Former Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker Partner Kenneth Yood has joined the Los Angeles office of Fulbright & Jaworski as a partner in its health law practice.

“It’s an honor to become a part of Fulbright’s high-caliber national health care practice,” Yood said in a release.

Noting he was “impressed” with Fulbright’s long history in the health care industry, the lawyer added he was “excited” to bring his experience to the firm’s “expansive” national platform.

Peter Mason, partner-in-charge of the 73-lawyer Los Angeles office, told the MetNews Yood was a “terrific addition” to Fulbright’s prominent and expanding health law practice.

With his background in counseling and regulatory matters, Yood will enhance the work of the firm, Mason said.

Mark Kadzielski, partner in charge of Fulbright’s Los Angeles health law practice and head of its health law practice in California, echoed the thought in a statement:

“He is an impressive health care lawyer, who will help our team provide the very best counsel and service to our clients.”

Yood, 43, specializes in advising clients on the establishment and operation of health care compliance programs addressing matters that include Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement and certification, state licensing and the state and federal false claims acts.

With experience giving counsel on disclosure and reporting obligations and strategies, Yood has helped clients conduct both external and internal investigations of health care facilities.

The lawyer’s past representation also encompasses health care transactions, medical malpractice, professional liability, torts and commercial litigation.

Yood was admitted to the State Bar of California in 1991 and is also a member of the New  York and Massachusetts bars.

In addition to a degree from the University of New York at Buffalo School of Law, Yood holds a masters’ degree in public health from Harvard University. His undergraduate degree is from Haverford College.

His bar activities include membership in the American Health Lawyers Association.

Katona, 56, was charged in January with siphoning money from an investment pool belonging to the rural Lake Huron county where he was treasurer - an elected post - from 1993 until his dismissal last year.

State police said he authorized wire transfers totaling $186,500 last summer to overseas accounts linked to the well-known Nigerian scam. They suspect he lost more than $1.2 million in county funds altogether - plus $72,500 of his own money, despite a warning from his bank that he might be getting swindled.

"I'm sure if you were to ask Mr. Katona how did this happen, he'd just shake his head and say, 'I don't know how I let it happen, but I did,"' White said in a telephone interview.

Variations of the scheme have been around for years. They begin with unsolicited letters - or, increasingly, e-mails - seeking help in transferring millions of dollars from Africa to overseas accounts.

The recipients are typically offered a generous share of the money if they pay what they are told are upfront costs such as taxes, fees and bribes. Those who play along can lose large sums before realizing they've been fleeced.

Katona entered his pleas during a routine hearing ahead of a trial that was to begin later this month.

The Michigan attorney general's office, which is prosecuting the case, offered no plea bargain. White said Katona pleaded guilty to all charges to avoid wasting the court's time and money "proving what is very apparent."

Matt Frendewey, spokesman for Attorney General Mike Cox, said Katona's decision was "a testament of the strength of the case the state had against him."

Sentencing was scheduled for June 12. A count of forgery is punishable by up to 14 years in prison, while the maximum is 10 years for embezzlement and five years for attempted embezzlement.

"If he gets a long enough sentence, I think the county can start healing," said Kevin Boyat, chairman of the Alcona board of commissioners. "There's still going to be people mad for a long time."

Katona pleaded guilty to two felonies in 1998 after falsifying documents for private accounting clients. Under his plea bargain, the charges were dismissed after he stayed out of trouble for a year.

Voters re-elected him in 2000 and 2004.

Boyat said he hoped Katona would provide a detailed accounting of where the money went. The attorney general's office will seek restitution, Frendewey said.

It won't be clear how the thefts will affect Alcona finances until the state treasurer's office finishes auditing the county's books, Boyat said.

"It doesn't look real good," he said, adding that spending cuts might be needed.

A slender man of medium height with short brown hair, Mr Woodroffe-Hill had his head bowed and remained expressionless throughout the hearing.

Described by homicide detectives as a resident of Tenterfield, police told the court he had been arrested at the Banksia unit about 10.30am (AEST) today after being questioned by detectives at Tamworth police station.

It is believed the arrest was carried out as a result of the work of Strike Force Penfold, a special task force set up within hours of the discovery of Mr Hutchinson's headless body.

Mr Woodroffe-Hill did not lodge a bail application.

Police applied to the court for forensic procedures to be carried out, asking permission to conduct a buccal swab and remove a hair sample to test his DNA.

Mr Woodroffe-Hill's Armidale lawyer David Clifton did not oppose the requests and permission was granted on condition they were completed at Tamworth police station by 9pm today.

The court was told Mr Woodroffe-Hill had not been a voluntary patient at Banksia.

It is understood that although he was not being held under section eight of the Mental Health Act, he had not been scheduled for release from the unit until May 31.

The matter was adjourned to Armidale Local Court for mention on May 23, but police said it may be up to six weeks before the results of the forensic tests were known.

Mr Clifton said outside the court that "this (the arrest) is tragic for him (Woodroffe-Hill), tragic for his family and for the wider family of the victim".

Mr Hutchinson was a former artillery gunner who served in Papua New Guinea and Borneo.

He had lived alone in his Markham Street home since 1985 and was known to his local community as a quiet but friendly man respected for his work with the local RSL and legacy war widows.

The crime initially baffled police, with robbery being ruled out early on as a possible motive.

A prominent Breckenridge lawyer missing for more than a week may have fled to Brazil, and authorities are trying to account for money that he controlled, according to two sources close to the investigation into his disappearance.
One source said between $1 million and $1.5 million of money from several property sales is unaccounted for.

Breckenridge police are expected to issue an arrest warrant for Royal "Scoop" Daniel III as early as Wednesday, the sources said.

Daniel, 61, was last seen in his Breckenridge law office, located at 130 Ski Hill Road, early the morning of April 27. Later that day, after Daniel missed appointments, his office staff called police.

They found his glasses broken on the floor of his office, near one of his favorite pens, but no sign of the popular attorney. His beloved Golden Retriever, Ben — identified on his law firm's website as his "official greeter" — was also in the office, as were his keys. His car was parked outside.

The state Supreme Court's Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel, which regulates lawyers in the state, has filed a petition for Daniel's immediate suspension today to protect the public, said John Gleason, the head of the regulation office.

Breckenridge Police Chief Rick Holman declined to comment on the status of the investigation this afternoon.

One source said investigators had many questions about how Daniel handled his clients' money. A forensic auditor was brought in to examine the accounts that Daniel controlled or to which he had access.

Another source said investigators were trying to locate between $1 million and $1.5 million that was generated by a series of real estate transactions known as "1031 exchanges" or "like-kind exchanges." Also known as "Starker exchanges," the sales are governed by section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Service code. They allow real estate investors to sell property and defer paying capital gains taxes by rolling the money into a new purchase within six months.

The exchanges are common, and the primary requirement is that the new piece of property cost as much, or more, as the one that was sold. But they do not have to be similar — and investor can sell a condominium complex and buy a warehouse, for example.

The law requires that the second purchase be made within 180 days of the sale.

Daniel acted as a fiduciary — the person who controlled the money between the transactions — in several recent sales, one of the sources said.

The website for Daniel's firm includes a section explaining his expertise in hanlding 1031 exchanges: "The Daniel Law Firm LLC is experienced and capable in acting as a Qualified Intermediary for taxpayers for so long as they are not already clients of the firm."

A divorced father of eight children, Daniel was well known in Breckenridge. He has been a memmber of Father Dyer United Methodist Church and sang in the choir. Friends said the lawyer often had financial problems because he didn't like to charge clients for work. He's also been known to help West Africans who work in the community obtain legal residency, and he has volunteered with a jail inmate ministry.

Daniel's disappearance sparked a massive search involving at least 100 volunteers who joined about 30 members of the Summit County Rescue Group. But neither they, nor bloodhounds, found any sign of him.

However, friends noted in the days after he vanished that he loved Brazil.

"He said many times that if he disappeared he'd go to Brazil," said Nancy Lovell, a former girlfriend, told the Summit Daily News.

Holman, the police chief, would not answer questions about Daniel, his whereabouts, or the status of the investigation.

"We are doing everything we can think of, and I think we owe that to the community, and we owe that to Mr. Daniel," Holman said. "Not for one minute do we think we have all the answers."

Notice is hereby given that a class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of all common stock purchasers of Cutera, Inc. (NASDAQ: CUTR) ("Cutera" or the "Company") from January 31, 2007 to May 7, 2007, inclusive (the "Class Period").

If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Schiffrin Barroway Topaz & Kessler, LLP (Darren J. Check, Esq. or Richard A. Maniskas, Esq.) toll free at 1-888-299-7706 or 1-610-667-7706, or via e-mail at info@sbtklaw.com.

The Complaint charges Cutera and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Cutera is a global medical device company specializing in the design, development, manufacture, marketing and servicing of laser and other light-based aesthetics systems for practitioners worldwide. More specifically, the Complaint alleges that the Company failed to disclose and misrepresented the following material adverse facts which were known to defendants or recklessly disregarded by them: (1) that the Company's sales force expansion, specifically with regard to the development of the junior sales program, was unsuccessful; (2) that the Company was experiencing unusually high employee turnover in its sales force; (3) that, as a result of the foregoing, the Company's sales force in North America was under-trained and ill-equipped to sell the Company's products in the marketplace; (4) as such, and contrary to earlier representations, the Company was not going to experience a 25 percent revenue growth and was going to experience a dreadful quarter of revenue generation; (5) that the Company lacked adequate internal and financial controls; and (6) that, as a result of the foregoing, the Company's financial and operational projections were lacking in a reasonable basis when made.

Throughout the Class Period, the Company continued to issue press releases that highlighted positive news, although the Company failed to disclose any problems that it was experiencing. Therefore, investors were shocked on April 5, 2007, when the Company issued a press release stating that the Company expected revenue of only $23 million for the first quarter of 2007, significantly below the Company's earlier guidance of $26 million, provided months earlier. On the release of this news, shares of the Company's stock immediately declined $11.72 per share, or over 30.5 percent, to close on April 5, 2007 at $26.67 per share, on unusually heavy trading volume. The value of the Company's shares continued to decline over the following two trading days, eventually closing on April 10, 2007 at $24.85 per share. The cumulative effect of the Company's shocking news over this three day trading period was a total decline of $13.54 per share, or a loss of over 35 percent of their value.

Then on May 7, 2007, the Company finally disclosed that its dismal operating and financial results for the quarter was primarily due to the unsuccessful implementation of a junior sales program and extremely high employee turnover in the Company's sales force. Upon the release of this news, shares of the Company's stock declined 19.97 percent to close on May 8, 2007 at $23.40 per share.

Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of class members and is represented by the law firm of Schiffrin Barroway Topaz & Kessler which prosecutes class actions in both state and federal courts throughout the country. Schiffrin Barroway Topaz & Kessler is a driving force behind corporate governance reform, and has recovered billions of dollars on behalf of institutional and individual investors from the United States and around the world.

For more information about Schiffrin Barroway Topaz & Kessler or to sign up to participate in this action online, please visit www.sbtklaw.com

If you are a member of the class described above, you may, not later than June 18, 2007, move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff of the class, if you so choose. A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member's claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Under certain circumstances, one or more class members may together serve as "lead plaintiff." Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. You may retain Schiffrin Barroway Topaz & Kessler or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action.

CONTACT:
Schiffrin Barroway Topaz & Kessler, LLP
Darren J. Check, Esq.
Richard A. Maniskas, Esq.
280 King of Prussia Road
Radnor, PA 19087
1-888-299-7706 (toll free) or 1-610-667-7706
Or by e-mail at Email Contact

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is pleased to announce that Eric M. Feuerstein is joining the firm as partner in New York.  Previously a partner with Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, Feuerstein has a practice that focuses on high-end, capital-market driven real estate transactions.

"We're delighted to have Eric join the firm," said Ken Doran, Managing Partner of Gibson Dunn.  "A rising star in New York's real estate bar, he will significantly help us expand our national and international real estate practice."

"Eric is highly regarded not only by the New York real estate bar, but also by brokers, owners, developers and bankers," said Steven Shoemate, Partner in Charge of the New York office.  "Eric is a talented and experienced lawyer, who will be a dynamic addition to the firm.  We look forward to working with him as we continue to expand our presence and build on our success in New York."

"I'm very excited about the opportunity that Gibson Dunn has extended to me," Feuerstein said. "My practice fits in nicely with the firm’s real estate practice in New York, nationally and internationally, and I look forward to working together with my new colleagues."

About Eric M. Feuerstein

Feuerstein's real estate practice focuses on acquisitions, joint ventures, leasing, development and financing.  His clients have included landlords, developers and institutional investors.

He recently represented Jamestown Properties in the $1.5 billion sale of its 1121 6th Avenue property (the Fox News building), as well as the $300 million sale of 620 6th Avenue (the Bed, Bath and Beyond building in Chelsea) and in the sale of its condominium interest in the Random House building to The Witkoff Group for $510 million.  He has also recently represented Apollo and Vantage in purchasing $1 billion of residential properties in New York City.

He received his law degree from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 1995 and his bachelor’s degree, cum laude, from Cornell University in 1991.

About Gibson Dunn’s Real Estate Practice

Gibson Dunn’s Real Estate Group represents, in the United States and Europe, a variety of sophisticated participants in real estate, including institutional debt and equity providers, public companies and privately held entrepreneurial developers, owners and operators.

The lawyers in the Real Estate Group are skilled in a broad spectrum of real estate matters including, among others:

Real estate debt and equity finance
Development
Sales and acquisitions
Land use and environmental
Leasing
Workout transactions
The firm's unique expertise in specialized areas of real estate transactions is supplemented with a full scope of related legal capabilities, including tax, corporate, bankruptcy, environmental and litigation.

http://gibsondunn.com