Six Universities, Full of Brains but No GC
On a list of 90 top-ranked universities, there are no less than six that lack a chief legal officer.
The Corporate Counselor
Three Delaware opinions confirm that the controversial practice of spring-loading options -- the granting of options just prior to the release of favorable company information -- may give rise to a breach of fiduciary duty claim. The decisions reveal the analytical framework that courts will likely use when deciding future claims. These early signals should be heeded by in-house counsel dealing with changes to equity-based executive compensation plans, say attorneys Thomas J. Quigley and Steven S. Flores.
Legal Times
The Supreme Court recently ruled in LaRue v. DeWolff, Boberg & Associates that an investor in a 401(k) plan can sue to recover losses from the plan's breach of fiduciary duty. Although LaRue dealt with the mishandling of investment selections, other areas of 401(k) plans may be affected in the future, writes attorney Joseph Musher, who says the consequences of the high court ruling are potentially far-reaching. How should companies respond?
The National Law Journal
Jordan Yospe, founder of the Brand-Aide Entertainment Group, has joined Los Angeles-based Manatt, Phelps & Phillips. Yospe, who previously was general counsel and head of business and legal affairs for Mark Burnett Productions, will join as counsel in the advertising, marketing and media practice group. At Mark Burnett Productions, Yospe oversaw domestic and foreign business and legal affairs for reality television programming such as "Survivor" and "The Apprentice."
The Associated Press
A former staff attorney for Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt says a recording of a meeting in which he was fired supports his assertions that he warned top Blunt staffers the office may be violating record-retention laws. Scott Eckersley said the meeting was the culmination of events that began when he e-mailed Blunt's then-chief of staff, spokesman and chief legal counsel to raise concerns that the governor's office may have been making inaccurate public statements about its duties to save e-mails.
The National Law Journal
John Whealan, deputy general counsel for intellectual property law and solicitor for the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, has joined the faculty of George Washington University School of Law as associate dean for intellectual property. Whealan had been PTO solicitor since January 2001. As the solicitor, he managed an office of 25 attorneys who represent the PTO in all federal court intellectual property litigation, and provide legal and policy advice to the rest of the PTO.
Fulton County Daily Report
The subprime mortgage meltdown is putting a strain on other types of lending for consumers and businesses, according to Donald C. Lampe, a banking and financial services attorney with Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice in Charlotte, N.C., who is scheduled to present a program on the topic for the Association of Corporate Counsel Georgia chapter on Tuesday. Lampe said he plans to discuss the mortgage crisis and how it developed, plus its ancillary effects and the future.
Corporate Counsel
Timothy Steinert has repeatedly found himself at the forefront of Chinese law. He was at Coudert Brothers in Beijing when it became the first international firm approved to practice in China, and he worked on the first listing in New York by a Chinese company. Last May, as a partner in Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer's Hong Kong office working on Alibaba.com's IPO, he was invited to make the leap in-house. He jumped; in July he was named general counsel of the Alibaba Group.
Legal Week
One reason F&C Asset Management's former legal head Gillian Switalski's sex discrimination case has made the headlines is that, if she receives the compensation she's seeking, it will set new records in the U.K. Another key issue that will be on the minds of senior in-house lawyers is the practicality of flexible working arrangements. In-house lawyers will be watching to see whether Switalski's claim will negatively impact the widespread perception that company lawyers have a better work-life balance.
Legal Times
General counsel at top law firms have seen a significant pay hike over the last year, according to a new survey directed at Am Law 200 firms. The 2008 survey by Altman Weil, a legal consulting company, found that the average full-time general counsel at these law firms earned more than $750,000 in 2007. That number is up 34 percent from 2006, when the survey found that they earned about $561,000.
