http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/index.jsp Updated daily en-us 11/08/2009 Copyright 2009. Incisive Media US Properties, LLC. All rights reserved. http://www.law.com/service/terms_conditions.shtml http://www.law.com/img/newswire/nlj_rss.gif http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/index.jsp The nation's largest law firms this year suffered the deepest cuts in their attorney numbers since the NLJ began tracking their census figures more than 30 years ago. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202435209872&rss=nlj Michael Weston, a 37-year-old Harvard Law School graduate, died in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan. He was one of the first fatalities of the DEA's counternarcotics operation in the region. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202435248299&rss=nlj Bernie Bilski and Rand Warsaw were just a couple of "math geeks for hire" from Pittsburgh when they applied for a patent in 1997. What they did not predict is that their patent application would be rejected and, on appeal, would make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court 13 years later. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202435248336&rss=nlj The sky really isn't falling for older workers — at least not according to fresh data on age discrimination. The EEOC said Friday that it is preparing to release statistics indicating that age discrimination complaints declined by 7% in 2009. That would contradict the expectations of most labor lawyers, given heavy job losses, and an earlier forecast by the agency itself. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202435260665&rss=nlj The U.S. Senate has confirmed Boston prosecutor Carmen Milagros Ortiz as the first Hispanic and first woman U.S. attorney for the District of Massachusetts. Ortiz was nominated by President Barack Obama on Sept. 17 and confirmed by the Senate on Nov. 6. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202435254577&rss=nlj The auto rental giant Hertz is incorporated in Delaware, has its headquarters in New Jersey and does its biggest volume of business in California. So where is Hertz's "principal place of business?" http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202435258273&rss=nlj When hedge funds bought up the Republic of Congo's debt and started chasing the impoverished African nation for repayment plus interest, the country's president, Denis Sassou-Nguesso, took the battle to Washington. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202435257449&rss=nlj U.S. Supreme Court justices appeared torn last week over whether prosecutors deserve total immunity from lawsuits for their official acts, even when they fabricate evidence in pursuit of a murder indictment and conviction. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202435186936&rss=nlj A Delaware federal judge's transfer of part of a patent infringement case involving software giant Microsoft Corp. to the Eastern District of Texas is the latest example of the federal courts' shifting approach to patent litigation venue battles. The decision is also notable in that the Eastern District of Texas, known as a plaintiff-friendly venue, has itself recently started to transfer cases to other venues in compliance with recent federal appellate decisions. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202435230356&rss=nlj In a ruling that has grabbed the attention of the product liability and telecommunications bars, the D.C. Court of Appeals last week revived a series of lawsuits by individuals who say they were harmed by cell phone radiation, reversing a lower court decision that found the claims were blocked by federal law. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202435216707&rss=nlj An Association of Corporate Counsel law firm rating system unveiled last month has triggered a lot of interest from the association's in-house lawyer members, who have submitted 1,500 firm reviews. Lawyers at firms are less enthused. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202435229951&rss=nlj A proposed class action challenging the way foreclosures were carried out in Wayne County, Mich., has been filed in federal court on behalf of 46 Detroit-area residents, most of whom have already lost their homes to foreclosure. They allege that their foreclosures — and potentially hundreds of thousands more — were illegal because the county sheriff did not conduct the foreclosure auctions lawfully. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202435231744&rss=nlj The attorneys in Winston & Strawn's Chicago headquarters got some new officemates this week: the reporters and editors of the Chicago News Cooperative, a fledgling journalism venture that's creating a stir in news circles. The firm is donating office space and legal advice to the startup during its launch. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202435230245&rss=nlj A strong antitrust compliance culture and program are essential for companies in the targeted industries. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202435036182&rss=nlj A struggle is shaping up for the heart and soul of § 2 of the Sherman Act. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202435036145&rss=nlj Unprecedented economic pressures have forced executives to examine every available option to restore profitability. In response, strategic deal-making has increased, with greater focus on joint ventures as a solution to the current economic conditions. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202435067581&rss=nlj Much has been said about the balance between what legal departments pay law firms and what they get — the so-called value gap. Yet much remains confused and unclear about that term, value. Here are 12 propositions that sort out key ideas that influence the impasse. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202435213875&rss=nlj Almost immediately after taking office, the Obama administration set an arbitrary deadline for closing the secure terrorist detention facility at Guantánamo Bay. That was the easy part. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202435242477&rss=nlj The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is right to crack down on products that make false claims or cause harm, but it shouldn't have forced Zicam — a proven, effective cold remedy with no demonstrated links to harm — off the market. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202435245686&rss=nlj The glass returns to Van Buren; costume dictates destiny; shame works in Bristol; and Craigslist gets some legal business in this week's column. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202435257414&rss=nlj The U.S. energy landscape will change even more dramatically during the next decade than it did during the last. Because all phases of energy-project development, production and distribution are regulated, lawyers will find themselves at the forefront of facilitating these unique and historic changes. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202434864398&rss=nlj The Washington area's largest law offices reported a barely 1% rise in head count, going virtually flat after five years of steady increases, according to the this year's Legal Times 150 survey. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202434907880&rss=nlj While recognizing that attitudes toward diversity have improved over time and that minority representation has improved slightly, a sample of diversity advocates, law firm partners, general counsel and law school leaders generally agreed that the legal profession needs to make deeper, more collective changes to jump-start the stalled diversity movement. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202434890122&rss=nlj