Viewpoint: A Sneak Peek at Next Year's Headlines

2012-12-28 10:36:19 AM

Recorder editors peer into the future. This is what they see in 2013:

Orrick announces a three-way merger with firms in Canada and Venezuela. A firm spokesman says chairman Ralph Baxter will delay the handoff of power to "the new guy" until the transactions are complete.

HP shares hit a new low after CEO Meg Whitman says she will pay $10.2 billion to acquire Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, a deal meant to reduce the amount the company spends defending against shareholder suits.

California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye announces she will step down, telling colleagues she's been worn down by the governor's budget cuts. The Alliance of California Judges takes credit.

Reports from Orrick suggest the merger is not going over well with restive partners. Baxter issues a terse announcement that he will remain chairman "until order and/or profitability is restored."

Apple and Samsung agree to a global patent settlement, ending litigation on three continents and idling 10,000 associates, including 1,000 in the Bay Area.

In a 6-3 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court finds California's Prop 8 unconstitutional, though the court stops short of legalizing gay marriage nationwide. (This is a real prediction.)

Justice Scalia issues a dissent, which reads, in its entirety: I told you so (See Lawrence v. Texas).

Plagued by suggestions that she overpaid for Morgan Lewis, HP's Whitman agrees to appoint lawyers there to investigate the purchase price. Sensing a potential conflict, the lawyers bring in Wilson Sonsini as co-counsel.

Orrick's Baxter orders the firm's executive committee to disband and assumes its duties. When the committee voids his directive, he says it lacked authority to do so. The "new guy" is sent to Venezuela and isn't heard from again.

HP hires 1,000 patent lawyers, saying it will exit the computer and printer businesses and focus on litigation.

Governor Jerry Brown taps his wife, former Gap general counsel Anne Gust, to be chief justice. He then restores all branch funding. The Alliance of California Judges takes credit.

Orrick erects a 90-foot-high statue of Baxter in the plaza of its San Francisco headquarters.

Chief Justice Gust rolls out a new line of "skinny robes" for the state's judges. Available in khaki and chambray.