical, Gibbs practiced antitrust, intellectual property and commercial litigation with major law firms in Southern California and the Silicon Valley. In addition to representing Applied Medical both as outside and in-house counsel in multiple litigation matters and trials, Gibbs has successfully represented Amgen, Interpore Cross International (now Biomet), Sun Microsystems, Electronics for Imaging, Travelex Currency Services, and numerous other well-known companies.
Gibbs received her B.A. with a double major in Law & Society (Political Science) and Psychology from the University of California at Santa Barbara, with Distinction, Phi Beta Kappa and High Honors. She received her J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. During law school, Gibbs was Editor-in-Chief of the Hastings Communications and Entertainment Law Journal and also a judicial extern to the Honorable Joseph T. Sneed III of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Crowell & Moring LLP is a full-service law firm with more than 350 lawyers practicing in litigation, antitrust, government contracts, health care, labor and employment, corporate, intellectual property and more than 40 other practice areas. More than two-thirds of the firm's attorneys regularly litigate disputes on behalf of domestic and international corporations, start-up businesses, and individuals. Crowell & Moring's extensive client work ranges from advising on one of the world's largest telecommunications mergers to representing governments and corporations on international arbitration matters. Based in Washington, D.C., the firm also has offices in California, New York, London, and Brussels. Visit Crowell & Moring online at
www.crowell.com. |
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Law Technology News Award Winners Announced
Legal Spotlight |
2008/01/07 11:21
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ALM's Law Technology News today announced law firm and in-house
law department winners in its fifth annual Law Technology News Awards
program. The awards recognize outstanding innovation by law firms and
law departments in their use of technology.
Awardees in the law firm categories are: Goodwin Procter; Ropes &
Gray; George Rudoy, director, global practice technology & information
services, Shearman and Sterling LLP; and John Sroka, chief information
officer, Duane Morris. The winner of the in-house law department award
is Kraft Foods, while the Wills for Heroes project was selected as the
pro bono award winner. These individuals and firms, plus vendor
winners in 14 technology categories, will be honored at the LTN
Technology Awards Dinner, at LegalTech New York on February 5.
"This year's winners exemplify the creativity, drive and
determination of our legal technology community, and their efforts to
provide superb service to their clients. We applaud their leadership
and are happy to celebrate their accomplishments at our annual LTN
Awards dinner," said Monica Bay, editor in chief of the magazine.
Most Innovative Use of Technology by a Law Firm: Goodwin Procter's
iStaff system was cited by the judges as a demonstration of creativity
in law firm use of technology. The system assists the firm in matching
attorneys and staff to new client matters.
Most Innovative Use of Technology During a Trial: Ropes & Gray was
named by the judges for innovative patent trial systems, providing
infrastructure and support for a complicated presentation in a case
conducted in only 9 days, with 16 witnesses and 230 exhibits.
Champion of Technology: George Rudoy, director, global practice
technology & information services at Shearman and Sterling LLP was
selected as this year's Champion of Technology for his work as head of
the firm's worldwide practice-specific technology services.
IT Director of the Year: John Sroka, chief information officer of
Duane Morris, was named IT Director of the Year for his leadership in
areas ranging from pro bono assignment tracking and specialized and
back office systems integration, to the firm's VOIP migration.
Most Innovative Use of Technology by an In-House Legal Department:
Gene Stavrou, associate director of records management at Kraft Foods,
and his team's Legal Hold Dashboard were the judges' selection in this
category. The Web-based in-house system enables the lawyer to place
legal holds and tracks compliance by employees.
Most Innovative Use of Technology for a Pro Bono Project: The
judges selected the Wills for Heroes project as an outstanding example
of how technology can support pro bono efforts. The Wills for Heroes
Foundation provides free wills, living wills, and powers of attorney
to first responders. The project operates in a number of states,
customized to each state's legal requirements.
Law firm and in-house nominations were solicited throughout the
year from the magazine's subscribers, and through the publication's
Web site. The recipients were selected by an independent panel of
three jurors, all members of LTN's Editorial Advisory Board: Andrew
Adkins III, director of the Legal Technology Institute at the
University of Florida Levin College of Law; Fredric Lederer,
Chancellor professor of law, and director of the Center for Legal and
Court Technology, at the College of William and Mary; and David
Whelan, manager, legal information, at the Law Society of Upper
Canada.
Additional information on the awards and winners will be available
in the March issue of Law Technology News and on the magazine's Web
site at www.lawtechologynews.com/awards.
Law Technology News provides timely information and insight into
the latest technologies, products and services available for the legal
marketplace. Each month, LTN features new product announcements, as
well as monthly articles and columns written by industry experts and
senior law firm decisionmakers. LTN is distributed to more than 40,000
selected subscribers and is also available on the Web at
www.lawtechnologynews.com. The magazine is published by ALM. |
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Do-it-yourself Legal Services Booming
Law Center |
2008/01/06 11:15
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Tax giant H&R Block Inc. has a lock on one of life's two certainties. Now it is going after the other.
Two months ago, the Kansas City firm launched a new service --online and in-store software packages designed to help everyday people to write their own wills, trusts and estate plans at home without help from lawyers.
Selling do-it-yourself legal kits isn't a new idea.
An estimated seven in 10 Americans have no formal wills other than to follow individual state formulas for dividing property or providing for heirs. Of those with formal plans, the average age of the wills, when opened for final reading, is about 20 years old and potentially outdated by changes in estate planning law or family circumstances.
Block and others see potential business opportunities in the void.
Block has been peddling versions of its new WillPower and Home and Business Attorney through its tax offices and other outlets since at least 1996. Some competitors, notably Nolo.com in Berkeley, Calif., publisher of Quicken estate planning and legal documents, have been providing self-help legal information and forms to nonprofessionals since the early 1970s. Newer players, such as LegalZoom.com, a Los Angeles online service co-founded by O.J. Simpson attorney Robert Shapiro, even fill out the forms.
Competitors don't provide many precise sales figures. Nolo has disclosed that its Quicken WillMaker Plus sales increased nearly 33 percent during 2006. LegalZoom says that it has served 500,000 people since its opening in 2000, and that sales have been growing 50 to 75 percent a year. We The People, a storefront franchise that helps people fill out legal forms, has grown to more than 100 locations, including one in the Kansas City area, from just 25 seven years ago, according to its Web site.
These providers offer information or educational material, but they stop short of advising buyers in order to avoid what in many places would amount to practicing law illegally. They also cost a lot less than traditional legal help.
Basic, commercially available do-it-yourself wills and estate planning documents in most states run between $20 and $120. Hiring a lawyer to do the same work appears to run between $700 and $1,500 in many places, but can vary widely.
Which choice is right for you depends on your circumstances, authorities say.
"Those little kits could work if you have the training, education and expertise to use them properly," said Lee Davis, a Johnson City, Tenn., lawyer and president of the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils.
However, there also is lot of potential for someone insufficiently versed in legal matters to create major problems for heirs, for example by leaving out something important or using incorrect or ambiguous language, Davis said.
Hiring a lawyer also becomes an increasingly better idea if your estate becomes bigger or more complicated, or if your or your heirs' circumstances are changed by death, divorce, remarriage or some similar event, Davis said.
"Kits just don't cover all those conditions," he said.
Spending less than $20 for, say, Block's basic will and trust software or less than $40 for the expanded package, with software that helps fill out many other legal documents a household head or small-business owner might need, can be economical even if you need a lawyer's help with the final product, countered Jason Bass, a digital products manager at Block.
"We aren't a substitute for an attorney," Bass said, "but using the software to pull together and organize your records ahead of time will produce a significant savings in legal fees."
That is because organizing the documents is cheaper than paying your attorney's staff to do it, he said.
Block's new software products, linked with Acendi Interactive, a San Francisco developer of RocketLawyer.com and other legal self-help technologies, bridge a gap between traditional forms that consumers fill out themselves and new services like LegalZoom, in which the service fills out forms based on questionnaires the clients complete.
But, again, "we can't give advice and we don't," said Mike Turner, a LegalZoom spokesman.
Wills, trusts and other estate-planning documents generally are private documents that in all 50 states can be drawn up without a lawyer. Virtually anyone 18 or older can make a will.
But some rules vary. Kansas law doesn't recognize so-called holographic, or handwritten, wills, while Missouri law doesn't say whether it does. Individual states also have slightly different rules about witnessing the documents and notarizing some of them.
Many authorities broadly suggest using a lawyer, rather than online software or a legal kit, if your estate exceeds the $2 million exemption, above which federal estate taxes kick in. Online software or a kit probably is sufficient for simpler or smaller estates, particularly if most of the property being distributed is personal property.
But that isn't always true. Wills and trusts are so intrinsically private that "we really don't have a good idea what sizes are involved," said Turner.
On the flip side, even simple estate planning could get complicated. The current $2 million exemption from estate taxes, for example, is scheduled to jump to $3.5 million next year, disappear entirely in 2010, then drop back to $1 million after that. |
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Ulmer & Berne Elects 7 New Partners
Law Firm News |
2008/01/06 11:13
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Ulmer & Berne LLP, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2008, announced today the election of seven attorneys to the partnership. Attorneys include John M. Alten, Christopher D. Cathey, Paul J. Cosgrove, Rebecca B. Jacobs, Eric M. Robbins, Richik Sarkar and Wayne M. Serra. Detailed information on the attorneys is below.
John M. Alten of the Firm’s Cleveland office focuses his practice on complex business litigation, product liability and financial services litigation. Mr. Alten represents public and private companies and individuals in all aspects of business litigation, including disputes related to contracts, licensing, securities, product liability, construction, insurance, consumer law and corporate control. He is well-versed in all forms of alternative dispute resolution.
Christopher D. Cathey of the Firm’s Cincinnati office focuses his practice on civil litigation with an emphasis on commercial, financial services, employment, creditors’ rights, and personal injury litigation. His experience includes successfully defending financial institutions and other business entities on contractual, commercial and consumer finance disputes. Mr. Cathey handles a broad range of employment litigation including non-competition, trade secret and defense of employee wrongful termination claims. He also represents individuals and self-insured corporations in tort and insurance claims involving wrongful death, catastrophic injuries and toxic torts. Mr. Cathey was recognized as an “Ohio Super Lawyer Rising Star” by Law & Politics and Cincinnati magazines (2006-2007).
Paul J. (P.J.) Cosgrove of the Firm’s Cincinnati office represents medical device, pharmaceutical, and other manufacturers in product liability claims on a local, regional and national level. Mr. Cosgrove has represented manufacturers in defense of claims involving products such as latex gloves, infusion sets, catheters and prosthetic devices. He also represents companies in defense of claims involving dietary supplements, antidepressants, diabetes drugs, and a variety of cardiac drugs in response to government investigations. He handles all phases of the defense of complex cases, including presuit risk management and counseling, fact and expert depositions, electronic discovery, dispositive motion practice, Daubert challenges, mediation, trial and appeal. Outside the context of life sciences product liability litigation, Mr. Cosgrove represents companies in defense of catastrophic loss claims involving a variety of products including pipelines, fireplaces, cranes and airplanes, and also is involved in commercial litigation. He was recognized as an “Ohio Super Lawyer Rising Star” by Law & Politics and Cincinnati magazines (2007).
Rebecca B. Jacobs of the Firm’s Columbus office is a certified specialist in employment and labor law. She represents businesses on employment-related matters, including wrongful discharge, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, employee leave, and wage and hour issues. She routinely counsels clients on issues relating to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and other federal and state statutes. She has created and performed training sessions on topics such as sexual harassment, pregnancy discrimination, and employee leave laws. Ms. Jacobs assists clients in developing employee policies and independent contractor agreements. Ms. Jacobs also handles ERISA litigation and represents financial institutions on issues including business litigation. She was named an “Ohio Super Lawyer Rising Star” by Law & Politics and Cincinnati magazines (2006-2007).
Eric M. Robbins of the Firm’s Cincinnati office focuses his practice on intellectual property. He counsels individual and corporate clients as to securement, ownership, licensing, avoidance of infringement, dispute resolution, and enforcement of patents, trademarks and copyrights. He also prepares and facilitates ongoing prosecution of patent applications at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in the electrical, mechanical, and computer science arts. Mr. Robbins’ patent litigation experience includes Federal Court and International Trade Commission cases. He has previously been named an “Ohio Super Lawyer Rising Star” by Law & Politics and Cincinnati magazines.
Richik Sarkar of the Firm’s Cleveland office focuses his practice on business litigation, complex litigation and public law with expertise in business torts, contracts, corporate governance, securities and finance, real estate, real property taxation and education law. He represents financial institutions, school districts and various public and private corporations. Mr. Sarkar also works on alternative dispute resolution in the areas of commercial, product liability and public law. He is extremely active with Banking Law, Uniform Commercial Code, and Consumer Financial Services committees of the ABA Business Law Section and is on the Executive Board for the Business Law Section’s Young Lawyer Forum. Mr. Sarkar was recognized as an “Ohio Super Lawyer Rising Star” by Law & Politics and Cincinnati magazines (2005-2007).
Wayne M. Serra of the Firm’s Cleveland office practices in the areas of intellectual property creation and enforcement, with emphasis on software and computing device patents. Along with having represented two of the top United States patent filers, Mr. Serra has also counseled mid-sized and emerging companies on a wide variety of IP matters, including strategic portfolio advice, enforcement of intellectual property rights, and the evaluation, management, and monetization of patent portfolios. Mr. Serra previously served as Senior Intellectual Property Counsel for a medical imaging system manufacturer that is one of the top 200 companies in the Fortune Global 500. His experience also includes a substantial amount of patent litigation, licensing, and due diligence for technology transactions.
Ulmer & Berne LLP, established in 1908, is one of Ohio’s largest law firms. In 2007, the Firm was recognized in The BTI Consulting Group’s survey of corporate counsel as one of only 85 firms nationally that “delivers the best value for the dollar.” Also, in a survey of Fortune 500 companies by Corporate Counsel magazine, Ulmer & Berne has been chosen as a Go-To Law Firm® for both 2007 and 2008. Less than one-half of one percent of all the law firms in the US and abroad received this distinction.
A full-service Firm with 180 attorneys in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Chicago, Ulmer & Berne represents publicly traded and privately held companies, financial institutions, pharmaceutical companies, family businesses, international joint ventures and affiliations, investor groups, start-ups and emerging businesses, public bodies and nonprofit organizations. For more information, visit www.ulmer.com. |
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Class action or a representative action is a form of lawsuit in which a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court and/or in which a class of defendants is being sued. This form of collective lawsuit originated in the United States and is still predominantly a U.S. phenomenon, at least the U.S. variant of it. In the United States federal courts, class actions are governed by Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule. Since 1938, many states have adopted rules similar to the FRCP. However, some states like California have civil procedure systems which deviate significantly from the federal rules; the California Codes provide for four separate types of class actions. As a result, there are two separate treatises devoted solely to the complex topic of California class actions. Some states, such as Virginia, do not provide for any class actions, while others, such as New York, limit the types of claims that may be brought as class actions. They can construct your law firm a brand new website and help you redesign your existing law firm site to secure your place in the internet. |
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